Swarthmore
College Bulletin 2021-2022
Volume CXIX Number 1
Catalog Issue August 2021
College Contact Information
Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore PA 19081-1390
Online at www.swarthmore.edu
Main number 610-328-8000
Office of the President
Valerie Smith
President
Academic Policy
Sarah Willie-LeBreton
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Admissions
James L. Bock III
Vice President and Dean of Admissions
Advancement
Elizabeth Boluch Wood
Vice President for Advancement
Career Services
Erin Massey
Senior Associate Director
Communications
Andy Hirsch
Vice President for Communications
Facilities
Andrew Feick
Associate Vice President for Sustainable Facilities Operations and Capital Planning
Finance
Gregory N. Brown
Vice President for Facilities and Capital Projects
Financial Aid
Varo L. Duffins
Direc
tor of Financial Aid
Human Resources
Beth Glassman
Vice President for Human Resources
Records and Transcripts
Kristen Smith
Registrar
Student Services
James S. Terhune
Vice President for Student Affairs
The College expressly prohibits any form of discrimination and harassment on the basis of any College-recognized protected
classification, including sex, race, color, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
pregnancy, marital status, medical condition, veteran status, or disability in any decision regarding admissions, employment, or
involvement in a College program or activity in accordance with the letter and spirit of federal, state, and local non-discrimination
and equal opportunity laws, such as Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act and ADA Amendments Act, The Equal Pay Act, the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Borough of Swarthmore Ordinance on Non-Discrimination.
The Swarthmore College Department of Public Safety is responsible for the overall security of Swarthmore's campus and is the first
contact and first responder for all campus emergencies. Its charge is to protect persons and property, preserve the peace, deter crime,
apprehend criminal offenders, recover lost and stolen property, perform services as required, enforce appropriate College
regulations, and maintain a sense of community security and confidence in the department. A copy of the College's Annual Fire Safety
and Security Report, describing safety programs and policies as well as crime statistics, is available at swarthmore.edu/public-
safety/annual-fire-safety-security-report. To obtain a paper copy of this report, please contact Public Safety at 610-328-8671 or visit
the Department of Public Safety at the Benjamin West house.
This Bulletin contains policies and program descriptions as of September 20, 2020, and should be used solely as an informational
guide. The College reserves the right to alter or amend at any time the policies or programs contained in the Bulletin. Students are
responsible for informing themselves of current policies and meeting all relevant requirements.
Table of Contents
COLLEGE CALENDAR
1 INTRODUCTION
2 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
3 ADMISSIONS
4 EXPENSES
5 FINANCIAL AID
6 COLLEGE LIFE
7 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
8 FACULTY REGULATIONS
9 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
10 THE CORPORATION
11 BOARD OF MANAGERS
12 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS AND ALUMNI COUNCIL
13 FACULTY AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF
14 ADMINISTRATION
15 VISITING EXAMINERS
16 DEGREES CONFERRED
17 DISTINCTIONS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS
18 ENDOWED CHAIRS
19 ENROLLMENT STATISTICS
20 COURSE CREDIT AND NUMBERING
COURSES OF STUDY
Art
Asian Studies
Biology
Black Studies
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Classics
Cognitive Science
Comparative Literature
Computer Science
Economics
Educational Studies
Engineering
English Literature
Environmental Studies
Film and Media Studies
Gender and Sexuality Studies
Global Studies
History
Interpretation Theory
Islamic Studies
Latin American and Latino Studies
Linguistics
Mathematics and Statistics
Medieval Studies
Modern Languages and Literatures
Music and Dance
Peace and Conflict Studies
Philosophy
Physical Education and Athletics
Physics and Astronomy
Political Science
Psychology
Religion
Sociology and Anthropology
Spanish
Theater
DIRECTIONS TO SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
INDEX
2021 Fall Semester
DATE EVENT
August 30 Classes begin.
September 6 Labor Day Holiday. No classes.
September 13
Drop/add ends. Last day to delete a course from or add to permanent
registration.
October 1 Final examination schedule available online.
October 8 Fall Break begins after last class.
October 18 Fall classes resume at 8:30 a.m.
October 27 Schedule of courses and seminars for next semester available online.
November 5
Last day to declare CR/NC grading option. Last day to withdraw from a
course and receive the grade notation "W."
November 1–12 Advising period.
November 15–17 Pre-enrollment for spring semester.
November 17 Pre-enrollment ends at 4 p.m.
November 24 Thanksgiving Break begins after last class.
November 29 Fall classes resume at 8:30 a.m.
December 1
Note: All accounts must show a zero or positive balance to enroll or select a
room for spring semester.
December 6–8
Monday follows the “Monday” class schedule, replacing the Labor Day
holiday. Tuesday follows the "Thursday" class schedule, replacing the
Thursday of Thanksgiving break. Wednesday follows the “Friday” class
schedule, replacing the Friday of Thanksgiving break.
December 8 Classes end. Lottery for spring housing.
December 12 Finals begin.
December 12–18 Note: Final examinations are not rescheduled to accommodate travel plans.
December 17
100-level seminars end. The fourteenth meetings of Fall 100-level seminars
may meet in either the seminar format or for a final exam, up to the
discretion of the professor.
December 18 Finals end at noon. Residence halls close at 6 p.m. Meal plan ends at lunch.
January 7 All Fall grades due by noon.
2022 Spring Semester
DATE EVENT
January 15 Residence halls open at noon.
January 16 Meal plan starts at dinner.
January 17 Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day Holiday.
January 18 Preparation Week Begins.
January 24 Remote Classes Begin.
January 31 In-person Learning Resumes.
February 4
Drop/add ends. Last day to delete a course from or add one to permanent registration.
Students with once-a-week classes may extend some adding and dropping into the third
week of classes, depending upon the approval of the professor teaching the class to be
added.
March 1 Final examination schedule available online.
March 4 Spring Break begins after last class.
March 14 Spring classes resume at 8:30 a.m.
March 23 Schedule of courses and seminars for next semester available online.
March 25
Last day to declare CR/NC grading option. Last day to withdraw from a course and
receive the grade "W."
April 1
Note: All accounts must show a $0 or positive balance to enroll and select a room for
the fall semester.
March 28–April 8 Advising period.
April 11–13 Pre-enrollment for fall semester.
April 13 Pre-enrollment ends at 4 p.m.
April 29 Classes and seminars end.
May 5–12
Course Final & Honors written examinations. If you must make travel arrangements
before the examination schedule is published, do not expect to leave until after finals.
May 13 Meal plan ends at dinner for all but seniors.
May 13
Residence halls close to all but seniors at 11:59 p.m. (Non-seniors are expected to leave
the College within 24 hours after their last examination.)
May 15–17 Honors orals
May 17 Faculty deadline for senior grades due
May 21 Baccalaureate
May 22 Commencement
May 23 Residence halls close to seniors at 9 a.m.
May 27–29 Alumni Weekend
College Contact Information
Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore PA 19081-1390
Online at www.swarthmore.edu
Main number 610-328-8000
Office of the President
Valerie Smith
President
Academic Policy
Sarah Willie-LeBreton
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Admissions
James L. Bock III
Vice President and Dean of Admissions
Advancement
Elizabeth Boluch Wood
Vice President for Advancement
Career Services
Erin Massey
Senior Associate Director
Communications
Andy Hirsch
Vice President for Communications
Facilities
Andrew Feick
Associate Vice President for Sustainable Facilities Operations and Capital Planning
Finance
Gregory N. Brown
Vice President for Facilities and Capital Projects
Financial Aid
Varo L. Duffins
Direc
tor of Financial Aid
Human Resources
Beth Glassman
Vice President for Human Resources
Records and Transcripts
Kristen Smith
Registrar
Student Services
James S. Terhune
Vice President for Student Affairs
The College expressly prohibits any form of discrimination and harassment on the basis of any College-recognized protected
classification, including sex, race, color, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
pregnancy, marital status, medical condition, veteran status, or disability in any decision regarding admissions, employment, or
involvement in a College program or activity in accordance with the letter and spirit of federal, state, and local non-discrimination
and equal opportunity laws, such as Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act and ADA Amendments Act, The Equal Pay Act, the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and the Borough of Swarthmore Ordinance on Non-Discrimination.
The Swarthmore College Department of Public Safety is responsible for the overall security of Swarthmore's campus and is the first
contact and first responder for all campus emergencies. Its charge is to protect persons and property, preserve the peace, deter crime,
apprehend criminal offenders, recover lost and stolen property, perform services as required, enforce appropriate College
regulations, and maintain a sense of community security and confidence in the department. A copy of the College's Annual Fire Safety
and Security Report, describing safety programs and policies as well as crime statistics, is available at swarthmore.edu/public-
safety/annual-fire-safety-security-report. To obtain a paper copy of this report, please contact Public Safety at 610-328-8671 or visit
the Department of Public Safety at the Benjamin West house.
This Bulletin contains policies and program descriptions as of September 20, 2020, and should be used solely as an informational
guide. The College reserves the right to alter or amend at any time the policies or programs contained in the Bulletin. Students are
responsible for informing themselves of current policies and meeting all relevant requirements.
1 Introduction to Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College, founded in 1864 by members of the Religious Society of Friends as a co-educational institution, occupies a campus of 425
acres of rolling wooded land in and adjacent to the Borough of Swarthmore in Delaware County, Pa. It is a small college by deliberate policy,
with an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students. The Borough of Swarthmore is a residential suburb within half an hour's commuting
distance of Philadelphia. College students are able to enjoy both the advantages of nearby rural settings and the opportunities offered by
Philadelphia. The College's location also makes cooperation possible with three nearby institutions, Bryn Mawr and Haverford colleges and the
University of Pennsylvania.
1.1 Objectives and Purposes
Swarthmore College provides learners of diverse backgrounds a transformative liberal arts education grounded in rigorous intellectual inquiry
and empowers all who share in our community to flourish and contribute to a better world.
1.2 Varieties of Educational Experience
Education is largely an individual matter, for no two students are exactly alike. The Swarthmore College curriculum is designed to give
recognition to this fact and seeks to evoke the maximum effort and development from each student. The Swarthmore College Honors Program
offers additional enriching and exciting intellectual experiences to students who choose to prepare for evaluation by examiners from other
colleges and universities. Throughout the curriculum, options for independent study and interdisciplinary work offer opportunities for
exploration and development over a wide range of individual goals. These opportunities typically include considerable flexibility of program
choices from semester to semester, so that academic planning may be responsive to the emerging needs of students.
1.3 The Religious Tradition
Swarthmore College was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers). Although it has been nonsectarian in control
since 1908 and Friends now compose a small minority of the student body, the faculty, and the administration, the College still values highly
many of the principles of that society. Foremost among these principles is the individual's responsibility for seeking and applying truth and for
testing whatever truth one believes one has found. As a way of life, Quakerism emphasizes hard work, simple living, and generous giving as well
as personal integrity, social justice, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The College does not seek to impose on its students this Quaker view
of life or any other specific set of convictions about the nature of things and the duties of human beings. It does, however, encourage ethical and
religious concern about such matters and continuing examination of any view that may be held regarding them.
1.4 Tradition and Change
A college draws strength from tradition and energy from the necessity of change. Its purposes and policies must respond to new conditions and
new demands. By being open to change, Swarthmore tries to provide for its students, by means appropriate to the times, the standard of
excellence it has sought to maintain from its founding.
2 Educational Resources
The primary educational resources of any college are the quality of its faculty and the spirit of the institution. Financial as well as physical
resources play an important supportive role.
2.1 The Endowment
The educational resources at Swarthmore College have been provided by gifts and bequests from many alumni, foundations, corporations,
parents, and friends. In addition to unrestricted gifts for the operating budget, these donors have contributed funds for buildings, equipment,
collections of art and literature, and permanently endowed professorships, scholarships, awards, book funds, and lectureships. Their gifts to
Swarthmore have not only provided the physical plant but also have created an endowment fund of $1.956 billion at market value on June 30,
2017. Swarthmore is ranked among the highest in the country in endowment per student. Income from the endowment during the academic year
2016-2017 contributed approximately $46,360 to meet the total expense of educating each student and provided about 50 percent of the College's
operating revenues.
The College's ability to continue to offer a high quality of education depends on continuing voluntary support. Swarthmore seeks additional gifts
and bequests for its current operations, its permanent endowment, and its capital development programs to maintain and strengthen its
resources. The vice president in charge of development will be pleased to provide information about various forms of gifts: bequests, outright
gifts of cash or securities, real estate or other property, and deferred gifts through charitable remainder trusts and life-income contracts in which
the donor reserves the right to the annual income during his or her lifetime.
2.2 Libraries
The Libraries support the core mission of the College through active participation in the instructional and research program and the curation of
collections in a variety of formats.
Subject specialist librarians foster the development of student critical research skills by supporting student research projects and partnering with
faculty to deliver course-specific instruction - meeting with 75 individual courses over the 2017/18 academic year. Library research instruction
focuses on helping students learn to navigate the contemporary information environment critically and thoughtfully.
Through formal and informal learning experiences students begin to understand their role in the broader scholarly conversation. Students who
seek opportunities to develop deeper research and information technology skills can participate in library programs including the seminar-based
Library Internship and our Lib/Lab Fellows in digital scholarship. ITS and the Libraries partner to offer the summer SPEED program in which
students work with faculty, library, and IT staff on digital projects ranging from visualizations of early English novels to a Navaho verb
generator. This program parallels the Libraries work consulting with faculty on a wide array of emerging tools and technologies for teaching
and research.
Swarthmore, as part of the Tri-College Library Consortium along with Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges, takes advantage of a long history of
cooperation and a unified, online catalog, Tripod, in building a research-quality collection. Through the consortium and a network of
cooperative arrangements with other academic institutions, the Libraries provide students and faculty access to cultural and scholarly resources
from libraries across the globe.
The Libraries are a leader in advancing the conversation on and progress towards a more just and inclusive campus. Library staff work with the
Dean's Office and other campus partners to enable all students to fully to participate in the academic life of the College. The Libraries support
first-generation and low-income students through provisioning of texts and textbooks, laptops and other critical resources for learning. Library
staff support students with disabilities by ensuring that library resources are as accessible as possible and playing a central role in campus
accessibility efforts. Responsive to the emerging needs and issues on campus, the Libraries are committed to pursuing an array of initiatives in
collaboration with campus partners to foster sustainability, equity and justice. The Libraries' ever-evolving spaces meet community needs for
exhibitions and public gatherings, individual and group study, teaching and learning, printing, production and access to technology.
Swarthmore College library holdings include over 600,000 print monographs and serials with thousands of new volumes added annually. In
addition to the print collection, the libraries provide access to extensive holdings of e-books, e-journals and databases. The College participates
in the Federal and Pennsylvania Depository Library Program and selects those government documents most appropriate to the needs of the
curriculum and the public and catalogs them in Tripod. The majority of these government document titles are now available online. The libraries
also provide access to multidisciplinary collections of video and music, in both physical and streaming formats. The video collection includes
classic U.S. and foreign films as well as educational, documentary, and experimental films. Materials associated with the research and
scholarship of the College and collections of digitized archives or items of historical importance such as student theses, faculty publications, art
images, the yearbook and student newspaper, and streamed videos of College performances can be found in locally-created digital repositories.
The collections are housed in three libraries. The Thomas B. and Jeannette L. McCabe Library is the center of the College library system and is
home to the major portion of the collections in the humanities and social sciences. It has extensive public computing resources, a wide variety of
reading and study areas, and several video viewing rooms. In 2018, the Color Room (the Frank and Vera Brown Study Room) opened. Dedicated
to the interdisciplinary study of color and to Swarthmore couples past, present and future it contains a selection of books on color, pigment
samples, and cards, and objects to facilitate exploration of color.
Located within the Science Center, the Cornell Library of Science and Engineering is the most popular study space on campus. Cornell Library
staff provide research consultation and support student and faculty work in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering through extensive
collections of monographs, journals, videos, data and other resources.
The Underhill Music and Dance Library in the Lang Music Building facilitates research in the performing arts through a highly curated
collection including books, journals, sound recordings and videos. Staff offer expert research advice. Underhill provides a wide variety of
listening and viewing facilities and has some of the loveliest views of the Crum Woods.
The Libraries also help curate and increase the visibility of a variety of specialized collections across campus in the Black Cultural Center, the
Beit Midrash (located in the Bond Lodge 5), the Women's Resource Center, the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, and the
Language Resource Center. These collections are all findable through the Tripod library catalog.
2.2.1 Special Library Collections
The Rare Book Room in McCabe Library contains several special collections: the Book Arts & Private Press Collection, an exemplary collection
of artists' books and fine press printing dating from the 16th century to the present day; British Americana, accounts of British travelers in the
United States; the works of English poets Wordsworth and Thomson bequeathed to the library by Edwin H. Wells; the works of Seamus Heaney,
winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1995; the W.H. Auden Collection commemorating the English poet who taught at Swarthmore in the
mid-1940s; the David H. Keller Collection, consisting of science fiction and fantasy pulp magazines from the 1920s through the 1960s; and the
Bathe Collection of the History of Technology, donated by Greville Bathe.
Within the McCabe Library building are two special libraries that enrich the academic life of the College:
The Friends Historical Library, founded in 1871 by Anson Lapham, is one of the outstanding collections in the United States of manuscripts,
books, pamphlets, and pictures relating to the history of the Society of Friends. The library is a depository for records of Friends Meetings
belonging to Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and other Yearly Meetings. More than 10,000 record books, dating from the 1670s until the
present, have been deposited. Additional records are available on microfilm.
The collection includes materials on subjects of Quaker concern such as abolition, Indian rights, utopian reform, and the history of women's
rights. Notable among the other holdings are the Whittier Collection (first editions and manuscripts of John Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker
poet), the Mott manuscripts (more than 500 letters of Lucretia Mott, antislavery and women's rights leader), and the Hicks manuscripts (more
than 400 letters of Elias Hicks, a prominent Quaker minister). More than 43,000 volumes are in the library's collection of books and pamphlets
by and about Friends. More than 200 Quaker periodicals are currently received. The library also has an extensive collection of photographs of
meetinghouses and pictures of representative Friends and Quaker activities as well as a number of oil paintings, including The Peaceable
Kingdom by Edward Hicks. It is hoped that Friends and others will consider the advantages of giving to this library any books and family papers
that may throw light on the history of the Society of Friends. Visit the website www.swarthmore.edu/fhl.xml
The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is of special interest to research students seeking records of the peace movement. The records of the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the personal papers of Jane Addams of Hull-House, Chicago, formed the original
nucleus of the Collection (1930). Over the years, other major collections have been added including the papers of Devere Allen, Emily Greene
Balch, Danilo Dolci, Belva Lockwood, Homer Jack, A.J. Muste, Scott Nearing, John Nevin Sayre, Wilhelm Sollmann, André and Magda Trocmé,
and others as well as the records of the American Peace Society, A Quaker Action Group, Center on Conscience and War, Code Pink, Fellowship
of Reconciliation, Friends Committee on National Legislation, The Great Peace March, Lake Mohonk Conferences on International Arbitration,
Military Families Speak Out, National Council for Prevention of War, SANE Inc., United for Peace and Justice, War Resisters League, Women
Strike for Peace, and many others. The Peace Collection serves as the official repository for the archives of these organizations. The Peace
Collection also houses more than 14,000 books and pamphlets over 3,000 periodical titles, more than 20,000 linear feet of manuscripts, over
50,000 photographs and other images, thousands of audio and video recordings, and memorabilia. Periodicals are currently received from 22
countries.The comprehensive website www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace describes the archival holdings and resources.
2.3 Information Technology Services
Information Technology Services (ITS) provides technology resources to support the instructional mission, residential life, and administrative
work of the College. Services are available to all students, faculty, staff, and alumni. ITS works in partnership with the Swarthmore community to
meet its mission.
Swarthmore provides a rich, robust, and secure technology infrastructure. All campus buildings are served by wired and wireless networks. In
addition to network services, a cell phone signal distribution system is installed in the residence halls. Presentation technology is available in
every classroom. Swarthmore's information systems provide a wide range of academic and administrative information services to the College
community.
Public computers and printing services are available to students in the residence halls, McCabe, Science, and Music Libraries, and in other
public spaces on campus. Public computer labs are located in Trotter and McCabe Library, and there are many departmental computer labs
across campus that meet the specific needs of academic disciplines. A wide array of commercial and open source software is available for use on
all public computers to support academic work.
The Media Center in Beardsley provides access to a rich set of multimedia tools and the newest technologies available for experimentation and
creation of audio, video, multimedia, high-quality color and 3-D output for curricular and extracurricular work. Music composition/editing
computers are available in the Music Library. Language study and video editing are supported in the Language Resource Center in Kohlberg
Hall. Some academic software is available for downloading by the College community. The Swarthmore Campus and Community Store also sells
a variety of software at competitive prices.
The ITS Help Desk located in Beardsley Hall serves students, faculty, and staff who have technology questions or problems and is available by
phone on campus at X4357 (HELP), off campus at 610-328-8513, or via email at help@swarthmore.edu. Computer repair services are also
available for students (a fee is charged for parts and labor).
2.4 Communications
The Communications Office is responsible for strategic communications efforts at the College, particularly those relating to admissions and aid,
advancement, the College's website, social media, and media relations.
In collaboration with other College offices, the Communications Office leads the development and implementation of an overall web strategy for
the College. It produces a broad range of print and digital materials for the College's on- and off-campus audiences, including the award-
winning Swarthmore College Bulletin, an annual college calendar, and Sw@tNews, a digital newsletter for alumni, parents, and the campus
community. In addition, it produces and maintains content for key areas of the Swarthmore website, including the homepage and other top-level
sections of the site.
The Communications Office maintains standards for the College's print and digital publications, including a College design and style guide, and
resources for the appropriate use of the College logo. It also provides editorial, photographic, graphic design, print production, and web content
support services to administrative offices and academic departments across campus. Permission from the office is required for all photo, film, or
video filming on the Swarthmore campus by external vendors or members of the media.
2.5 Physical Facilities
When Swarthmore College opened in fall 1869, it consisted of one building-Parrish Hall-set on farmland and serving 199 students. Today, the
College encompasses more than 70 buildings used by approximately 1,550 students on 373 acres. The core of the academic campus, comprising
153 acres, is bounded by 220 acres of woods, a valuable natural resource for research, recreation and relaxation. The College maintains about
100 units of faculty housing in the Borough of Swarthmore and adjacent municipalities.
The College provides an impressive range of modern facilities for students' intellectual growth, cultural enrichment, and physical and social
development. At the same time, it maintains an intimate, pedestrian campus exemplifying the concept of academic study in an idyllic setting.
2.5.1 The Academic Core of Campus
Parrish Hall, the original College building, remains the heart of the campus. Admissions, the Registrar's Office, the President's Office, and
Dean's Office share space with the Financial Aid Office, Career Services, numerous student groups, and two floors of student residences. Sited
by the founders on a ridge at the highest elevation in Delaware County, Parrish commands views south toward the Delaware River and New
Jersey and north and west toward the Crum Woods. Most academic buildings are located on the plateau to the north of Parrish Hall; McCabe
Library, Clothier Memorial Hall and the Hormel-Nguyen Intercultural Center share the ridge. Sharples Dining Hall, Worth Health Center, and
several residence halls are located on the gentle slope to the south. Athletic facilities occupy former farmland to the south and southeast.
The North Quad is bounded by Kohlberg Hall, with its popular coffee bar and state of the art facilities for the departments of Modern Languages
and Literatures, Economics, and Sociology and Anthropology; Martin Biological Laboratory and associated greenhouse; Beardsley Hall, the
home of the Department of Art, with large studio spaces; the Department of Philosophy; and a Media Center staffed by the Department of
Information Technology Services; and the Science Center, which physically links the Department of Biology with the departments of Chemistry
and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics and Astronomy, and the Cornell Science and Engineering Library.
Eldridge Commons, with its coffee bar, group study tables and lounge, is an important gathering spot which fosters serendipitous conversations
and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The adjacent Nason Garden quad is framed by Beardsley Hall as well as Trotter Hall, which houses the departments of Classics, History
and Political Science, along with the Center for Social and Policy Studies and interdisciplinary programs in Asian Studies, Black Studies,
Cognitive Science, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Interpretation Theory, Latin American and Latino Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies, and
the Writing Center. Pearson Hall is home to the Linguistics, Educational Studies, and Religion departments. The Biology, Engineering and
Psychology building, now under construction, will house these three departments and will provide common space for gatherings of students,
faculty and staff in part of the campus.
The Metasequoia Allée leads from Parrish Hall to the Lang Performing Arts Center, home to the English Literature and Theater departments and
the program in Dance. The Pearson-Hall Theater seats 730 in a divisible tiered space with sophisticated lighting and sound systems. The Frear
Ensemble Theatre on the lower level is a black box theater which serves as an experimental and instructional studio. The Boyer Dance Studio
and the Troy Dance Lab support the Dance program. The List Gallery entered from the allée, is curated by the Department of Art and Art
History and hosts student and alumni exhibits as well as those of invited artists.
An open bridge, with views into the Crum Woods, connects the Performing Arts Center to Lang Music Building, home to the Music and Dance
Department. The Eugene and Theresa M. Lang Concert Hall is one of the College's iconic spaces, seating 425 in an unusual tiered
arrangement. Windows fill the entire back wall of the stage, offering an expansive view deep into the Crum Woods. The building is also home to
the Underhill Music and Dance Library, classrooms, practice and rehearsal rooms, and an exhibition area in the two-story lobby.
Just east of Parrish Hall sits McCabe Library, the main library on campus and the focus of research and intellectual inquiry. McCabe houses the
Friends Historical Library, the national repository of the Society of Friends (the Quakers) in America. The Peace Collection, established nearly
60 years ago, focuses on non-governmental efforts for nonviolent social change, disarmament and conflict resolution between peoples and
nations.
Facing McCabe Library across Parrish Lawn is Clothier Memorial Hall, with a snack bar and a large multipurpose space framed by exposed
wood trusses and tracery windows. Offices for student organizations in the cloister at Clothier Hall complement similar facilities in the adjacent
Hormel-Nguyen Intercultural Center. The Center provides robust opportunities for student-led and student-centered programming hosted by the
Intercultural Center, the Interfaith Center, and the Office for International Students.
The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility helps students realize their fullest intellectual and personal potential combined with a deep
sense of ethical and social concern by connecting the campus, curriculum, and communities. It houses two classrooms, two small conference
rooms, a library, Social Innovation Lab, and office space for Lang Center and Office of Sustainability staff, as well as many signature programs
(described below).
Whittier Hall, near the Lang Center, has a flexible design and a two-fold purpose: to serve as a temporary home for the Department of
Psychology and shops associated with the Department of Engineering until the Biology, Engineering and Psychology building is completed in
2020; and as a permanent location for studio classrooms, student studios, and seminar rooms for the Department of Art and Art History.
2.5.2 Athletic Facilities
Lamb-Miller Field House contains basketball practice courts, an indoor track, locker and equipment rooms, and administrative offices for the
Department of Physical Education and Athletics. The adjacent Tarble Pavilion provides competition courts for basketball. Just east of the field
house are the baseball and softball fields. Matchbox, a wellness/fitness center with state of the art fitness equipment, houses a multi-purpose
space with a sprung wood floor for aerobics, Zumba and other fitness activities, the administrative office of the College's Recreation/Wellness
program, and a Theater practice space. Ware Pool is a 10-lane by 10-lane competition pool under a distinctive peaked roof. The Cunningham
Courts and Faulkner Courts each provide six competition tennis courts, supplemented by three indoor courts at the Mullan Tennis
Center. Clothier Field, adjacent to the Field House, is an all-weather surface for year-round field sports. It is circumscribed by a state of the art
eight-lane outdoor track. Cunningham Fields provides four fields, supported by the Delmuth-Rath Field House. Ample open lawn areas
throughout campus accommodate and inspire a range of informal and spontaneous physical activity from Frisbee throwing to water sliding.
2.5.3 Residential Life
The College provides a variety of residential experiences, from single to quad occupancy, in traditional residence halls and smaller-
scale settings. PPR Apartments provides an option for suite-style living. Outdoor space for cooking and eating is a popular amenity at several
residence halls. All buildings have shared lounges and laundry facilities and wireless internet service; many have kitchens for student
use. Residential Community Coordinators are members of the Dean's Office staff who provide administrrative support for students in clusters
of residence halls. Residential advisors on each floor provide peer-to-peer support. Residence hall rooms are assigned by lottery in a system
managed by the Office for Student Engagement.
2.5.4 Social Development
Sharples Dining Hall provides communal dining, ensuring that students have the opportunity to interact regularly at mealtimes. Private dining
rooms at Sharples can be reserved by students and are frequently used by special-interest groups and clubs. The student-run Crum Cafe in
Sharples is a popular venue in which student groups host special-interest or specialty-cuisine events. Coffee bars in the Science Center and
Kohlberg Hall provide quick service and a variety of grab-and-go options. Near the dining hall are Kitao Gallery, a student-run art gallery,
Olde Club, a party/concert venue, and the Women's Resource Center. Two fraternity houses provide social space for Delta Upsilon, a national
fraternity, and Phi Si, an independent fraternity. Brothers live in the residence halls. The Black Cultural Center at Robinson House provides
social as well as educational facilities for students. The Hormel-Nguyen Intercultural Center provides programming for variety of intercultural
organizations and program space for the Interfaith Center. Worth Health Center tends to students' health and wellness through Student Health
Services, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and wellness education. Multi-purpose space is distributed across campus, in Clothier
Memorial Hall, Eldridge Commons, McCabe Library's atrium and Matchbox. The parlors in Parrish Hall, on either side of the front door, have
retained their original function as living rooms for students since the founding of the college. The Swarthmore Campus and Community
Store provides a broad range of offerings, from textbooks to toiletries, and is owned and operated by the college. All buildings and major
outdoor spaces on campus have WiFi coverage.
2.5.5 Scott Arboretum
Much of the college campus has been developed with horticultural and botanical collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants through the
provisions of the Scott Arboretum, established in 1929 by Mrs. Arthur Hoyt Scott and Owen and Margaret Moon as a memorial to Arthur Hoyt
Scott of the Class of 1895. The plant collections are designed to afford examples of the better kinds of trees and shrubs that are hardy in the
climate of eastern Pennsylvania, and are suitable for planting by the average gardener. All woody collections are labeled and recorded.
Exceptionally fine displays include hollies, flowering cherries, conifers, magnolias, tree peonies, lilacs, rhododendrons, azaleas, hydrangeas, and
witchhazels. Specialty gardens include the Terry Shane Teaching Garden, the Entrance Garden, the Theresa Lang Garden of Fragrance, the
Dean Bond Rose Garden, the Isabelle Bennett Cosby '28 Courtyard, the Nason Garden, the Metasequoia Allée, the Harry Wood Courtyard
Garden, the Pollinators Garden, and the Gold Medal Plant Garden. Many interested donors have contributed generously to the collections, and
the arboretum is funded primarily by restricted endowment funds with a combined market value of about $39 million. The mission of the Scott
Arboretum is to delight and educate all visitors and inspire them to enjoy the many benefits of horticulture. This "garden of ideas" features
varieties that perform well in the region, encouraging wise stewardship as well as the cultivation of plants to sustain the body, enchant the eye,
and soothe the spirit.
The arboretum offers educational horticulture programs to the general public and Swarthmore students. These workshops, lectures, classes, and
activities are designed to cover many facets of the science/art called gardening. Tours are conducted throughout the year for College students,
faculty and staff, and interested public groups. The administrative offices of the arboretum are located in Cunningham House. The adjacent
Wister Education Center and Greenhouse provides multi-purpose space to support the broad range of programs sponsored by the arboretum.
Aiding the arboretum staff in all its efforts are the Associates of the Scott Arboretum. This membership organization provides financial support
and assistance in carrying out the myriad operations that make up the arboretum's program, such as plant propagation, public lectures,
workshops, publications, and tours of other gardens. More than 100 volunteer Arboretum Assistants aid in arboretum maintenance on a regular
basis. Student memberships are available and the arboretum provides interesting and educational job opportunities for students. The arboretum's
newsletter, Hybrid, publicizes its activities and provides up-to-date information on seasonal gardening topics. Maps for self-guided tours and
free brochures of the plant collections are available at the Scott offices, 610-328-8025, located in the Cunningham House, as well as online and
in brochure boxes on educational signs in many gardens.
The arboretum conducts applied research on ornamental plants and holds three recognized North American Plant Collections: hollies,
magnolias, and oaks. The arboretum is accredited at Level III in the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. For more information and a
calendar of events, to sign up for the "Garden Seeds" blog, or obtain membership information, and brochures, visit scottarboretum.org.
2.6 Special Funds and Lectureships
The Catherine G. '72 and Ernest B. Abbott '72 Partners in Ministry Endowment was created in recognition of the importance of a distinctive
ecumenical program of spiritual nurture serving the entire Swarthmore College community. Income from the Abbott endowment is distributed to
Partners in Ministry to help provide for the compensation of the religious adviser and supporting staff of the Swarthmore Protestant community.
The Mary Albertson Lectureship in Medieval Studies was established in 1987 with gifts from George Cuttino '35 and former students, colleagues,
and friends. Mary Albertson joined the Swarthmore faculty in 1927 and served as chair of the History Department from 1942 until her retirement
in 1963. She was responsible for expanding the history curriculum to include studies on Russia, the Far and Near East, Africa, and Latin
America. Mary specialized in English medieval history. She died in May 1986.
The Jesse and Maria Aweida Endowment for the Support of Arabic Language Instruction was established in 2006 by Jesse and Maria Aweida,
members of the Class of 1956.
The Barnard Fund was established in 1964 by two graduates of the College, Mr. and Mrs. Boyd T. Barnard of Rosemont, Pa. The fund has been
augmented by the 50-year class gifts from the classes of 1917 and 1919 and other friends. The income from the fund may be used for any activity
that contributes to the advancement of music at the College. It has been used for concerts on the campus, for the purchase of vocal and orchestral
scores and other musical literature, and to provide scholarships for students in the Music Department who show unusual promise as
instrumentalists or vocalists.
The Peter B. Bart '54 Endowment was established in 2005 to support the Film and Media Studies Program at Swarthmore College.
The Albert H. Beekhuis Music Fund was created in 1989 by a generous bequest of Mr. Beekhuis, neighbor, friend, and patron of Swarthmore
music. The fund supports the acquisition and maintenance of musical instruments and brings musical performers to the College.
The Bloom Discretionary Fund Endowment was established by Ira T. Wender '45 in honor of President Alfred H. Bloom. This fund is
discretionary under the direction of the president.
The Al and Peggi Bloom Endowment for Financial Aid for International Students and for Faculty Support was established in 2005. This
endowment aims to help prepare students to identify and advance common purpose in a global world by providing financial support to
international students at Swarthmore, and by supporting relevant faculty efforts in any discipline or across disciplines.
The Alfred H. Bloom Jr. and Martha B. Bloom Memorial Visiting Scholar Fund is the gift of Frank Solomon Jr. '50 in honor of the parents of
Alfred H. Bloom. It brings visiting scholars to campus at the discretion of the president.
The Patricia Boyer Music Fund was created in 1989. Income from the Boyer fund supports the Dance Program.
The Richard B. Brandt Fund was established in 1986 by Phillip J. Stone '62 in honor of Richard B. Brandt, a member of the Philosophy
Department from 1937 to 1964. The fund supports visiting speakers chosen by the department.
Brest Family General Endowment was established in 2004 by Iris Lang Brest '61, Paul Brest '62, Hilary Brest Meltzer '86, and Jeremy Brest '90
to further the objectives and purposes of Swarthmore College. The income of the Brest Endowment is for unrestricted use.
The Brown Family Travel Fund, established in 2011 by Vera Grant Brown '70 and Frank I. Brown '68, recognizes and honors the special
contribution that parents and family members have played in helping their student prepare for college and come to Swarthmore. It provides
support for families to travel to landmark events or programs involving their student that would not be possible otherwise due to cost of
transportation and lodging. These might include Commencement exercises, athletic competitions, performing arts productions, academic
presentations and the like. The use of the fund is under the direction of the Dean's Office.
The Phillip A. Bruno Fine Arts Endowment was created by Phillip A. Bruno in 1988. The fund supports the acquisition of artwork for the
Swarthmore College collections.
The William J. Carter '47 Religious Harmony Fund was established in 2011 by a bequest from William J. Carter '47. The fund's purpose is to
encourage and promote understanding, harmony and respect among the various religions of the world.
The Barbara Weiss Cartwright Fund for Social Responsibility was created in 1993 by a gift from Barbara W. Cartwright '37 and Dorwin P.
Cartwright '37. The fund supports new or existing programs that encourage involvement in addressing societal problems through projects
initiated by the College or created by current students. In addition, it will provide opportunities for faculty and students to participate in
volunteer service projects linked to the academic program.
Wendy Susan Cheek '83 Memorial Fund for Gender and Sexuality Studies. Established in 1998 by Aimee Lee and William Francis Cheek, the
fund supports student and/or programming needs of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, including the capstone seminar for honors and
course students. The fund shall be spent at the direction of the gender and sexuality studies coordinator.
The Cilento Family Endowed Fund for Islamic Studies and Arabic, established in 2018, supports the Islamic Studies and Arabic program at
Swarthmore College, with a preference for faculty support. This fund is administered by the Provost's Office.
The Cilento Family General Endowment Fund was established in 2002 by Alexander P. Cilento '71 to support the general objectives of the
College. The income is unrestricted.
The Cilento Family Information Technology Fund was established in 2002 by Alexander P. Cilento '71 as an expression of gratitude and
appreciation for the Engineering Department at Swarthmore College. The fund supports teaching innovations in information science, with
preference for computer science, engineering, and related disciplines. The Provost's Office administers the fund.
The Classics Endowment was established in 2005 and, in consultation with the Provost's Office, shall be used to support classics instruction
directly.
The Richard W. Conner '49 Partners in Ministry Fund was created in spring 2000 by Richard W. Conner '49 to establish a matching challenge
grant program benefiting Partners in Ministry in recognition of the importance of an ecumenical program of spiritual nurture serving the diverse
faith traditions of the entire Swarthmore College community.
The George R. Cooley Curatorship was established in 1986. The Cooley endowment supports the curatorship of the Swarthmore College Peace
Collection.
The William J. Cooper Foundation provides funding for a varied program of lectures, exhibits, and concerts, which enriches the academic work
and cultural experience of the College and the community. The foundation was established by William J. Cooper, a devoted friend of the College
whose wife, Emma McIlvain Cooper, served as a member of the Board of Managers from 1882 to 1923. It provides annual funds that are used "in
bringing to the College eminent citizens of this and other countries who are leaders in statesmanship, education, the arts, sciences, learned
professions and business, in order that the faculty, students and the College community may be broadened by a closer acquaintance with matters
of world [interest]."
The Cooper Foundation Committee, composed of students, faculty members, and staff members, works with members of all campus constituencies
to arrange lectures, exhibitions, and performances of College-wide interest as well as to bring to the College speakers of note who will remain in
residence long enough to enter into the life of the community. In the past, some speakers have been invited with the understanding that their
lectures would be published under the auspices of the foundation. This arrangement has produced 18 volumes.
The Bruce Cratsley '66 Memorial Fund income, but not the principal, shall be used at the discretion of the Art Department faculty to support the
photography program. The use may include, but not limited to the purchase of equipment and materials; exhibition support; student summer
opportunities; visiting speakers; and other activities.
The Carley Cunniff '72 Paul Hall Residence Fund was established to honor this member of the Board of Managers who died in January 2005.
The Dean's Discretionary Board Endowment Fund was established in 2016 to help defray non-tuition costs for students who are first generation
and/or low-income and/or belong to traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in their pursuit of a Swarthmore College education. This fund is
administered by the Dean's Office.
The Michael J. Durkan Memorial Fund was established by family and friends of Michael J. Durkan, librarian emeritus, to support library
collections and to help bring Irish writers to campus.
The Earthworms Ultimate Club Sports Fund was established in 2017 by Michael Morton '97. The Fund is intended to provide budgetary support
for club sports in honor of Morton's exciting memories playing Ultimate Frisbee at Swarthmore. The goal is to continue to foster a positive,
competitive, character-building environment where students can become better athletes and better people through sports.
The Embedded Study Endowment Fund was established in 2016 by an anonymous donor. Administered by the Provost's Office, this fund is
intended to provide enriching, global learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting travel and other expenditures related to
courses with an embedded beyond-the-classroom study component.
The Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Fund, endowed by Frank W. Fetter '20, Robert Fetter '53, Thomas Fetter '56, and Ellen Fetter Gille
in memory of Elizabeth Pollard Fetter '25, subsidizes the private instrumental lessons of outstanding student string players at the College.
Interested applicants should write to the director of the Fetter Chamber Music program and should plan to audition at the beginning of each
semester.
The James A. Field Jr. Lectureship was established by Thomas D. Jones Jr. '53 and Vera Lundy Jones '58 in memory of James Field, professor of
history from 1947 to 1984, to support lectures by visiting scholars on the history of the United States.
The James A. Field Jr. Memorial Fund was established by family and friends of James A. Field Jr., Clothier Professor Emeritus of history, to
support library collections.
The Tariq Q. Fischer Endowed Islamic Studies Fund was created in 2005 by Paul and Asma Fischer, parents of Tariq. Q. Fischer '08, in his
memory, to support the development of an Islamic Studies Program.
The Swarthmore College Folk Dance Club Endowment was established in 2010. This fund supports activities of the Swarthmore College Folk
Dance Club.
The Lee Frank Memorial Art Fund, endowed by the family and friends of Lee Frank '21, sponsors each year a special event in the Art
Department: a visiting lecturer or artist, a scholar or artist in residence, or a special exhibit.
The Gertrude S. Friedman Research Fund was established in 1992 to support travel and research of biology faculty members with preference to
those studying in the area of physiology and related subspecialties. Grants are awarded at the discretion of the chair of the Biology Department.
The Garnet Athletics Endowment was created in 2002 by an anonymous donor to support the Athletics Program at Swarthmore College. The fund
supports expenses associated with introducing prospective scholar-athletes to Swarthmore College, including travel costs and the production of
publications promoting the Athletics Program at the College.
The Mary Josephine Good '70 Endowment was created in her memory by her father, Richard A. Good. The fund was created in 2004 and
supports the Partners in Ministry program at Swarthmore College.
The David R. Goodrich '71 Endowment for Islamic Studies was established in 2003 to support the Islamic Studies Program at Swarthmore
College. The Provost's Office administers the fund.
The Donald J. Gordon Art Fund was established in 1998 by a gift from his children and their spouses on the occasion of his 70th birthday and
the 50th anniversary of his graduation from Swarthmore College. The fund supports visiting artists.
The Harry D. Gotwals Fund was established in 1997 in memory of the distinguished service of Harry D. Gotwals as vice president for
development, alumni, and public relations from 1990 to 1997. The fund supports the professional development of members of the division.
The Merritt W. Hallowell '61 Career Services Fund was established in 2002 by Merritt Hallowell to support the College's career services
program and initiatives, including but not limited to student career exploration, vocational counseling, identification of skills, interests, and
values to develop an individual's personalized career options; electronic and print resources; alumni networking and mentoring; and extern
opportunities. The Career Services Office administers the fund.
The Halpern Family Foundation Engineering Design Fund was established in 2007 by Michael Halpern '68 and Christine Grant '69. This fund
supports work by students on interdisciplinary projects with socially relevant purposes, which include design engineering principles as well as
aesthetics and client needs.
The Hayward Family Fund was established by Priscilla Hayward Crago '53 in honor of her parents, Sumner and Elizabeth Hayward, to receive
designated life income gifts made by the donor since 1991 and to accommodate additional gifts anticipated over the donor's lifetime and from her
estate. The income from the fund provides support for the faculty at Swarthmore College.
The Marjorie Heilman Visiting Artist Fund was established by M. Grant Heilman '41 in memory of Marjorie Heilman to stimulate interest in art,
particularly the practice of art, on campus.
The James C. Hormel '55 Endowment for Public Policy and Social Change was established by James Hormel '55 to support faculty in the
Political Science Department.
The James C. Hormel '55 Endowment for Student Services was established by James Hormel '55 to support staffing and programs related to
student services and activities, including student involvement in volunteering and programs to encourage greater understanding of, sensitivity to,
and incorporation into the great society of differences in culture, sexual orientation, or race.
The William I. Hull Fund was established in 1958 by Mrs. Hannah Clothier Hull, Class of 1891, in memory of her late husband. Dr. Hull was a
professor of history and international law at Swarthmore College for 48 years. The fund enables the College to bring a noted lecturer on peace to
the campus each year in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Hull, who were peace activists.
The Anne Ashbaugh Kamrin '51 Fund for Vocal Music was established in 2014 by Robert P. Kamrin and Anne Ashbaugh '51. This fund supports
opportunities for students to participate in choral groups on campus sponsored by the Music Program, with preference for providing enhanced
support for the Swarthmore College Chorus and chamber choir. This fund, under the direction of the Music Program of the Department of Music
and Dance and the Provost's Office, may also support other opportunities to enhance the vocal arts on campus for the benefit of all students.
The Kaori Kitao Cinema History Endowment. Established in 2013 by Kaori Kitao, Professor Emerita in Art History, to celebrate her 80th
birthday, supports curricular, scholarly and public events that explore history of cinema, with a preference for silent cinema, such as the annual
public screening of silent films from worldwide sources, in recognition of its historical, cultural and cross-cultural importance, but open to other
topics and purposes. The fund will be administered by the coordinator of the Film and Media Studies Department in consultation with other
relevant departments.
The Kaori Kitao Endowment for Mathematics, established in 2012 by Kaori Kitao, Professor Emerita in Art History, to celebrate her 80th
birthday, supports a visiting lecture or lecture series in the Mathematics and Statistics department colloquium with a preference for topics in
geometry, topology, and the history of mathematics, at the discretion of the department. Creation of this fund was motivated by the donor's desire
to fulfill her alternate ambition for a career in mathematics which never materialized. The Mathematics and Statistics Department will administer
the fund.
The Kaori Kitao Endowment for the List Gallery, established in 2013 by Kaori Kitao, Professor Emerita in Art History, to celebrate her 80th
birthday, supports a variety of educational initiatives to be organized and administered by the List Gallery director. Supported initiatives include
a student fellowship in curatorial studies, the publication of exhibition catalogs for emerging artists, on-site sculpture and installation projects,
and the hiring of technical and administrative assistants as needed in order for the director to pursue such additional programming.
The Kaori Kitao Humanities Research Fellowship Endowment. Kaori Kitao, Professor Emerita in Art History, established this research
fellowship in 2013 in celebration of her 80th birthday. The fund supports students in the humanities by providing grants to encourage and
facilitate historical research, original scholarship, and professional development, with a preference for Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, and
Performing Arts. The fund is administered by the Division of the Humanities and the Provost's Office.
The Lillian Kraemer '61 Leadership Fund was endowed and established through the generosity and vision of Lillian Kraemer '61 to enable
students and members of the Swarthmore community the opportunity to participate in experiences that cultivate their leadership capacities,
including but not limited to the Womxn's Leadership Summit. Through experiential learning, off- and on-campus skill development, and
innovative pedagogical thinking, the Lillian Kraemer'61 Leadership Fund will help individuals reach their highest leadership potential.
The Kyle House Endowment was created by a gift from Elena '54 and Fred '54 Kyle and is used for the upkeep and expenses of a house on
Whittier Place currently used as a residence hall.
The Jonathan R. Lax Fund, created by his bequest in 1996, supports an annual Lax Conference on Entrepreneurship and Economic
Anthropology. Jonathan Lax '71 was class agent and a reunion leader. His parents, Stephen '41 and Frances Lax, and brothers Stephen (Gerry)
Lax Jr. '74 and Andrew Lax '78 have been actively involved at the College.
The Lucinda M. Lewis '70 and Sarah Reynolds '09 Mathematics Endowment was established in 2012 by Robert J. Reynolds. This fund supports
visiting scholars to the department of mathematics and student participation in conferences. Recipient(s) will be chosen by the chair of the
department of mathematics.
The Genevieve Ching-wen Lee '96 Memorial Fund was established in her memory by family and friends and recognizes the importance of mutual
understanding and respect among the growing number of ethnic groups in our society. The fund supports an annual lecture by a prominent
scholar of Asian American studies and/or an annual award to two students to assist in projects pertaining to Asian American studies.
The Lucinda M. Lewis '70 and Sarah E. Reynolds '09 Field Hockey Endowment was established in 2009 by Robert Reynolds P'09 in honor of his
wife and daughter. Cindy was an avid field hockey player at Swarthmore from 1966-1970, and Sarah from 2006-2009. This fund will be
administered by the Athletics Department and supports activities and expenses associated with the field hockey program at Swarthmore College
including training trips and trips by field hockey coaching staff to high school field hockey games and tournaments.
The List Gallery Exhibit Fund, established through the generosity of Mrs. Albert List, supports exhibits in the List Gallery of the Eugene M. and
Theresa Lang Performing Arts Center.
The Lorax Fund for Environmental Sustainability was established in 2007 by a grant from the Schwab Charitable Fund as recommended by
Naomi Zikmund-Fisher '91. The fund is used to support the activities that move Swarthmore College and its community toward a more
environmentally sustainable future (e.g. the reduction or offsetting of carbon or other greenhouse gas emissions, innovative replacements of less
than efficient technologies, systems, and devices, etc.). The fund is administered by the Office of Facilities and Services.
The Judy Lord Endowment was established in 2004 by anonymous donors who are friends of the College. The endowment memorializes Judy
Lord's enthusiasm and community spirit and is a reward for hard work and contributions to Swarthmore College life. Earnings from the Judy
Lord endowment are awarded to academic departmental administrative assistants with tenure of 10 or more years at the College.
The Lovelace Family Endowment was established in 2004 to further the objectives and purposes of Swarthmore College. The income is
unrestricted.
The Caro Elise Luhrs '56 Business and Leadership Endowment was established by Caro Elise Luhrs '56 in 2011. This fund better prepares
students for assuming leadership positions in whatever liberal arts and science fields they may go into by giving them grounding in basic
business skills. Activities supported by this fund will foster strong communication skills, inspire new ways to develop innovative solutions, and
encourage entrepreneurship thought and action.
The Julia and Frank L. Lyman '43 Partners in Ministry Endowment was created in February 2000 in recognition of the importance of a
distinctive ecumenical program of spiritual nurture serving the entire community of Swarthmore College. Income from this endowment will help
provide for the compensation of the religious adviser and supporting staff of the Swarthmore Protestant Community.
The Barbara W. Mather '65 Political Science Honors Endowment was established in 2012 in honor of Barbara W. Mather '65, an exceptional
and agile leader who served as chair of the Swarthmore College Board of Managers from 2004-2012. As Barbara was a Political Science major
as a student, this fund supports the Honors Program in Political Science, which includes visiting examiners, special lectures, thesis work, and
other special projects of Political Science honors majors.
The Isabel Gamble MacCaffrey '46 Library Endowment was established in 2010 by Wallace MacCaffrey in memory of his wife. The fund is used
to support the library program.
The Lucy Bunzl Mallan '54 Faculty Leave Endowment was established in 2006 by Lucy Bunzl Mallan to recognize the importance of her
Swarthmore College experience and classmates. This endowment will be used by the provost to support faculty leaves.
The Penelope Mason Endowment for Asian Studies was created via the estate of Penelope E. Mason '57. The fund supports courses taught in the
departments of art, modern languages, economics, history, music and dance, political science, religion, and sociology/anthropology.
The Chica Maynard '48 Cherry Border Fund was established in 2009 by the Class of '48, friends and family in memory of Carolien "Chica"
Powers Maynard '48 to honor her ties and over a century of family ties to Swarthmore College. This fund supports maintenance, upkeep, and
enhancements to the Cherry Border of the Scott Arboretum which was started in April 1931 with a gift from Mrs. Allen K. White, Class of 1894,
in recognition of her daughter, Carolien White Powers '22 and the "whisper bench" which serves as a memorial to Carolien Powers '22. Uses for
the income of this fund will be determined by the Scott Arboretum.
The Thomas B. McCabe Memorial Fund was established with gifts from alumni and the McCabe Family to support an annual lectureship that
brings to campus each fall individuals with distinguished careers in fields such as public service, business, government, education, or medicine.
The Men's Soccer Endowment was established in 2017 by David McElhinny '75 and Thomas Spock '78. This fund supports the athletics program
at Swarthmore College and activities and expenses associated with the men's soccer program, including training trips, winter break trips, and
other program enhancing projects.
The James H. Miller '58 Partners in Ministry Endowment was created in recognition of the importance of a distinctive ecumenical program of
spiritual nurture serving the entire Swarthmore College community. Income from the Miller endowment is distributed to Partners in Ministry to
help provide for the compensation of the religious adviser and supporting staff of the Swarthmore Protestant community.
The Margaret W. and John M. Moore Endowment was created in September 1999 via a life-income gift contract. Income provides research
stipends for selected scholars using the resources of the Friends Historical Library and/or the Peace Collection at Swarthmore College.
The Paul Moses and Barbara Lubash Computer Science Fund was created to provide support for computer science students traveling to
seminars and related events.
The Helen F. North Fund in Classics, established in 1996 by Susan Willis Ruff '60 and Charles F.C. Ruff '60 to honor the distinguished career of
Helen F. North and her enduring impact on generations of Swarthmore students, is awarded to support the program of the Classics Department.
At the discretion of the department, it shall be used to fund annually the Helen F. North Distinguished Lectureship in Classics and, as income
permits, for a conference or symposium with visiting scholars; summer study of Greek or Latin or research in classics-related areas by students
majoring in the field; or study in Greece or Italy in classics by a graduate of the department.
The Project Pericles Fund of Swarthmore College was created in 2005 to support ambitious, social change-oriented projects of groups of
Swarthmore students. Eugene M. Lang '38 and the Board of Managers of the College contributed to the endowment, which is administered by the
Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.
The Theodore and Elizabeth Pierson Friend Fund for Islamic Studies was created in 2005 and is used to support the Islamic Studies Program at
Swarthmore College.
The Promise Fund, established anonymously by an alumnus on the occasion of his graduation, is administered by The Cooper Foundation
Committee. Income from the Promise Fund brings guest speakers, artists, and performers in music, film, dance, and theater who show promise of
distinguished achievement.
The Mary Herndon Ravdin '50 Endowment for Partners in Ministry was established in memory of Mary Herndon Ravdin in 2008 by her husband,
William D. Ravdin '50. This fund supports the Partners in Ministry program at Swarthmore College.
The Lucinda M. Lewis '70 and Sarah Reynolds '09 Mathematics Endowment was established in 2012 by Robert J. Reynolds. This fund supports
visiting scholars to the department of mathematics and student participation in conferences. Recipient(s) will be chosen by the chair of the
department of mathematics.
The Edgar and Herta Rosenblatt Fund was created in 1967 and supports the work of the faculty at Swarthmore College.
The Ruach Endowment was created in 2000 to support Hillel activities on campus.
The Richard L. Rubin Scholar Mentoring Fund was established by Richard Rubin, a professor of political science and public policy at the
College, in 2003. This fund supports the mentoring program, which the Dean's Office administers.
The Bernie Saffran Lecture Endowment was established in 2007 by students, colleagues, and friends as a tribute to this beloved and esteemed
member of the College faculty. This fund is administered by the Economics Department and supports expenses associated with bringing
exceptional speakers to campus.
The Sager Fund of Swarthmore College was established in 1988 by alumnus Richard Sager '73, a leader in San Diego's gay community. To
combat homophobia and related discrimination, the fund sponsors events that focus on concerns of the lesbian, bisexual, and gay communities
and promotes curricular innovation in the field of lesbian and gay studies. The fund also sponsors an annual three-day symposium. The fund is
administered by a committee of women and men from the student body, alumni, staff, faculty, and administration. In 2004, Richard Sager created
an "internship" to provide funding for students in internships with nonprofit organizations whose primary missions address
gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender issues. The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility administers the internship.
The Scheuer-Pierson Fund, established in 1978 by Walter and Marge Scheuer '48, supports the Economics Department.
The Schmelz Family Endowment was established in 2012 by John and Diane Schmelz. This fund supports the athletics program at Swarthmore
College and activities and expenses associated with the women's basketball program, including training trips, winter break trips, and other
program enhancing projects.
The Science Center Endowment Fund was established in 2003 with a gift from Peter Weinberger of the Class of 1964. Income from this
endowment will be used to support the operations and maintenance of the Science Center.
The Science Center Support Endowment was established by numerous donors to support the operation of the renovated Science Center and
related academic programs.
Harold E. and Ruth Caldwell Snyder Premedical Endowment Fund was established in 1988 by Harold Cincy Snyder '29 in appreciation for the
education he and his beloved wife, Ruth Caldwell Snyder '31, received at Swarthmore College. The fund was fully endowed through a bequest in
1992 and supports a visiting lecturer in the medical profession with a preference for practitioners who treat each patient as a whole person.
The Gil and Mary Roelofs Stott Concert Fund was established in 1997 on the 25th anniversary of the Lang Music Building. The fund was created
as an expression of deep affection for the Stotts by Eugene M. Lang, Class of 1938, to recognize their special artistic talents and all that they
have meant to the Swarthmore community. Each year, a new musical composition will be commissioned by the College to be performed at an
annual Gil and Mary Roelofs Stott Concert at which the Gil and Mary Roelofs Stott Resident Student Artist will perform.
The Mary and Gilmore Stott Honors Philosophy Seminar Endowment was created in 1998 by William G. Stott '75 and by Christopher
Niemczewski '74. The fund supports a seminar offered by the Philosophy Department. It was established in honor of the parents of William G.
Stott '75.
The Student Emergency Fund was established in 2016 to help defray non-tuition costs for students who are first generation and/or low-income
and/or belong to traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in their pursuit of a Swarthmore College education. This fund is administered by
the Dean's Office.
The Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program Endowment Fund was established in 2016 by Mark M. '74 and Amanda Orr '73 Harmeling. This
fund supports the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program (S
3
P). The recipients will be chosen by program staff, in collaboration with the
Provost's Office.
The Swarthmore Chapter of Sigma Xi Lecture Series brings eminent scientists to the campus under its auspices throughout the year. Local
members present colloquia on their own research.
The Thatcher Fund provides individualized assistance to students with disabilities. The purpose of the fund is to enable such students to take full
advantage of the academic and extracurricular life of the College and to make Swarthmore a desirable choice for prospective students with
disabilities. The fund was established in 1997.
The Phoebe Anna Thorne Memorial Endowment was created by a Thorne family member in 1911. The endowment supports the faculty of
Swarthmore College.
The Pat Trinder Endowment was established by alumni and friends of Patricia E. Trinder, a member of the career planning and placement office
staff, to honor her many years of dedication and support to students. The endowment supports programs to advance career planning and
placement at Swarthmore College. It specifically supports alumni participation in the recruiting, placement, and mentoring efforts for students.
The P. Linwood Urban Jr. Partners in Ministry Endowment was created in recognition of the importance of a distinctive ecumenical program of
spiritual nurture serving the entire Swarthmore College community. Income from the Urban endowment is distributed to Partners in Ministry to
help provide for the compensation of the religious adviser and supporting staff of the Swarthmore Protestant community.
The Waksman Fund for Summer Scholars was established in 2016 by the Board of Trustees of the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology. This
fund supports one scholar annually, to be named the Waksman Scholar, taking part in the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program (S3P). This
fund, which supports the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program budget, is administered by the Provost's Office.
The Benjamin West Lecture, made possible by gifts from members of the Class of 1905 and other friends of the College, is given annually on
some phase of art. It is the outgrowth of the Benjamin West Society, which built up a collection of paintings, drawings, and prints, which are
exhibited, as space permits, in the buildings on campus. The lecture was named for the American artist who was born in a house that stands on
the campus and became president of the Royal Academy.
The Dan and Sidney West House Endowment was established in 2006 by Giles and Barbara Kemp to honor Vice President Dan C. West and his
wife, Sidney Childs West. The income from this endowment will be used to support the maintenance, upkeep, and program expenses of the
campus residence and the gardens of the vice president for development, alumni, and public relations, which also serves as guest quarters and an
entertainment venue for campus visitors.
The Lucy Gertrude Whetzel '27 Student Emergency Fund was established by William and Dora Grover in memory of William's mother to support
students who have an unexpected and/or emergency need for non-tuition related financial assistance during the academic year. This fund is
administered by the Dean's Office.
The Wister Memorial Endowment was established in 2000 by John C. and Gertrude Wister to support the Scott Arboretum.
Kenneth R. Wynn '74 Fund for Interdisciplinary Programs was created in 1998 to support interdisciplinary, language-based programs that
embrace a more global view of language learning than traditional sources.
The Neil '80 and Beth Yelsey Endowment was established in 2004 to further the objectives and purposes of Swarthmore College. The income is
unrestricted.
The Young Family Endowment was established in 2003 by James and Jacqueline Young, parents of Scott Young '06. The fund supports the
Swarthmore College radio station, WSRN.
3 Admissions
Inquiries concerning admission and applications should be addressed to the Vice President and Dean of Admissions, Swarthmore College, 500
College Avenue, Swarthmore PA 19081-1390 or admissions@swarthmore.edu. Office telephone: 610-328-8300 or 800-667-3110.
3.1 General Statement
In the selection of students, the College seeks those qualities of character, social responsibility, and intellectual capacity that it is primarily
concerned to develop. It seeks them not in isolation but as essential elements of the whole personality of candidates for admission.
Selection is important and difficult. No simple formula will be effective. The task is to choose those who give promise of distinction in the quality
of their personal lives, in service to the community, or in leadership in their chosen fields. Swarthmore College must choose its students on the
basis of their academic achievement and commitment to intellectual inquiry as well as their individual future worth to society and of their
collective contribution to the College.
It is the College's policy to have the student body represent not only different parts of the United States but also many foreign countries; public,
independent, and religiously affiliated schools; and various economic, social, religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. The College is also
concerned to include in each class the sons and daughters of alumni and members of the Society of Friends.
Admission to the first-year class is normally based on the satisfactory completion of a 4-year secondary school program. Under some
circumstances, students who have virtually completed the normal 4-year program in 3 years will be considered for admission, provided they meet
the competition of other candidates in general maturity as well as readiness for a rigorous academic program. Home-schooled students should
make every effort to complete the application with information that is appropriate to their experience. It is useful to note that Swarthmore is
looking for the same information about a candidate as is required from a student with more traditional secondary schooling. Students who have
already completed a college degree, or higher, are not eligible for admission to Swarthmore College.
All applicants are selected on the following evidence:
1. Record in secondary school.
2. Recommendations from the school principal, headmaster, or guidance counselor, and from two academic teachers.
3. Standardized testing results for either the SAT or the ACT. SAT Subject Tests are not required for admission, but will be considered if
submitted.
4. Applicants considering a major in engineering are encouraged to take the SAT Math level 2 Subject Test.
5. A brief statement about why the student is applying to Swarthmore.
6. Co-curricular and extracurricular activities.
Applicants must have satisfactory standing in school and standardized tests as well as strong intellectual interests. The College is also interested
in strength of character, promise of growth, initiative, seriousness of purpose, distinction in personal and extracurricular interests, and a sense of
social responsibility. The College values the diversity that varied interests and backgrounds can bring to the community.
3.2 Preparation
Swarthmore does not require a set plan of secondary school courses as preparation for its program. The election of specific subjects is left to the
student and school advisers. In general, preparation should include the following:
1. Accurate and effective use of the English language in reading, writing, and speaking.
2. Comprehension and application of the principles of mathematics.
3. The strongest possible command of one or two foreign languages. The College encourages students to study at least one language for
4 years, if possible.
4. Substantial coursework in history and social studies; literature, art, and music; and mathematics and the sciences. Variations of
choice and emphasis are acceptable, although some work in each of the three groups is recommended.
Those planning to major in engineering should present work in chemistry, physics, and 4 years of mathematics, including algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, and calculus.
3.3 Application Process
An application to the College may be submitted through either the Regular Decision or one of the Early Decision plans. Applicants follow the
same procedures, submit the same supporting materials, and are evaluated by the same criteria under each plan.
The Regular Decision plan is designed for those candidates who wish to keep open several different options for their undergraduate education
throughout the admissions process. Applications under this plan will be accepted at any time up to the Jan. 1 deadline, but the application should
be submitted as early as possible to create a file for the candidate to which supporting material will be added.
The Early Decision plans are designed for candidates who have thoroughly and thoughtfully investigated Swarthmore and other colleges and
found Swarthmore to be an unequivocal first choice. On applying to Swarthmore College, Early Decision candidates may not file an early
decision application at other colleges, but they may file early action/regular applications at other colleges with the understanding that these
applications will be withdrawn upon admission to Swarthmore.
Any Early Decision candidate not admitted will receive one of two determinations: a deferral of decision, which secures reconsideration for the
candidate among the Regular Decision candidates, or a denial of admission, which withdraws the application from further consideration. If one
of these determinations is made, the applicant is free to apply to other institutions.
Application under any plan must be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of $60 or fee waiver (which must be approved by the
secondary school counselor). Timetables for the plans are the following:
Fall Early Decision
Application deadline Nov. 15
Notification of candidate by Dec. 15
Winter Early Decision
Application deadline Jan. 1
Notification of candidate by Feb. 15
Regular Decision
Application deadline Jan. 1
Notification of candidate by April 1
Candidate reply date May 1
Under certain circumstances, admitted students may apply in writing to defer their admission for one year. These requests must be received by
May 1 and approved in writing by the dean of admissions, and students must confirm their plans for the year by June 1. The dean of admissions
may choose to review other requests on a case-by-case basis. Students granted deferment may neither apply to nor enroll at another degree-
granting college/university program.
Swarthmore College places strong emphasis on academic achievement and personal character. An offer of admission to Swarthmore College is
dependent on a student maintaining his or her standard of academic achievement before enrolling at the College. An offer of admission is also
dependent on a student's continued demonstration of character and high standards for personal conduct. Lapses in either category may be
grounds for rescinding an offer of admission.
For U.S. citizens, permanent residents, undocumented, or DACA-eligible students applying as first-year or transfer students, admission to
Swarthmore is determined without regard to financial need. See information concerning financial aid.
3.4 Interview
An admissions interview with a representative of the College is an optional part of the first-year application process. Prospective first-year
applicants should take the initiative in arranging for this interview. On-campus interviews are available to rising seniors from June through early
December. Students are encouraged to complete the interview before submitting an application to the College. Those who can reach Swarthmore
with no more than a half-day's trip are urged to make an appointment to visit the College for this purpose. Other students may contact the
Admissions Office in the fall of their senior year to request a meeting with an alumni representative in their own area. The deadline to request an
alumni interview is in late November each year. Applicants for transfer may interview with an alumni representative. Transfer interviews are
optional, may be requested in the winter, and must be completed by the transfer application deadline of April 1.
Arrangements for on-campus interview appointments for prospective first-year applicants, off-campus alumni interviews, or for
transfer interviews can be made through the admissions website.
3.5 Advanced Placement
Enrolled first-year students with special credentials may be eligible during the first semester for advanced placement (placement into courses
with prerequisites) and/or credit toward graduation from Swarthmore (32 credits are required), however, credit is normally only available for
high-scoring work in certain Advanced Placement (AP) examinations of the College Entrance Examination Board, certain higher-level
examinations of the International Baccalaureate, or certain other foreign certifications (such as British A-Levels or the German Abitur).
Sometimes placement or possibly credit might be awarded for courses taken at another college. Every effort is made to place students at the
appropriate level, but no department is required to give placement or credit for special credentials. All placement or credit decisions are made
on a subject-by-subject basis by the individual Swarthmore departments. Credit for examination credentials is available only for examinations
taken before matriculation at Swarthmore. Credit is denied or revoked if a student chooses to take a course at Swarthmore that the Swarthmore
department says essentially repeats the work covered by the credit. Departmental AP-credit policies are posted on the registrar's website under
"Policies."
Departments may set additional requirements. For instance, matriculated students may be required to take a Swarthmore placement
examination to validate their previous work.
Swarthmore normally does not grant degree credit for college work done prior to starting school at Swarthmore (including the summer before
Swarthmore) but advanced placement into courses with prerequisites may be possible. Students who wish to have courses taken at another
college considered for either advanced placement or credit must be prepared to provide as needed an official transcript from the institution
attended as well as written work (papers, examinations); syllabi; and reading lists for the coursework to be evaluated by the department
concerned. Transcripts are evaluated by the registrar; grades must be straight C or better for credit, but departments make the placement or
credit decisions. Any such requests for placement or credit must be made within the first year at Swarthmore.
In some cases, students may qualify for advanced standing and may become juniors in their second year. To qualify for advanced standing, a
student must do satisfactory work in the first semester, obtain 14 credits by the end of the first year, intend to complete the degree requirements in
3 years, and signify this intention when she or he applies for a major during the spring of the first year.
3.6 International Admissions
The College is deeply committed to a strong international presence on campus. The application process is the same as for U.S. citizens and
permanent residents of the United States with the following exceptions:
1. While financial aid awards are loan free, admission is not need-blind. Applicants may be asked to submit additional financial
documentation. Applying for financial aid places the student in the most selective subgroup of the total application pool regardless of
the parental contribution.
2. Demonstrated proficiency in English is required of those for whom English is not their first language. This may be in the form of a
standardized test for non-native speakers of English, such as TOEFL or IELTS, or superior academic achievement in a school where
English is the language of instruction. Although not required, an interview on campus, via an online platform, or with a College
admissions representative overseas is considered to be very helpful.
3. Required standardized tests (SAT or ACT) are waived for those who live in countries where such testing is unavailable. In countries
where testing is available, applicants are strongly advised to make test arrangements early and to have scores reported directly to
Swarthmore College by the appropriate application deadline, or to self-report scores on their application.
4. It is the applicant's responsibility to guarantee the authenticity of all submitted credentials. This includes notarized translations of
official documents and certified school transcripts signed by the appropriate school staff member.
5. The College does not accept transfer applications from foreign nationals who require financial aid.
3.7 Applications for Transfer
The College welcomes well-qualified transfer applicants. Applicants for transfer must have had an outstanding academic record in the institution
attended and must present transcripts for both college and secondary school work, including an official statement indicating that the student is
leaving the institution attended in good standing. Students who have completed the equivalent of two or more semesters of university-level work
must apply for transfer admission. Admission status for students who have completed less than the equivalent of two semesters of university-level
work will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Results of the SAT and ACT are optional for transfer applicants.
Four semesters of study at Swarthmore College constitute the minimum requirement for a degree, two of which must be those of the senior year.
Applications for transfer must be filed by April 1 of the year in which entrance is desired. Swarthmore does not have a midyear transfer
application process. Need-based financial assistance is available for transfer students who are U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or
undocumented or DACA-eligible students who have graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a high school equivalency diploma in the
United States. Transfer applications are not accepted from foreign national students who require financial aid.
Transfer applicants are notified of decisions by mid May. Students who have already completed a bachelor's degree, or higher, are not eligible
for transfer admission to Swarthmore College.
4 Expenses
4.1 Student Charges
Total charges for the 2021-2022 academic year are as follows:
Tuition
$55,856
Room
$8,796
Board
$8,354
Student activities fee
$200
$73,206
These are the annual charges billed by the College. Students and their parents, however, should plan for expenditures associated with books,
travel, parking, and other personal items. In addition, the College will bill for unpaid library fines, Worth Health Center fees, and other fees and
fines not collected at the source.
Students engaged in independent projects away from the College for which regular academic credit is anticipated are expected to register in
advance in the usual way and pay normal tuition. If the student is away from the College for a full semester, no charge for room and board will
be made. However, if a student is away for only a part of a semester, the preceding charges may be made on a pro rata basis.
Students who have not satisfied their financial obligations (except for any obligation covered as a result of veterans benefits beneficiaries using
Ch. 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill or Ch 31 VR&E benefits) will not be permitted to return to campus, attend any classes, live in campus housing, have a
meal plan, register via add/drop (or any other method) for any classes, enroll for the following semester, participate in the room lottery, obtain a
transcript, or be permitted to be graduated. Late fees of 1.5 percent per month will accrue on all past-due balances.
The regular College tuition covers the normal program of four course credits per term as well as variations of as many as five course credits or
as few as three course credits. Students who elect to carry more than five course credits incur a unit charge for the additional course credit
($6,982) or half-course credit ($3,491), although they may within the regular tuition vary their programs to average as many as five course
credits in the two semesters of any academic year. For the 2021-2022 academic year, regular tuition covers the normal program of up to 10
credits earned over the Fall and Spring terms. College policy does not permit programs of fewer than three course credits for degree candidates
in their first eight semesters of enrollment. After the first eight semesters of enrollment, students are eligible to pay the unit charge for each
course credit.
4.1.1 Approved Off-Campus Study
Students who wish to receive Swarthmore credit for study abroad and approve domestic Off-Campus Study programs must, for the semester or
year of participation, pay the full Swarthmore charges (excluding the student activities fee). Financial aid is normally applicable, with the
approval of the Off-Campus Study Office. Students should begin working with the Off-Campus Study Office well in advance for academic and
administrative planning.
4.2 Payment Policy
Semester bills will be sent in early July, 2021 and again in early January, 2022. Payment for the first semester is due by July 19, 2021 and for the
second semester by January 3, 2022. A 1.5 percent late fee will be assessed monthly on payments received after the due date. Many parents have
indicated a preference to pay College charges on a monthly basis rather than in two installments. For this reason, Swarthmore offers a monthly
payment plan, which provides for payment in installments without interest charges.
4.3 Withdrawal Policy
Charges for tuition and fees will be reduced for students who withdraw for reasons approved by the dean before or during a semester. Reductions
in charges will be made in the following ways:
For Students Who Withdraw
Tuition, Room, Board* and Fees Reduced
Before start of classes
By 100 percent
During week 1
By 100 percent
During week 2
By 90 percent
During week 3
By 80 percent
During week 4
By 70 percent
During week 5
By 60 percent
During week 6
By 50 percent
During week 7
By 40 percent
During week 8
By 30 percent
During week 9 and beyond
No further reduction in tuition, room, board, or fees
* Board plan reductions may incur additional reduction based on the number of Points and/or Swat points that have been spent from your plan.
4.3.1 Withdrawal from Approved Off-Campus Study
If a student elects to withdraw from an Off-Campus Study abroad program, or is required by the College to withdraw from the program, either
before the program begins, or after the program is underway, the student also assumes financial responsibility for the expenses that the College
has either paid out or obligated on behalf of the student. Unrecoverable expenses may include, but are not limited to, the payment of tuition,
room and board, and travel allowances. The student must repay any unrecoverable expenses and any travel, meal, and/or lodgings allowances
that have been advanced, before he or she will be permitted to re-enroll at the College, receive an official transcript, or be graduated from the
College. Financial aid will not be available for the purpose of covering these costs. Once the obligated and unrecoverable amounts have been
met by the student, College charges will be reduced in a manner consistent with the charge reduction/withdrawal policy for tuition, room, and
board set forth in section 4.3.
4.4 Housing Fines
Anytime a student cancels their housing contract, room and board charges will be reduced following the process outlined in 4.3.
4.5 Inquiries
All correspondence regarding payment of student charges should be addressed to Linda Weindel, student accounts manager, or phone 610-328-
8396.
5 Financial Aid
Swarthmore's commitment to financial aid and access is at the core of our educational mission. We understand that students are admitted from a
variety of economic backgrounds. The College strives to make it possible for all admitted students to attend Swarthmore, regardless of their
ability to pay and meets 100% of determined need for all admitted students. Decisions about financial aid eligibility and admission to the College
are made separately for students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or undocumented/DACA students graduating from a U.S. high
school. Nearly 56 percent of our student body received need-based aid from an overall financial aid budget of more than $45 million during the
2018-19 academic year. The average aid award for 2018-19 was $52,213, with awards ranging from $1,000 - $71,662.
Although admission and financial aid decisions are made separately, they are made concurrently. A prospective student should apply for
Swarthmore's financial aid and outside assistance when applying for admission to Swarthmore. Instructions for completing a financial aid
application can be found at www.swarthmore.edu/financial-aid. Our financial aid application process is thorough and requires submission of
family information as well as income documentation so that the College can base the financial aid decision on a holistic picture of a family's
economic situation. Once a student submits a financial aid application, our Financial Aid Committee carefully considers all of the family's
detailed information, which is used to determine the family's ability to contribute to the costs of a Swarthmore education.
For 2019-2020, the College's billed charges, which include tuition, room, board, and a student activity fee, will be $70,744. The activity fee
covers admission to all social, cultural, and athletic events on campus, as well as printing and laundry. The Financial Aid Office uses the larger
figure of $73,524 as an estimated total cost of attendance for the purposes of determining aid; this figure includes $1,380 for personal expenses
and $1,400 for books and supplies. An allowance to cover the cost of travel for domestic students who live more than 100 miles from the College
varies. Although Swarthmore financial aid awards are loan-free, families might choose to borrow loans to pay a portion of the educational
expenses (see section 5.2).
The College reviews each student's family financial situation annually, in keeping with our policy of basing financial aid on determined need.
Students who would like to be considered for a financial aid award for the next academic year must submit a new financial aid application each
year. Financial Aid eligibility may change from year-to-year. Assistance is available only during a normal-length undergraduate program (eight
semesters) and only if a student enrolls full-time each semester, earns four credits each semester, and makes satisfactory academic progress.
These factors also apply in our consideration of a sibling's undergraduate educational expenses. Students who choose to live off-campus will not
receive Swarthmore Scholarship or Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants in excess of their college bills. However, the cost of living off
campus will be recognized in the calculation of a student's financial need, and other outside sources of aid may be used to help meet off-campus
living expenses once the college bill is satisfied.
Although eligibility for federal aid funds is limited to students who are able to complete and to submit the Statement of Registration Compliance,
additional funds have been made available for those who are unable to accept need-based federal aid because they have not registered with the
U.S. Selective Service. U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have not previously received financial aid may become eligible and may apply
to receive aid if their financial situations have changed. A student who marries may continue to apply for aid, though parents are still expected to
contribute to the student's education. Financial support for international students is limited and must be requested during the admission
application process. New financial aid applications from international students cannot be considered after admission. Answers to most financial
aid questions are available at www.swarthmore.edu/financialaid.
5.1 Scholarships
For the academic year 2018-2019, the College will have awarded more than $45 million in Swarthmore Scholarship funds. About one-half of that
sum was provided through the generosity of alumni and friends by special gifts and the scholarships listed in section 5.4. Students do not apply
for a specific College scholarship. Rather, the College decides who is to receive restricted endowed scholarships or support from general
scholarship funds. Although the qualifying criteria for awarding most endowed scholarships remain general, some donors have established
explicit guidelines that closely mirror the interests of the individual for whom the scholarship is named. However, financial need is a requirement
for all College scholarships except the McCabe Scholarship. Federal Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants are
also available to eligible students.
5.2 Loan Funds
Some families use loans to pay for part of their college costs. First-year students may borrow up to $5,500; sophomores may borrow $6,500, and
juniors and seniors may borrow up to $7,500. The Federal Direct Stafford Loan is a long-term, low-interest educational loan. Eligibility for a
Federal Direct Stafford Loan is determined by the College, using federal guidelines. Parents who wish to borrow might consider the Federal
Direct PLUS Loan. Parents may borrow up to the full cost of annual attendance minus any financial aid accepted by their student. Repayment of
the PLUS loan may be made over a 10-year period. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the Direct
Stafford or Direct PLUS loans. For more information about these loan programs or other financing options, go to our website at
www.swarthmore.edu/financial-aid.
5.3 Student Employment
Student employment on the Swarthmore campus is coordinated by the Student Employment Office (SEO). Campus jobs are available in such
areas as our libraries, Information Technology Services, the student-run coffeehouse, Sharples Dining Hall, Scott Arboretum, most academic and
administrative offices, and many other places on campus. Most students apply for campus positions when they arrive in the fall, but some new job
openings are posted for the spring semester. On-campus hourly rates of pay, are updated annually and can be found on the College's Student
Payroll website. Most students who receive financial aid are offered the opportunity to earn up to just over $2,100 during the academic year, and
are given hiring priority; in addition, there are jobs available for non-aided students who wish to work on campus. Students are encouraged to
keep a moderate work schedule (no more than about seven or eight hours per week) so that their academic performance remains a top priority.
About 1,200 of our 1,620 students choose to work.
5.4 Scholarship Funds
All students who demonstrate financial need are offered scholarship aid, some of which is drawn from the following named funds. However,
students should not worry if they do not fit the specific restrictions listed because their scholarships will instead be drawn from other sources not
listed here. By completing the aid application process, a student will be considered for the following funds. No separate application is needed.
(Financial need is a requirement for all scholarships except the McCabe Scholarships. No separate application is required to apply for the
following:)
The Catherine G. '72 and Ernest B. '72 Abbott Scholarship, established in 1999 by Catherine and Ernest Abbott, is awarded to a first-year
student who shows great promise. This renewable scholarship is for a man or woman who demonstrates financial need and academic excellence.
The Karim Abdel-Motaal '90 Egypt Scholarship was established in 2012. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic
merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given first to students from Egypt, secondarily to Arab or Arab American students
and thence to international students or students from the United States. For each of the preceding preferences, additional preference will be
given to women candidates.
The Frank and Alice Adelberg Scholarship was established by Stephen M. Harnik '75 in 2010 in his capacity as executor of their charitable
estate. The Adelbergs were Holocaust survivors who believed deeply in Jewish causes which promoted peaceful international discourse and who
dedicated their benefactions to such endeavors. The scholarship is awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is
renewable. Preference will be given to students who have an interest in human rights, conflict resolution, and the promotion of peace and
understanding.
The Lisa P. Albert '81 Scholarship, established in 1983 by Lisa Albert and her mother, Stella Saltonstall, is awarded to a young man or woman
on the basis of scholarship and financial need, with preference given to a student with a demonstrated interest in the humanities.
The George I. Alden Scholarship, established in 1989 as a memorial by the Alden Trust with matching funds from several individual donors, is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with preference given to a student from New England studying in the sciences or
engineering.
The Vivian B. Allen Foundation, established in 1969, provides scholarship aid to enable foreign students to attend Swarthmore College as part of
the foundation's interest in the international exchange of students.
The Susan W. Almy '68 Scholarship was established by this alumna in 2003. The fund supports financial aid for needy students at Swarthmore
College, with preference given to students interested in international careers, especially in developing nations.
The Alumni Council Scholarship, established in 2000 by the Alumni Council of Swarthmore College, is awarded based on academic merit and
financial need and is renewable.
The Alumni Scholarship is awarded to students on the basis of financial need. Established in 1991, it is funded through alumni gifts and bequests
to encourage donors who cannot fund a fully endowed named scholarship.
The John R. '53 and Joyce B. '55 Ambruster Scholarship was created in 2001. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Anadarko Endowed Scholarship was established by Mike Nelson '81 and Michelle Murray in 2012. This renewable scholarship is awarded
on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to students who come from the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico,
Nebraska, Kansas or Arkansas.
The Anderson Family Endowed Scholarship was established in 2018. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic
merit and financial need, with a preference for students from Northern Ireland; Plymouth County, Massachusetts; and New York City, and is
renewable.
The Janice R. Anderson '42 Scholarship, established in 2006, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Smitha Arekapudi '99 Scholarship was established in 2006 by Drs. Bapu and Vijayalakshmi Arekapudi. This renewable scholarship is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to a premed student, with a background in the humanities and
social sciences, who plans to become a doctor and care for patients. Preference is also given to students who show commitment to socially
responsible citizenship, with demonstrated qualities of exceptional character, intellectual curiosity, and leadership.
The Evenor Armington Scholarship, created in 1980 in recognition of the long-standing and affectionate connection between the Armington
family and Swarthmore College, is given each year to a worthy student with financial need.
The Paul '62 and Catherine '60 Armington Endowed Scholarship was established in 2005. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic
merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given to students who have plans to or are currently studying in Africa.
The Barclay G. Atkinson Scholarship and Rebecca M. Atkinson Scholarship were established in 1892 by Rebecca M. Atkinson and are now part
of the general scholarship fund.
The Frank and Marie Aydelotte Scholarship, established in 1946 by family, friends, and alumni, is awarded to a new student who shows promise
of distinguished intellectual attainment based on sound character and personality. The award is made in honor of Frank Aydelotte, president of
the College from 1921 to 1940 and originator of the Honors Program at Swarthmore, and Marie Osgood Aydelotte, his wife.
The David Baltimore '60 Scholarship was established by an anonymous donor in 2000. This renewable scholarship is awarded with preference
given to a junior or senior majoring in biology or chemistry.
The Norman Barasch Scholarship was established in 2006 by Richard Barasch '75 in honor of his father. This renewable scholarship is awarded
on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Philip and Roslyn Barbash, M.D., Scholarship was endowed in 1990 as a memorial by their daughter and son-in-law, Babette B. Weksler,
M.D., '58 and Marc E. Weksler, M.D., '58. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference
is given to women with an interest in the sciences and, in particular, in the environment.
The Charles F. Barber Scholarship was established in 2009 by Charles F. Barber, a member of the Board of Managers from 1967 to 1974, in
memory of his wife of 62 years, Lois LaCroix Barber. Lois and Charles raised four children, including Robin Barber '74. The scholarship is
awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The W. Herman Barcus '27 Scholarship, established in his memory in 1982 by his widow, Kate, and his employer, Sun Oil, is awarded to a
student with financial need.
The Philip H. Barley '66 Memorial Scholarship was established in 1968 in memory of Philip H. Barley by his family and friends and the Class of
1966, which he served as president. The scholarship provides financial assistance for a junior or senior who has demonstrated outstanding
leadership qualities at Swarthmore.
The Franklin E. Barr Jr. '48 Scholarship was established in 1984 by Betty Barr to honor her husband's memory and is awarded to a first-year
student who has broad academic and extracurricular interests and shows promise of developing these abilities for the betterment of society. This
scholarship, based on financial need, is renewable for three years.
The Robert A. Barr, Jr. '56 Scholarship was established by a group of alumni in 2011 in honor of Robert A. Barr, Jr., who served Swarthmore
College as Dean of Men from 1962-1970, and as Dean of Admissions from 1977-1994. This scholarship was created to honor Dean Barr for his
contributions to the lives of Swarthmore students; as an unfailingly supportive adviser to so many he admitted to the College, and as a role model
who taught us how to treat and respect one another. This renewable scholarship will be awarded to a first year student with strong academic
credentials who also shows promise of making substantial contributions to the co-curricular life of the campus. When appropriate, preference
will be given to sons and daughters of Swarthmore alumni.
The Peter B. Bart '54 Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded to deserving students.
The Connie L. Baxter Scholarship was established by Eugene M. Lang '38 in 2010 in honor of Connie L. Baxter, in recognition of her
extraordinary dedication as a member of the Swarthmore College staff. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic
merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given to students who transfer to Swarthmore from a community college, or to
students with an interest in classics or theater.
The H. Albert Beekhuis Scholarship in engineering is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need to a first-year student and is
renewable through the senior year as long as that student retains a major in engineering. This scholarship was endowed in 1989 through the
generous bequest of Dr. Beekhuis, neighbor, friend, and successful chemical engineer.
The Patty Y. and A.J. Bekavac Scholarship. Established in 1997 by their daughter, Nancy Y. Bekavac '69, the scholarship is awarded on the basis
of financial need, with preference given to students from western Pennsylvania.
The Margaret Fraser Bell '53 Scholarship, created in 2000 in her memory by her husband, Monroe Bell, is awarded each year to a junior on the
basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to a student majoring in Russian.
The Sherry F. Bellamy '74 Scholarship was established in 2003 by Sherry Bellamy. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Belville Scholarship was established in 1882 by Catharine Reading Belville, Class of 1919. Honoring Robert Chambers Belville and
Margaret Klein Belville, the scholarship is awarded annually to an incoming student of particular promise.
The Brand and Frances Blanshard Scholarship, established in 1987 by a former student to honor the memory of this philosophy professor and his
wife, is given to a deserving student with high academic promise.
The Al and Peggi Bloom Endowment for Advancing Swarthmore's Global Reach was established in 2005. This endowment supports international
student financial aid and supports faculty effort in any discipline or across disciplines that enhances the global reach of the college curriculum.
The Jeanne Cotten Blum '40 Scholarship, established in 2003 by Jeanne Cotten Blum, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need. The scholarship is renewable.
The Frank '36 and Benita Blumenthal Scholarship was established in 2006 by Frank Blumenthal. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Curtis Bok Scholarship was established in 1964, the College's centennial year, in honor of the late Philadelphia attorney, author, and jurist,
who was a Quaker and honorary alumnus of Swarthmore. The renewable scholarship is assigned annually to a junior or senior whose qualities
of mind and character indicate a potential for humanitarian service such as Curtis Bok himself rendered and would have wished to develop in
young people. Students in any field of study, and from any part of this country or from abroad, are eligible.
The Winifred Cammack Bond '43 Scholarship was established by Winifred Cammack Bond and her husband, George Cline Bond '42, to be
awarded to a first-year student who is the first member of his or her family to attend college, with a high school record showing strong academic,
athletic, and leadership abilities. Established 2005.
The Book and Key Scholarship was established in 1965 by members of Book and Key, a men's secret honorary society, when the society was
dissolved. The scholarship is awarded to a member of the senior class.
The Anne C. Booth '32 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2006 by this alumna who wanted students to be able to share the special
educational experience she enjoyed, regardless of financial need. Although Anne died in 2006, her memory lives on through this scholarship.
The Frank R. Borchert Jr. '58 and Thomas K. Glennan Jr. '57 Scholarship was established in 2002 by T. Keith '82 and Kathryn P. '82 Glennan in
honor and memory of their uncle and father who, from their days as fraternity brothers at Swarthmore, became lifelong friends and brothers-in-
law. They shared a common commitment to educational excellence, and each devoted his professional life to this cause. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Edward S. Bower '42 Memorial Scholarship, established in 1958 by Mr. and Mrs. Ward T. Bower in memory of their son, is awarded
annually to a student who ranks high in scholarship, character, and personality.
The George '38 and Josephine Clarke '41 Braden Scholarship was established in 1999 by their children in honor of George and in memory of
Josephine. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a student with demonstrated need for financial assistance, with preference for a child of
immigrant parents or guardians.
The William A. Bradford Jr. '66 Scholarship was established in 2000 by William Bradford. The renewable scholarship provides financial
assistance to a student who shows great promise and is based on academic merit and financial need.
The Thompson Bradley Scholarship was established in 2016 in honor of Thompson Bradley, Professor Emeritus of Russian. The scholarship
shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given to students with a
demonstrated passion for social justice.
The Carol Paxson Brainerd '26 Scholarship, established in 2001, is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit.
The Susan Goldman Brandes '76 Memorial Scholarship was established in 2008 by her husband, Lee Brandes. The renewable scholarship is
awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to students majoring in chemistry.
The Daniel Walter Brenner '74 Memorial Scholarship, established in 1979 by family and friends in memory of Daniel W. Brenner, is awarded to
a senior majoring in biology who is distinguished for scholarship and has an interest in plant ecology, wildlife preservation, or animal behavior
research. The recipient is chosen with the approval of the biology faculty.
The Leon Willard Briggs '17 Scholarship, established in 1979 with a bequest from Ina Carey Diller in honor of her husband, is awarded to a
worthy student with financial need.
The John S. Brod '34 Scholarship, established in 1984 with gifts from this chemistry major and his employer, Procter & Gamble, is awarded to a
deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The John G. Brokaw Scholarship was established in 2005 by Lawrence Jean Richardson '78 and Jacqueline Brokaw Richardson '80. It is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Robert C. Brooks Scholarship was established in 1964 by several of his former students as a memorial to Professor Brooks, who taught
political science at Swarthmore from 1912 to 1941. The scholarship is awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Edna Pownall Buffington, Class of 1898, Scholarship was established by a bequest from Albert Buffington, Class of 1896, during 1964, the
College's centennial year. This scholarship honors a graduate and a longtime resident of Swarthmore and is awarded on the basis of financial
need.
The Bushnell Family Scholarship was established in 2005 by the Bushnell family: father Douglas, daughter Rebecca Bushnell '74, and brothers
Michael and David, in honor of wife and mother, Peggy Meeker '45. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Malcolm Campbell '44 Unitarian Scholarship, established by Malcolm Campbell on the occasion of his 50th reunion, is awarded to a student
who is an active Unitarian Universalist with financial need and a strong academic record. The scholarship is renewable.
The Calvo Resiliency Scholarship was established by Dana Calvo '92 in 2018. The renewable scholarship shall be awarded to students on the
basis of academic merit and financial need with a preference given to students who have demonstrated resiliency in their lifetime.
The Centennial Scholarship, established in 1964 with gifts from many donors to the Centennial Campaign, is awarded on the basis of financial
need.
The Richard N. Chambers '48 Scholarship was established by the bequest of Clyde Chambers, father of Richard, in 2012 in memory of Richard
N. Chambers '48. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Peggy Chan Endowed Scholarship was established in 2017 by Winston Zee '07 in honor of his wife. The scholarship shall be awarded to
students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference shall be given to international students.
The Chang/Hawley '58 Scholarship, established in 2003, is named for Rosalind Chang Whitehead and John K. Hawley. Their son, Charles Loy
Hawley '85, is also an alumnus. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit.
The Chi Omega Scholarship, established by the sorority and the Swarthmore Chapter of Gamma Alpha, provides an award to a student annually
on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Established 1941.
The Elinor Jones Clapp '46 Scholarship was established in 2003. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need with preference given to students who are U.S. citizens residing abroad.
The William '17 and Eleanor Stabler '18 Clarke Scholarships, established in 1985 in their honor by W. Marshall '47 and Cornelia Clarke '46
Schmidt, are awarded to two worthy first-year students with financial need. Preference for these renewable scholarships is accorded to members
of the Society of Friends.
The Class of 1913 Scholarship, established on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion, is awarded to a student who has demonstrated financial
need.
The Class of 1914 Scholarship, established in honor of the class's 50th reunion, is awarded to a student who has demonstrated financial need.
The Class of 1915 Scholarship, established in 1940, is awarded to a student with financial need.
The Class of 1917 Scholarship is awarded to a student who has demonstrated financial need.
The Class of 1925 Scholarship, created on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1930 Scholarship was endowed on the occasion of the class's 60th reunion. The renewable scholarship is awarded alternately to a
woman or a man on the basis of sound character and academic achievement, with preference given to those who exercise leadership in athletics
and community service.
The Class of 1932 Scholarship was established on the occasion of the class's 70th reunion. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1938 Harriet and William Carroll Scholarship was established on the occasion of the class's 65th reunion by their classmates and
members of their family in honor of the Carrolls' long-standing service to the College. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1939 Scholarship was established at the 50th reunion of the class in fond memory of Frank Aydelotte, president of the College from
1921 to 1940, and his wife, Marie Aydelotte. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a worthy student with financial need.
The Class of 1941 Scholarship was created in celebration of the 50th reunion of the class. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1943 Scholarship, established to honor the 50th reunion of that class, is awarded to a student in the sophomore class on the basis of
sound character and academic achievement, with preference given to those participating in athletics and community service. The scholarship is
renewable through the senior year.
The Class of 1946 Scholarship was established on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion in recognition of the Swarthmore tradition that so
influenced its members.
The Class of 1949 Scholarship was established in 1999 in celebration of the class's 50th reunion. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1950 Scholarship, established on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion, is awarded to one or more deserving students. It is
renewable.
The Class of 1952 Evans H. Burn Memorial Scholarship, established on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion in memory of the class's
longtime president, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. It is renewable.
The Class of 1954 Scholarship, established on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need. It is renewable.
The Class of 1956 Scholarship, established on the occasion of the class's 25th reunion, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need.
The Class of 1957 Gilmore Stott Memorial Scholarship, established on the occasion of the class's 50th reunion, is in memory of Dean Gilmore
Stott, who died in 2005. A beloved College professor and dean for 55 years who played the viola in the College orchestra, taught ethics, and
counseled thousands of students; he was widely admired for his intelligence, judicial manner, modesty, gentleness, and consideration of others.
This renewable scholarship is awarded, on the basis of academic merit and financial need, to a student who shares some of Dean Stott's
wonderful characteristics.
The Class of 1960 Scholarship was created in honor of the 50th reunion of the class. This renewable scholarship shall be awarded to students on
the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1963 Scholarship, awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, is renewable through the senior year. The
scholarship was created in honor of the class's 25th reunion.
The Class of 1964 Scholarship, established in honor of their 50th reunion, is renewable and awarded to students on the basis of academic merit
and financial need.
The Class of 1965 Scholarship was established in 2015 in honor of the class's 50th reunion. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the
basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Class of 1967 Scholarship was established in 2012 on the occasion of the Class's 45th reunion. The renewable scholarship is awarded to
students on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Class of 1969 Scholarship was established at the 25th reunion of the class in honor of the contributions made by Courtney Smith, president
of Swarthmore College from 1953 to 1969. The scholarship was given with bittersweet memories of the campus turmoil of the 1960s and with
confidence in the power of open discussion and reconciliation. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Class of 1976 Scholarship was established in 2013 in honor of the class's upcoming 40th reunion in 2016. The scholarship shall be awarded
to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Cochran Memorial Scholarship, established in 1979 in memory of the Cochran family by the estate of Marie A. Cochran, is awarded
annually to a student who has demonstrated financial need.
The David L. '77 and Rhonda R. '76 Cohen Scholarship, established in 2004, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Sarah A. Cole '34 Scholarship, founded in 1953 by her parents to celebrate her life and memory, is awarded to deserving students on the
basis of academic merit.
The Charles A. Collins, Class of 1912, Scholarship, established in 1974, is awarded every year to a deserving student in need of financial
assistance, in accordance with the donor's will. Charles Collins, a New Jersey farmer, was active in local Quaker affairs and served as a trustee
of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
The N. Harvey Collisson '22 Scholarship, established in 1965 by his family and the Olin Mathieson Charitable Trust in memory of N. Harvey
Collisson, is awarded to a first-year student. Selection places emphasis on character, personality, and ability.
The Gehan Talwatte '87 and Keara Connolly '87 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2011. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on
the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given first to students from Sri Lanka, secondarily to other
international students, and thence to students from the United States.
The Marcia Perry Ruddick Cook '27 Scholarship is awarded to a junior on the basis of merit and need, with preference given to an English
literature major. The renewable scholarship was endowed in 1987 by J. Perry Ruddick in memory of his mother.
The Edward Hanes Cooley '43 Endowed Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with a
preference for a student majoring in engineering.
The Helen Ridgway Cooley, Class of 1907, Endowed Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need, with a preference for a female student majoring in music.
The Stephanie Cooley '70 Scholarship was established in loving memory by her parents in 1984 and is awarded on the basis of financial need,
with preference for a student from Greece or a student with an interest in the study of classics.
The Sarah Kaighn Cooper Scholarship, founded by Sallie K. Johnson in memory of her grandmothers, Sarah Kaighn and Sarah Cooper, is
awarded to the member of the junior class who is judged by the faculty to have had the best record for scholarship, character, and influence since
entering the College. Established 1920.
The David S. Cowden '42 Scholarship was established in 1977 by David Cowden, who taught English literature at Swarthmore from 1949 until
his death in 1983. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need.
The Mark W. Crandall '80 International Scholarship was established in 2004. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic
merit and financial need, with a preference for international students.
The John '41 and Barbara Crowley Endowed Scholarship was established in 2006 by the Crowleys as a symbol of their long-standing affection
for and commitment to the College. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Crum Meadow Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in 2001. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic
merit and financial need.
The Ellsworth F. Curtin '16 Memorial Scholarship was established in 1982 by Margaretta Cope Curtin '18 in memory of her husband, with
preference for engineering majors.
The Marion L. Dannenberg Scholarship, established in 1978, is awarded to a first-year student with financial need who ranks high in
personality, character, and scholarship. This endowment is in memory of Mrs. Dannenberg, who was the mother, grandmother, and great-
grandmother of seven students who attended Swarthmore.
The Anna Janney DeArmond '32 Scholarship was established by bequest from her estate in 2008. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to a female upper-class student interested in a teaching career at the high school
or college level, majoring or expressing an interest in literature in the English language or the history of countries in which the language of
literature is ordinarily English.
The Edith Thatcher '50 and C. Russell '47 de Burlo Scholarship is awarded to Swarthmore College students who are United States citizens whose
legal residence is in Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, or Massachusetts and who intend to major either in engineering or the humanities. The
renewable scholarship, established in 1986 as the gift of Edith and Russell de Burlo, is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic
merit.
The Kenneth William DeFontes Jr., Class of 1972, Scholarship was established in 2006 to support a deserving student who expresses interest in
pursuing a major in engineering or the physical sciences. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need and may be given to a first-year student.
The Delta Gamma Scholarship, created by the sorority, is awarded to a student who has demonstrated academic merit and financial need.
Established 1953.
The William Diebold, Class of 1906, William Diebold Jr., Class of 1937, and John T. Diebold, Class of 1949, Endowed Scholarship was
established in 2004 by John T. Diebold in honor of the Diebold family. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need, with a preference for students studying and performing research in Europe.
The Edward L. Dobbins '39 Memorial Scholarship was established by Hope J. Dobbins in 1997 in memory of her husband. The Dobbins
scholarship is awarded to a worthy student who demonstrates a commitment to the betterment of society through involvement in community or
environmental activism. Preference for the renewable scholarship is given to residents of Berkshire County, Mass.
The Patrick A. Dolan Scholarship was established by Patrick D. Dolan '83 in 2004. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need to a first-year student who shows great promise.
The Francis W. D'Olier, Class of 1907, Scholarship, created in 1964 in memory of Francis W. D'Olier, is awarded to a first-year student.
Selection for the renewable scholarship focuses on character, personality, and ability.
The William Dorsey Scholarship was established in 1906 through the estate of Elizabeth Dorsey, a member of the Board of Managers from 1868
to 1870, in memory of her father, who served on the Board of Managers from 1862 to 1865 and from 1867 to 1874. The scholarship is awarded
on the basis of financial need.
The Agnes B. Doty Memorial Scholarship was established in 2000 by her daughter, Christine M. Doty '70. The renewable scholarship is awarded
each year, with a preference given to students majoring in Asian studies.
The Marcel Dubien Endowed Scholarship was established in 2007 by Jacques Joussot-Dubien '49 to honor his father. This renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to students from Europe who are not U.S. citizens.
The Faith '51 and Ross '50 Eckler Scholarship was established in 2002 by A. Ross and Faith Woodward Eckler. The renewable scholarship is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to a man or woman with a commitment to community service.
The Marjorie Vandeusen '38 and J. Earle '36 Edwards Scholarship was established by an anonymous donor in 2000. The renewable scholarship
is awarded with preference given to a junior or senior who has demonstrated a commitment to socially responsible citizenship, with a special
interest in peace and conflict studies.
The Maurice G. Eldridge '61 Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in recognition of outstanding administrators at Swarthmore
College. The Eldridge Scholarship was established in 1999 to honor Maurice G. Eldridge, vice president of college and community relations and
executive assistant to the president. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a student with merit and need who has demonstrated a commitment
to socially responsible citizenship, with a preference for a student from the Washington, D.C., public school system, especially from either the
Banneker Academic High School, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, or the Bell Multicultural School.
The George Ellsler, Class of 1890, Scholarship, created in 1943 by a bequest from Mary Ellsler, is awarded to a student who has demonstrated
financial need.
The Ali El-Yassir '51 Scholarship was established in 2019. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and
financial need. This gift was given to promote the College's efforts to increase access to a Swarthmore College education for students with
demonstrated financial need, and was given with the knowledge that the College is committed to giving students from Palestine or the Palestinian
diaspora an equal opportunity to receive assessed financial aid under the College's policies. This scholarship is renewable.
The Robert K. Enders Scholarship, established by his friends and former students to honor Dr. Robert K. Enders, a member of the College faculty
from 1932 to 1970, is awarded annually to a worthy student with an interest in the study of biological problems in a natural environment.
The J. Horace Ervien, Class of 1903, Scholarship, created in 1979 with gifts from J. Horace Ervien and his wife, is awarded to students
demonstrating academic merit and financial need.
The European Alumni Scholarship was established in 2006 by gifts from Antoinette Graefin zu Eltz '01, Jacques Joussot-Dubien '49, and other
European alumni. This scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is for students from Europe who
are not U.S. citizens.
The Howard S., Class of 1903, and Gertrude P. Evans Scholarship provides scholarships for worthy students with financial need. Howard Evans
majored in engineering at Swarthmore and was a native of the village of Swarthmore. Established 1958.
The Philip Evans Scholarship was established in 1986 by Jerome Kohlberg '46 in memory of his longtime friend and classmate, Dr. Phillip Evans
'48. Dr. Evans was a highly admired physician, faithfully serving patients from all walks of life. Evans Scholars are expected to develop
themselves as critical thinkers, compassionate citizens, and engaged participants in local and world affairs. They are awarded to students who in
their high school years have demonstrated leadership, integrity, intelligence and a commitment to the larger community. The Scholarships are
awarded to members of the first year class, are renewable annually, and provide summer opportunity grants that are awarded on the
recommendation of the dean of students.
The Michael A. Fedak Scholarship The Michael A. Fedak Scholarship has been established by Michael S. Fedak '82 to honor the memory of his
son. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with preference given to students from New Jersey
majoring in economics or mathematics.
The Samuel and Gretchen Vogel '56 Feldman Scholarship was established in 1992 by Gretchen Vogel Feldman and her husband, Samuel. The
renewable scholarship, awarded on the basis of financial need, is given to a student interested in pursuing a teaching career. Preference is given
to residents of Martha's Vineyard.
The Samuel M. and Gretchen Vogel '56 Feldman Scholarship II was established in 2000. The renewable scholarship, awarded on the basis of
financial need, is given to a student interested in pursuing a teaching career after graduating from Swarthmore College. Preference is given to
residents of Martha's Vineyard.
The Jack Fingersh Scholarship was established by Paul Fingersh '86 in 2018 in honor of his father, Jack Fingersh. The scholarship shall be
awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable. The Jack Fingersh Scholarship supports and promotes
the College's efforts to increase access to a Swarthmore College education for students with demonstrated financial need, and is given with the
knowledge that the College is committed to giving students, including those juniors and seniors majoring in history or philosophy, an equal
opportunity to receive assessed financial aid under the College's policies.
The Martin Fleisher '80 and Mark Risk '78 Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Eleanor Flexner '30 Scholarship, established in 1989, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need,
with preference given to a student majoring in English literature.
The Margaret Mccain Ford '43 Scholarship was established in 2006 in her memory by her husband, Thomas Ford, and their children. This
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Norma Patz Fox '82 and Clifford Fox Scholarship was established in 2006 by Clifford and Norma Patz Fox. This renewable scholarship is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Caroline W. Frame Scholarship was established in 1885 by a bequest from her grandfather, Samuel Willets. The funds, now part of the
general scholarship fund, are awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The David W. Fraser Scholarship. This endowed scholarship was established in 1991 by the Board of Managers and friends of David Fraser in
honor of his service as president of Swarthmore College from 1982 to 1991. This scholarship is awarded to one student enrolled in an approved
program of academic study outside the boundaries of the United States. Preference is given to students studying in Asian, Middle Eastern, and
African countries.
The Marianne Durand Frey '57 Scholarship, established by Marianne Durand Frey in 2002, reflects the donor's gratitude for scholarship aid
received during her attendance at Swarthmore. This renewable scholarship is awarded based on academic merit and financial need to a woman
who has attended a public high school.
The Theodore and Elizabeth Friend Scholarship was established in 1981 and was announced during the closing ceremony for The Program for
Swarthmore as an expression of respect and appreciation by board members and others who have been associated with them in the service of
Swarthmore College. The scholarship honors this former president of Swarthmore, who served from 1973 to 1982, and his wife. It is awarded
each year on the basis of financial need to a worthy student.
The Theodore Friend and Elizabeth Pierson Friend Scholarship was established by him in 2005 and is awarded on the basis of academic merit
and financial need, with a preference for a student from an Islamic country or a student engaged in Islamic Studies.
The Toge and Mitsu Fujihira Scholarship was created in 2000 by their son, Donald Fujihira '69. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a man
or woman who shows great promise and assumes both financial need and academic excellence. Preference is given to students of Asian descent.
The John and Gail Gaustad Scholarship was established by friends and students of the Gaustads to honor their many years of service to the
College. In 1984, John Gaustad, the Edward Hicks Magill Professor of Astronomy, and his wife, Gail, started the practice of welcoming
international students into their home during periods when the dorms were closed. Over the years, they were hosts to about 120 students with
many becoming close and lasting friends. This renewable scholarship, expressing appreciation for the Gaustads' generosity and dedication, is
awarded annually to a promising student who demonstrates financial need and academic excellence. Established 2000.
The Martha Salzmann Gay '79 Scholarship was created in 2000 by Martha S. Gay. The renewable scholarship assumes both academic excellence
and financial need and is awarded to a first-year student who shows great promise.
The David Gelber '63 and Kyoko Inouye Scholarship, established in 2004, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with a
first preference for students from New York or New Jersey majoring in history and a second preference for humanities majors.
The Jeffrey L. Gertler '74 Memorial Scholarship was established in 2005 by an anonymous donor. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Joseph E. Gillingham Scholarship was established by a bequest from prominent Philadelphia merchant Joseph E. Gillingham, who died in
1907. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Established 1907.
The Joyce Mertz Gilmore '51 Scholarship, awarded to an entering first-year student, is renewable. The recipient is chosen on the basis of mental
vigor, concern for human welfare, and the potential to contribute to the College and the community outside. The award was established in 1976
by Harold Mertz '26 in memory of his daughter, Joyce Mertz Gilmore.
The Barbara Entenberg Gimbel '39 Scholarship was endowed in 1980 in memory of Barbara Entenberg Gimbel by her husband, Dr. Nicholas S.
Gimbel. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of need to a worthy student, with preference for a black candidate.
The Chloe and Raoul Glant Scholarship was established in 2005 by their family to honor their zeal for lifelong learning and passion for greater
understanding of the issues facing today's world. The scholarship is awarded based on need and academic achievement, with a preference for a
foreign or American student who demonstrates intellectual and personal integrity and a strong commitment to the public good.
The Barbara Nugent Glouchevitch Scholarship was established in 2004 by Michel Glouchevitch '77 in memory of his mother, a 1948 Bryn Mawr
graduate. Barbara had close ties to Swarthmore and lived her abbreviated life enthusiastically pursuing career, family, intellectual, and sports
activities. This scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit and need to students showing distinction in academics, leadership, and
extracurricular activities.
The Marcia and John D. Goldman '71 Scholarship was created in 1992 and is awarded on the basis of need to a student with a strong academic
record and leadership qualities. Preference is given to students from northern California.
The Berda Goldsmith Scholarship, established in 1991 in memory of Mrs. Goldsmith, is a need based scholarship awarded annually to a music
major, beginning in his or her junior year. Mrs. Goldsmith was a music lover and patroness of the Settlement Music School. Preference will be
given to a student who has attended the Settlement Music School and shows an interest and proficiency in playing the piano.
The Kermit Gordon '38 Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in 2000. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of need,
merit, and an interest in public policy.
The Cynthia Norris Graae '62 and Stephen L. Bloom '62 Scholarship recognizes two dedicated alumni, both members of the Class of 1962. It was
created by an anonymous donor in 2007 in recognition of Cynthia Norris Graae, an alumna whose service to the College included serving on
Alumni Council and the Board of Managers, and expanded in 2011 in recognition of her late husband Stephen L. Bloom, an alumnus who was a
gifted clarinetist who was a member of both the orchestra and the wind ensemble while a student at Swarthmore. The renewable scholarship is
awarded on the basis of financial need, with preference given to a student who plays a musical instrument.
The Neil R. Grabois '57 Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in 2001. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit
and financial need, with preference for students from urban public high schools who wish to study engineering or science.
The Sarah Maurer Graham '77 Scholarship was established in 2003 by Sarah's husband, Robert B. Graham, after her passing to honor her
curiosity, achievements, and passion for Swarthmore. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need
with preference given to students interested in classical studies.
The Edward F. Green '40 Scholarship, established in 1999 by a bequest from this alumnus, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Walter W. Green Scholarship and the White Open Scholarships Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. White, Class of 1875, on the occasion of the class's
50th reunion, established three scholarships in the names of Howard White Jr., Serena B. White, and Walter W. Green. They are awarded
annually on the basis of financial need and are tenable for four consecutive years. Established 1925.
The James E. Gregory '85 Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is for
music majors or students who study or perform music.
The Mary Lippincott Griscom, Class of 1901, Scholarship was established in 1969 by Mary Griscom and her daughter, Mary Griscom Colegrove
'42, to provide financial aid on the basis of academic merit and financial need. The scholarship honors Mary L. Griscom, who served on the
Board of Managers from 1916 to 1967.
The Robert G. Grossman '53 and Ellin Grossman Endowed Scholarship, created in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need, with a preference for biology or history majors.
The Pauline and Joseph Guss Endowed Scholarship was established in 2003 by Giles '72 and Barbara Guss Kemp. The scholarship is awarded
on the basis of financial need and academic merit, with preference for students from Nebraska or, as a second consideration, students from the
Midwest.
The Lucinda Buchanan Thomas '34 and Joseph H. '37 Hafkenschiel Scholarship was established as a memorial to Lucinda Thomas in 1989 by
her husband and sons, Joseph III '68; B.A. Thomas '69; Mark C. '72; and John Proctor '75. Lucinda's father, B.A. Thomas, M.D., graduated with
the Class of 1899. This scholarship is awarded to a junior and is renewable, based on need. Preference is given to students who have
demonstrated proficiency in water sports or have shown talent in art and who have been outstanding in service to the College.
The Mason Haire '37 Scholarship was established in 1986 by his wife, Vivian, in honor of this alumnus, a distinguished psychologist and former
member of the Swarthmore College faculty. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a first-year student with financial need who is distinguished
for intellectual promise and leadership.
The Nicole Alfandre Halbreiner '82 Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Margaret Johnson Hall '41 Scholarship for the Performing Arts was established in 1991 by Margaret Johnson Hall. The scholarship
provides financial assistance based on academic merit and financial need, with preference for students intending to pursue a career in music or
dance.
The Merritt W. Hallowell '61 Scholarships were established in 2005 by a bequest from Merritt Hallowell, a loyal and generous alumnus with a
sincere interest in helping students. These renewable scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Helene and Mark '71 Hankin Scholarship was established in 2002 by the Hankins in memory of Mark Hankin's father, Perch P. Hankin. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The John W. '60 and Ann E. Harbeson Scholarship, established by the Harbesons in 2004, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need to a first-year student, renewable through the senior year. Preference is given to a deserving international student, reflecting the
donors' active involvement, careers, and interests.
The Edith Ogden Harrison Memorial Scholarship was created in 2004 by her daughter, Armason Harrison '35. The renewable scholarship is
awarded to a first-year student, with a preference for children of members of the Religious Society of Friends or to Native American students.
The Hartnett Engineering Scholarship was established in 2009 by Thomas '94 and Rachel Hartnett. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference for an engineering student who shows great promise.
The William Randolph Hearst Scholarship for Minority Students, established in 1988 by the Hearst Foundation Inc., provides financial
assistance to minority students with financial need.
The Bernard B. and Phyllis N. Helfand Scholarship was established by their daughter, Margaret Helfand '69, in 2003 to honor their
encouragement of nontraditional educational pathways. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need, with preference given to students interested in both art and science and a commitment to improving their communities through their work.
The J. Philip Herrmann Scholarship was established in 1983 by Katharine F. Herrmann '14 and Margaret Herrmann Ball '24 in honor of their
father. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The E. Dyson and Carol Hogeland '38 Herting Scholarship was created in 1999 by Eugene M. Lang '38. The renewable scholarship is awarded
with preference given to a junior or senior woman majoring in political science who plans to attend law school.
The A. Price Heusner '32 Scholarship, established in 1976 by his wife, Helen, is awarded to a student on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Rachel W. Hillborn Scholarship was established in 1945 by Anne Hillborn Philips, Class of 1892, in memory of her mother, Rachel W.
Hillborn, who served on the Board of Managers from 1887 to 1913. The scholarship is awarded to a junior or senior, with preference for a
student who is a member of the Religious Society of Friends or who is involved in international service.
The Stephen B. Hitchner Jr. '67 Scholarship was established in 1990 by the Board of Managers in memory of Stephen B. Hitchner Jr. with
gratitude for his strong leadership of the Student Life Committee and his previous service to the College. Recipients of this need-based,
renewable scholarship are selected from the junior class for their interest in a career in the public or nonprofit sectors.
The Betty Stern Hoffenberg '43 Scholarship, established in 1987 in honor of this alumna, is awarded to a junior or senior with academic merit
and financial need who shows unusual promise, character, and intellectual strength. Strong preference is given to a student majoring in history.
The Hadassah M. L. Holcombe Scholarship, created by a bequest from this member of the board of Managers who served from 1938 until her
death in 1978, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to a member of the
Religious Society of Friends. Established 1979.
The Holland Family Scholarship was established in 2002 by Jim Holland '71 and Nancy Holland '72, and is awarded on the basis of academic
merit and financial need. The scholarship is renewable.
The Hollenberg-Sher Scholarship was created in 1998 by Norman Sher '52. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a first-year student.
The Carl R. Horten '47 Scholarship was created in 1985 by the Ingersoll-Rand Company on the occasion of his retirement. Preference is given to
students planning to major in engineering or prelaw.
The Doris K. Hourihan Scholarship was established in 2006 by Jenny Hourihan Bailin '80 in memory of her mother, Doris K. Hourihan. This
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Everett L. Hunt Scholarship, endowed in 1973 as a reunion gift by the Class of 1937, honors this beloved emeritus professor and dean and
provides an unrestricted scholarship awarded annually by the College.
The Betty P. Hunter '48 Scholarship was created in 1977. Betty P. Hunter, one of the first black students to attend Swarthmore College,
established this fund by a bequest to provide scholarship aid to needy students.
The Richard M. Hurd '48 Scholarship was created in 2000 by this alumnus who served on the Board of Managers for almost two decades and his
wife, Patricia. The renewable scholarship is awarded with preference given to a student majoring in engineering.
The Allis Dale and John E. '59 Gillmor and Jordan and Sarah Gillmor '92 Hymowitz Scholarship was established in 2008 by this family on the
occasion of John's 50th reunion. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need to a first-year student who shows
great promise.
The William Y. Inouye '44 Scholarship was established in loving memory by his family, friends, and colleagues in recognition of his life of service
as a physician. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a worthy junior premedical student with need. Established 1985.
The Aaron B. Ivins Scholarship was established with an annuity given in 1928 by Emma Ivins Gower and is awarded to a deserving student on
the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The William and Florence Ivins Scholarship, created in 1993 by a bequest from Barbara Ivins '35, is awarded to a student who has demonstrated
financial need.
The George B. Jackson '21 Scholarship was endowed in 1986 by Eugene M. Lang '38 in honor of the man who guided him to Swarthmore. The
scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit, with preference given to a student from the New York metropolitan
area.
The Howard M. '20 and Elsa P. '22 Jenkins Scholarship in engineering provides financial assistance to a promising sophomore or junior with
need who is interested in pursuing a career in engineering. It was created in 1993 by the gift of Elsa Palmer Jenkins, Swarthmore's first woman
graduate in engineering.
The George K. and Sallie K. Johnson Scholarship, established in 1928 by a bequest from Sallie Kaign Johnson, is awarded to students with
financial need. Sallie Johnson was the mother of Howard Cooper Johnson, Class of 1896.
The Howard Cooper Johnson, Class of 1896, Scholarship, established in 1944 by this alumnus who served on the Board of Managers from 1901
to 1952, is awarded with preference given to a member of the Religious Society of Friends.
The Edmund A. Jones Memorial Scholarship was created in 1965, awarding a grant each year to a graduate of Swarthmore High School and,
since 1983, to a graduate of Strath Haven High School. In 2004, this four-year, renewable scholarship was designated with preference for
graduates of Strath Haven High School, Delaware County high schools, or Pennsylvania high schools, respectively. Edmund A. Jones was the
son of Adalyn Purdy Jones '40, and Edmund Jones '39, longtime residents of Swarthmore.
The Benjamin Kalkstein '72 Scholarship, established by his family in 2002, is awarded to a first-year student on the basis of merit and need and
is renewable. Preference is given to students with an interest in environmental studies.
The Kappa Alpha Theta Scholarship, established through the generosity of the members and friends of the sorority at Swarthmore College, is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Established 1935.
The Kappa Kappa Gamma Scholarship, created by the sorority, is awarded to a first-year student and is renewable. Established 1955.
The Jennie Keith Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in recognition of outstanding administrators at Swarthmore College. The
Keith Scholarship was established in 2000 to honor Jennie Keith, professor of anthropology, who served as provost from 1992 to 2001. The
scholarship is awarded to a student who shares the donor's and Jennie Keith's commitment to the use of intellectual excellence in the service of
positive social change.
The Michael and Elizabeth Lavin '87 Kelley Scholarship was established in 2004. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Alexander Kemp Endowed Scholarship was established in 2001 by Giles Kemp '72 and Barbara Guss Kemp. The renewable scholarship is
awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit.
The Kennedy Scholarship is given in honor of the parents and with thanks to the children of Christopher '54 and Jane '55 Kennedy. The
renewable scholarship, created in 1985, is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit.
The Clark Kerr '32 Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in 2000. The scholarship is awarded with preference given to a student
entering his or her senior year, who meets the model described by President Aydelotte of the all-around student with strong interests in academic
achievement, athletics, and interests in debating and other aspects of student life and community service.
The Florence and Melville Kershaw Scholarship was endowed in 1987 in their honor by their son Thomas A. Kershaw '60. The renewable
scholarship is awarded to a first-year student on the basis of financial need and academic merit, with preference given to those intending to
major in engineering.
The Naomi Kies '62 Scholarship was created in 2006 in her memory by her family and friends. Naomi Kies devoted herself to community service,
pursuing practical idealism and seeking peaceful solutions to political and social problems. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis
of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to international students.
The Joseph W. '44 and Elizabeth Blackburn '44 Kimmel Scholarship was established in 2003 by their son, James B. Kimmel '70. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to students from the Delaware Valley area,
including eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.
The William H. Kistler '43 Scholarship was endowed in 1986 in his memory by his wife, Suzanne '44, his friends, and former classmates. The
scholarship is awarded to a needy and deserving student majoring in engineering or economics.
The Floyd C. and Virginia Burger '39 Knight Endowed Scholarship, established by a bequest in 2006, is awarded on the basis of academic merit
and financial need.
The Paul '46 and Mary Jane Kopsch Scholarship, established in 1982 through a gift of Paul J. Kopsch, is renewable and awarded each year to a
junior premedical student(s) with financial need.
The Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Scholarship, established in 1944 by Michel Kovalenko in memory of his wife, is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Walter W. Krider, Class of 1909, Memorial Scholarship was established by his wife, Anna Hetzell Mulford Krider, and daughter, Elizabeth
Krider Snowden '36, in 1959. The Krider scholarship is awarded to a student who ranks high in scholarship, character, and personality and has
financial need.
The Paul Kuenstner '80 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2013. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic
merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Kyle Scholarship, established in 1993 by Elena Sogan Kyle '54, Frederick W. Kyle '54, and Robert B. Kyle Jr. '52, is awarded in the junior or
senior year to a student who has shown leadership capability, made significant contributions to the life of the College, and demonstrated the need
for financial assistance.
The Kyle Endowed Scholarship for Latin America was established in 2016. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of
academic merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given to students who are citizens and residents of Latin America.
The John Lafore, Class of 1895, Scholarship, established in 1956 by his son Laurence Lafore '38 and his daughter Eleanor Lafore Gilbert, is
awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Laurence Lafore '38 Scholarship was established in his memory in 1986 by family, friends, classmates, and former students. Professor
Lafore, author of numerous books and essays, taught history at Swarthmore from 1945 until 1969. This renewable scholarship is awarded to a
student showing unusual promise.
The Robert E., Class of 1903, Elizabeth, Class of 1903, and Walter, Class of 1939, Lamb Scholarship was established in 2000 by Walter Lamb,
who served on the Board of Managers from 1977 to 2002. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Barbara Lang Scholarship is awarded to a student in the junior class whose major is in the arts, preferably in music, who ranks high in
scholarship and has financial need. This renewable scholarship was established in 1984 by Eugene M. Lang '38 in honor of his sister.
The Eugene M. Lang '38 Opportunity Grants are awarded each year to as many as six sophomore students who are selected by a special
committee on the basis of distinguished academic and extracurricular achievement and demonstrable interest in social change. Stipends are
based on financial need and take the form of full grants up to the amount of total college charges. Each Lang Scholar is also eligible for summer
or academic year community service support while an undergraduate. Projects, which must be approved in advance by a faculty committee, are
expected to facilitate social change in a significant way. The program is made possible by a gift of Eugene M. Lang. Established 1995.
The Ida and Daniel Lang Scholarship, established in 1964 by their son, Eugene M. Lang '38, provides financial assistance for a young man or
woman who ranks high in scholarship, character, and personality.
The Eleanor B. and Edward M. '30 Lapham, Jr. Scholarship, established in 1996 by Eleanor to honor her husband's memory, is awarded to a
first year student on the basis of academic merit and financial need. The scholarship is renewable for his or her years of study at Swarthmore.
The E. Hibberd Lawrence Scholarship honors the memory of a student who attended the Swarthmore Preparatory School from 1881 to 1882 and
is awarded on the basis of financial need. Established 1888.
The Frances Reiner and Stephen Girard '41 Lax Scholarship was established in 1989 with preference for minority or foreign students who show
academic merit and financial need. This scholarship has been endowed by the family of Stephen Girard Lax, who was chairman of the Board of
Managers of Swarthmore College from 1971 to 1976.
The Stephen Girard Lax '41 Scholarship was established in 1977 by family, friends, and business associates of Stephen Lax. The scholarship is
awarded on the basis of financial need every two years to a student entering the junior year who shows academic distinction, leadership
qualities, and a definite interest in a career in business.
The Alfred and Harolyn Lazarus Scholarship was established in 2008 by their son, Lewis H. Lazarus '78, in honor of his parents' boundless
curiosity, great respect for intellectual excellence, high moral character, and service to others. The scholarship is awarded to students on the
basis of academic promise and financial need. The renewable scholarship is given with preference for students intending to practice medicine or
majoring in history.
The Dorrie '44 and Henry '45 Leader Family Scholarship was established in 2001 in recognition of their many family members who attended
Swarthmore College including their children, Martha '71 and Elizabeth '73. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Edgar '98 and Julie Lee Family Scholarship supports and promotes the College's efforts to increase access to a Swarthmore College
education for students with demonstrated financial need, and is given with the knowledge that the College is committed to giving its students,
including women from underrepresented populations, an equal opportunity to receive assessed financial aid under the College's policies. This
scholarship is renewable.
The Thomas L. Leedom Scholarship was established in 1905 by Hannah A. Leedom in memory of her husband, who always had a deep interest in
the success of the College. It is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Raphael Lemkin Endowed Scholarship was established in 2005 by John '77 and Ann '77 Montgomery to honor Raphael Lemkin, a Holocaust
survivor who invented the word "genocide" and drafted the Genocide Convention of the United Nations, adopted in 1948. The scholarship is
awarded with preference for "upstanders" or students who demonstrate interest in human rights, especially anti-genocide work.
The Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Scholarship was established in 2008. The renewable scholarship is awarded to students on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Walter H. Leser '49 Memorial Scholarship was established by his wife, Martha E. Leser, in 2002. The renewable scholarship is awarded on
the basis of academic merit and financial need with preference for students majoring in mathematics.
The Carl M. Levin '56 Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in 2000. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a student with merit
and need who has overcome obstacles, with a preference for Michigan public high school graduates.
The Beryl and Leonard Levine Scholarship was established by their daughter, Susan Brauna Levine '78, in 2005 and is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Levine Family Scholarship was established by Jay H. Levine '55 and Michael A. Levine '87 in 2012. The scholarship shall be awarded to
students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Wilma A. Lewis '78 Scholarship was established in 2006 by Wilma A. Lewis. This scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Lewis-Bill Scholarship was established in 2009 by Robert J. Reynolds, father of Sarah Reynolds '09, to honor his wife, Lucinda M. Lewis '70,
and her parents, Robert B. '35 and Margaret Bill '38 Lewis. It is awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Scott B. Lilly Scholarship, endowed by Jacob T. Schless of the Class of 1914 and offered for the first time in 1950, is awarded annually in
honor of a former distinguished professor of engineering. Students who plan to major in engineering are given preference.
The Sarah E. Lippincott Scholarship, established in 1918 by Katherine Lippincott Holden in memory of her mother, is awarded to a deserving
student on the basis of financial need.
The Lloyd Family Scholarship was established in 2000 by May Brown Lloyd '27, G. Stephen Lloyd '57, and Anne Lloyd '87. The renewable
scholarship is awarded with preference given to a student who shows great promise.
The Lloyd-Jones Family Scholarship is the gift of Donald '52 and Beverly Miller '52 Lloyd-Jones and their children Anne '79; Susan '84; Donald
'86; and Susan's husband, Bob Dickinson '83. Established in 1990, the renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Amy Chase Loftin '29 Scholarship was established in 1998. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a sophomore, with preference given to
Native Americans and African Americans.
The Joan Longer '78 Scholarship was created as a memorial in 1989 by her family, classmates, and friends, to honor Joan's personal courage,
high ideals, good humor, and grace. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit and need.
The Mary T. Longstreth Scholarship was established in 1938 by Rebecca C. Longstreth in memory of her mother, who served on the Board of
Managers from 1872 to 1887. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of financial need.
The David Laurent Low Memorial Scholarship was established in 1981 by Martin L. Low '40; his wife, Alice; Andy Low '73; and Kathy Low in
memory of their son and brother. It is awarded to a man or woman who shows the great promise that David himself did. The award assumes both
need and academic excellence and places emphasis, in order, on qualities of leadership and character or outstanding and unusual promise. The
renewable scholarship is awarded to a first-year student.
The Lui and Wan Scholarship was established in 2016. It shall be awarded to students in the sophomore year on the basis of academic merit and
financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given to female students pursuing majors in Engineering, Mathematics and/or the Physical
Sciences, any student pursuing a major in Chinese or Interdisciplinary Chinese Studies, or any student pursuing a special major in Education
Studies and another discipline.
The Lyman Scholarship was established by Frank L. Lyman Jr. '43 and his wife, Julia, on the occasion of his 50th reunion in 1993. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need to a student who is a member of the Religious Society of Friends or whose
parents are members of the Religious Society of Friends.
The Leland S. MacPhail Jr. '39 Scholarship, given by Major League Baseball in 1986 in recognition of 48 years of dedicated service by Leland S.
MacPhail Jr., is awarded annually to a deserving student on the basis of need and merit.
The Magill Walk Scholarship was established in 2010 by an anonymous donor. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of
academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The David Mailloux Endowed Scholarship was established in 2005 by his loving parents to celebrate David's life and memory. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Clara B. Marshall Scholarship was established in 1982 by the estate of Dr. Clara Marshall. Clara Marshall was a Philadelphia-area
physician and educator from a prominent Quaker family whose leadership as dean of the Women's Medical College led to greatly expanded and
improved facilities and course offerings at that institution. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Edward Martin Scholarship, established by a bequest from Edward Martin, a professor of biological sciences at the College, is awarded to a
junior or senior with preference for a biology major or premedical student. Established 1977.
The Richard G. Mason Fund, an endowed scholarship, was established in 2012 by the estate of Richard G. Mason '50 and is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need with a preference for students studying theater or art history. The scholarship is renewable.
The Jacob and Rae Mattuck Scholarship, created in 2009 by Arthur P. Mattuck '51 in honor of his parents, is renewable and awarded to students
based on academic merit and financial need with preference for majors in the sciences, mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering,
music, or the arts.
The Franz H. Mautner Scholarship honors the memory of this Professor Emeritus of German and is awarded to a student who has demonstrated
financial need. Established 1996.
The Thomas B. McCabe '15 Awards, established in 1952 by Thomas B. McCabe, are awarded to entering students. Regional McCabe
Scholarships are awarded to a few students from the Delmarva Peninsula and from southeastern Pennsylvania (Chester, Delaware, Montgomery,
and Philadelphia counties). These awards provide a minimum annual scholarship of full tuition or a maximum to cover tuition, fees, room, and
board, depending on need. The National McCabe Scholarships are awarded to a few students based on merit. In making selections for all
McCabe Scholarships, the committee places emphasis on leadership, ability, character, and service to school and community.
The Charlotte Goette '20 and Wallace M. McCurdy Scholarship is awarded to a first-year student on the basis of financial need and academic
merit. The renewable scholarship was endowed by Charlotte McCurdy in 1986.
The Cornelia Dashiell and Dino Enea Petech '35 McCurdy, M.D., Family Scholarship was endowed by Cornelia and Dino E.P. McCurdy, M.D.
The scholarship is awarded each year to a well-rounded student with need who demonstrates academic and extracurricular interests based upon
sound character and healthy personality traits, with preference given to graduates of George School. Established 1999.
The Dorothy Shoemaker '29 and Hugh '30 McDiarmid Scholarship is awarded to a first-year man or woman on the basis of academic merit and
financial need. Established in 1987, the renewable scholarship is the gift of the McDiarmid family in commemoration of their close association
with Swarthmore College.
The Helen Osler McKendree '23 Scholarship, created in 1998 by the estate of Helen's brother, E. Morgan Osler, is awarded to a junior majoring
in a foreign language or languages.
The Sarah Meade McKitterick Scholarship was established in 2006 by Katherine Burt Anderson '49 to honor the memory of her daughter. This
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Donald R. McMinn '86, Robert '57, and Tamzin MacDonald '58 McMinn Scholarship was created in 2004 and is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need, with preference for students planning a career in business.
The Margaret S. Meeker '45 Scholarship was established in 2005 by Douglas F. Bushnell, Rebecca W. Bushnell '74, and John D. Toner '73 in
memory of Peggy Meeker, wife and mother, who was full of love and life and who was so happy during her years at Swarthmore College. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Norman Meinkoth Scholarship was established in 1988 by his friends and former students to honor Dr. Norman A. Meinkoth, a member of
the College faculty from 1947 to 1978 who died in 1987. This scholarship serves as a memorial and is awarded annually to a worthy student with
an interest in the study of biological problems in a natural environment.
The Alison Joanna Meloy '94 Memorial Scholarship was established in 2006 by her mother and stepfather, Alice and Robert Deal. The
scholarship celebrates Alison's love of Swarthmore College and recognizes that some of her happiest years were spent there. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with a preference for female students majoring in political science.
The Peter Mertz '57 Scholarship is awarded to an entering first-year student outstanding in mental and physical vigor, who shows promise of
using these talents for the good of the College community and of the larger community outside. The renewable scholarship was established in
1955 by Harold '26, LuEsther, and Joyce '51 Mertz in Peter's memory.
The Mari Michener Scholarship provides financial support to four students on the basis of academic merit and financial need. The scholarship is
the gift of James Michener '29 and honors his wife. Established 1992.
The Frank Milewski Endowed Scholarship was established in 2014 in honor of Frank Milewski, who was the recipient of the Suzanne P. Welsh
Award. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of financial need to a Swarthmore student without further restrictions or preferences.
The Bruce and Florence Miller Scholarship was established in 2006 by their son, Grant Miller '65, to honor his parents' lifetime commitment to
education and underserved communities. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is
given to students with sensitivity toward diverse underserved communities.
The James E. Miller Scholarship, established by a bequest from Arabella M. Miller in 1924, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of
financial need.
The James H. Miller '58 Scholarship will be established with a gift from the estate of James H. Miller and awarded on the basis of academic
merit and financial need.
The Hajime Mitarai Scholarship, established in 1995 by Eugene M. Lang '38 in memory of his close friend and the father of Tsuyoshi Mitarai '98,
is awarded to students with financial need. Preference is given to students with international backgrounds.
The Margaret Moore Scholarship, established in 1974 by an anonymous donor, provides scholarships to foreign students, with a preference
given to students of South Asian origin. This scholarship honors a Quaker teacher who spent a lifetime of teaching and public service in western
India with the people she loved until her death in 1962.
The Kathryn L. Morgan Scholarship was established by an anonymous donor in 2000. The renewable scholarship was created in recognition of
Professor Morgan's distinguished teaching and scholarly contributions to the life of the College. Preference is given to students with an interest
in black studies.
The Robert '67 and Joan Murray Scholarship was created in 2004 and is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Thomas W. Nash '74 Scholarship was established in 2006. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Florence Eising Naumburg Scholarship was named in 1975 in honor of the mother of an alumna of the Class of 1943. The scholarship is
awarded to a student whose past performance gives evidence of intellectual attainment, leadership, and character and who shows potential for
future intellectual growth, creativity, and scholarship and for being a contributor to the College and, ultimately, to society.
The Albert and Christine Nehamas Scholarship was established in 2004 by Alexander Nehamas '67 and Susan Glimcher in loving memory of
Alexander's parents, who strove to provide a sound education for their son. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need, with preference for students from Greece or from other foreign countries.
The Annette Newman Endowed Scholarship was established in 2016 in honor of Annette Newman, who was the recipient of the Suzanne P. Welsh
Award. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of financial need to a Swarthmore student without further restrictions or preferences.
The Thomas S. '30 and Marian Hamming '30 Nicely Scholarship was established in 1987 and is awarded to a first-year student with need who
shows promise of academic achievement, fine character, and athletic ability. Preference is given to a person who has been on the varsity tennis,
squash, golf, or swimming teams in high school or preparatory school.
The Mary McCusker Niemczewski Scholarship was established in 2005 by Christopher M. Niemczewski '74 to honor his mother and is awarded
on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The John H. Nixon '35 Scholarship was established in 1983 by John H. Nixon to assist Third World students, especially those who plan to return
to their country of origin.
The Donald E. Noble Scholarship was established in 2002 by the Donald E. and Alice M. Noble Charitable Foundation. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Helen North Scholarship was established in 2002 by Maureen Cavanaugh '75 and Christopher Plum '75 in honor of Helen F. North, who, at
the time of her retirement from Swarthmore in 1991, was the Centennial Professor of Classics and had been a member of the College faculty for
43 years. Author, traveler, lecturer, and beloved friend, Helen North has always been committed to teaching in a culturally diverse educational
community. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Northwest Scholarship was established in 1990 by Constance Gayl Pious '53 to offer financial aid to students from the northwestern United
States.
The Edward L. Noyes '31 Scholarship was endowed in 1987 in his memory by his wife, Jean Walton Noyes '32; his three sons; and his many
friends. The scholarship is available to an incoming first-year student, with preference given to those from the Southwest, especially Texas. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit to students with broad interests.
The Nancy Triggs Ohland '55 Scholarship was established in her memory in 2006 by her husband, Theodor C. Ohland, and children Karen J.
Ohland '83, Matthew W. Ohland '89, and Erik D. Ohland. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with
preference given to a student with a strong record of community service.
The Howard Osborn Scholarship, established by a bequest in 1970 to honor the memory of his parents, Viola L. and Frank Osborn, is awarded to
a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Mark L. Osterweil '94 Memorial Scholarship was established by his family and friends. Mark was an ardent student of European and
American history, with a special interest in the economic, intellectual, political, and social relationships and connections between the United
States and other countries, peoples, and cultures. Preference in awarding the scholarship is given to American or foreign students whose studies
of history are consistent with Mark's wide-ranging interests. Established 2007.
The Martin Ostwald Scholarship was established in 2005 by Christopher Plum '75 in memory of his beloved wife, Maureen Cavanaugh '75. The
scholarship is named in honor of Martin Ostwald, the Swarthmore classics professor who had a tremendous lifelong impact on Maureen's
development as a classics and legal scholar. It is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with a preference for classics
students, particularly those studying ancient history or philosophy.
The Page-Pixton Scholarship for Study Abroad, established in 2003, is awarded yearly on the basis of financial need to rising juniors or seniors
who seek through study abroad experience to prepare themselves to become effective leaders of a more inclusive, generous, and peaceful world.
The Harriet W. Paiste Scholarship was established by a bequest in 1900 to assist those whose limited means would exclude them from enjoying
the advantages of an education at this college.
The Rogers Palmer '26 Scholarship, established in 1973, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Susanna Haines Parry, Class of 1908 and Beulah Haines Parry, Class of 1909 Scholarship, established by a bequest in 1979, is awarded to
a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Tory Parsons '63 Scholarship was established in 1991 in his memory by a member of the Class of 1964 to provide scholarship aid to students
with demonstrated need.
The Sibella Clark Pedder '64 Endowment was established in 2005 to enable American students through study abroad to develop deeper
understanding of, and improved facility with, a global world. The income from the fund is awarded only to students who qualify for financial aid
on the basis of their financial need.
The J. Roland Pennock '27 Scholarships were established in 1973 by Ann and Guerin Todd '38 in honor of J. Roland Pennock, Richter Professor
Emeritus of Political Science. Income from this endowment is to be used to award four scholarships on the basis of merit and need, preferably to
one scholar in each class.
The Jean A. '49 and Edward B. '49 Perkins Scholarship was established by Jean A. Perkins '49 in 2002 in memory of her late husband Edward B.
'49 Perkins and in honor of their long Matchbox marriage. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and
financial need and is renewable.
The T.H. Dudley Perkins, Class of 1906, Scholarship was established in 1920 by his wife, Alice Sullivan Perkins 1904, and other family members
and friends to honor the memory of one who died in the service of his country in 1918. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Perry Family Scholarship was created in 2006. Four generations of the Perry family have attended Swarthmore College. At Swarthmore, the
Perrys pursued diverse academic paths and participated in team sports. After graduation, they became educators, physicians, and scientists. The
Perry Family Scholarship is awarded with preference for a well-rounded premedical student who demonstrates strong academic achievement
along with an interest in student life and community service. The scholarship, which may be renewed, is awarded to a student entering his or her
junior year.
The Winnifred Poland Pierce '45 Scholarship was established in 1988. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit
and financial need. Preference is given to students who are the first generation in their families to attend college.
The Cornelia Chapman '26 and Nicholas O. Pittenger Scholarship, established in 1961 by their family, is awarded to an incoming first-year
student who ranks high in scholarship, character, and personality and needs financial assistance. Cornelia, an honors graduate, was active in
alumni activities and served on the Alumni Council from 1945 to 1949. Nicholas ("Pitt") was the controller of the College for 22 years.
The Frances Hughes Pitts Scholarship was established in 2003 by George R. Pitts '72 in honor and memory of his mother. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with a preference given to students with an interest in the sciences.
The Rebecca Kemp and Richard Pogir Scholarship was established in 2009 on the occasion of their marriage as a gift from the bride's parents,
Barbara Guss Kemp and Giles Kemp '72. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference
is given to a student from South Africa or Africa or with an academic interest in these areas.
The Anthony Beekman Pool '59 Scholarship, established by his family and friends in 1958, is awarded to an incoming first-year man of promise
and intellectual curiosity. It is given in memory of Tony Pool, who died of pneumonia in his senior year.
The Ramon L. Posel Scholarship was established in 2005. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Richard '36 and Helen Shilcock '36 Post Scholarship was established in 1995 by Helen Shilcock Post, Bill '61 and Suzanne Rekate '65 Post,
Carl '66 and Margery Post '67 Abbott, Barbara Post Walton, Betsy Post Falconi, Richard W. '90 and Jennifer Austrian '90 Post, and their
families. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a well-rounded first-year student who demonstrates academic merit, financial need, and an
interest in athletic endeavors.
The Elizabeth Carver Preston, Class of 1934, Memorial Scholarship was established in 2001 by the family of Elizabeth "Beth" Preston in
recognition of her devotion to Swarthmore College. For Beth, who was a scholarship student, Swarthmore College opened a new world,
stimulating her intellectually and introducing her to lifelong friends, including her husband. Her commitment to the College continued after
graduation with years of participation in College events and service as an alumna, including several terms on the Board of Managers. Her
heartfelt enthusiasm about Swarthmore encouraged numerous young people to consider the College for themselves. In this scholarship, Beth's
spirit lives on by enabling others to experience the college life she so cherished. The Preston Scholarship is renewable and awarded on the basis
of demonstrated financial need.
The Mary Coates Preston Scholarship, established in 1942 by a bequest from Elizabeth Coates, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The David L. Price '31 Scholarship, established in 1975 by a bequest from this alumnus, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Henry L. Price Jr., M.D., '44 Scholarship was established in 1994 by Hal and Meme Price. The renewable scholarship, awarded on the basis
of merit and need, is given to a student who has declared the intention to choose a major in the Division of Natural Sciences other than
engineering. This scholarship is in memory of Dr. Price's parents, Sara Millechamps Anderson and Henry Locher Price.
The Robert Pyle, Class of 1897, Scholarship was established in 1964 by Margery Pyle, Class of 1900, and Ellen Pyle Groff, Class of 1892, in
memory of their brother who served for many years on the Board of Managers.
The Martin S. and Katherine D. Quigley Scholarship was established in 2000 by their son, Kevin F. F. Quigley '74, in honor of his parents'
steady commitment to family, lifetime learning, and international understanding. The renewable scholarship is awarded each year on the basis of
academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to outstanding international students attending Swarthmore.
The Jed S. Rakoff '64 Scholarship was created by an anonymous donor in 2005, in recognition of the benefits of an independent judiciary. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference for students who have demonstrated an
interest in public affairs.
The Raruey-Chandra and Niyomsit Scholarships were established in 1980 by Renoo Suvarnsit '47 in memory of his parents. They are awarded in
alternate years: the Raruey-Chandra Scholarship to a woman for her senior year and the Niyomsit Scholarship to a man for his senior year, to a
student of high academic standing and real need for financial aid. Preference is given to a candidate who has divorced or deceased parents.
The George G. and Helen Gaskill '18 Rathje Scholarship, established by a bequest in 1985, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of
academic merit and financial need. Helen was a writer and a college drama teacher. Her husband was a professor of German.
The Reader's Digest Foundation Endowed Scholarship, created in 1959, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Mark E. Reeves Scholarship was established in 1905, when Caroline E. Reeves of Richmond, Ind., gave to Swarthmore College the sum of
$5,000 for the purpose of founding a scholarship in memory of her husband who "was one of the first subscribers to the College and always had
a deep interest in its success." The fund is part of the general scholarship fund.
The Reichelderfer-Blair Endowed Scholarship was established in 2014 by Douglas H. Blair '70 and Ann Reichelderfer '72 to recognize the
important role of Swarthmore College in their lives, and the lives of their children Graeme Blair and Susannah Blair '08. The scholarship shall
be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Fred C. and Jessie M. Reynolds Scholarship, established in 1984 by a bequest from Jean Reynolds '32, is awarded to a deserving student on
the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Lily Tily Richards '29 Scholarship was established in 1963 by Peirce L. Richards Jr. '27 in memory of his wife, who was active in
Swarthmore alumni activities. This scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Adele Mills Riley '37 Memorial Scholarship, established in 1964 by her husband, John R. Riley, is awarded to a deserving student on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Lewis M. Robbins '40 Scholarship was established by Lewis M. Robbins in 2002. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Michael J. Robbins Living Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established anonymously in 2007 to celebrate the memory of Michael J.
Robbins and to recognize the important role scholarships play in assisting talented students with substantial financial need to receive a
Swarthmore College education. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Byron T. Roberts, Class of 1912, Scholarship, endowed in 1973 by his family in memory of Byron T. Roberts, is awarded annually to an
incoming student and is renewable.
The Louis N. Robinson, Class of 1905, Scholarship was established in 1964 during the College's centennial year by the family and friends of
Louis N. Robinson. Mr. Robinson was for many years a member of the Swarthmore College faculty and founder of the Economics Discussion
Group. A member of the junior or senior class who has demonstrated interest and ability in the study of economics is chosen for this award.
The Edwin P. Rome '37 Scholarship provides financial assistance to worthy students with financial need. The scholarship was established in
1987 in memory of Edwin P. Rome by his wife, Rita Rome, and The William Penn Foundation, on whose board he served.
The Matthew Rosen '73 Scholarship was established in 2004 and is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Alexis Rosenberg Scholarship, established in 1983 by The Alexis Rosenberg Foundation, now the Alexis Rosenberg Fund of the Greenfield
Foundation, provides aid for a first-year student. The scholarship is awarded annually to a worthy student who could not attend the College
without such assistance.
The Girard Bliss Ruddick '27 Scholarship was established in 1987 by J. Perry Ruddick in memory of his father. The renewable scholarship is
awarded to a junior on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to an economics major.
The Charles F. C. Ruff '60 District of Columbia Scholarship memorializes distinguished alumnus Charles F. C. Ruff, who died in 2000.
Preference is given to students with financial need who live in the District of Columbia. Established 1988.
The Edith A. Runge '38 Scholarship, created in 1971 by a bequest from her estate, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic
merit and financial need. A professor, Edith Runge chaired the German Department at Mount Holyoke College at the time of her death.
The David Barker Rushmore, Class of 1894, Scholarship, established in 1974 in honor of David Barker Rushmore by his niece Dorothea
Rushmore Egan '24, is awarded annually to a worthy student who plans to major in engineering or economics.
The Carl E. Russo '79 Business Scholarship was established in 2000 and financially supports rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a
strong and expanding interest in business and entrepreneurship. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need and
academic merit.
The Margaret Hardy Sachter '35 Scholarship, established in 1995, is awarded to a student on the basis of merit and need and is renewable
through the senior year. Peference is given to a student in the junior year, who has shown distinguished academic achievement and demonstrated
interest in community service.
The Bernard Saffran Legacy Scholarship honors Bernie Saffran's contribution to making Swarthmore a place to pursue academic passions
without forgetting an obligation to strive for a better world. Established in 2008, the scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need, with preference given to students with an interest in economics, political science, or philosophy.
The Professor Bernard "Bernie" Saffran Scholarship was created in 2005 by students, colleagues, and friends in honor and memory of Bernie
Saffran, distinguished economist, gifted teacher, international mentor, raconteur, and treasured member of the Swarthmore College faculty from
1967 to 2004. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to economics
majors with an interest in public policy.
The William B. Sailer '82 Scholarship was created in 2004 and is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Richard B. Saltzman '77 Scholarship was established in 2006 by Richard B. Saltzman. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Amelia Emhardt Sands '31 Scholarship, created in 1995 by a bequest from her estate, is awarded to a student who has demonstrated
financial need.
The Katharine Scherman '38 Scholarship is awarded to a student with a primary interest in the arts and the humanities who has special talents in
these fields. Students with other special interests, however, will not be excluded from consideration. Established in 1963 by her husband, the
renewable scholarship honors Katharine Scherman.
The Peter '57 and David '58 Schickele Scholarship was established by an anonymous donor in 2000. Named for Peter and in memory of his
brother, David, it is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to students from the Native American
community in the plains, desert, and mountain states west of the Mississippi River.
The Schmidt/Lyman Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. The scholarship is
renewable.
The Walter Ludwig Schnaring Scholarship was established in 1998 by a gift from the estate of Helen Hillborn Schnaring, in memory of her
husband. This renewable scholarship is unrestricted.
The Schneck Family Scholarship was established in 2001 by Jennifer Schneck '83. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Howard A. Schneiderman '48 Scholarship, established in 1991 by his family, is awarded to a first-year student and is renewable. Preference
is given to students with an interest in the biological sciences.
The Schoenbaum Family Scholarship was established in 2003 by Stephen B. Schoenbaum'62. It is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need and is renewable. Preference is given to first-generation college students.
The Gustavo R. Schwed '84 and Lucy E. Harrington '85 Scholarship was established in 2006 by Gus Schwed and Lucy Harrington. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to economically disadvantaged students
who represent the first generation in their families to attend college.
The Dick Senn '56 Scholarship was established in 2012 in loving memory by his wife Barbara Sachs Senn and their children in recognition of
Dick's devotion to Swarthmore. He brought his entrepreneurial spirit, his constant quest for knowledge, his involvement in the political process,
his value of education, and love of life and humanity to his everyday life and to each interview he did with prospective Swarthmore students. This
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic merit, with preference for African American or Latino students,
preferably majoring in political science.
The William G. and Mary N. Serrill Honors Scholarship, created in 1931 through a gift from William's estate, is awarded to a deserving student
on the basis of financial need.
The Clinton G. Shafer '51 Scholarship, established in 1964 by his family, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and
financial need, with preference given to engineering and physical science majors.
The Joe '25 and Terry Shane Scholarship was created in 1986 in honor of Joe Shane, who was vice president of Swarthmore College's Alumni,
Development, and Public Relations from 1950 to 1972, and his wife, Terry, who assisted him in countless ways in serving the College. The
renewable scholarship was established by their son, Larry Shane '56, and his wife, Marty Porter Shane '57, in remembrance of Joe and Terry's
warm friendship with generations of Swarthmore alumni. This award is made to a first-year student on the basis of academic merit and financial
need.
The Roy J. '70 and Linda G. Shanker Scholarship was established in 2006. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit
and financial need.
The Leonard Shapiro Scholarship was established in 2004 by his son, Robin Marc Shapiro '78. The award assumes both academic excellence
and financial need and is awarded to a first-year student who shows great promise. Preference for this renewable scholarship is given to a
student who is the first generation of his or her family to attend a college or university in the United States.
The Felice K. Shea '43 Scholarship was established in 2004 by an anonymous donor and honors the Honorable Felice K. Shea, who has
dedicated her life to issues of justice and public service throughout her 25 years on the bench and her work with the Legal Aid Society of New
York. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with preference for a student looking toward a
career in public service.
The Philip Shen and Sylvia Lo Shen Scholarship was established in 2006 by an anonymous donor to honor the parents of the donor's classmate,
Kairos Shen '87. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to Chinese
students who are not U.S. citizens and students interested in religious studies.
The Florence Creer Shepard '26 Scholarship, established in 1988 by her husband, is awarded on the basis of high scholastic attainment,
character, and personality.
The Caroline Shero '39 Endowed Scholarship, established on the occasion of her retirement from Swarthmore College in 1982, is awarded to a
student who has demonstrated financial need.
The Annie Shoemaker Scholarship was created in 1899 and honors the memory of a member of the Board of Managers who served from 1876 to
1883 and 1891 to 1903. The scholarship is awarded to a student on the basis of financial need.
The Sarah W. Shreiner Scholarship, given in 1965 in loving memory by her daughter, Leah S. Leeds '27, is awarded to a deserving student on the
basis of academic merit and financial need. Leah created the scholarship because she was "able to finish at Swarthmore due to someone's
kindness in making money available" when her father fell ill and her family suffered extreme financial hardship.
The Barbara L. Klock '86 and Salem D. Shuchman '84 Scholarship, created in 2000, is awarded to a junior or senior who intends to enter the
teaching profession. The recipient is chosen by the Financial Aid Office in consultation with the faculty of the Educational Studies Department at
Swarthmore College.
The William C. '47 and Barbara Tipping '50 Sieck Scholarship was established in 1979 by the Siecks and is awarded annually to a student
showing distinction in academics, leadership qualities, and extracurricular activities and who indicates an interest in a career in business.
The Gary J. Simon '79 Scholarship was established in 2002. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial
need.
The Walter Frederick Sims, Class of 1897, Scholarship, established in 1975 by a gift from the estate of Florence Sims, is awarded to a deserving
student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Daniel M. Singer '51 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2005 by Maxine Frank Singer '52 in honor of her husband. This renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Rose and Simon Siskin Scholarship was established in 2004 in loving memory by their family to provide financial aid on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Virginia L. '40 and Robert C. Sites Scholarship, established in 2003 by a bequest from Virginia Sites, is awarded to a deserving student on
the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Nancy Baxter Skallerup Scholarship was established in 1982 by her husband and children. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a first-
year student with financial need.
The Ann Brownell Sloane '60 Scholarship was established in 2002 by Ann Brownell Sloane. Preference is given to a student majoring in history.
The William W. Slocum '43 Scholarship was established in 1981 and is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Courtney C. Smith Scholarship, established in 1987 by the Smith family and members of the Class of 1957, is for students who best exemplify
the characteristics of Swarthmore's ninth president: intellect and intellectual courage, natural dignity, humane purpose, and capacity for
leadership. Normally, the award is made to a member of the first-year class on the basis of merit and need. Recipients of this renewable
scholarship gain access to a special file in the Friends Historical Library left by the scholarship's creator, the Class of 1957, inviting them to
perpetuate the memory of this individual's 16 years of stewardship of the College's affairs and his tragic death in its service.
The Elizabeth Thorn Snipes Scholarship was established in 2004 by Jim Snipes '75. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need, with preference given to students majoring in religion or philosophy.
The Harold E. '29 and Ruth Calwell Snyder Premedical Scholarship, the gift of Harold E. Snyder in 1992, provides support up to full tuition and
fees for junior or senior premedical students and is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Cindy Solomon Memorial Scholarship was created in 1979 by her parents, Mary and Frank Solomon, Jr. '50. It is awarded with preference
given to a young woman in need of financial assistance who has a special talent in poetry or other creative and imaginative fields.
The Frank Solomon Memorial Scholarship was created in 1955 by family, friends, and the Joseph & Feiss Company Charity Fund. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Frank Solomon Jr. '50 Scholarship was established in 2004. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Helen Solomon Scholarship was given in 1988 in her memory by her son, Frank Solomon Jr. '50. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a
first-year student on the basis of merit and need.
The Southern California Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 2014 by California First National Bank and Leslie Jewett '77. The
scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable. Preference will be given to students
from Los Angeles or Orange Counties, with a second preference being the state of California.
The Babette S. Spiegel '33 Scholarship, given by her family in 1972 in memory of Babette S. Spiegel, is awarded to a student showing very great
promise as a creative writer (in any literary form) who has need of financial assistance. The English Department assists in the selection.
The William T. '51 and Patricia E. Spock Scholarship was established in 2000 by Thomas E. '78 and Linda M. Spock. This renewable scholarship
is awarded with preference given to a man or woman majoring in mathematics or the fine arts.
The Harry E. Sprogell '32 Scholarship, established in 1981 in memory of Harry E. Sprogell '32 in honor of his class's 50th reunion, is awarded to
a junior or senior with financial need who has a special interest in law or music.
The Mary L. Sproul, Class of 1907, Scholarship was established by a bequest in 1949 from this alumna, cousin of former Pennsylvania governor,
William Sproul. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Helen E. W. Squier Scholarship, created in 1892, provides financial aid to a student with need.
The Helen G. Stafford '30 Scholarship, established by a bequest from the estate of her sister, Anna R. Stafford, is awarded to a deserving student
on the basis of financial need. Established 1974.
The C. V. Starr Scholarship, established in 1988 by The Starr Foundation as a memorial to its founder, provides scholarship assistance on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Harriet '48 and Whitney '48 Stearns Scholarship was established in 2019 by Harriet and Whitney Stearns. The scholarship shall be awarded
to students on the basis of academic merit, community service, and financial need and is renewable.
The David Parks Steelman Scholarship, established in his memory in 1990 by C. William '63 and Linda G. Steelman, is awarded annually to a
deserving male or female student on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given to someone showing a strong interest
in athletics.
The Stella Steiner Scholarship was established in 1990 by Lisa A. Steiner '54 in honor of her mother. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a
first-year student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Anne C. Stephens and Janaki Ramaswamy Scholarship was established in 2006 by Christianna Strohbeck '80 and Ramaswamy Murari. The
renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to students who demonstrate a
commitment to teaching or counseling to develop the human and intellectual potential of others.
The Morris and Pearl Donn Sternlight Scholarship, established by their son, Peter D. Sternlight '48, in 2005, is awarded on the basis of
academic merit and financial need.
The Thomas D. '87 and Kathleen B. '87 Stoddard Scholarship was established in 2004. This gift of restricted endowment funds is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Clarence K. Streit Scholarship, established in 1975, is awarded to a student entering the junior or senior year and majoring in history.
Preference is given to persons, outstanding in initiative and scholarship, who demonstrate a particular interest in early American history. This
scholarship honors Clarence K. Streit, author of Union Now: A Proposal for an Atlantic Federal Union of the Free, whose seminal ideas were
made public in three Cooper Foundation lectures at Swarthmore.
The Francis Holmes Strozier '57 Memorial Scholarship, created in 1956 by his parents following his death, is awarded to a deserving student on
the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Joseph T. Sullivan Scholarship, established by a bequest in 1922, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Solon E. Summerfield Endowed Scholarship, established in 1991 by the Summerfield Foundation, is awarded on the basis of academic merit
and financial need with a preference for students from the Midwest.
The Swarthmore College Asian Scholarship was established in 2003 by Ahna Dewan '96, Terence Graham '94, Bruce Wook Han '86, George Hui
'75, Min Lee '00, Thomas Lee '73, Benjamin Su '96, Mark Tong '99, Quoc T. Trang '93, Stephanie Wang '99, and Michael Yu '88. The scholarship
is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic excellence (or potential for academic excellence) to Swarthmore College students of
Asian ancestry (excluding U.S. nationals).
The Swarthmore College Endowed Scholarship was established by an anonymous donor in 2014 in honor of his 30th reunion. The scholarship
shall be awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Katharine Bennett Tappen, Class of 1931, Memorial Scholarship was established in 1979 by her sister, a member of the Class of 1928, and is
awarded to a first-year student. The scholarship is renewable for four years at the discretion of the College. Preference is given to a resident of
the Delmarva Peninsula.
The Newton E. Tarble, Class of 1913, Award, established in 1961 by Newton E. Tarble, is granted to a first-year man who gives promise of
leadership, ranks high in scholarship, character, and personality, and resides west of the Mississippi River or south of Springfield, Ill.
The Julia Fishback Terrell '45 Scholarship was established in 2004 by Burnham Terrell '45 in honor and memory of Julia Terrell. The renewable
scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with a preference given to students with potential for service to the
College.
The Ravi Thackurdeen '14 Memorial Scholarship was established in 2012 by the Thackurdeen family and friends in memory of a young man who
not only embraced life with every fiber of his being, but touched others' lives so profoundly. Filled with boundless energy and enthusiasm, Ravi
cherished his time at Swarthmore-a place he said "felt like home"-as well as his many dynamic learning experiences and the opportunities
afforded to him as a student. His greatest wish was to "make a difference in the world." This scholarship shall be awarded to students on the
basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The John S. Thayer Endowed Scholarship was established by a bequest from this friend of the College in 2007. The renewable scholarship is
awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Phoebe Anna Thorne Memorial Scholarship was established by a Thorne family member in 1911. Preference is given to members of the New
York Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The scholarship is renewable.
The Don Thomas Endowed Scholarship was established in 2018 in honor of Don Thomas, who was the recipient of the Suzanne P. Welsh Award.
The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of financial need to a Swarthmore student without further restrictions or preferences.
The Titus Scholarship was established by a bequest from Georgiana Titus, Class of 1898, and is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of
academic merit and financial need. Established 1966.
The David Todd '38 Scholarship was established in 2004 in his memory by his daughter, Rebecca Todd Lehmann '64, and her husband, Scott K.
Lehmann '64. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with preference for a student in the natural sciences.
The Jean Goldman Todd and Alden Todd '39 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2002 by writer and editor Alden Todd. The late Jean
Goldman Todd was a research biologist specializing in tissue culture. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need with preference given to students concentrating in the life sciences.
The Patricia Trinder Scholarship, awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, is renewable. This scholarship was created in
2006 to honor the memory of Pat Trinder, recruitment manager and assistant director of career services (1988-2003) and secretary to the
chairman of athletics (1979-1988). Pat's long career at the College was dedicated to reaching out, serving, supporting, encouraging, and being a
friend to students as they navigated life at Swarthmore. She is remembered for her compassion, her larger-than-life personality, and her warmth
toward others. The donors to this scholarship hope it will be awarded to a student who exemplifies this spirit.
The Audrey Friedman Troy Scholarship, established in 1964 by her husband, Melvin B. Troy '48, is awarded to a first-year man or woman.
Prime consideration for this renewable scholarship is given to the ability of the prospective scholar to profit from a Swarthmore education and to
be a contributor to the College and, ultimately, to society.
The Jane Hausman and Geoffrey M. B.'75 Troy Scholarship, established in 1999, is awarded annually to a deserving student on the basis of
academic merit and financial need, with preference given to art history majors.
The Joseph Leon Turner '73 and Lana Everett Turner '74 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2015 by Joseph Leon Turner '73 and Lana
Everett Turner '74 to recognize the important role of Swarthmore College in their lives. The scholarship shall be awarded to students on the basis
of academic merit and financial need and is renewable.
The Robert C. '36 and Sue Thomas '35 Turner Scholarship, established in 1987, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit
and financial need.
The Daniel Underhill Scholarship was established by a bequest from Edward Clarkson Wilson, Class of 1891, and a gift by Daniel Underhill, Jr.
Class of 1894. The scholarship is named for Daniel Underhill and also recognizes Underhill's father's 31-year tenure on the Board of Managers.
The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of financial need. Established 1962.
The Vaughan-Berry Scholarship was established in 1963 by Harold S. Berry '28 and Elizabeth Vaughan Berry '28 through their estate plans to
provide financial assistance to needy students.
The William Hilles Ward, Class of 1915, Scholarship was established in 1967 by family members in memory of this alumnus who served on seven
committees during his years on the Board of Managers. It is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need
with preference for a science major.
The Gertrude S. Weaver '38 Scholarship was endowed in her memory by her longtime friend and companion Anna Janney de Armond '32. The
scholarship, renewable in the senior year, is awarded each year to a woman student planning a career in teaching, with preference given to a
student who is majoring or has a special interest in German or Chinese language, literature, history, or European history. Established 2008.
The Ellen V. Weissman '72 Scholarship was created in 2000. The renewable scholarship is awarded annually on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Stanley and Corinne Weithorn Scholarship was established in 1981. The renewable scholarship is awarded with preference given to a
student who has expressed a serious interest in the area of social justice and civil rights.
The Suzanne P. Welsh Scholarship was created in 2000 by an anonymous donor in recognition of outstanding administrators at Swarthmore
College. The Welsh fund was established in honor of Suzanne P. Welsh, who joined the College staff in 1983 and became its treasurer in 1989
and vice president for finance and treasurer in 2002. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The David '51 and Anita '51 Wesson Scholarship was established on the occasion of their 50th reunion in honor of their parents, Eleanor and
Castro Dabrohua and Marion and Philip Wesson. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a first-year student on the basis of academic merit
and financial need. Preference is given to a student who is the first in his or her family to attend college. Established 2000.
The Dan and Sidney West Scholarship was established in 2003 by an anonymous donor to reflect the appreciation, respect, and affection that the
Swarthmore College community holds for the Wests and to honor their significant accomplishments at institutional, community, and personal
levels. In 2007, Dan and Sidney added funds to this endowment. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of financial need and
academic merit, with a preference for students from Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Texas.
The Westbury Quarterly Meeting Scholarship was created in 1874, when the Westbury Quarterly Meeting, N.Y., turned over to Swarthmore
College a fund of $5,000, called the Educational Fund belonging to the Westbury Quarterly Meeting. The scholarship is awarded to students with
financial need.
The Larry E. and Myrt C. Westphal Scholarship was established by Karan Madan '91, Suzanne Buckley '89, and Jason Cummins '90, with
additional gifts from other appreciative students, friends and colleagues. The scholarship honors Professor Westphal's teaching excellence and
the impact he had through his microeconomics, economic development, Asian economies and environmental studies classes, and Dean
Westphal's dedication and work in housing, disabilities, the Lang Scholar program and personal advising. The scholarship is awarded each year
on the basis of academic merit and financial need and is renewable. Established 2011.
The Deborah F. Wharton Scholarship was created in 1875 and honors the mother of Joseph Wharton, who served on the Board of Managers
from 1883 to 1907. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of financial need.
The White Family Scholarship, established in 1972, provides financial aid for a deserving student. A preference is given to students with an
interest in business, economics, or engineering.
The Widdicombe Family Scholarship was established in 2006 by Stacey "Toby" Widdicombe III '74, Gerard C. Widdicombe, and Elizabeth A.
Widdicombe in honor of their parents. This renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Frederick J. Wiest Jr. '37 and Elizabeth S. Wiest '38 Scholarship was established in 2006 and is awarded on the basis of academic merit and
financial need.
The Rachel Leigh Wightman Scholarship was created in 2000 by Colin W. '82 and Anne Bauman '82 Wightman in memory of their daughter. The
renewable scholarship is awarded to a gentle person whose quiet, unrelenting love of learning inspires similar passion in those around them. The
scholarship is awarded on the basis of need to a worthy student.
The Erik Joseph Wilk '90 Scholarship, established in 2005, is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need with a preference for
someone who embraces, and has a sensitivity for and acceptance of diversity, including other cultures and sexual orientations.
The Samuel Willets Scholarship was created in 1885 to honor a member of the original committee to solicit funds for "The Establishment of
Swarthmore College" who also served on the Board of Managers from 1862 to 1883. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving student on the
basis of financial need.
The I.V. Williamson Scholarship, established in 1885 by a gift from the sale of property by this Philadelphia merchant and philanthropist, is
awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Edward Clarkson Wilson and Elizabeth T. Wilson Scholarship, established in 1948 to honor the former principal of the Baltimore Friends
School and his wife, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of financial need.
The Elmer L. Winkler '52 Scholarship, established in 1980 by this alumnus, is awarded annually to a deserving student on the basis of academic
merit and financial need.
The Ned Winpenny '74 Memorial Scholarship was established in 2000 by an anonymous donor. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Phyllis M. Wang Wise '67 Endowed Scholarship was established in 2009. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic
merit and financial need, with preference given to students of color majoring in biology.
The Robert Wolf '39 Scholarship was endowed in his memory by his sisters, Ruth Wolf Page '42 and Ethel Wolf Boyer '41. The renewable
scholarship is awarded each year on the basis of need and merit to a junior or senior majoring in chemistry or biology. Established 1998.
The Letitia M. Wolverton, Class of 1913, Scholarship, given by a bequest in 1983 from Letitia M. Wolverton, provides scholarships for members
of the junior and senior classes who have proved to be capable students and have need for financial assistance to complete their education at
Swarthmore College.
The Mary Wood Scholarship, created through a bequest in 1898 from this Media, Pa., resident, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of
financial need.
The Roselynd Atherholt Wood '23 Scholarship, established in 1983 by this alumna, is awarded to a deserving student on the basis of academic
merit and financial need.
The Thomas Woodnutt Scholarship was established in 1905 by Hannah H. Woodnutt, then a member of the Board of Managers, in memory of her
husband, who had from the beginning taken a great interest in Swarthmore College.
The Frances '28 and John '30 Worth Scholarship was established by Frances Ramsey Worth in 1993. The renewable scholarship is awarded to a
first-year student with strong academic credentials and financial need.
The David Wright '65 Scholarship was established in 2005 and is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Elizabeth Cox Wright Endowed Scholarship was established in 2006 by Pamela Taylor Wetzels '52 to honor an outstanding, beloved teacher
known for instilling a love of Shakespeare in her students and holding poetry seminars in her home. Elizabeth Cox Wright came to Swarthmore
College as an instructor of English in 1930 and retired as a professor emerita of English in 1964. She died in 1973. This renewable scholarship
is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
The Harrison M. Wright Scholarship was created in 1993 by friends, colleagues, and former students of Harrison M. Wright, Isaac H. Clothier
Professor of History and International Relations, on the occasion of his retirement from the College. The scholarship supports a student who will
study in Africa.
The Michael M. and Zelma K. Wynn Scholarship, established in 1983 by Kenneth R. Wynn '74 in honor of his mother and father, is awarded
annually to a student on the basis of need and merit.
The Richard A. Yanowitch '81 Scholarship, established in 2002, reflects the donor's encouragement of student interest in international relations
and cross-cultural development. The renewable scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, with preference given
to African Americans and other minority groups. It is hoped that during his or her time at the College, the Yanowitch scholar will study history,
languages, and international cultures.
The Paul Ylvisaker H'78 Scholarship was established in 2008 by a member of the Class of 1952 to honor an articulate, inspiring, and charismatic
faculty member who taught political science from 1948 to 1955. In 1978, Paul Ylvisaker returned to Swarthmore to receive an honorary degree,
which recognized his contributions as a champion of cities and the urban underclass as a planner, government official, foundation executive, and
educator. This scholarship is awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
6 College Life
6.1 The Residential College Community
Swarthmore College is committed to student learning in and out of the classroom and thus supports the personal and leadership development of
students through extracurricular activities. Swarthmore's housing philosophy is based on the belief that residence-hall living enhances education
by contributing to an individual's academic, social, and personal development. If residential communities are to provide an environment for
personal growth, residents must accept responsibility for their own actions and demonstrate respect for the rights and concerns of others and for
the property of the College.
6.1.1 Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Code of Conduct
General housing policies and regulations described below are established by the Dean's Office and the Office of Student Engagement. Students
are expected to familiarize themselves with the policies and rules concerning their conduct in the residence halls. Acceptance of space in College
housing constitutes your knowledge of, willingness and agreement to abide by these housing policies. Living in College housing is a privilege and
not a right. The Dean's Office and/or Office of Student Engagement may, at any time and at its own discretion, withdraw this privilege due to
behavior, which does not rise to the standards outlined below. Students who lose their housing privileges are not typically entitled to a refund of
their room and board charges for the remaining weeks of the semester.
6.2 Residential Life
Swarthmore is a primarily residential college, conducted on the assumption that the close association of students and instructors is an important
element in education. Most students live in college residence halls all eight (8) semesters. New students are required to live in the residence halls
during their first two (2) semesters. Transfer students are required to live in the residence halls during their first (1) semester. After their first
year at the College, students are permitted to live in non-College housing.
6.2.1 Housing
Seventeen residence halls, ranging in capacity from 8 to 214 students, offer a diversity of housing styles. Several of the residence halls are a 5 to
15-minute walk to the center of campus. Swarthmore's residence halls are Alice Paul; Dana; David Kemp (the gift of Giles Kemp '72 and
Barbara Guss Kemp, in honor of Giles' grandfather); Hallowell; Kyle House (named in honor of Fred and Elena Kyle '55); Lodges; Mary Lyon;
Mertz Hall (the gift of Harold and Esther Mertz); Palmer; Pittenger; Roberts; the upper floors in the wings of Parrish Hall; PPR Apartments;
Wharton Hall (named in honor of its donor, Joseph Wharton, a one-time president of the Board of Managers); Willets Hall (made possible
largely by a bequest from Phebe Seaman and named in honor of her mother and aunts); Woolman House; Worth Hall (the gift of William P. and
J. Sharples Worth, as a memorial to their parents).
All new students are assigned roommate(s) and a residence hall room by the Office of Student Engagement. Efforts are made to follow the
preferences indicated and to accommodate special needs, such as documented disabilities.
During the spring semester, rising senior, junior and sophomore students select rooms for the following fall. Each student receives a lottery
number, based on their official class year, which dictates their priority status in lottery room selection. The College guarantees housing for all
students who participate in the housing selection process in a timely manner. While many seniors and some juniors live in single-type rooms, the
College cannot guarantee that a single will be available for any student. First-year, sophomore, and junior students generally live in doubles,
triple, or quad-style rooms.
A mixture of class years live in each residence hall. About 90 percent of residence hall areas are designated as gender-neutral housing either by
floor, section, or building. The remaining areas are single-gender housing. Although single-gender options are offered, they are not always
available and as such cannot be guaranteed.
Requests for room changes can be requested by contacting the Office of Student Engagement. Making a room change request does not ensure
that a room change will be made. Students are expected to work through roommate and other housing conflicts with the involved parties, with the
help of resident assistants (RAs), residential community coordinators (RCCs), Office of Student Engagement professional staff, or deans.
All students are expected to occupy the rooms to which they are assigned or which they have selected through the regular room choosing process.
Prior approval from the Office of Student Engagement is required of any student making a room change. Student are restricted from occupying,
moving into, or using as storage any vacant resident hall room, without express permission from the Office of Student Engagement. Students who
switch rooms without the consent of the Office of Student Engagement may be fined and/or not be permitted to participate in the next housing
lottery.
Resident assistants, selected from the junior and senior classes, are assigned to each of the residence halls. These leaders help create activities
for students, serve as support advisers to their hall-mates, and help enforce College rules for the comfort and safety of the residents.
Residence halls remain open during fall break, Thanksgiving, and spring break, but are closed to student occupancy during winter vacation.
Specific winter vacation dates are set each year, but generally include a 4-5 week period from mid-December through mid-January. Limited meal
options are available during fall and spring breaks.
Guests-Residence hall rooms are designed for sleeping and studying on the part of the occupants. Guests of Swarthmore students are welcome to
visit campus when the College is in session. Guests are defined as non-Swarthmore students and friends, family, and prospective college-aged
students. Individuals or groups contracted to perform specific functions at the College (e.g., performers, speakers, etc.) are not permitted to stay
overnight in the residence halls. If a guest of a student will be staying in a residence hall overnight, the resident assistant (RA) must be notified,
and all roommates must agree to any overnight stay.
A guest is not permitted to stay in a residence hall more than a total of four (4) nights each term, and they must be accompanied by their host at
all times while in the residence halls. A guest is never permitted to sleep or reside in any public location (such as a residence hall lounge,
basement, or other public space). Requests for exceptions must be made to the Office of Student Engagement.
Student hosts are responsible for the conduct of their guests on campus and will be held accountable for any violation of the student code of
conduct or other rules of the College committed by a guest.
The Dean's Office and/or Office of Student Engagement reserves the right to require a guest to immediately leave campus if their behavior begins
to have an impact on the campus community or is otherwise disruptive.
Before inviting a guest into the room, the student must secure the permission of all roommates. If the roommate does not give permission, the
inviter may not have the guest in the room. Usually, roommates can agree about the presence and timing of guests. If no agreement can be
reached, the basic principle is that the room is for study and sleeping by the assigned occupants.
More detailed housing rules and regulations are found in the Student Handbook, and on the housing website: www.swarthmore.edu/housing.
6.2.2 Storage and Insurance
College storage is not available during the summer term, or while a student is taking part in off-campus study. Students should make
arrangements for transporting personal items to and from campus and for storing those items when the residence halls are closed (with the
exception of winter break). Please contact the Office of Student Engagement for a list of suggested storage vendors. There are many locations
off-campus that offer students summer and winter break storage options. Students must work with these companies directly as they are not
managed by the College.
A limited amount of storage may be available to international students who are not able to travel home during the summer term and others with
extenuating circumstances. Please contact the Office of Student Engagement to determine eligibility for this option.
The insurance program for the College is designed to provide protection for College property and does not include the property of students or
others. Students and their parents are strongly urged to review their insurance plan to be sure that coverage is extended to include personal
effects while at college. The College assumes no responsibility for stored items; students store items at their own risk.
6.2.3 Dining
Swarthmore's Dining Services oversees the College's main dining facility, Sharples Dining Hall, as well as Essie Mae's Snack Bar, the Kohlberg
Coffee Bar, the Science Center Coffee Bar, the Mary Lyon's Breakfast Room, a weekday Grab-N-Go lunch program, and provides catering
services to campus. Sharples Dining Hall is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, 10
a.m. to 7 p.m. Unlimited servings are permitted, and takeout is available seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
Students select their meal plan at the start of each semester and have two weeks to make changes to their plan, after which no further changes
can be made. The College offers four main meal plans and two additional plans tailored to students residing in PPR Apartments and students
commuting to campus. All students living in campus housing must subscribe to a meal plan; students commuting to campus may choose to opt
out. Meal plans consist of varying combinations of meals, usable only at Sharples Dining Hall, Points, usable at any campus dining location, and
Swat Points, usable at any campus dining location as well as at the Swarthmore Campus & Community Store and at participating borough
merchants. All meal plans include a late night snack equivalency at Essie Mae's Snack Bar equal to one meal swipe per night and three guest
meals per semester. Students eating in any College dining location must present their OneCard picture identification card in order to use their
meal credit or points. These policies are in effect to protect each student's personal meal plan account.
Swarthmore's dining program strives to uphold the College's commitment to sustainability by sourcing locally produced foods, reducing waste,
and conserving resources. In addition to buying directly from local food producers, Dining Services is proud to work with a number of local,
privately owned and operated food distributors. Each of these companies feature locally produced items, provide employment to area residents,
and support their communities. A full list of the food distributors and producers used can be found on the Dining Services website.
A sincere effort is made to meet the dietary needs of all Swarthmore students. Sharples Dining Hall is a peanut-free facility, and serving lines and
individual dishes are labeled for common allergens: Milk, Egg, Wheat, Soy, Shellfish, Fish, and Tree Nuts. Sharples includes a Free Zone
designed for students who need to eat an entirely gluten free diet. Gluten free hot foods, staples, and desserts are available in the Free Zone as
well as equipment for students to prepare their own items. Vegetarian and vegan options are offered at every meal in Sharples, including in the
Free Zone. There are also packaged gluten-free products available at each of the campus coffee bars and at Essie Mae's snack bar. Beyond these
broad accommodations, the Dining Services team works collaboratively with individual students with documented medical conditions to identify
options that will meet their needs within the institutional setting. When visiting our dining facilities, please ask to speak to a manager if you have
questions about menu items or ingredients.
Swarthmore students may obtain passes to eat at the Bryn Mawr and Haverford college dining halls from the checkers at Sharples Dining Hall.
For information on additional dining services, including catering, cakes, and barbeques, please visit the Dining Services website.
6.2.4 Parking
All members of the campus community (faculty, staff, students, and visitors) are expected to follow the College's parking and transportation
polices. These policies are enacted in order to increase campus safety and to preserve parking for Swarthmore College employees and students
who are issued permits.
There are a limited amount of parking spaces on campus for current students. For reasons of sustainability and community, students are not
allowed to bring a car to Swarthmore College without explicit approval from the Parking Committee. Approximately 160 parking permits are set
aside for members of the student body with extenuating needs or circumstances that will require a car. The number of student permit requests
usually outnumbers the spaces we have set aside for students. As such, student parking permits applications will be prioritized by established
and existing criteria: class year, extenuating need, and special medical accommodations.
Students should not plan on bringing a car to campus unless they receive explicit permission to do so. Parking regulations are enforced at all
times during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Students found in violation of campus transportation polices may be referred to the Office
of Student Conduct.
6.3 Health & Wellness
6.3.1 Student Health and Wellness Services (SHWS)
The health and wellness team supports the needs of our diverse student body by providing individualized holistic care and campus-wide
education. The Health & Wellness Center offers myriad wellness promotion, counseling, education, and prevention services.
Students may call 610-328-8058 to schedule an appointment for a health evaluation by a registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physician,
dietitian, or alcohol and other drug counselor. Our physicians are members of the Crozer Health System, a full-service teaching hospital and
trauma center. The Health & Wellness Center provides acute care, allergy injections, alcohol and other drug counseling, first aid treatment,
interpersonal relationship education, nutrition counseling, referral services, reproductive health services, simple diagnostic screenings, travel
health consultations, vaccinations, and wellness visits. Our operational hours are based on when the need is highest, and are supplemented by an
after-hours on call system that provides students with access to a registered nurse.
All visits to the Health & Wellness Center are free of cost. A nominal fee is applied for simple diagnostic tests and most medications dispensed at
the Health & Wellness Center. Laboratory specimens are sent to LabCorp and are billed by the lab to the student's health insurance. A small
dispensary of commonly used prescription medications is maintained. Students who need prescription medication may purchase them through
their insurance with a pharmacy or through the Health & Wellness Center for a fee. A delivery service from a local pharmacy is available to
students.
The Swarthmore College Student Health Portal is available for managing your on-campus health needs and forms. You can access your Student
Health Portal through your mySwarthmore account. Click on Worth Health Center, then, click on Student Health Portal.
More information on the Student Health & Wellness Center is available at www.swarthmore.edu/health
6.3.2 Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Services for students include individual & group counseling and psychotherapy, emergency-on-call consultation, consultation regarding the use
of psychiatric drugs in conjunction with ongoing psychotherapy, psychological testing, and educational programming. Counseling and
Psychological Services (CAPS) participates in training resident assistants and student academic mentors as well as other student support groups
and provides consultation to staff, faculty, and parents.
CAPS is staffed by a diverse group of psychological, social work, and psychiatric professionals. The director and staff collectively provide
regular appointment times Monday through Friday. Students may be referred to outside mental health practitioners at their request or when
long-term or highly specialized services are needed. CAPS main office is located in the Worth Health Center, North Wing.
Treatment at CAPS is voluntary and confidential. Where there may be a significant question of imminent threat to someone's life or safety, CAPS
reserves the right to break confidentiality in order to ensure safety.
Appointment requests may be made on-line at https://www.swarthmore.edu/counseling-and-psychological-services/caps-request-to-schedule-
appointment or in person or by phone (610-328-8059) between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Telephone consultation is
available 24/7/365 at 610-328-7768.
For more detailed information about CAPS, visit the website at www.swarthmore.edu/caps.xml.
6.3.3 Health Insurance
Health insurance is required for all Swarthmore students. Please be certain that your private or state sponsored health insurance plan will cover
a student away from home. Services away from home, such as blood tests, MRI's, x-rays, behavioral health and care from specialists are often
not covered under a private or state sponsored insurance plan.
All students are enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) annually. Before August 1st, students may waive out of the plan if
they meet the requirements of the College and provide proof of insurance. If your insurance status changes, notify student health services
immediately. Enrollment to the Student Health Insurance Plan must be done within 31 days of the loss of other coverage. Financially aided
students should be aware that there is a sliding scale in place for the Student Health Insurance Plan premium. For further information, please
consult the Student Health Insurance Plan Coordinator (health@swarthmore.edu). The College provides supplemental health insurance for
students who are actively participating in intercollegiate and club sports. All athletes with questions related to insurance coverage with sports
injuries should contact Marie Mancini (mmancin1@swarthmore.edu).
6.4 Campus Safety
The Department of Public Safety is located in the Benjamin West House. The department provides round-the-clock uniformed patrol of the
campus buildings and grounds. Public safety officers are PA State Certified under Act 235 and receive a variety of training such as, CPR/First
Aid and AED, trauma informed response, implicit bias, de-escalation, Clery and Title IX. Public safety officers provide a prompt, professional
presence and can help students with emergency issues as well as general advice on crime prevention and awareness programs. Students are
encouraged to call the department at 610-328-8281 any time they feel Public Safety can be of assistance. All emergencies should be reported by
contacting the department's emergency telephone line 610-328-8333. Any crime or suspected crime should be reported immediately to the
Department of Public Safety.
Swarthmore College's Annual Fire Safety and Security Report is written to comply with the (Pa.) College and University Security Information
Act: 24 P.S., Sec. 2502-3©, the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, and the Campus
Fire Safety Right to Know Act. This annual report includes statistics for the previous 3 years concerning reported crimes that occurred on
campus, in certain off-campus buildings owned or controlled by Swarthmore College, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to
and accessible from the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning alcohol
and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The College's Fire Safety Report contains a variety of
fire safety related information in addition to campus fire statistics for the most recent three calendar years. To obtain a full copy of this
document, visit www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/public-safety/DPSAnnualReport2018.pdf.
6.5 Cocurricular Opportunities
6.5.1 Student Government
The Student Council is the chief body of student government and exists to serve and represent the students of Swarthmore College. Its members
are elected semiannually. The powers and responsibilities of the Student Council are (1) the administration of the Student Activities Account; (2)
the appointment of students to those committees within the College community upon which student representatives are to serve; (3) the oversight
of those students of those committees; (4) the administration of student organizations; (5) the operation of just elections; (6) the execution of
referendums; (7) the representation of the student body to the faculty, staff, and administration, and to outside groups, as deemed appropriate;
and (8) the formulation of rules needed to exercise these powers and to fulfill these responsibilities. The Student Council provides a forum for
student opinion and is willing to hear and, when judged appropriate, act upon the ideas, grievances, or proposals of any Swarthmore student.
The Student Budget Committee (SBC) allocates and administers the Student Activity Fund. The SBC allocates funds to all campus events,
maintains a balanced social calendar, and is responsible for organizing formals and various other activities that are designed to appeal to a
variety of interests and are open to all students free of charge.
Service on College Committees is determined by the Appointments Committee of Student Council that selects qualified student representatives.
6.5.2 The Arts
Creative arts activities take place in conjunction with the departments of art, English, music and dance, and theater. There are also many student
groups that organize creative activities. Professional performers and artists are brought to campus regularly, both to perform/exhibit and to offer
master classes. Campus facilities include practice and performance spaces available for student use.
6.5.3 Athletics/Physical Activities
The Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation's program is varied, offering every student the opportunity to participate in a
wide range of sports, including intercollegiate, club and intramural teams, and recreation and wellness programs.
6.5.4 Publications and Media
The Phoenix, the weekly student newspaper; the Halcyon, the College yearbook; and WSRN, the campus radio station, are completely student-
run organizations. Lodge 6 houses War News Radio. The campus Media Center supports student initiatives in video and web formats. Several
other student publications include literary magazines and newsletters. For more information, contact the Office of Student Engagement.
6.5.5 Service and Activism
Service and activism activities are an integral part of the lives of many students, faculty, and staff members. The Office of Student Engagement
and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility (see 6.6.6) support many of these endeavors.
6.5.6 Student Organizations
Students are encouraged to get involved in extracurricular activities at Swarthmore. More than 100 clubs and organizations span a broad range
of interests such as community service; athletics; political action; and religious, cultural, and social activities. If there isn't a club or
organization that meets a student's interest, he or she may form one with the guidance of Student Council.
6.6 Student Centers
6.6.1 Black Cultural Center
The Black Cultural Center (BCC), located in the Caroline Hadley Robinson House, provides a library, classroom, computer room, TV lounge,
kitchen, all-purpose room, a living room/gallery, two study rooms, and administrative offices. The BCC offers programming, activities, and
resources designed to stimulate and sustain the cultural, intellectual and social growth of Swarthmore's black students, their organizations and
community. Further, the BCC functions as a catalyst for change and support to the College's effort to achieve pluralism. The BCC's programs
are open to all members of the College community. The BCC is guided by the assistant dean, with the assistance of a committee of black students,
faculty, and administrators.
6.6.2 Center for Innovation and Leadership
The Center for Innovation and Leadership (CIL) engages innovative thinking to foster student leadership practice. Focusing specifically
on student leadership development, innovative programing, and alumni and parent engagement the CIL provides opportunities for students to
lead, inspire, listen, and learn, in order to meet the challenges of our time and reflect the values of our community. The CIL can help students
cultivate mentoring relationships, build their skill sets in entrepreneurship and leadership, and encourage experimentation, collaboration, and
reflection.
6.6.3 Greek Life
There are currently two fraternities and one sorority at Swarthmore: Delta Upsilon and Kappa Alpha Theta, both affiliated with a national
organization, and Phi Omicron Psi, a local association. Although they receive no College or student activity funds, Greek letter organizations
supplement social life. They rent lodges on campus but have limited residential and no eating facilities.
6.6.4 Intercultural Center
The Intercultural Center (IC) provides programs, advocacy, and support for Asian/Pacific Islander American, Latino@, multiracial, Native
American, LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bi/pansexual, trans*, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual), low-income, international, and first-
generation college students at Swarthmore College. In addition, the IC promotes systemic change toward intersectional perspectives across the
institution and fosters collaboration and coalition building among communities both within and outside the IC and the College. Resources and
programs include faculty-student-staff events, lectures, concerts, films, poetry slams, workshops and dialogues that explore race, class, gender,
sexuality, citizenship, intersectional identities, and equity with a particular emphasis on social justice education and leadership. More
information is available at www.swarthmore.edu/ic.
6.6.5 Interfaith Center
Religious advisers are located in the Interfaith Center in Bond Hall and currently consist of Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant professionals. The
advisers and the Interfaith Center provide members of the Swarthmore community opportunities and resources, in an atmosphere free from the
dynamics of persuasion, in which they can explore a variety of spiritual, ethical, and moral meanings; pursue religious and cultural identities;
and engage in interfaith education and dialogue. The center comprises offices, a large common worship room, and a private meditation room.
Student groups of many faiths also exist for the purpose of studying religious texts, participating in community service projects, and exploring
common concerns of religious faith, spirituality, and culture.
Various services are available on campus, and area religious communities welcome Swarthmore students.
6.6.6 Eugene M. Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility
The Lang Center, located at 3-5 Whittier Place, supports Swarthmore's mission to "help students realize their fullest intellectual and personal
potential combined with a deep sense of ethical and social concern" through a variety of Engaged Scholarship initiatives. The Lang Center
supports the College's commitment to social responsibility in the context of academic excellence by providing financial, administrative, advisory,
and logistical support for a wide range of opportunities that connect scholarly work to broader, public concerns. In short, the Lang Center
connects the campus, curriculum, and communities- both local and global. Its key programs include:
Engaged Scholarship - Engaged Scholarship refers to research and teaching that orient the College's energies toward pressing social,
environmental, ethical, and public problems; it includes Community-Based Learning and Research but also public-facing scholarship and
coursework. The Lang Center supports faculty teaching and research grounded in Engaged Scholarship through Curriculum Development
grants, Faculty-Led Engaged Research grants, and other support. The Lang Center also houses programs that encourage interdisciplinary
learning and Engaged Scholarship led by faculty experts: Arts in Action, Global Affairs, Health & Societies, and Urban Inequality &
Incarceration. Finally, the Lang Center provides special support for interdisciplinary academic programs oriented toward Engaged Scholarship,
which includes Environmental Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Educational Studies.
The Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professorship for Issues of Social Change - The professorship was endowed in 1981 by Eugene M. Lang '38 to
bring to the College an outstanding social scientist, political leader, or other suitably qualified person who has achieved professional or
occupational prominence for sustained engagement with issues, causes, and programs directly concerned with social justice, civil liberties,
human rights, or democracy.
Social Innovation Lab - Founded by Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change Denise Crossan, the Social Innovation Lab at the Lang
Center provides students, faculty, staff, and community partners with an on-site "makerspace" to grow their ideas. The Lab unites a fledgling
community of Swarthmore Social Innovators and community stakeholders invested in creative collaboration for the wider good. The Lab hosts
courses and programs that teach participants innovation skills such as human-centered design thinking methods, strategic and project planning,
and social entrepreneurship skills. The Lab and its programming also connects directly with faculty across the College to enrich engaged
scholarship pursuits utilizing social innovation processes.
President's Sustainability Research Fellowship (PSRF) -This high-impact learning program, jointly hosted by the President's Office, the Office of
Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, matches small teams of advanced
students with staff and faculty mentors to research, develop, and implement sustainability projects in a year-long course and associated
internship.
Lang Opportunity Scholarship Program - Up to six students, during the first semester of their sophomore year, are selected to participate in this
program, which includes a paid summer internship, the opportunity to apply for a substantial grant that supports the implementation of a major
project with significant social value, and other benefits. Lang Center staff work closely with Lang Scholars as they develop and carry out their
projects.
Student Service and Activist Groups - Lang Center staff provide many student groups with guidance and support. Supported groups include Dare
2 Soar, a tutoring program in Chester; Let's Get Ready, a college preparation and success program; Chester Youth Court Volunteers, a
restorative justice program; War News Radio, an alternative news coverage outlet; a voter engagement group, Swarthmore Political Access
Network; and Crazy 8s, a math club at Jackson Elementary.
The Swarthmore Foundation - A small philanthropic body formed by Swarthmore College in 1987 with endowments from alumni, foundations,
and others, the Swarthmore Foundation supports students, staff, and faculty involvement in Engaged Scholarship, collaborative action, and
social innovation. For instance, summer grants provide living expenses and summer earnings for full-time, 10-week summer opportunities with
faculty, non-profit organizations, grassroots advocacy groups, and public service agencies that best allow students to connect their academic
interests with action toward social good. Lang Center staff provide guidance as students find placements, advising throughout their experiences,
and opportunities to share what they've learned back with the campus community.
The Project Pericles Fund of Swarthmore College - Eugene M. Lang '38 and the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College created the Project
Pericles Fund of Swarthmore College in 2005 to support groups of Swarthmore students who propose and implement social and civic action
projects that are significant in scope. Projects supported this last year included: StoryBoard, an intensive filmmaking program that emphasizes
social justice in Los Angeles; and The Sesame Street Project, literacy, leadership, and chess programming for those affected by the school-to-
prison pipeline in Chester, PA.
6.6.7 Tarble Social Center
The Tarble Social Center in Clothier Memorial Hall was provided through the generosity of Newton E. Tarble of the Class of 1913 and his
widow, Louise A. Tarble. The facility includes a snack bar, a lounge space, Paces (a student-run café and party space), an all-campus space,
meeting rooms, the Swarthmore College Computer Society media lounge and various student organization offices.
6.6.8 Women's Resource Center
The Women's Resource Center (WRC) is located in a lodge on the west side of campus; it is open to all women on campus. It is organized and
run by a student board of directors to bring together women of the community with multiple interests and concerns. The resources of the center
include a library, kitchen, various meeting spaces, computer, and phone. The WRC also sponsors events throughout the year that are open to any
member of the College community.
6.7 Student Advising
6.7.1 Class Deans
The Office of the Dean for Academic Affairs oversees the advising system. The deans are available to all students for advice on any academic or
personal matter. A dean is assigned to each class in order to specialize in advising matters that are particular to that year. Students, however,
may approach any dean for advising, support, or to learn about College resources.
6.7.2 Academic Advising
Each first-year student is assigned to a faculty member or administrator who serves as the student's academic adviser. Once students are
accepted by an academic department for their major, normally at the end of the sophomore year, the advising responsibility shifts to the chair, or
the chair's designate, of that department. Requests for a change of adviser in the first two years will be freely granted subject only to availability
and equity in the number of advisees assigned to individual advisers.
6.7.3 Academic Support
Academic support can be accessed through the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, through the Office of Student Disability
Services, through academic departments (peer mentors, clinics, and review sessions), through the Writing Center (Writing Associates), and in
dormitories (Student Academic Mentors). Tutors can be arranged through departments or through the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs. No fees are required for any of these services.
Academic Programming
Throughout each year, the Office of Academic Affairs coordinates programming designed to support all students' academic success. Examples of
this programming include workshops on time management, procrastination, effective class participation, and study strategies across various
academic disciplines.
Student Academic Mentors (SAMs) are students specially selected and trained to work with students on the development of skills necessary for
academic success including time management, organization, study strategies, and reading techniques. All residence halls with first-year students
are assigned a SAM to serve as a resource for its residents. SAMs also hold weekly office hours at the McCabe and Cornell Libraries, and at the
Black Cultural Center. They sponsor "Drop-In Hours" at locations throughout campus during advising and registration periods.
Writing Associates (WAs) are students who have been specially trained to assist their peers with all stages of the writing process. WAs are
assigned on a regular basis to selected courses, and they are located in the Writing Center in Trotter Hall. All students have access to the Writing
Center as needed and can receive help on a drop-in or appointment basis.
6.7.4 Health Sciences Office (Premed Advising)
The staff of the Health Sciences Office is available to students and alumni considering a career in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or
other health professions. The Health Sciences Adviser counsels students throughout their undergraduate years and beyond, and assists them in
the process of application for graduate training.
Swarthmore graduates are represented at 72 medical, dental and veterinary schools in 28 states in the U.S., including such top schools as
Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and many fine state universities. The College's acceptance rate is substantially higher
than the national acceptance rate.
While many students planning a medical career decide to major in biology or chemistry, others elect to concentrate in one of the humanities or
social sciences, while structuring their overall program to fulfill medical school requirements. The following courses are part of a typical
program:
BIOL 001 Cellular and Molecular Biology
BIOL 002 Organismal and Population Biology
General Chemistry
CHEM 022 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 032 Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 038 Biological Chemistry
English
Calculus I
STAT 011 Statistical Methods I
PHYS 003 General Physics I
PHYS 004 General Physics II
Psychology and Sociology
As veterinary and dental schools have more variable requirements, in addition to those listed above, prevet and predental students should meet
with Gigi Simeone, the Health Sciences Adviser, to plan their programs.
6.7.5 Prelaw Advising
Swarthmore's academic rigor provides an excellent preparation for students considering a career in law. Swarthmore graduates are represented
at law schools across the U.S., including such top schools as Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Yale.
Swarthmore students interested in law are encouraged to take a varied and challenging academic program, which will develop their analytical,
reading, writing and speaking skills. There is no prelaw major or prescribed prelaw coursework. Students have applied successfully to law
school with majors and minors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Gigi Simeone, the Prelaw Adviser, is available to any student or alum considering a career in law. The Prelaw Office counsels students
throughout their undergraduate years and beyond, and assists them in the process of application to law school. It offers a series of meetings with
law school admissions deans each fall. The office also prepares dean's certifications for students applying to law schools that require it. More
information is available at www.swarthmore.edu/prelaw.
6.7.6 Career Services
Career Services offers individualized attention to students who are seeking career direction, considering majors, exploring internships, job
searching or applying for graduate school. Career Counselors and Career Peer Advisers help students develop knowledge of themselves and
their life options, advance their career planning and decision-making abilities, and develop skills related to their internship/job search and
graduate school admission. Individual counseling and group workshops encourage students to expand their career options through exploration
of their values, skills, interests, abilities, and experiences. A noncredit Career Development course is available for all students, regardless of
their academic discipline or year.
Career programming includes alumni career panels and dinners, presentations, workshops, employer information sessions, an etiquette dinner,
career fairs and interview days. The office cooperates with Alumni Relations and the Alumni Council to help students connect with a wide
network of potential mentors and the offices co-sponsor the annual Lax Conference on Entrepreneurship.
Exploration of career options is encouraged through internships, summer jobs, and alumni-hosted externships during winter break. Students may
receive assistance in researching, locating, and applying for internships, employment, and graduate school admission and receive advice in how
to gain the most they can from these experiences.
Career Services hosts on-campus recruiting by representatives from for-profit, government and nonprofit organizations. The Career Services
website (www.swarthmore.edu/careerservices.xml) provides access to comprehensive online databases of internship and job listings as well as an
events calendar to make information about activities and programs available to students. Recommendation files are compiled for interested
students and alumni to be sent to prospective employers and graduate admissions committees.
6.8 Student Conduct System
Swarthmore places great value on freedom of expression, but it also recognizes the responsibility to protect the values and structures of an
academic community. It is important, therefore, that students assume responsibility for helping to sustain an educational and social community
where the rights of all are respected. This includes conforming their behavior to standards of conduct that are designed to protect the health,
safety, dignity, and rights of all. Community members also have a responsibility to protect the possessions, property, and integrity of the
institution as well as of individuals. The aim of the College's Student Code of Conduct is to balance all these rights, responsibilities, and
community values fairly. The student conduct system is overseen by the associate dean of students and all questions should be directed to this
office.
The Student Conduct process is an administrative educational process informed by legal and compliance requirements that guide academic
institutions together with the holistic mission of the College to help students realize their full potential. Students share responsibility for
upholding community standards and are expected to participate in good faith with investigation and adjudication processes meant to resolve a
code allegation. Decisions about whether a student or group is responsible for a conduct violation are based on a fair preponderance of the
evidence standard meaning, the allegation is supported by evidence that sufficiently demonstrates that it is more likely than not that a violation
occurred. Without sufficient evidence, a student or group will be found not responsible. The student conduct process strives to be both thorough
and efficient and suggested process timelines may be shortened or extended if warranted by extenuating circumstances.
The formal student conduct system at Swarthmore College has three main components: (1) Minor Misconduct: Allegation(s) in which possible
sanctions do not include suspension or expulsion from the College if the student were found responsible and are typically conducted through the
office of student engagement by the residence community coordinators; (2) Major Misconduct: Allegation(s) subject to College policy in which
possible sanctions could result in suspension or expulsion from the College if the student were found responsible, and are typically addressed by
the College Judiciary Committee (CJC) or an Administrative Adjudication meeting with the associate dean of students, including all allegations
of academic misconduct. The CJC is composed of faculty, students, and administrators who have undergone training for their role; and (3)
Sexual Assault and Harassment: All allegations of sexual and gender based harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual violence, stalking, and
intimate-partner violence are addressed through the College's Sexual Assault and Harassment Policy.
Violation of the laws of any jurisdiction, whether local, state, federal, or (when studying abroad) foreign, may subject a student to College
disciplinary action. A pending appeal of a conviction shall not affect the application of this rule.
7 Educational Program
7.1 General Statement
Swarthmore College offers the degree of bachelor of arts and the degree of bachelor of science. The latter is given only to students who major in
engineering. Four years of study are normally required for a bachelor's degree (see section 9.1), but variation in this term, particularly as a
result of Advanced Placement (AP) credit, is possible (see section 3.5).
The selection of a program will depend on the student's interests and vocational plans. The primary purpose of a liberal arts education, however,
is not merely to provide the best foundation for one's future vocation. The purpose of a liberal arts education is to help students fulfill their
responsibilities as citizens and grow into cultivated and versatile individuals. A liberal education is concerned with the development of moral,
spiritual, and aesthetic values as well as analytical abilities. Furthermore, just as a liberal education is concerned with the cultural inheritance
of the past, so, too, it is intended to develop citizens who will guide societies on a sustainable course where future culture will not be
compromised in the development of the present. Intellectually, it aims to enhance resourcefulness, serious curiosity, open-mindedness,
perspective, logical coherence, and insight.
During the first half of their college program, all students are expected to satisfy most, if not all, of the distribution requirements, to choose their
major and minor subjects, and to prepare for advanced work in these subjects by taking certain prerequisites. The normal program consists of
four courses or their equivalent each semester, chosen by the student in consultation with his or her faculty adviser.
All students must fulfill the requirements for the major. Before the end of the senior year, students are required to pass a comprehensive
examination or its equivalent, given by the major department.
The program for engineering students follows a similar basic plan, with certain variations explained in the section on engineering. Courses
outside the technical fields are distributed over all 4 years.
For honors candidates, courses and seminars taken as preparation for external evaluation occupy approximately one-half of the student's work
during the last 2 years. In addition to work taken as a part of the Honors Program, the students take other courses that provide opportunities for
further exploration. During the senior year, many departments offer a specially designed senior honors study for honors majors and minors to
encourage enhancement and integration of the honors preparations. At the close of the senior year, candidates for honors will be evaluated by
visiting examiners.
The course advisers of first-year and sophomore students normally are members of the faculty appointed by the dean. For juniors and seniors,
the advisers are the chairs of their major departments or their representatives.
Although faculty advisers assist students in preparing their academic programs, students are individually responsible for planning and adhering
to programs and for the completion of graduation requirements. Faculty advisers, department chairs, other faculty members, the deans, and the
registrar are available for information and advice.
7.2 Program for the First and Second Years
The major goals of the first 2 years of a Swarthmore education are to introduce students to a broad range of intellectual pursuits, to equip them
with the analytic and expressive skills required to engage in those pursuits, and to foster a critical stance toward learning and knowing. All
students must fulfill the requirements normally intended for the first 2 years of study, although engineering majors may spread some
requirements over 4 years. Students entering Swarthmore as transfer students normally fulfill these requirements by a combination of work done
before matriculation at Swarthmore and work done here, according to the rules detailed below.
To meet the distribution requirements, a student must earn degree-applicable credit in the following areas:
1. Complete at least three courses in each of the three divisions of the College (listed). In each division, the three courses must be at
least 1 credit each and may include up to 1 AP credit or credit awarded for work done elsewhere.
2. Complete at least two courses in each division on the campus at Swarthmore; these courses must be at least 1 credit each.
3. Complete at least two courses in each division in different departmental subjects; these courses must be at least 1 credit each and may
include AP credit or credit awarded for work done elsewhere.
4. Complete at least three Swarthmore Writing courses or Writing seminars, and those three must include work in at least two divisions;
students are advised to complete two Writing courses in the first 2 years.
5. Complete a natural sciences and engineering practicum.
6. Courses that have been excluded from counting toward the degree do not count toward the distribution requirements.
7. Take courses in a variety of departments, keeping in mind that before graduation, 20 credits outside of one major subject must be
completed.
Distribution Requirement Divisions: For purposes of the distribution requirements, the three divisions of the College are as follows:
Humanities: art (art history and art), classical studies, English literature, film and media studies, Greek, Latin, modern languages and
literatures, music and dance, philosophy, religion, Spanish, and theater.
Natural sciences and engineering: biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics and statistics,
physics and astronomy, and psychology courses that qualify for the natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Social sciences: ancient history, economics, educational studies, history, linguistics, political science, psychology (other than natural
sciences and engineering practicum courses), and sociology and anthropology.
Several interdisciplinary courses do not satisfy the divisional distribution requirement. These are identified as such in the catalog or the official
schedule of courses.
Writing courses: In addition to addressing field-specific substance, writing courses will focus on the development of the students' expository
prose to ensure they can discover, reflect upon, organize, and communicate their knowledge effectively in written form. Approved Writing
courses are only offered on the campus at Swarthmore.
NSEP science laboratory requirement: Natural sciences and engineering practicums (NSEPs) have at least 18 hours per semester of scheduled
meeting time for laboratory, separate from the scheduled lecture hours. How the laboratory hours are scheduled varies with the nature of the
course and the types of laboratories involved. Such meetings may entail weekly or biweekly 3-hour sessions in a laboratory, several all-day field
trips, or several observation trips.
Cross-listed courses: Courses that are cross-listed between two departments in different divisions may, with the permission of the instructors,
departments, and divisions involved, fulfill the divisional distribution requirement in one of the following ways: (1) in only one of the divisions so
identified but not in the other; (2) in either division (but not both), depending on the departmental listing of the course on the academic record;
(3) in neither of the divisions. In certain cases, the course may fulfill the distribution requirement according to the nature of the work done in the
course by the individual student (e.g., a long paper in one of the departmental disciplines). The division of such courses is normally indicated in
the catalog description for each course. When counting credits to determine a student's fulfillment of the 20-course-credit rule, cross-listed
courses count (only) in the subject in which they are listed on the student record. Changing the subject listing of a cross-listed course on the
student record can be arranged, depending on permissions, during or sometimes after the course; there is a form for the purpose in the
Registrar's Office.
First-year seminars: All students are encouraged to take a first-year seminar during the fall or spring of their first year. First-year seminars are
offered across the curriculum and are designed to introduce students to a field of study and to engage them in learning skills that will support
them throughout their college experience. Each first-year seminar is limited to 12 first-year students. Many (but not all) first-year seminars count
as the prerequisite to further work in the department in which they are offered.
Foreign language: It is most desirable that students include in their programs some work in a foreign language, beyond the basic language
requirement (see section 9.1).
Mathematics: A student who intends to major in one of the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering should take an appropriate
mathematics course in the first year. Students intending to major in one of the social sciences should be aware of the increasing importance of
mathematical background for these subjects.
Physical education: Students are encouraged to enjoy the instructional and recreational opportunities offered by the department throughout their
college careers. As a requirement for graduation, all students not excused for medical reasons are required to complete 4 units of physical
education. It is expected that students will satisfy this obligation by the end of their sophomore year. In addition, all students must pass a survival
swimming test or complete a unit of swimming instruction. Most physical education courses are offered as half a semester and earn 1 unit toward
the 4 units required for graduation. A complete list of physical education opportunities including how many units each earns is available from the
Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation website. More information can be found in the Physical Education and Athletics
section.
Transfer students: Students who enter Swarthmore as transfer students must fulfill Swarthmore's requirements for the first 2 years, including the
natural sciences and engineering practicum. Transfer courses can be applied toward these requirements if specifically approved by the registrar.
Transfer students who enter Swarthmore with 8 credits of college work are exempted from one of the three required writing courses and the
requirement that writing courses include work in two divisions, and have the credits-at-Swarthmore requirement reduced from 2 in each division
to 1 in each division. Transfer students who enter Swarthmore with, at most, four semesters remaining to complete their degree are exempted
from two of the three required writing courses and are exempted from the requirement that in each division 2 credits be taken at Swarthmore.
Transfer students can either apply transfer PE units toward the 4-unit physical education requirement or opt for a reduction in the PE
requirement based on the student's transfer status, but transfer students cannot both transfer PE units and receive a reduction in the requirement.
The optional reduction in PE units depends on the transfer class of the student. Transfer students who enter Swarthmore as sophomores can opt
to complete 3 units of physical education and pass a survival swim test (a reduction of 1 PE unit). Transfer students who enter Swarthmore as
juniors can opt to complete 2 units of physical education and pass a survival swim test (a reduction of 2 PE units). Transfer students may exercise
the option to take up to four courses credit/no credit.
Major application-the Sophomore Plan: Early in the sophomore year, each student should identify one or two subjects as possible majors, paying
particular attention to departmental requirements and recommendations. In the spring of the sophomore year, each student will, with the
guidance of his or her adviser, prepare a reasoned plan of study for the last 2 years. Sophomores who wish to link their interest in social
service/social action to their plan of study are also encouraged to take advantage of the advising offered by the staff at the Lang Center for Civic
and Social Responsibility. The Sophomore Plan of study will be submitted to the chair of the student's proposed major department as a part of the
application for a major. Acceptance will be based on the student's record and an estimate of his or her capacities in the designated major.
Students who fail to secure approval of a major may be required to withdraw from the College.
7.3 Programs for Juniors and Seniors
The major goals of the last two years of a Swarthmore education are to engage students with a chosen field of inquiry and to assist them in
assuming an independent role in creating and synthesizing knowledge within it. The breadth of exposure, acquisition of skills, and development of
a critical stance during the first two years prepare students to pursue these goals. With the choice of a major and, perhaps, candidacy for honors,
the focus shifts from scope to depth. Students become involved for the second two years with a discrete field of inquiry and demonstrate their
command of that field through the completion of courses within the major and courses taken outside the major that expand and deepen the
student's perspective on the major.
Before graduation, students are required to complete at least 20 credits outside of one major subject.
7.4 Majors and Minors
All students are required to include sufficient work in a single department or program designated as a major. To complete a departmental major,
a student must be accepted as a major; must complete eight courses (or more, depending on the department); must pass the department's
comprehensive requirement; and must fulfill other specific departmental requirements. Detailed requirements for acceptance to departmental
majors and for completion of them are specified in this catalog under the respective departmental listings and are designed to ensure a
comprehensive acquaintance with the field. A student must accumulate 20 course credits outside one major, but there is no other limit on the
number of courses that a student may take in his or her major.
Completing a second major or one or two minors is optional, as is choosing to do an Honors Program. Students are limited in the number of
majors and/or minors they may earn. If they have only one major, they may have as many as two minors. Students who choose an honors major
plus honors minor may have an additional course minor outside the Honors Program. If students have two majors, they may not have a minor,
except in one circumstance: A student who elects honors, designating an honors major and minor, may have a second major outside of honors if
that second major includes the same subject as the honors minor. The completion of two majors must be approved by both departments. Triple
majoring is not allowed.
Most departments and programs offer course minors. Those departments or programs that do not offer a course minor are art, comparative
literature, economics, political science, and sociology and anthropology. (These departments or programs do offer honors minors.) Minors will
include at least 5 credits.
Double counting in majors and minors: If a student has two majors and one is interdisciplinary, no more than 2 credits may be double counted
with the student's other major. However, the double-counting limit is not applicable to courses that students are required by their departmental
major to take in other departments. Of the 5 credits required for a minor, 4 may not be double counted with the student's major or other minor.
The double-counting prohibition applies to any comparison of two given programs of study (not three taken together, even if the student has three
programs). This means that a student who has a major in medieval studies, for example, and minors in both English literature and gender and
sexuality studies would need four courses in English literature that are not part of the medieval studies major and four courses in gender and
sexuality studies that are not part of the medieval studies major. In addition, each minor must have four courses that are not part of the other
minor. Special minors are not permitted.
Exceptions to the double-counting prohibition:
1. The double-counting prohibition is not applicable to courses that students are required by their majors or minors to take in other
departments. For example, mathematics courses required for an engineering major are not automatically excluded from counting
toward a minor defined by the Mathematics and Statistics Department.
2. For an honors major who is also a double major, the double-counting prohibition does not apply to the relationship between the
honors minor and the second major because these will always be or include the same field.
Advising in the major: During the junior and senior years, students are advised by the chair of the major department (or a member of the
department designated by the chair) whose approval must be secured for the choice of courses each semester.
The deadline for seniors to propose any changes to their plan for major(s) or minor(s) is the third week of the spring semester of the senior year.
Proposed changes are subject to departmental approval. Majors or minors may not be applied for or approved after graduation.
7.4.1 Special majors
Individualized and regularized special majors are available. With permission of the departments and/or programs concerned, it is possible for a
student to plan an individualized special major that includes closely related work in one or more departments. In some areas, such as
biochemistry and neuroscience, in which regularized special majors are done frequently, the departments and programs involved provide
recommended programs. These regularized special majors are described in the relevant department sections of the catalog or in material
available from department chairs. A special major is expected to be integrated in the sense that it specifies a field of learning (not necessarily
conventional) or topic or problems for sustained inquiry that crosses departmental boundaries, or it may be treated as a subfield within the
normal departmental major. Special majors consist of at least 10 credits and normally of no more than 12 credits. Students with special majors
normally complete a minimum of six courses in the primary department or program, omitting some of the breadth requirements of the major field.
However, course requirements central to systematic understanding of the major field may not be waived. Students with special majors must
complete the major comprehensive requirement, which may consist of a thesis or other written research projects designed to integrate the work
across departmental boundaries, or a comprehensive examination. By extension, special majors may be formulated as joint majors between two
departments, normally with at least 5 credits in each department and 11 in both departments. The departments involved collaborate in advising
and in the comprehensive examination. The Registrar's Office website has the required application form and more information for special
majors. Students are not allowed to pursue more than one individualized special major.
7.5 Honors Program
The Honors Program, initiated in 1922 by President Frank Aydelotte, is a distinctive part of Swarthmore's educational life.
The Honors Program has as its main ingredients student independence and responsibility in shaping the educational experience; collegial
relationships between students and faculty; peer learning; opportunity for reflection on, and integration of, specific preparations; and evaluation
by external examiners. Honors work may be carried out in the full range of curricular options, including studio and performing arts, study
abroad, and community-based learning.
Students and their professors work in collegial fashion as honors candidates prepare for evaluation by external examiners from other academic
institutions and the professional world. Although Swarthmore faculty members grade most of the specific preparations, the awarding of
honorifics on a student's diploma is based solely on the evaluation of the external examiners.
Preparations for honors are defined by each department or program and include seminars, theses, independent projects in research as well as in
studio and performing arts and specially designated pairs of courses. In addition, many departments offer their own format for senior honors
study, designed to enhance and, where appropriate, integrate the preparations in both major and minor.
Each honors candidate's program will include three preparations for external examination in a major and one in a minor or four preparations in
a special or interdisciplinary major. By doing honors, students offering three preparations in a major or four preparations in a special or
interdisciplinary major normally fulfill the comprehensive graduation requirement for majors in those fields.
Honors students who wish to complete a second major must pursue that field of study through the Course Program, and it must relate to the
student's honors minor field of study. Normally, the student must complete the requirements for the Honors minor, as well as the course major in
the department. If an Honors student pursues an honors special major, any second major must be taken in the Course Program, and must be
either a regular major or regularized special major. In such cases, the student's academic program is subject to the overlap constraints for
majoring.
Honors Program preparations for both majors and minors will be defined by each department, program, and interdisciplinary major that
sponsors a major. In addition, minors may be defined by any department or program.
Honors special majors who design their own programs, not those in College-sponsored programs such as biochemistry, will be required to
include four related preparations in the major from at least two departments or academic programs. Honors special major programs do not
include a separate minor. Honors special majors must either (1) write a thesis drawing on their cross-disciplinary work-the thesis will be
examined by examiners in different fields or (2) have a panel oral examination that presents the opportunity for cross-disciplinary discussion.
Honors special majors will follow the Senior Honors Study (SHS) activity and portfolio procedures of the various departments whose offerings
they use as preparations in their programs. Individualized honors special major programs require the approval of all departments involved in the
program and of the honors coordinator.
All preparations will be graded by Swarthmore instructors with the exception of theses and other original work. Grades for theses and other
similar projects will be given by external examiners. Except in the case of theses or other original work, modes of assessment by the external
examiners will include written examinations and/or other written assignments completed in the spring of the senior year. In addition, during
honors week at the end of the senior year, every honors candidate will meet on campus with external evaluators for an oral examination of each
preparation. Specific formats for preparations and for SHS are available in each department office.
Students will normally include their intention to prepare for honors in their "Plan of Study for the Last 2 Years," written in the spring of their
sophomore year. They must also submit a formal application for a specific program of honors preparation to the Registrar's Office. The registrar
provides a form for this purpose. Departments, programs, and concentrations will make decisions about acceptance of honors programs at the
end of the sophomore year. Students will be accepted into honors with the proviso that their work continue to be of honors quality. Students may
also apply to enter honors during their junior year. Any proposed changes to the Honors Program must be submitted for approval on a form for
this purpose available from the registrar. The decision of the departments or interdisciplinary programs will depend on the proposed program of
study and the quality of the student's previous work as indicated by grades received and on the student's apparent capacity for assuming the
responsibility of honors candidacy. The major department or interdisciplinary program is responsible for the original plan of work and for
keeping in touch with the candidate's progress from semester to semester. Normally, honors programs may not be changed after Dec. 1 of a
student's senior year, depending on departmental policies. Students may not withdraw from honors after Dec. 1 of the senior year except under
extraordinary circumstances and with the permission of the major and minor departments and the Curriculum Committee. Further information
about honors policies may be found in the Honors Handbook, which is available in the Registrar's Office.
At the end of the senior year, the decision of whether to award the degree with a level of honors is made by the visiting examiners. Upon their
recommendation, successful candidates are awarded the bachelor's degree with honors, with high honors, or with highest honors.
7.6 Exceptions to the 4-Year Program
Although the normal period of uninterrupted work toward the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees is 4 years, graduation in 3 years
is freely permitted when a student can take advantage of Advanced Placement credits, perhaps combining them with extra work by special
permission. In such cases, students may qualify for advanced standing-they may become juniors in their second year. To qualify for advanced
standing, a student must (1) do satisfactory work in the first semester; (2) obtain 14 credits by the end of the first year; (3) intend to complete the
degree requirements in 3 years; and (4) signify this intention when she or he applies for a major by completing a Sophomore Plan during the
spring of the first year.
When circumstances warrant, a student may lengthen the continuous route to graduation to 5 years by carrying fewer courses than the norm of
four, although College policy does not permit programs of fewer than 3 credits for degree candidates in their first eight semesters of enrollment.
A course load lower than the norm may be appropriate for students who enter Swarthmore lacking some elements of the usual preparation for
college, who have disabilities, or who wish to free time for activities relating to their curricular work that are not done for academic credit. Such
5-year programs are possible in music and art for students who are taking instruction off campus or who wish to pursue studio or instrumental
work without full credit but with instruction and critical supervision. However, such programs are possible only on application to, and selection
by, the department concerned, which will look for exceptional accomplishment or promise. In all cases where it is proposed to reduce academic
credit and lengthen the period before graduation, the College looks particularly to personal circumstances and to careful advising and
necessarily charges the regular annual tuition (see the provisions for overloads section 4.1). Full-time leaves of absence for a semester or a year
or more are freely permitted and in some cases encouraged, subject also to careful planning and academic advising. Information about work and
internship opportunities for those taking a leave is available through the Career Services Office.
7.6.1 Senior year rule
Normally the senior year rule is met by the student being registered full time for their last two, full-time semesters at Swarthmore (even if the
semesters are separated by a gap), with the approved exception that seniors during the first semester of their senior year, who have obtained the
approval of the chair(s) of their major department(s), may participate in the Swarthmore Semester/Year Abroad Program. Senior year rule
compliance is calculated retrospectively with the last two full-time semesters of degree work, regardless if the semesters are separated in time. If
students have studied elsewhere in the time between their two senior semesters, no more than 2.0 Swarthmore credits for work done elsewhere
(regardless of how many courses were taken during the intervening time) may be applied to the Swarthmore degree without being out of
compliance with the senior year rule. There are two circumstances where a senior can use credit for work done elsewhere to complete the
Swarthmore degree without re-enrolling at Swarthmore: (a) after the eighth semester if the major department confirms that the major is done or
approves that the major can be completed remotely, or (b) after earning at least 30.0 credits toward the degree if the major department confirms
that the major is done or approves that the major can be completed remotely. In either case, the senior year rule is fulfilled by the last two
semesters done on the campus at Swarthmore (or with the first semester by approved study abroad), regardless of the number of subsequent
credits to be earned.
7.7 Academic Progress Standards and Requirements
The academic year at Swarthmore is 32 weeks long, during which time students are expected to complete 6 to 8 semester course credits of work.
Normal progress toward the degree of bachelor of arts or bachelor of science is made by eight semesters' work of four course credits or the
equivalent each semester. Four course credits per semester is the normal load. Students may and frequently do vary this by programs of three or
five semester course credits, with special permission. College policy normally does not permit programs of fewer than 3 course credits within the
normal eight-semester enrollment. Programs of more than 5 credits or fewer than 4 credits require special permission (see section 4.1 on tuition
and section 8.3 on registration). Course credit earned by examination does not count in registration load. For the 2020-2021 academic year,
Swarthmore has shortened the fall and spring semesters to 12 weeks of instruction each, with finals in addition, and added a 4-week January
term, for 28 weeks of instruction over the year. Eligibility to enroll in the January term depends on being enrolled in either the Fall or the Spring
semester. In the Fall 2020 semester, 3-3.5 credits are the normal course load and a strong recommendation, but students are allowed to take a
maximum of 4.0 credits in close consultation with their advisor. The January 2021 term introduced this year has a load limit of 1.5 credits over
as many as two classes. For the Spring 2021 semester, the normal load is 4 credits, and students with the permission of their advisors are
allowed to take 5 or more credits."
Satisfactory progress towards the 32 credit graduation requirement includes earning passing grades, an overall grade point average of at least
2.0 by graduation, and completing at least one major and the non-major degree requirements listed in chapter 9 of the catalog. The definitions of
upper-class levels are as follows: Students become sophomores when they have earned 6 to 8 semester course credits toward their degree.
Students become juniors when they have earned 14 to 16 credits. Students become seniors when they have earned 22 to 24 credits. Some offices
on campus, such as student housing, may have additional requirements in their definitions of the student classes.
The Committee on Academic Requirements (CAR) is a standing committee of the faculty charged with regular review of students' academic
programs and the administration of faculty regulations concerning academic standards and requirements. The committee is also empowered to
recommend to the faculty waivers of certain requirements (e.g. the senior-year residency requirement). Requests for waivers are carefully
evaluated by the committee and forwarded to the faculty only when a general educational advantage is perceived.
With the Dean of Students and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs as co-chairs, the committee regularly meets approximately three weeks
after the end of each semester to review the academic records of all students who earn two or more grades less than C in the preceding semester,
or who have two or more Incomplete grades, or who are not making satisfactory progress in completing distribution or other degree
requirements including cumulative GPA, or who are under advisement from previous CAR mandates. This committee may also review student
records at other times should information arise about academic difficulties that were not available at the time of the regular committee meetings.
The committee normally follows the guidelines outlined below, but the committee also retains the right to consider extenuating circumstances of a
student's case, such as health issues, family crises or other special circumstances, which may result in the committee varying from the guidelines.
Additionally, the Dean of Students may vary from these guidelines within the appeals process, to take into consideration new information and/or
extenuating circumstances about a student.
The committee may take one of several actions including, but not limited to:
1. Warnings: Students meet with the dean's staff member as needed.
2. Probation: Students may be placed on academic probation, continued on probation, or removed from probation, however, students
may not be continued on probation for more than two consecutive semesters. Rising seniors and current seniors may receive a specific
probation senior letter, which may include probationary status, if the Committee is concerned about a student's progress to
graduation. Usually, the start date of any probation is the first day of classes of the next semester. The duration of the probation is
typically one semester and lasts until the committee removes the probationary status at the following committee meeting. Notification
of probation is considered a change in good standing status and will normally be sent to parent(s) or guardian(s) and the student
meets regularly with a dean's staff member.
3. Required to withdraw: Students who fail to meet the terms of their probation are normally Required to Withdraw, which requires the
student to take a leave of absence for the upcoming semester. Students whose academic performance is particularly poor may be
Required to Withdraw without having been placed on probation earlier. Students Required to Withdraw must take a leave of absence
for a semester or longer and engage in meaningful activity (i.e. academic classes at another institution, work, and/or volunteer
activities). In order to return from a required leave, the student must write a detailed letter to the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs
requesting permission to return, explaining what happened, what was done while the student was away, and outline a plan for how the
student will address upon return the issues that resulted in the required leave. In some cases, the student will be required to bring
back credits, pre-approved by departments, to catch up with the student's class standing. The end date of the leave is normally the first
day of classes of the semester of return. Appeals may be made to the Dean of Students at the time of notification of the change of
status. The student's parent(s) or guardian(s) are notified, because this is considered a change of status and is considered as a change
in good standing. Students who are granted permission to return will be placed on academic probation for the return semester. The
academic probation starts the first day of classes.
7.8 Formats of Instruction
Although classes and seminars are the normal curricular formats at Swarthmore, faculty regulations encourage other modes as well. These
include various forms of individual study, student-run courses, and a limited amount of "practical" or off-campus work.
The principal forms of individual work are attachments to courses, directed reading, and tutorials. The faculty regulation on attachments
provides that a student may attach to an existing course, with the permission of the instructor, a project of additional reading, research, and
writing. In this way, attachments typically extend the subject matter of a course. If this attachment is taken concurrently with the course, it is
normally done for 0.5 credit. If it is taken in a later semester (preferably the semester immediately following), it may be done for either half or
full credit. This kind of work can be done on either a small-group or individual basis. It is not possible in all courses, but it is in most, including
some introductory courses. For first-year students and sophomores, it is a way of developing capacities for independent work. For honors
candidates, it is an alternative to a seminar as a preparation for an honors examination. Students who decide before the middle of the semester to
do a 0.5-credit attachment may, with permission, withdraw from a regular course and carry 3.5 credits in that term to be balanced by 4.5 credits
in another term. Students may do as many as two attachments each year.
7.8.1 Directed Reading and Independent Study
Directed reading and independent study are similar, but the faculty role in the former is more bibliographical than pedagogical, and, because
they require somewhat less faculty time, opportunities for directed reading are more frequent in most departments than are opportunities for
independent study. With the directed reading format, faculty often provide students with a syllabus for a course not currently offered and allow
the student to do the work independently. The independent study format typically requires faculty supervision of a student on a topic that has not
yet been taught. In many cases, this requires the faculty member to develop a syllabus and to allow the student to do the work independently. In
both cases, substantial written work and/or written examinations are considered appropriate, and it is generally desirable that the work be more
specialized or more sharply focused than is usually the case in courses or seminars. The work may range from a course of reading to a specific
research project. Such work is available primarily to juniors and seniors in accordance with their curricular interests and as faculty time
permits.
7.8.2 Student-Run Courses
The faculty regulation on student-run courses permits a group of students to propose a topic to an instructor for 0.5 or 1 credit and to run their
own course with a reading list approved by the instructor and a final examination or equivalent administered by the instructor but normally with
no further involvement of faculty. In organizing such a course, students must obtain from a faculty member approval and agreement to serve as
course supervisor, and approval of a department chair or program coordinator to provide a course subject and number of record, and finally
approval of the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Programs. The full approval process must be complete prior to the beginning of the
course; after that time, the course cannot receive degree credit. Students must provide an initial memorandum emphasizing the principal subject
matter to be studied, the questions to be asked about it, the methods of investigation, and provision of a preliminary bibliography. The course
supervisor reviews the course outline, bibliography, qualifications and general eligibility of students proposing to participate in the course. The
course supervisor consults his or her department and, in the case of an interdepartmental course, any other department concerned, whose
representatives together with the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Programs will decide whether to approve the course. After a
student-run course has been found acceptable by the appropriate department (or departments) and the Associate Dean of the Faculty for
Academic Programs, the revised reading list is given to the librarian, and the course subject, number, title and class list are filed with the
registrar. At the end of the course, the supervisor evaluates and grades the students' work in the usual way or arranges for an outside examiner
to do so.
Student-run courses may vary in format and content. In particular, they may be provisionally proposed for 0.5 credit to run in the first half of the
semester, and at midterm, may be either concluded or, if the participants and course supervisor find the work profitable, continued for the
balance of the term for full credit. Alternatively, student-run courses may be started after the beginning of the semester (up to midsemester) for
0.5 credit and then be continued, on the same basis, into the following term. Or they may be taken for 0.5 credit over a full term. The role of the
course supervisor may go beyond planning and evaluation and extend to occasional or regular participation. The only essentials, and the
purpose of the procedures, are sufficient planning and organization of the course to facilitate focus and penetration. The course planning and
organization, both analytical and bibliographical, are also regarded as important ends in themselves, to be emphasized in the review of
proposals before approval. Up to 4 of the 32 credits required for graduation may be taken in student-run courses. Student-run courses are only
offered on the credit/no-credit basis.
7.9 Interdisciplinary Work
The requirements of the major typically leave room for significant flexibility in students' programs, both within and outside the major. This may
be used to pursue a variety of interests and to emphasize intellectual diversity. It may also be used for the practical integration of individual
programs around interests or principles supplementing the major. The College offers interdepartmental majors in Asian Studies, Comparative
Literature, Environmental Studies and Medieval Studies, and formal interdisciplinary minors in Black Studies, Cognitive Science, Environmental
Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, German Studies, Interpretation Theory, Islamic Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, and Peace
and Conflict Studies The specific requirements for these programs are outlined in the relevant sections of the catalog.
It should be recognized that some departments are themselves interdisciplinary in nature and that a considerable number of courses are cross-
listed between departments. Also, some courses each year are taught jointly by members of two or more departments, and departments commonly
recommend or require supporting work for their majors in other departments. Many other opportunities exist informally (e.g., in African studies,
in American studies, in religion and sociology and anthropology, and in chemical physics). Students are encouraged to seek the advice of faculty
members on such possibilities with respect to their particular interests.
7.10 Guidelines on Scheduling Conflicts between Academics and Athletics
The following guidelines (adopted by the faculty in May 2002) are affirmed to recognize both the primacy of the academic mission at Swarthmore
and the importance of the intercollegiate Athletics Program for our students. The guidelines are meant to offer direction with an appropriate
degree of flexibility. Where conflicts occur, students, the faculty, and coaches are encouraged to work out mutually acceptable solutions. Faculty
members and coaches are also encouraged to communicate with one another about such conflicts. Note that the guidelines make a firm
distinction between athletics practices and competitive contests.
1. Regular class attendance is expected of all students. Students who are participating in intercollegiate athletics should not miss a class,
seminar, or lab for a practice.
2. Students who have a conflict between an athletics contest and a required academic activity, such as a class meeting or a lecture,
should discuss it and try to reach an understanding with their coach and their professor as soon as possible, preferably during the
first week of the semester and certainly in advance of the conflict. When a mutually agreeable understanding is not reached, students
should be mindful of the primacy of academics at Swarthmore. Students should understand that acceptable arrangements may not be
feasible for all classes, particularly seminars and laboratories.
3. Students should take their schedule of athletics contests into account as they plan their class schedules and may want to discuss this
with their academic advisers. Students should also provide coaches with a copy of their academic schedules and promptly inform them
of any changes.
4. Coaches should make every effort to schedule practices and contests to avoid conflict with classes and should collect their students'
academic schedules in an effort to coordinate team activities and minimize conflict. Coaches should instruct students not to miss class
for practice and should encourage students to work out possible conflicts between classes and contests as early as possible.
5. Faculty members should provide as complete a description of scheduling requirements as possible to their classes early each
semester, preferably before registration or during the first week of classes. Both faculty members and coaches should work with
students to resolve contest-related conflicts.
6. Both coaches and faculty should avoid last-minute scheduling changes, and faculty should normally avoid scheduling extraordinary
class meetings. Where such meetings seem desirable, students should be consulted and, as the Handbook for Instructional Staff
stipulates, the arrangement cleared with the department chair and registrar. Where possible, extraordinary sessions should be
voluntary or offered with a choice of sections to attend. When a schedule is changed after students have arranged their commitments,
it is important for the faculty member or coach to be flexible.
7. Classes will normally end each day by 4 p.m. and at 5 p.m. on Fridays. Seminars will often extend beyond 4 p.m. Afternoon
laboratories are usually scheduled until 4:15 p.m. or 4:30 p.m., and students who encounter difficulties completing a lab may need to
stay later than the scheduled time. In all cases, students are expected to keep to their academic commitments and then attend practices
as soon as possible.
8. Faculty members should recognize that students usually set aside the time from 4:15 to 7 p.m. for extracurricular activities and
dinner. Late afternoon has also traditionally been used for certain courses in the performing arts. Some use of this time for other
academic purposes (such as department colloquia, lectures, etc.) is appropriate, but departments are encouraged to exercise restraint
in such use, particularly with respect to activities they judge important for the full academic participation of students.
7.11 Health Sciences Advisory Program
The function of the Health Sciences Advisory Program is twofold: to advise students interested in a career in the health professions and to
prepare letters of recommendation for professional schools to which students apply. The letters are based on faculty evaluations requested by the
student, the student's academic record, and nonacademic activities.
Students intending to enter a career in the health professions, especially those applying to medical, dental, or veterinary schools, should plan
their academic programs carefully to meet the professional schools' requirements as well as the general College requirements. The following
courses fulfill the basic requirements of most medical schools: BIOL 001, BIOL 002; CHEM 010, CHEM 022, CHEM 032, CHEM 038; PHYS
003, PHYS 004; MATH 015 and STAT 011; an introductory psychology course; an introductory sociology course; and two semester-long courses
in English literature. Dental and veterinary schools have more variable requirements, in addition to the biology, chemistry, and physics listed
earlier. Students interested in these fields should meet with the health sciences adviser to plan their programs. Specific requirements for each
medical, dental, and veterinary school, along with much other useful information, are given in the following publications, which are available in
the Health Sciences Office: Medical School Admission Requirements, Official Guide to Dental Schools, and Veterinary Medical School
Admission Requirements
The work of the junior and senior years may be completed in any major department of the student's choice. All required courses should be taken
on a graded basis after the first semester of the first year.
The health sciences adviser meets periodically with students interested in health careers and is available to assist students in planning their
programs in cooperation with students' own academic advisers. The Health Sciences Office publishes Guide to Premedical Studies at
Swarthmore College and Frequently Asked Preveterinary Questions to help new students plan their academic program and understand what
schools look for in applicants. The Guide for Applying to Medical School for Swarthmore Undergraduates and Alumni/ae contains detailed
information about the application process.
Further information on opportunities, requirements, and procedures can be obtained from the health sciences adviser and from the Health
Sciences Office's pages on the Swarthmore College website at www.swarthmore.edu/premed.
7.12 Creative Arts
Work in the creative arts is available both in the curricula of certain departments and on an extracurricular basis. Interested students should
consult the departmental statements in art, English literature (creative writing), music and dance, and theater.
7.13 Cooperation with Neighboring Institutions
With the approval of their faculty advisers and the registrar, students may take a course offered by Bryn Mawr or Haverford College or the
University of Pennsylvania without the payment of extra tuition. Students are expected to know and abide by the academic regulations of the host
institution. (This arrangement does not apply to the summer sessions of the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College.) Final grades
from such courses are recorded on the Swarthmore transcript, but these grades are not included in calculating the Swarthmore grade average
required for graduation.
7.14 Student Domestic Exchange Programs
To provide variety and a broadened outlook for interested students, the College has student exchange arrangements with Middlebury College,
Mills College, Pomona College, and Tufts University. With each institution, there are a limited and matched number of exchanges. Students settle
financially with the home institution, thus retaining during the exchange any financial aid for which they are eligible.
Application for domestic exchange should be made to the registrar. The application deadline is Oct. 15 for exchange in the following spring
semester; the deadline is March 15 for exchange in the following fall semester. Selection is made from among applicants who will be sophomores
or juniors at the time of the exchange. Exchange arrangements do not permit transfer of participants to the institution with which the exchange
occurs.
Credit for domestic exchange is not automatic. Students must follow the procedures for receiving credit for work done elsewhere, including
obtaining preliminary approval of courses and after-the-fact validation of credit by the relevant Swarthmore department chairs.
7.15 Off-Campus Study
The Off-Campus Study Office supports the international education activities of the College as well as approved credit-bearing domestic off-
campus study programs. The College emphasizes the importance of study abroad and encourages all students to explore possibilities for doing so
as integral parts of their degree programs. The Off-Campus Study Office is the on-campus clearinghouse for information on study abroad, and
normally is the starting place for exploration and planning. The Off-Campus Study Office will help all interested students at every stage of the
process: planning, study abroad, and return. Proper planning begins with attendance at a general information meeting, and then a study abroad
advising appointment, as early as possible in one's college career.
Participants in approved Off-Campus Study programs remain registered at Swarthmore and are subject to the rules and regulations of the
College. Students may participate up to two semesters, beginning spring of the sophomore year, and during the junior year. Fall semester seniors
may participate with the permission of their major department as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements.
To be accepted for credit toward the Swarthmore degree, courses must meet Swarthmore academic standards, and be preapproved through the
Off-Campus Study Office's procedures. Credit is awarded according to College regulations for accrediting work at other institutions, and the
process must be completed within the semester immediately following participation.
Students are expected to earn the normal load of four credits per semester, or eight credits per academic year. Students are eligible to earn up to
a maximum of five credits per semester (six credits when required by the host institution to enroll in what is equivalent to six credits at
Swarthmore), not to exceed a maximum of ten credits per academic year.
To participate students must be in good standing concerning both their academic program and conduct. The Off-Campus Study Office and the
Dean's Office meet to review student standing and to determine eligibility. Students must also meet the eligibility requirements of the programs to
which they apply.
Eligible students must have completed on average four credits per semester. Students will jeopardize their ability to participate with incompletes
as part of their academic record. The deadline for completion of incompletes will reflect the need to meet deadlines relating to acceptance to
programs and/or to the submission of forms, deposits, the purchase of airfares, etc. Normally students will have been accepted into a major, or in
the case of sophomores, have a plan for applying to a major. Students must also have a zero balance on their student accounts.
Participating students must comply with the Off-Campus Study payment plan. Students continue to pay Swarthmore's comprehensive fee for
Swarthmore tuition, room, and board. The College then pays for the tuition fees, room and board costs, health and travel insurance, and the
round-trip travel of participating students. The amount of airfare is capped at the amount of a round-trip from Philadelphia to the abroad site.
Normally, financial aid is automatically applied to study abroad.
There are more than three hundred approved off-campus study programs listed on the Off-Campus Study website.
The Off-Campus Study Office maintains direct enrollment agreements with many universities around the world.
In addition to these programs, Swarthmore students attend a number of excellent approved study abroad programs throughout provided by other
institutions. The Off-Campus Study Office, along with the academic departments and programs of the College, will advise students on these
opportunities.
Swarthmore-administered Programs:
Swarthmore/Macalester/Pomona Globalization, the Environment and Society, Cape Town, South Africa (see Environmental Studies)
Reciprocal Exchanges:
Ashesi University College Exchange Program, Ghana
University of Tokyo Exchange Program, Japan
Yale/NUS, Singapore
Special Affiliations:
Consortium for Advanced Studies Abroad
HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs), Ecuador, Italy, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway
Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, Rome, Italy (see Classics)
Siena School for Liberal Arts, Italy
Swedish Program, Sweden
University of Ghana, ISEP Direct Partner
7.16 CPT/CXPL 001/002
Swarthmore permits approved Curricular Practical Training (CPT). CPT is a form of work authorization available for eligible F-1 students
before their program end date for experiential learning opportunities. Eligible students must have declared a major, be in good standing, be in
F1 status for two academic terms, and be registered for Swarthmore's Curricular Experiential Learning (CXPL) course 001 or 002, or a course
that requires work experience before CPT can be authorized. Approved CPT must be an integral part of the student's academic program at
Swarthmore College. Any international student with an F-1 Visa employed by any company in the form of an internship or other types of off-
campus employment must obtain approval for CPT and enroll in the CXPL course, or a course that requires a work component. The work
experience must be in the student's field of study and contain a curricular component. The CPT experience must be complimentary training to the
student's curriculum and should contribute substantially to the student's learning experience. Eligible students must have an offer of employment
from a company or organization prior to registering for CXPL 001/002. The CPT must be approved by the Department Head or Academic
adviser, and the Assistant Dean and Director of International Student Programs. Students are required to measure the learning outcome(s) after
CPT. The CXPL course, once completed and assessed, will be graded with the CR (credit) grade notation.
7.17 The Tri-College (Tri-Co) Philly Program
The Tri-Co Philly Program is a semester-long program that provides students at Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford Colleges classes and
co-curricular activities in Philadelphia. This cohort-based urban experience facilitates engagement with the diversity, complexity and innovation
of the city.
Students take two urban-focused courses from a variety of academic disciplines taught by Tri-Co faculty in Philadelphia. The setting provides a
sense of place to enhance the classroom experience, helping students learn firsthand how the material in the courses is informed by the urban
environment. Artists, activists, city leaders and representatives from organizations are invited guests in the classes, and students explore the city
through neighborhood tours and through trips to museums, community-based organizations, archives, and arts and cultural organizations.
The program will run in full in spring 2022, but in a modified format for the fall 2021 semester.
In the fall of 2021, students can enroll in either of two stand-alone courses without joining a program cohort. The courses are Narrativity and
Hip Hop (ENGL B216) and Urban Places, Historical Spaces: Society, Health and Social Justice in Philadelphia (HLTH H211).
When the program returns in full in spring 2022, program students will enroll in the core course, Power and Politics in Philadelphia (POLS
H229) and one of the following elective courses: History of Architecture and Urbanism in Philadelphia (CITY B207) or Borders and Migration
(POLS 031).
The full program also includes participation in twice-monthly Philadelphia-based cohort activities - some academic in nature, some connected to
issues of social justice, and some simply fun. Program students also take part in an orientation, a mid-semester gathering and a closing dinner.
Sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to apply to participate in the program. Additional spaces in the courses are available to other Tri-
Co students. Costs for travel to classes are covered for all students taking Tri-Co Philly Program courses. Expenses related to the program's co-
and extracurricular programming are also covered for students enrolled in the program.
For more information, visit the program website at https://www.haverford.edu/philly-program or contact Calista Cleary at
ccleary1@swarthmore.edu.
7.18 Military and Veterans
College point of contact: Martin Warner, Registrar, is Swarthmore College's point of contact for support services for veterans, military service
members, and their families.
Application fee waived: Veterans and active-duty service members do not need to pay the $60 application fee when submitting an admissions
application to Swarthmore College.
Some late penalties waived: In compliance with the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-407) veterans benefits
beneficiaries covered as a result of using Ch. 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill or Ch. 31 VC&E benefits, who have met enrollment certification requirements
with the Registrar's Office have, without penalty, up to 90 days after the enrollment certification is done to satisfy their financial obligations to
the college. In order for the college to complete enrollment certification, the student must submit the following to the Registrar's Office, but not
later than the first day of classes: a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to the Ch. 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill or Ch. 31 VC&E benefits; and a written
request to have their semester enrollment certified in order to receive benefits.
To receive U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) education benefits, eligible Swarthmore students must submit a copy of the VA Certificate of Eligibility
(COE) -- either the official letter or, if available, the Vets.gov "Post-9/11 GI Bill© Statement of Benefits" -- to the Swarthmore College School
Certifying Official in the Registrar's Office. Faxed, scanned copies or legible phone photos are acceptable if confirmation has been received by
the student from the Registrar's Office that the document is legible.
To receive benefits in a given semester, eligible students must request in writing, to the Registrar's Office, that you want to have your enrollment
certified to the VA. Requests normally should be made on or shortly before the first week of classes each semester. Email the Registrar's Office
and expect a reply to confirm that we got your request. We certify enrollment to the VA in the third week of classes, after our drop/add period is
over.
Yellow Ribbon: The request for certification of enrollment should please clarify if the student also intends to receive the Yellow Ribbon benefit.
For more information about Swarthmore's Yellow Ribbon benefit, please see the Registrar's Office web page on Military and Veterans.
7.19 Student Right to Know
Swarthmore College's graduation rate is 94 percent. This is the percentage graduating within 6 years, based on the most recent cohorts,
calculated according to "Student Right to Know" guidelines.
8 Faculty Regulations
8.1 Attendance at Classes
Regular attendance is expected. Faculty members will report to the dean the name of any student whose repeated absence is in their opinion
impairing the student's work. The number of absences allowed in a given course is not specified, a fact that places a heavy responsibility on all
students to make sure that their work is not suffering as a result of absences. First-year students should exercise particular care in this respect.
When illness necessitates absence from classes, the student should report at once to the Health Center.
A student may obtain credit for a course without attending class meetings by reading the material prescribed by a syllabus and taking a final
examination, under the following conditions:
1. The student must signify intent to do so at the time of registration, having obtained the instructor's approval in advance.
2. If, after such registration, the student wishes to resume normal class attendance, the instructor's approval must be obtained.
3. The student may be required to perform such work, in addition to the final examination, as the instructor deems necessary for
adequate evaluation of his or her performance.
4. The registrar will record the final grade exactly as if the student had attended classes normally.
8.2 Grades
During the year, instructors periodically report on the students' coursework to the Dean's and Registrar's offices. Informal reports during the
semester take the form of comments on unsatisfactory work. At the end of each semester, formal grades are given in each course either under the
credit/no credit (CR/NC) system, or under the letter system, by which A means excellent work; B, good work; C, satisfactory work; D, passing but
below the average required for graduation; and NC (no credit), uncompleted or unsatisfactory work. Letter grades may be qualified by pluses
and minuses. S signifies a requirement satisfactorily fulfilled. W signifies that the student has been permitted to withdraw from the course. X
designates a condition that means a student has done unsatisfactory work in the first half of a yearlong course but by creditable work during the
second half may earn a passing grade for the full course and thereby remove the condition. R is used to designate an auditor or to indicate cases
in which the work of a foreign student cannot be evaluated because of deficiencies in English.
8.2.1 In Progress
IP (in progress) is the grade used when normally everyone in a class continues working on a project into the next semester. IP is given at the end
of the first semester. Final grades are normally due at the end of the succeeding semester.
8.2.2 Incompletes
Incomplete (INC) means that a student's work is incomplete with respect to specific assignments or examinations. The faculty has voted that a
student's final grade in a course should incorporate a zero for any part of the course not completed by the date of the final examination or the
end of the examination period. However, if circumstances beyond the student's control (e.g., illness, family emergency) preclude the completion
of the work by this date, a grade of INC may be assigned with the permission of the faculty instructor and the registrar. Note that "having too
much work to do" is not, in fairness to other students, considered a circumstance beyond the student's control. A form for the purpose of
requesting an incomplete is available from the Registrar's Office and must be filled out by the student and signed by the faculty instructor and the
registrar and returned to the registrar no later than the last day of final examinations. In such cases, incomplete work must normally be made up
and graded, and the final grade recorded within 5 weeks after the start of the following semester. Except by special permission of the registrar
and the faculty instructor, all grades of INC still outstanding after that date will be replaced on the student's permanent record by NC (no credit).
Waiver of this provision by special permission shall in no case extend beyond 1 year from the time the INC grade was incurred. Finally, any
remaining INC grades must be resolved with a final grade or NC by the Tuesday prior to a student's graduation. For the 2020-2021 academic
year, Fall 2020 semester incomplete work must normally be made up and graded, and the final grade recorded within 5 weeks after the start of
the Spring 2021 semester.
8.2.3 Credit/No Credit
The Credit No Credit policy was revised for the 2018-2019 academic year. The policy has the following important components.
The first semester of the first year: The only grades recorded on a Swarthmore student's official transcript for courses taken during the first
semester of the first year are CR (credit) or NC (no credit). For first-year students in their first semester, CR will be recorded for work that would
earn a grade of D- (D minus) or higher. Credit No Credit for the first semester of the first year is mandatory. By policy, first semester, first-year
Swarthmore student CR grades are never uncovered to reveal the shadow letter grades on the official transcript.
Four more Credit No Credit courses: After the first semester, students may exercise the option to take up to four more courses Credit No Credit
by informing the Registrar's Office within the first 9 weeks of the term in which the course is taken, or the 5th week of the course if it meets for
only half the semester, using the form provided for this purpose. After the Fall semester of the first year, a student electing the Credit No Credit
option and earning a C- (C minus) or better will receive a CR on the transcript.
The handling of D grades and NC grades: After the first semester of the first year, a student taking a course optionally elected as Credit No
Credit and earning any D level grade (D+, D, or D-) will receive that letter grade on the transcript and earn degree credit, and the course will
count against the four optional Credit No Credit elections. A course optionally taken Credit No Credit and earning NC (No credit) will receive
NC on the transcript, not receive degree credit, and the course will count against the four optional Credit No Credit elections.
Uncovering the letter grade: In any course optionally elected Credit No Credit and graded CR on the transcript, students (except spring semester
graduating seniors) will have until the end of the second week of the following semester the option of removing the CR notation and permanently
uncovering the underlying shadow letter grade in order that it appear as the grade on the transcript. Students who want this must use the
Registrar's form provided for this purpose. Courses where the CR is uncovered continue to count against the four optional Credit No Credit
elections. In the case of spring semester graduating seniors, the deadline to uncover the underlying shadow letter grade is the Tuesday prior to
commencement.
Repeated courses normally may not be taken Credit No Credit. Courses only offered as Credit No Credit do not count in the four optional
elections; these courses normally do not have shadow letter grades, and if they do, those shadow grades are not eligible for uncovering.
Instructors provide the registrar letter grades for all first-year students in the first semester and for all optionally Credit No Credit courses,
except for the few courses that are only graded CR NC. The final transcript notation is determined by the rules of the policy articulated herein.
The letter grades earned in CR NC courses are available to students in mySwarthmore. For first-year students in the first semester, instructors
are also asked to provide the student with a written evaluation of the student's work.
If available, letter grades for Credit No Credit courses may be provided to other institutions only if requested by the student and absolutely
required by the other institution. For students who have transferred their undergraduate degree candidacy to another school, if requested by the
student and if available, letter grades earned in Credit No Credit courses will be recorded on the Swarthmore transcript. For the 2020-2021
academic year, which has a credit-load-limited Fall 2020 semester and a new January term, the mandatory CR NC first semester policy for first-
year students is extended to include the January 2021 term."
8.2.4 Repeated Courses
Some courses can be repeated for credit; these are indicated in departmental course descriptions. For other courses, the following rules apply:
(1) Permission to repeat a course must be obtained from the Swarthmore instructor teaching the repeated class. (2) These repeated courses may
not be taken CR/NC. (3) To take a course at another school that will repeat a course previously taken at Swarthmore, the student must obtain
permission from the chair of the Swarthmore department in which the original course was taken, both as a part of the preapproval process to
repeat it elsewhere and, in writing, as part of the credit validation after the course is taken elsewhere.
For repeated courses in which the student withdraws with the grade notation W, the grade and credit for the previous attempt will stand. For
other repeated courses, the registration and grade for the previous attempt will be preserved on the permanent record but marked as excluded,
and any credit for the previous attempt will be permanently lost. The final grade and any credit earned in the repeated course are the grade and
credit that will be applied to the student's Swarthmore degree.
8.2.5 Grade Reports
Grades are available to students on a secure website. Grade reports are not routinely sent to parents or guardians, but such information may be
released when students request it. The only exception to this is that parents or guardians of students are normally informed of grades when
students have critical changes in status, such as probation or requirement to withdraw.
8.2.6 Grade Average
An average of C (2.0) is required in the courses counted for graduation. An average of C is interpreted for this purpose as being a numerical
average of at least 2.0 (A+, A = 4.0, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.0, B- = 2.67, C+ = 2.33, C = 2.0, C- = 1.67, D+ = 1.33, D = 1.0, and D- =
0.67). Grades of CR/NC and grades on the record for courses not taken at Swarthmore College are not included in computing this average.
Swarthmore College does not release GPA or rank in class outside the college.
8.3 Registration
All students are required to register and enroll at the times specified in official announcements and to file programs approved by their faculty
advisers.
A regular student is expected to take the prescribed number of courses in each semester to progress toward the degree in the normal eight-
semester enrollment. If more than 5 or fewer than 4 credits seem desirable, the faculty adviser should be consulted and a petition filed with the
registrar (programs of fewer than 3 credits are not allowed in the normal eight-semester enrollment). Students are expected to select classes that
do not pose scheduling conflicts.
Course registration adds and drops must be finalized within the first 2 weeks of the semester. To add a course, the instructor's permission is
required. Withdrawal from a course after the first two weeks of the semester is indicated with the permanent grade notation W. To withdraw from
a course, students must file an application to withdraw, and it must be received by the Registrar no later than the end of the 9th week of classes
or the 5th week of the course if it meets for only half the semester. After that time, late withdrawals are recorded on the student's record with the
notation NC unless the student withdraws from the College.
Enrolled students may audit an additional class or classes depending on the permission of the instructor(s). Successfully completed audits are
recorded with the grade notation R at the end of the semester (except in cases where a registered student has withdrawn after the first 2 weeks of
the semester, in which case the appropriate withdrawal notation stands). Students on leaves of absence are normally not allowed to audit
courses.
8.4 Examinations
Any student who is absent from an examination that is announced in advance must understand that the exam may be rescheduled only by special
arrangement with the course instructor. Examinations are not normally rescheduled to accommodate travel plans. Examinations are restricted to
students who are registered for the course or otherwise have the explicit permission of the faculty member to take the exam.
8.4.1 Final Examinations
The final examination schedule specified in official announcements directs the place and time of all finals unless the instructor has made other
special arrangements. However, College policy holds that students with three final examinations within 24 hours are allowed to reschedule one
of these examinations in consultation with the instructor, as long as the consultation occurs in a timely manner.
By College policy, a student who is not in the Honors Program but who is taking an honors written examination as a course final and has an
examination conflict should take the course final examination and postpone the honors written examination until the student's next free
examination period. Conversely, a student in the Honors Program who has a conflict with a course final examination should take the honors
examination and postpone the course examination in consultation with the professor. In no case may a student take an honors examination before
the honors written examination period for that examination.
8.5 Student Leaves of Absence, Withdrawal, and Readmission
8.5.1 Leaves of Absence
Student leaves of absence are freely permitted provided the request for leave is received by the date of enrollment and the student is in good
standing. Students planning a leave of absence or planning to return following a leave of absence should consult with a dean and complete the
necessary form before the deadline published each semester (usually Nov. 15 and April 1). The form asks students to specify the date of expected
return.
8.5.2 Withdrawal
Withdrawal from the College may occur for academic, disciplinary, health, or personal reasons and may be voluntary or required by the College.
For health-related withdrawals, in no case will a student's mental or physical condition itself be a basis for a required withdrawal. However,
when health problems of a physical or psychological nature result in behavior that substantially interferes with a student's academic
performance or the educational endeavors of other students or poses a significant threat to the safety of others, the College may require the
student to withdraw. The Evaluation Committee- comprising two deans-makes the decision to require withdrawal for health-related reasons. The
Evaluation Committee will review the problematic behavior and may consult with the director of Worth Health Center, the director of Counseling
and Psychological Services, or any other appropriate college official when making its decision. Decisions of the Evaluation Committee may be
appealed to the dean of students.
Students withdrawing from the College before the end of the semester normally receive the grade notation "W" (withdrawal) on their permanent
record for all in-progress courses.
8.5.3 Readmission
A student who has withdrawn from the College for any reason, voluntarily or involuntarily, may apply for readmission by writing to the assistant
dean for academic affairs. Normally, the College will not accept applications for readmission until a full semester, in addition to the semester in
which the student has withdrawn, has passed.
A student applying to the College for readmission after withdrawal is required to provide appropriate documentation of increased ability to
function academically and in a residential environment and/or of a decreased hazard to health and safety of others. In the case of withdrawal for
medical reasons, this documentation must include an evaluation from the student's personal health care provider. In addition, the student will
generally be required to show evidence of successful social, occupational, and/or academic functioning during the time away from the College.
This evidence must include the completion of any outstanding incompletes on record.
After such evidence has been provided, the materials will be forwarded to the Evaluation Committee. In the case of health-related withdrawals,
the materials will be reviewed by the director of Worth Health Center and/or the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, and the
student will be required to be evaluated in person by the appropriate health care professional at the College. At the discretion of the Evaluation
Committee, such evaluations may be required for other types of withdrawals as appropriate. These evaluations will provide adjunctive
information to the committee's decision-making process. The Evaluation Committee will normally meet with the student and will make a
determination regarding the student's readiness to resume study at Swarthmore.
8.5.4 Short-Term Health-Related Absences
Students who are hospitalized during the semester are subject to the readmission procedures described above before they may return to campus
to resume their studies. In these situations, the Evaluation Committee may also counsel and advise the student about options for how best to
approach the remaining academic work in the semester. In all cases, a student returning to campus from the hospital must report to the Worth
Health Center and get clearance from the appropriate health care professional before returning to the dormitory to ensure the student's
readiness to resume college life and so that follow-up care can be discussed.
8.6 Summer School Work and Other Work Done Elsewhere
Students who wish to receive Swarthmore College credit for work at another school must obtain preliminary approval and after-the-fact
validation by the Swarthmore department or program concerned, or for participants in the Off-Campus Study program, the Swarthmore Off-
Campus Study Office. Preliminary approval depends on adequate information about the content and instruction of the work to be undertaken and
ensures the likelihood of the work's applicability toward the Swarthmore degree as well as clarifies the amount of Swarthmore credit likely.
Preliminary approval is tentative except when automatic credit is approved as part of the Off-Campus Study Program. Final validation of the
work for credit will depend on evaluation of the materials of the course, such as syllabus, transcript, written work, examinations, indication of
class hours, and so forth unless the course has been pre-estimated to receive automatic credit as part of the Off-Campus Study Program. In all
cases, transfer of credit is subject to successful completion of the course, i.e., receipt of a straight US equivalent grade of "C" or higher. Work in
other programs, especially summer school programs, may sometimes be given less credit than work at Swarthmore, but this will depend on the
nature of the program and the work involved. Validation may include an examination, written or oral, administered at Swarthmore. All decisions
are made on a case-by-case basis. Credit for AP and similar work is discussed in section 3.5. To receive Swarthmore credit for study abroad
during the academic year, students must participate in the Off-Campus Study Program and comply with its payment plan (study abroad is
discussed in section 7.15 ). For the 2020-2021 academic year, students who have been approved for a leave of absence from Swarthmore for
either or both of Fall or Spring are allowed to submit no more than the equivalent of 2.0 Swarthmore credits for course work completed
elsewhere, taken either in-person or remotely, during the academic year.
An official transcript of grades and credits from the other school must be received by the Registrar's Office before validated work can be
recorded for credit. By College policy, in order for work done elsewhere to be granted Swarthmore College credit, the grade for that work must
be the equivalent of a straight C or better, but a better than C grade does not in itself qualify for Swarthmore credit.
Students who wish to receive natural sciences and engineering practicum (NSEP) credit for courses taken elsewhere must obtain preliminary
approval for the course from the department involved as well as final validation as with other credit. The department can approve NSEP credit if
the course is comparable with a Swarthmore NSEP course. Generally, courses taken elsewhere that are not comparable with a Swarthmore
NSEP will not receive NSEP credit; however, in exceptional cases, if NSEP criteria are satisfied elsewhere, the department chair may
recommend NSEP credit award to the Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering for its final decision.
Requests for credit must be made within the semester following the term in which the work was done. Credit is lost if a student takes a course at
Swarthmore that essentially repeats the work covered by the credit. For instructions on how to apply for transfer credit, please see this Transfer
Credit page.
The normal deadline for seniors to submit official documentation originating from off-campus sources for credit toward their degree is the end of
classes in the spring of the senior year. The absolute deadline for the registrar to receive such documentation is six (6) days before graduation;
after that, no new documents from off-campus sources will be applied to graduation in that year. Students needing such documents to graduate
will have to defer graduation to the following year.
8.7 Finality of Transcripts
After graduation, the student's academic record is final and closed to change. The only exception to this is that in the weeks immediately
following graduation clerical errors can be corrected.
8.8 Physical Education
In the first and second years, all nonveteran students not excused for medical reasons are required to complete 4 units of physical education by
the end of their sophomore year. In addition, all students must pass a survival swimming test or take up to one unit of swimming instruction by
the end of their sophomore year. For complete requirements, see Physical Education and Athletics.
8.9 Commencement Procession Rule
Seniors must be completely finished with degree requirements and approved by vote of the faculty in order to graduate in a given year and
participate in commencement exercises.
8.10 Exclusion from College
The College reserves the right to exclude, at any time, students whose academic standing it regards as unsatisfactory and without assigning any
further reason therefore, and neither the College nor any of its officers shall be under any liability whatsoever for such exclusion.
9 Degree Requirements
9.1 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
The degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science is conferred by faculty vote upon students who have met the following requirements for
graduation:
1. Completed 32 course credits or their equivalent.
2. An average grade of at least C in the Swarthmore courses counted for graduation (see section 8.2.6). A student with more than 32
credits may use the Swarthmore credits within the highest 32 for the purposes of achieving the C average.
3. Complied with the distribution requirements and have completed at least 20 credits outside one major subject (see section 7.2).
4. Fulfilled the foreign language requirement, having either: (a) successfully studied 3 years or the "block" equivalent of a single foreign
language during grades 9 through 12 (work done before grade 9 cannot be counted, regardless of the course level); (b) achieved a
score of 600 or better on a standard achievement test of a foreign language; (c) passed either the final term of a college-level,
yearlong, introductory foreign language course or a semester-long intermediate foreign language course; or (d) learned English as a
foreign language while remaining demonstrably proficient in another.
5. Met the requirements in the major and supporting fields during the last 2 years. (For requirements pertaining to majors and minors,
see section 7.4).
6. Passed satisfactorily the comprehensive requirement in the major field or met the standards set by visiting examiners in the Honors
Program.
7. Completed four semesters of study at Swarthmore College. Two of these must constitute the senior year (i.e., the last two full-time
semesters of degree work), with the exception that seniors during the first semester of their senior year, with the approval of the
chair(s) of their major department(s), may participate in the Swarthmore Semester/Year Abroad Program. (For more information
regarding the senior year rule, see section 7.6.1).
8. Completed the physical education requirement set forth in the Physical Education and Athletics Department statements.
9. Paid all outstanding bills and returned all equipment and library books.
9.2 Master of Arts and Master of Science
The degree of Master of Arts or Master of Science may be conferred subject to the following requirements:
Only students who have completed the work for the bachelor's degree with some distinction, either at Swarthmore or at another institution of
satisfactory standing, shall be admitted as candidates for the master's degree at Swarthmore.
The candidate's record and a detailed program setting forth the aim of the work to be pursued shall be submitted, with a recommendation from
the department or departments concerned, to the Curriculum Committee. If accepted by the committee, the candidate's name shall be reported to
the faculty at or before the first faculty meeting of the year in which the candidate is to begin work.
The requirements for the master's degree shall include the equivalent of a full year's work of graduate character. This work may be done in
courses, seminars, reading courses, regular conferences with members of the faculty, or research. The work may be done in one department or in
two related departments.
A candidate for the master's degree shall be required to pass an examination conducted by the department or departments in which the work was
done. The candidate shall be examined by outside examiners, provided that where this procedure is not practicable, exceptions may be made by
the Curriculum Committee. The department or departments concerned, on the basis of the reports of the outside examiners, together with the
reports of the student's resident instructors, shall make recommendations to the faculty for the award of the degree.
At the option of the department or departments concerned, a thesis may be required as part of the work for the degree.
A candidate for the master's degree will be expected to show before admission to candidacy a competence in those languages deemed by his or
her department or departments most essential for the field of research. Detailed language requirements will be indicated in the announcements of
departments that admit candidates for the degree.
The tuition fee for graduate students who are candidates for the master's degree is the same as for undergraduates (see section 4.1).
10 The Corporation
May 8, 2021 to May 6, 2022
Salem Shuchman '84, Chair
Harold (Koof) Kalkstein '78, Vice Chair
Erin Brownlee Dell, Secretary
Swarthmore College
Robin Shores, Assistant Secretary
Swarthmore College
Greg Brown, Treasurer
Swarthmore College
Alice Turbiville, Assistant Treasurer
Swarthmore College
11 Board of Managers
Board of Managers
Leslie Abbey '90
William Boulding '77
David Bradley '75, H'11
John Chen '76, P'19
Rhonda Resnick Cohen '76
Thomas Collins '88
Elizabeth Economy '84
Lauren Glant '83
Thomas W. T. Hartnett '94
Marilyn Holifield '69
S. Leslie Jewett '77
Eleanor Joseph '07
Jaky Joseph '06
Harold (Koof) Kalkstein '78
Lucy Lang '03
Edgar Lee '98
Cindi Leive '88
Sabrina Martinez '92
Corey Mulloy '94
Nicole O'Dell Odim '88
Cathryn Polinsky '99
Asahi Pompey '94
H. Vincent Poor
Dorothy Robinson '72
Anne Schuchat '80
Gustavo Schwed '84
June Rothman Scott '61
Salem D. Shuchman '84
James Snipes '75
Thomas E. Spock '78
Sujatha A. Srinivasan '01
Bryan Wolf '84
Brian Wong '96
Winston Zee
Chair, Emeriti
Barbara W. Mather '65
Emeriti
Samuel L. Hayes III '57
Giles K. Kemp, '72
Jane Lang '67
Bennett Lorber '64
Marge Pearlman Scheuer '48
J. Lawrence "Larry" Shane '56
Ex Officio
Valerie Smith, President
BoHee Yoon '01, President of Alumni Association and Alumni Council
12 Alumni Council
Alumni Council, the governing body of the Alumni Association, participates in a variety of activities to support students, alumni, and the College.
If you have questions about Council, please contact the Lisa Shafer at 610-328-8009 or lshafer1@swarthmore.edu.
Goals
Support the College
Broaden participation of alumni with the College
Strengthen Alumni Council programs
Mission
Alumni Council provides a range of services to alumni, students, and the administration of Swarthmore College; fosters communication between
the College and alumni; and facilitates input from alumni to the College in the development of policies.
Executive Committee
Emily Anne Nolte Jacobstein '07, president
Anne Richards '97, vice president
BoHee Yoon '01, secretary
Julian Harper '08, faculty & staff liaison
Laura McKee '88, Advancement division liaison
Laura Markowitz '85, student liaison
Christopher "Kip" Davis '75, special appointment: volunteer groups liaison
Way-Ting Chen '94, special appointment: volunteer groups liaison
Charles Bailey '67, special appointment: Sustainability division liaison
Peter Jaquette '74, special appointment: Sustainability division liaison
Janet Erlick '88, nominating chair and immediate past president
13 Faculty and Other Instructional Staff
13.1 Emeriti
Robert C. Bannister, B.A., Ph.D., Yale University; B.A., M.A., University of Oxford, Scheuer Professor Emeritus of History.
Stephen P. Bensch, M.A., University of Toronto; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Professor Emeritus of History.
Thomas H. Blackburn, B.A., Amherst College; B.A., M.A., University of Oxford; Ph.D., Stanford University, Centennial Professor Emeritus of
English Literature.
John R. Boccio, B.S., Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; Ph.D., Cornell University, Professor Emeritus of Physics.
Aurora Camacho de Schmidt, B.A., Universidad Iberoamericana; M.A., Ph.D., Temple University, Professor Emerita of Spanish.
Joy Charlton, B.A., University of Virginia; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern University, Professor Emerita of Sociology.
Peter J. Collings, B.A., Amherst College; M.Ph., Ph.D., Yale University, Morris L. Clothier Professor Emeritus of Physics.
Michael W. Cothren, B.A., Vanderbilt University; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University, Scheuer Family Professor Emeritus of Humanities.
Susan P. Davis, B.S., Springfield College; M.S., Smith College, Professor Emerita of Physical Education.
Lee Devin, B.A., San Jose State College; M.A., Ph.D., Indiana University, Professor Emeritus of Theater.
Robert S. DuPlessis, B.A., Williams College; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University, Isaac H. Clothier Professor Emeritus of History and
International Relations.
Richard Eldridge, A.B., Middlebury College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Charles and Harriett Cox McDowell Professor Emeritus of
Philosophy.
James D. Freeman, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Daniel Underhill Professor Emeritus of Music.
Sharon E. Friedler, B.A., Colby College; M.F.A., Southern Methodist University, Professor Emerita of Dance.
J. William Frost, B.A., DePauw University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor Emeritus of
Quaker History and Research.
John E. Gaustad, A.B., Harvard University; Ph.D., Princeton University, Edward Hicks Magill Professor Emeritus of Astronomy.
Kenneth J. Gergen, B.A., Yale University; Ph.D., Duke University, Gil and Frank Mustin Professor Emeritus of Psychology.
Charles E. Gilbert, B.A., Haverford College; Ph.D., Northwestern University, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Provost Emeritus.
Scott F. Gilbert, B.A., Wesleyan University; M.A., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Howard A. Schneiderman Professor Emeritus of Biology.
Charles M. Grinstead, B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics.
Cynthia Perwin Halpern, B.A., Tulane University; M.A., London School of Economics; Ph.D., Princeton University, Associate Professor
Emeritus of Political Science.
James H. Hammons, B.A., Amherst College; M.A., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry.
John J. Hassett, B.A., St. Francis College; M.A., University of Iowa; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Susan W. Lippincott Professor Emeritus of
Modern and Classical Languages.
Sara Hiebert Burch, B.S., University of St. Andrews; Ph.D., University of Washington, Professor Emeritus of Biology.
Raymond F. Hopkins, B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University; M.A., Ohio State University; M.A., Ph.D., Yale University, Richter Professor Emeritus of
Political Science.
Gudmund R. Iversen, M.A., University of Michigan; Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor Emeritus of Statistics.
Charles L. James, B.S., State University of New York, New Paltz; M.S., State University of New York, Albany, Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professor
Emeritus of English Literature.
John B. Jenkins, B.S., M.S., Utah State University; PhD., University of California, Los Angeles, Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professor Emeritus of
Biology.
Jennie Keith, B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern University, Centennial Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Provost Emerita.
Charles F. Kelemen, B.A., Valparaiso University; Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, Edward Hicks Magill Professor Emeritus of Computer
Science.
Deborah G. Kemler Nelson, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Brown University, Centennial Professor Emerita of Psychology.
T. Kaori Kitao, B.A., M.A., University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., Harvard University, William R. Kenan Jr., Professor Emerita of Art
History.
Eugene A. Klotz, B.S., Antioch College; Ph.D., Yale University, Albert and Edna Pownall Buffington Professor Emeritus of Mathematics.
James R. Kurth, B.A., Stanford University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Claude C. Smith Professor Emeritus of Political Science.
Hugh M. Lacey, B.A., M.A., University of Melbourne; Ph.D., Indiana University, Scheuer Family Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.
Asmarom Legesse, B.A., University College of Addis Ababa; Ed.M., Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology.
Lillian M. Li, A.B., Radcliffe College; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University, Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professor Emerita of History.
Jeanne Marecek, B.S., Loyola University; Ph.D., Yale University, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emerita of Psychology.
Michael Marissen, B.A., Calvin College; Ph.D., Brandeis University, Professor Emeritus of Music.
Arthur E. McGarity, B.S., Trinity University; M.S.E., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Henry C. and J. Archer Turner Professor Emeritus of
Engineering.
Ann Kosakowski McNamee, B.A., Wellesley College; M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University, Professor Emerita of Music.
Rachel A. Merz, B.A., Western New Mexico University; M.S., University of Florida; Ph.D., University of Chicago, Walter Kemp Professor in the
Natural Sciences, Professor Emerita of Biology.
Brian A. Meunier, B.F.A., University of Massachusetts-Amherst; M.F.A., Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Professor Emeritus of Art.
Micheline Rice-Maximin, Licence and Maitrise Universite de la Sorbonne, Paris-IV; M.A., University of North Texas; Ph.D., University of Texas-
Austin, Associate Professor of French.
Frank A. Moscatelli, B.S., C.W. Post College; M.S., Ph.D., New York University, Edward Hicks Magill Professor Emeritus of Physics.
Michael L. Mullan, B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.Ed., Ph.D., Temple University; Ph.D., University of Delaware, Professor
Emeritus of Physical Education and Sociology.
Jane Mullins, B.A., Swarthmore College, Registrar Emerita.
Braulio Muñoz, B.A., University of Rhode Island; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Centennial Professor Emeritus of Sociology.
Marjorie Murphy, B.A., Jersey City State College; M.A., San Jose State University; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, Professor Emerita of
History and James C. Hormel Professor Emerita in Social Justice.
Hans F. Oberdiek, B.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Henry C. and Charlotte Turner Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.
Frederick L. Orthlieb, B.S. M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, The Isaiah V. Williamson Chair of
Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Professor Emeritus of Engineering.
Robert S. Paley, B.S., McGill University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Michigan, Edmund Allen Professor Ermitus of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Jean Ashmead Perkins, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University, Susan W. Lippincott Professor Emerita of French.
Steven I. Piker, B.A., Reed College; Ph.D., University of Washington, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology.
Gilbert P. Rose, B.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Susan Lippincott Professor Emeritus of Modern and Classical Languages.
Alburt M. Rosenberg, B.A., Harvard University; M.S., University of Florida; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor Emeritus of
Natural Science.
Richard Schuldenfrei, B.A., M.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.
Barry Schwartz, B.A., New York University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Dorwin P. Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and
Social Action, Professor Emeritus of Psychology.
Helene Shapiro, B.A., Kenyon College; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics.
Kenneth E. Sharpe, B.A., Dartmouth College; M.S., London School of Economics and Political Science; Ph.D., Yale University, William R.
Kenan Jr. Professor of Political Science.
Don H. Shimamoto, B.S., Stanford University; M.A., Ph.D., Brandeis University, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics.
Faruq M.A. Siddiqui, B.S., Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology; M.S., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Isaiah M. Williamson
Professor Emeritus of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
Kathleen K. Siwicki, B.S., Brown University; M.Phil., Cambridge University; Ph.D., Harvard University, Howard A. Schneiderman Professor
Emerita of Biology.
David G. Smith, B.A., M.A., University of Oklahoma; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Richter Professor Emeritus of Political Science.
Barbara Yost Stewart, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College, Professor Emerita of Biology.
Donald K. Swearer, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University; B.D., S.T.M., Yale Divinity School, Charles and Harriett Cox McDowell Professor
Emeritus of Religion.
Francis P. Tafoya, B.S., M.A., University of Colorado; Ph.D., Yale University, Professor Emeritus of French and Spanish.
Judith G. Voet, B.S., Antioch College; Ph.D., Brandeis University, James H. Hammons Professor Emerita of Chemistry.
Philip M. Weinstein, B.A., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor Emeritus of English
Literature.
Robert E. Williams, B.S., Delaware State College; M.S., Rutgers University, Marian Snyder Ware Professor Emeritus of Physical Education and
Athletics.
Timothy C. Williams, B.A., Swarthmore College; A.M., Harvard University; Ph.D., Rockefeller University, Professor Emeritus of Biology.
Harrison M. Wright, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Isaac H. Clothier Professor Emeritus of History and International Relations and
Provost Emeritus.
13.2 Faculty and Other Instructional Staff
Manal Ahmed, B.A., Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt; M.A. University of Washington, Seattle, Lecturer of Arabic.
Tariq al-Jamil, B.A., Oberlin College; M.T.S., Harvard University; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University, Associate Professor of Religion.
Elaine Allard, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A. University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of
Educational Studies.
Khaled Al-Masri, B.A., M.A., Yarmouk University of Arabic Language and Literature; Ph.D., University of Michigan, Associate Professor of
Arabic.
Kelly N. Ambruso, B.S., Lycoming College; M.S., Bucknell University, Laboratory Instructor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Todd Anckaitis, B.A., Lafayette College; M.S., Smith College, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education.
Diane Downer Anderson, B.A., Montclair State College; M.S., Drexel University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of
Educational Studies.
Nathalie Anderson, B.A., Agnes Scott College; M.A., Georgia State University; Ph.D., Emory University, Professor of English Literature.
Diego Armus, B.A., University of Buenos Aires; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Professor of History.
Sa'ed A. Atshan, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.P.P., M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies.
Elizabeth Atkinson, B.F.A., Carnegie Mellon University; M.F.A., Yale University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater.
Farid Azfar, B.A., Tufts University; M.A., University of Southern California; Ph.D., Brown University, Associate Professor of History.
Alejandra Azuero-Quijano, LL.B. with Honors, Universidad de los Andes; LL.M. and S.J.D., Harvard Law School; Ph.D. Candidate, University
of Chicago, Assistant Professor of Anthropology.
Alan R. Baker, B.A., University of Cambridge; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University, Professor of Philosophy.
Marcantonio Barone, B.Mus., Curtis Institute of Music; Artist Diploma, Peabody Conservatory, Associate in Performance (Music).
Victor Barranca, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Associate Professor of Mathematics.
Carolyn Bauer, B.S., University of Washington; Ph.D., Tufts University, Assistant Professor of Biology.
Alex Baugh, B.S., University of Utah; Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, Associate Professor of Biology.
Peter Baumann, M.A., Ph.D., University of Gottingen, Charles and Harriett Cox McDowell Professor of Philosophy.
Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel, B.A., Swarthmore College; Certificate, École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Theater.
Amanda Bayer, B.A., Williams College; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University, Professor of Economics.
Beaulac, Remi, B.S., University of Montreal, Ph.D., University of Montreal, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Beth Formica Bender, B.F.A., Rutgers University, Associate in Peformance (Dance).
Adrienne Bennally, B.A., University of Colorado at Boulder; M.S.S. University of Colorado at Denver; Ph.D. Claremont Graduate University,
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies.
Benjamin Berger, A.B., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Associate Professor of Political Science.
Deon Benton, B.A.,University of Arizona, M.S., Carnegie Mellon University, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Psychology.
Cacey Stevens Bester, B.S., Southern University and A&M College; M.S., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Assistant Professor of Physics.
Syon Bhanot, B.A., Princeton University; M.P.P., Ph.D., Harvard University, Associate Professor of Economics.
Aqeel Bhatti, B.A., Gordon College Rawalpindi Pakistan, Associate in Performance (Dance)
John C. Blanchar, B.A., M.A., University of Arkansas; Ph.D., Purdue University, Indianapolis, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology.
Jean-Vincent Blanchard, B.A., M.A., Université de Montréal; Ph.D., Yale University, Professor of French and Associate Dean of the Faculty for
Academic Programs.
James J. Blasina, B.A., Dalhousie University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Assistant Professor of Music.
Elizabeth Bolton, B.A., Middlebury College; M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University, Professor of English Literature.
Karen Borbee, B.S., University of Delaware; M.Ed., Widener University, Professor of Physical Education, Athletics.
Jason Box, B.A., Sewanee: The University of the South, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Jennifer Bradley, B.A., M.Ed., Loyola University; Ph.D., Temple University. Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Studies.
Joshua Brody, B.S., Carnegie Mellon University; M.S., New York University; Ph.D., Dartmouth College, Associate Professor of Computer
Science.
Erin Todd Bronchetti, B.A., Miami University; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern University, Associate Professor of Economics.
Megan Brown, B.S., Northwestern University; M.A., University of London, Institute in Paris; M.Phil., Ph.D., The Graduate Center, City
University of New York, Assistant Professor of History.
Michael R. Brown, B.A., Pomona College; Ph.D., Dartmouth College, Morris L. Clothier Professor of Physics.
Laynie Browne, B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.F.A., Brown University, Instructor, Department of English Literature.
Nanci Lissette Buiza, B.A., M.A. California State University; Ph.D., Emory University, Associate Professor of Spanish.
John A. Bundschuh, B.A., M.A. Tulane University; Ph.D., The Ohio State University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese.
Timothy J. Burke, B.A., Wesleyan University; M.A., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Professor of History.
Rachel Sagner Buurma, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of English Literature.
Stephanie Campos, B.S., University of Texas, Arlington; Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology.
Spencer Caplan, B.A., Brown University, ABD University of Pennsylvania, Visting Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
Sydney L. Carpenter, B.F.A., M.F.A., Tyler School of Art, Professor of Art.
Dawn Carone, B.S., Ph.D., University of Connecticut, Assistant Professor of Biology.
Peter Carroll, B.S., M.A., Villanova University, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
John P. Caskey, B.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., Stanford University, Joseph Wharton Professor of Economics.
Vasanta Chaganti, B.S., Ph.D., The Australian National University, Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
Pallabi Chakravorty, B.A., Jadavpur University; Ph.D., Temple University, Stephen Lang Professor of Performing Arts.
Kit Yu Karen Chan, B.S., University of Hong Kong; MSc, PhD, University of Washington.
Paloma Checa-Gismero, B.A., M.F.A., Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, Assistant Professor of
Art History
Erik Cheever, B.S., Swarthmore College; M.S.E., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Edward Hicks McGill Professor of Engineering.
BuYun Chen, B.A., Barnard College; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University, Associate Professor of History.
Linda Chen, A.B. Harvard College; Ph.D., University of Chicago, Professor of Mathematics.
Yvonne P. Chireau, B.A., Mount Holyoke College; M.T.S., Harvard University; Ph.D., Princeton University, Professor of Religion.
Harleigh Chwastyk, B.A., Trinity College; M.S., Smith College, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Kyle Clark, B.M., University of the Arts, Associate in Performance (Dance).
Erin Clemens, B.S., DeSales University; M.S., Saint Joseph's University, Laboratory Instructor of Biology.
David H. Cohen, B.A., Harvard University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Professor of Astronomy.
Lara Langer Cohen, B.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., Yale University, Associate Professor of English.
Karin L. Colby, B.A., Carleton College; M.S., M.B.A., University of Massachusetts, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Quinn Collins, B.M., University of Cincinnati; M.M., University of Illinois; M.F.A., Princeton University, Visiting Instructor in Music.
Kirby Conrod, B.A., University of California Santa Cruz; M.A., Ph.D., University of Washington,Visiting Assistant Professor of Linguistics.
Shelley Costa, B.S., University of Rhode Island; M.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., Cornell University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Gender
and Sexuality Studies.
Arnaud Courgey, M.A. (Maîtrise) and Agrégation, U. de Franche-Comté, France; M.A., University Paris Diderot, France, Lecturer of French.
Denise Crossan, B.Sc., Queen's University, Belfast; M.Sc., University of Ulster, Jordanstown; Ph.D., University of Ulster, Magee, Lang Visiting
Professor for Issues of Social Change.
Catherine H. Crouch, A.B., Williams College; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor of Physics.
Andrew Danner, B.S., Gettysburg College; M.S., Ph.D., Duke University, Associate Professor of Computer Science.
Brad Davidson, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., University of Washington, Assistant Professor of Biology.
Diana Davis, B.A., Williams College, Ph.D., Brown University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
LaDeva Davis, B.M.Ed., Temple University, Associate in Performance (Dance).
Maggie Delano, S.B., MEng., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Assistant Professor of Engineering.
Ni Luh Kadek Kusuma Dewi, Associate in Performance (Music).
Désirée Díaz, B.A, University of Havana; M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Assistant Professor of Spanish.
Giovanna Di Chiro, B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz; M.S., University of Michigan; Ph.D., University of California, Professor of
Environmental Studies.
Rikker Dockum, B.A., Dartmouth College; M.A., Yale University; Ph.D. (expected), Yale University, Visiting Professor of Linguistics.
Allison Dorsey, B.A., University of San Francisco; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, Professor of History.
Bruce A. Dorsey, B.A., Biola University; A.M., Ph.D., Brown University, Professor of History.
Michael Dougherty, B.A. Grinnell College, M.A., Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
Melanie Drolsbaugh, B.A., M.A., Gallaudet University, Instructor of Linguistics.
Timothy DuBuc, B.S., Siena Heights University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Hawaii, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology.
Frank H. Durgin, B.A., St. John's College; M.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., University of Virginia, Elizabeth and Summer
Hayward Professor of Psychology.
Shani Evans, B.A., Amherst College; M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Sociology.
Erich Carr Everbach, A.B., Harvard College; M.S., Ph.D., Yale University, Isaiah M. Williamson Professor of Civil and Mechanical
Engineering.
Philip J. Everson, B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor of Statistics.
Randall L. Exon, B.F.A., Washburn University; M.A., M.F.A., University of Iowa, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Professor of Art.
Jeremy Fahringer, B.A., Swarthmore College, Laboratory Technologist.
James Fenelon, B.A., Loyola Marymount University; M.I.A and M.A.T., School for International Training; C.A.S., Harvard Graduate School of
Education; Ph.D., Northwestern University, Eugene Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change.
Daniela Fera, B.A., New York University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Theodore B. Fernald, B.A., M.A., Ohio State University; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, Professor of Linguistics.
Melissa Finley, B.A., Princeton University, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics
Lila Fontes, B.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., University of Toronto, Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
Vincent Formica, B.A., St. Mary's College of Maryland, Ph.D., Indiana State University, Associate Professor of Biology.
Sibelan Forrester, B.A., Bryn Mawr College; M.A., Ph.D., Indiana University, Professor of Russian.
Ella Foster-Molina, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Rochester, Social Sciences Quantitative Laboratory Associate.
Anthony Foy, B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M.A., Ph.D., Yale University, Associate Professor of English.
Gregory Frost, B.A., University of Iowa, Visiting Instructor of English Literature (part time).
Nicté Fuller Medina, B.A., University of Guelph, Canada; M.A., University of Western Ontario, Canada; Ph.D., University of Ottawa, Canada,
Visiting Assistant Professor of Linguistics.
Maria Gallagher, B.A., College of the Holy Cross; Ph.D., University of Florida, Lecturer of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Vidya Ganapati, S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; M.S., Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Professor of Engineering.
William O. Gardner, B.A., Columbia University; M.A., Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor of Japanese.
Emily A. Gasser, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., Yale University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Linguistics.
Jeffrey Gauthier, B.S., University of Chicago; PH.D., University of California, San Diego, Assistant Professor of Biology.
Benjamin D. Geller, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Columbia University; Ph.D., University of Maryland, Assistant Professor of Physics.
Farha Ghannam, B.A., M.A., Yarmouk University; Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, Eugene Lang Research Professor of Anthropology.
Jane E. Gillham, B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Psychology.
Jill Gladstein, B.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison; M.S.E.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Professor of English Literature and Director
of Writing Associates Program.
Brian D. Goldstein, B.A., Harvard College; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Assistant Professor of Art History.
Joshua Goldwyn, B.A., Pomona College, Ph.D., University of Washington, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
Ralph R. Gomez, B.A., M.A., University of California, Santa Cruz; Ph.D., University of New Mexico; Associate Professor of Mathematics.
Dawn Grant, B.A., M.A, City College of New York, M.A. Long Island University; Interim Head Coach/Professor of Physical Education
Amy Lisa Graves, B.A., Williams College; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Walter Kemp Professor in the Natural Sciences,
Professor of Physics.
Christopher R. Graves, B.S., Mount Allison University; Ph.D., Northwestern University, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Naina R. Green, B.S., University of Pittsburgh, Associate in Performance (Dance).
Joseph Gregorio, B.A., Cornell University; M.M., Yale University, M.M., San Francisco Conservatory of Music, D.M.A. Temple University,
Associate in Performance (Music).
Pat Gress, B.S., Towson University; M.S., West Chester University, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Logan Grider, B.F.A., Art Institute of Chicago; M.F.A., Yale University, Associate Professor of Art.
Daniel J. Grodner, S.B., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Associate Professor of Psychology.
Cheryl P. Grood, B.A., University of Michigan; M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Professor of Mathematics.
Jake Grossman, B.S., Oberlin College; MFR, University of Washington; Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology.
María Luisa Guardiola, Licenciada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Spanish.
Alexandra Gueydan-Turek, Licence, Maîtrise de Lettres Modernes, Université Jean Moulin, Lyon III; M.A., M.Phil, Ph.D., Yale University,
Associate Professor of French.
Stephen Hackler, B.S., Rutgers University, M.S., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics.
Donna T. Halley, B.S., University of Delaware, Senior Laboratory Instructor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Samuel Handlin, B.A. Swarthmore College, M.A. University of California Berkeley, Ph.D. University of California Berkeley.
Dima Hanna, B.A., Damascus University, M.A., University of Virginia, Lecturer in Arabic.
Joseph Hargadon, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Widener University, Visiting Professor of Economics.
Hannah R. Harris, B.S., Pennsylvania State University, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education.
K. David Harrison, B.A., American University; Magister, Jagiellonian University, Poland; M.A., Ph.D., Yale University; Professor of
Linguistics.
Andrew D. Hauze, A.A., Simon's Rock College of Bard; B.A., Swarthmore College; Diploma, Curtis Institute of Music; Senior Lecturer in Music
Daifeng He, B.A. Shanghai University; M.A, Shanghai University; M.A., Oregon State University, Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis;
Associate Professor of Economics.
Jim Heller, Head Coach, Physical Education and Athletics.
Jaime Hernández, B.A., Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City; M.A., Pennsylvania State University; Ph.D., University of Michigan,
Visitng Assistant Professor of Spanish.
Steven P. Hopkins, B.A., M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor of Religion.
Kathleen P. Howard, B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., Yale University, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Thomas J. Hunter, B.S., University of Chicago; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Mathematics.
Catherine Hsu, B.A. Rice University, M.S. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ph.D. University of Oregon, Assistant Professor of
Mathematics.
Patricia L. Irwin, B.A., Amherst College; M.A., Rutgers University; M.A., B.F.A., University of New Hampshire; M.S., Northeastern University;
Ph.D., New York University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Linguistics.
Philip N. Jefferson, B.A., Vassar College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia, Centennial Professor of Economics.
Eric L.N. Jensen, B.A., Carleton College; M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Professor of Astronomy.
Yoshiko Jo, B.A., Seiwa College, Nishinomiya, Japan; B.A., North Central College, Illinois; M.A., University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign,
Senior Lecturer in Japanese.
Michael Johns, B.A., New England Conservatory; M.M., D.M.A., Temple University, Associate in Performance (Music).
Aimee S.A. Johnson, B.A., University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, Professor of Mathematics.
Nina Johnson, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., New York University; Ph.D., Northwestern University, Associate Professor of Sociology.
Nora Johnson, B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M. Div., Graduate Theological Seminary; M.A., Ph.D., University of California,
Berkeley, Professor of English Literature.
Anne-Sophie Jubin, B.A. and M.A., Université d'Angers, France, Language Lecturer of French and Francophone Studies.
Wol A. Kang, B.A., Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan; M.A., Peking University, Beijing, China, Senior Lecturer in Chinese.
Nicholas Kaplinsky, B.A., Reed College; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Professor of Biology.
Ayse Kaya, B.A. Wellesley College; MSc., Ph.D., London School of Economics, Associate Professor of Political Science.
Charles Kazer, B.S. Swarthmore College; M.S., University of Pennsylvania, Lecturer in Computer Science.
Gwynn Kessler, B.A., University of Florida; M.A., Ph.D., The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Associate Professor of Religion.
Mary Ann Klassen, B.A., Agnes Scott College; M.S., University of Wyoming, Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy.
Krystal K. Klingenberg, B.A., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music.
Jonathan Kochavi, B.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo; Associate Professor of Music.
Haili Kong, M.A., People's University, Beijing, China; Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder, Professor of Chinese.
Landry Kosmalski, B.A., Davidson College, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Elizabeth D. Krause, B.A., Cornell University; M.A., Ph.D., Duke University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology (part time).
Allen Kuharski, B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Mark Kuperberg, B.A., Amherst College; M.A., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Economics.
Daniel Laurison, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Professor of Sociology.
Grace M. Ledbetter, B.A., Bryn Mawr College; M.A., University of Virginia; Ph.D., Cornell University, Professor of Classics and Philosophy.
Tiffany Lee, B.A., University of Southern California; M.A., University of California, Irvine; Ph.D., Stanford University, Visiting Assistant
Professor of Art History.
Jeremy Lefkowitz, B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.A., Washington University in St. Louis; Ph.D., University of
Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of Classics.
Natalia Lewandowska, Ph.D., University of Würzburg, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics.
Gerald Levinson, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Jane Lang Professor of Music.
Claire Li, B.A., M.A., National Tsing-hua University; Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chinese.
Stephanie Liapis, B.A., NYU Tisch School of the Arts; M.F.A., University of Washington, Assistant Professor of Dance.
Brook Lillehaugen, B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Assistant Professor of
Linguistics (Tri-College).
Jeremy Loomis, B.A., University of Maryland; M.S., Miami University; M.B.A., University of Maryland, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical
Education and Athletics.
Tamsin Lorraine, B.A., Middlebury College; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Professor of Philosophy.
Amanda Luby, B.A., College of Saint Benedict; M.S.,Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Assistant Professor of Statistics.
Neil Lutz, B.S., University of Chicago; M.S., Rutgers University; Ph.D., Rutgers University.
José-Luis Machado, B.S., Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota; M.S., University of Vermont; Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Associate Professor
of Biology.
Nelson A. Macken, B.S., Case Institute of Technology; M.S., Ph.D., University of Delaware, Howard N. and Ada J. Eavenson Professorship in
Engineering.
Ellen B. Magenheim, B.A., University of Rochester; M.A., Ph.D., University of Maryland, Professor of Economics.
James Magruder, B.A., Cornell University; M.A., M.F.A., D.F.A., Yale University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater.
Kyle Mahoney, B.A., Gettysburg College; Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics.
Bakirathi Mani, B.S.F.S., Georgetown University; M.A., Jawaharlal Nehru University; Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor of English
Literature.
Luciano Martínez, Licenciado en Letras, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Associate
Professor of Spanish.
Eduardo Martín Macho, B.A., University of Granada, Spain; M.A., University of Delaware, Visiting Instructor of Spanish.
Jocelyne Mattei-Noveral, B.S., Orsay University, Laboratory Instructor of Biology.
Nsoki Mamie Mavinga, B.S., Université de Kinshasa; M.S., Ph.D., University of Alabama-Birmingham, Associate Professor of Mathematics.
Edwin Mayorga, B.A., University of California, San Diego; M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University; Ph.D., Graduate Center, City
University of New York. Associate Professor of Educational Studies.
James McCabe (Shiva Das), B.S., St. Thomas University; M.A., Antioch University, Associate in Peformance (Dance).
Don James McLaughlin, B.A., Harding University; M.A., Villanova University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor of
English Literature.
Lisa Meeden, B.A., Grinnell College; M.S., Ph.D., Indiana University, Professor of Computer Science.
Madalina Meirosu, B.A., Transilvania University; M.A., National School for Political and Administrative Sciences, M.A., Ph.D., University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Dale Mezzacappa, A.B., Vassar College, Visiting Instructor of English Literature (part time).
Matthew Midkiff, B.A., M.B.A. Wilkes University, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Barbara Milewski, B.A., Bowdoin College; M.A., State University of New York, Stony Brook; M.F.A., Ph.D., Princeton University, Associate
Professor of Music.
Allison N. Miller, B.A. Ponoma College, M.A., Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Stephen T. Miller, A.B., Princeton University; Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Stacey Miller, B.S., University of Rhode Island; M.A., Saint Joseph's University, Laboratory Instructor of Biology.
Benjamin R. Mitchell, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.S.E., The Johns Hopkins University; Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University.
Lauren Mohn, B.A., Williams College; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies (part time).
Lynne A. Molter, B.S., B.A., Swarthmore College; S.M., Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Engineering.
Allan Moser, B.A., B.S., University of Texas at Austin; M.S. & Ph.D. Purdue University, Visiting Professor of Engineering (part time).
Chandra Moss-Thorne, B.A., Butler University, Lecturer in Dance.
Braulio Muñoz, B.A., University of Rhode Island; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Centennial Professor of Sociology.
Rosaria V. Munson, Laurea in Lettere Classiche, Università degli Studi, Milano; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Classics.
James Murphy, B.F.A., State University of New York, Albany, Associate in Theater Performance.
Carol Nackenoff, A.B., Smith College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Richter Professor of Political Science.
Maya Nadkarni, B.A., M.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., Columbia University, Associate Professor of Anthropology.
Donna Jo Napoli, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University, Professor of Linguistics and Social Justice.
Joseph Nelson, B.A., Loyola University; M.A., Marquette University; Ph.D., The Graduate Center, City University of New
York, Associate Professor of Educational Studies.
Tia Newhall, B.S.-SED, M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Professor of Computer Science.
Alba Newmann Holmes, B.A., University of Chicago; M.A., Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, Visiting Assistant Professor and Assistant Director
of the Writing Program.
C. Andrew Neu, B.M. Music Ed., Temple University, Associate in Performance (Music).
Lev Nikulin, B.A., Rutgers University; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian.
Catherine J. Norris, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Associate Professor of Psychology.
Vitaly Lorman, B.A., Lawrence University, M.A., Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Stephen A. O'Connell, A.B., Oberlin College; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gil and Frank Mustin Professor of Economics.
Fiona O'Donnell, B.S., University of Connecticut; M.S. University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Ph.D. University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
Visiting Assistant Professor Engineering.
Susan O'Donnell, B.S., Wesleyan University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Laboratory Instructor of Biology.
R. Jeannine Osayande, B.A., Temple University, Associate in Peformance (Dance).
Lei X. Ouyang, B.A., Macalester College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Associate Professor of Music.
Emily Paddon Rhoads, B.A., Brown University; M.Phil., University of Oxford; D.Phil., University of Oxford, Assistant Professor of Political
Science.
Zachary Palmer, B.S., Indiana University of Pennsylvania; M.S.E., Johns Hopkins University; Ph.D, Johns Hopkins University, Assistant
Professor of Computer Science.
Rachel Pastan, B.A., Harvard College; M.F.A., University of Iowa, Visiting Instructor of English Literature.
Sangina Patnaik, B.A., University of Iowa; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Professor of English Literature.
Jennifer R. Peck, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Assistant Professor of Economics.
Jennifer Pfluger, B.S., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Ph.D., University of California Berkeley, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Environmental Studies (part time).
Stephen Phillips, B.S., University of California, Los Angeles; M,Sc., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Engineering.
Rosanna Picascia, B.A., The George Washington University; Ph.D., Harvard University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy.
Michael Piovoso, B.S., University of Delaware; M.S., University of Michigan; Ph.D., University of Delaware, Visiting Professor of Engineering
(part time).
Sophia Plata, B.S. Widener University; M.S. University of Southern California (USC); Ph.D. University of Southern California (USC), Visiting
Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow of Engineering.
Helen Plotkin, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., University of Michigan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics.
Xiaodong Qu, B.S., Dalian University of Technology, M.S., Brandeis University; Ph.D., Brandeis University, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Computer Science.
Paul R. Rablen, B.A., Haverford College; M.A., Columbia University; Ph.D., Yale University, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Charles Raff, B.A., University of Rochester; M.A., Ph.D., Brown University, Professor of Philosophy.
Beatriz Ramírez Canosa, B.A. and M.A., University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Instructor of Spanish.
Salvador Rangel, B.A., M.A., Eastern Kentucky University; Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara, Assistant Professor of Sociology.
Keith Reeves, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., University of Michigan, Professor of Political Science.
Bob Rehak, B.A., Eastern Michigan University; M.A., University of North Carolina; Ph.D., Indiana University, Associate Professor of Film and
Media Studies.
Kristen Recine, B.S., Dickinson College, M.A., Bryn Mawr College, Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy
Patricia L. Reilly, B.A., University of California; M.A., Bryn Mawr College; Ph.D., University of California, Associate Professor of Art History.
Carolyn Reinhart, B.S., University of Minnesota, Ph.D., Iowa State University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
Marc Remer, B.A., Emory University; M.A., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Associate Professor of Economics.
K. Ann Renninger, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College, Professor of Educational Studies.
Benjamin Ridgway, B.A., Grinnell College; M.A., University of Minnesota; Ph.D., University of Michigan, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Chinese.
Kathryn R. Riley, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., Wake Forest University, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Jesus Rivera, B.A., The University of Texas at Brownsville; M.A., Ph.D., Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Visiting Assistant Professor
of Astronomy.
Christopher Robison, B.A., University of Rochester; M.A. and Ph.D., Brown University, Visitng Assistant Professor of French and Francphone
Studies.
Ellen M. Ross, B.A., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Professor of Religion.
Olivia Sabee, B.A., The University of Chicago; Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University, Assistant Professor of Dance.
Emily Sahadeo, B.S., Washington College, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Tomoko Sakomura, B.A., Keio University; M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University, Assistant Vice President and Dean for Academic Success and
Professor of Art History.
Matthew Saunders, B.A., Virginia Polytechnic Institute; M.F.A., Yale University, Associate Professor of Theater.
Peter J. Schmidt, B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia, The William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English Literature.
Christopher Schnader, A.B., Dartmouth College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Lecturer in German Studies.
Allen M. Schneider, B.S., Trinity College; Ph.D., Indiana University, Centennial Professor of Psychology.
Lynne Steuerle Schofield, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.S., MPhil, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Associate Professor of Statistics.
Christine Schuetze, B.A., The Colorado College; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of Anthropology.
Peggy Ann Seiden, B.A., Colby College; M.A., University of Toronto; M.L.I.S., Rutgers University, College Librarian.
Adriano Shaplin, B.A., Sarah Lawrence College; M.A., University of California, Berkeley. Visiting Instructor of Theater.
Ahmad Shokr, B.A., University of Toronto; M.A., Ph.D., New York University, Assistant Professor of History.
Jedidiah Siev, B.A., Yale University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of Psychology.
Sunka Simon, M.A., Universitadt Hamburg; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Professor of German and Film and Media Studies.
Joseph Small, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.F.A., University of California Los Angeles, Assistant Professor of Dance.
Benjamin Lenox Smith, B.A., University of Virginia; M.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., Harvard University, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Arabic.
Hillary L. Smith, B.A., Bryn Mawr College; M.A., Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Assistant Professor of Physics.
Tristan L. Smith, B.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Assistant Professor of Physics.
Lee A. Smithey, B.A., Emory University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies.
Lisa Smulyan, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A.T., Brown University; Ed.D., Harvard Graduate School of Education, Henry C. and Charlotte
Turner Professor of Educational Studies.
Eric Song, B.A., Pomona College; M.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., University of Virginia, Associate Professor of English Literature.
Ameet Soni, B.S., University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; M.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Assistant
Professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean of the Faculty for Diversity, Recruitment, and Retention.
Lori Sonntag, B.A., Mount Holyoke College, Senior Laboratory Instructor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Kirsten E. Speidel, B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Johns Hopkins University, Senior Lecturer in Chinese.
Thomas A. Stephenson, B.S., Furman University; Ph.D., University of Chicago, James H. Hammons Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
K. Elizabeth Stevens, B.A., Reed College; M.F.A., Yale School of Drama, Associate Professor of Theater.
Nicole Stowell, B.A., Our Lady of the Lake University; M.S., Thomas Jefferson University, Laboratory Instructor of Biology.
Helen Stuhr-Rommereim, B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., University of London; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant
Professor of Russian.
I Nyoman Suadin, Associate in Performance (Music).
Atsuko Suda, B.A., Obirin University, Tokyo, Japan; M.A., University of Arizona, Senior Lecturer in Japanese.
Laila Swanson, B.A., Trondheim School of Business, Trondheim, Norway; M.F.A., Temple University, Assistant Professor of Theater.
Janet C. Talvacchia, A.B., M.A., Bryn Mawr College; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Mathematics.
Ron Tarver, B.A., Northeastern State University, Instructor of Art.
Jonny Thakkar, B.A, Oxford University; Ph.D., University of Chicago, Assistant Professor of Political Science.
Barbara Thelamour, B.A., Emory University; Ph.D., Michigan State University
Krista Thomason, B.A., University of North Carolina-Greensboro; M.A., Ph.D., University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, Associate Professor of
Philosophy.
Jamie A. Thomas, A.B., Washington University in St. Louis; Ph.D., Michigan State University, Assistant Professor of Linguistics.
Suzanne M. Thornton, B.S., University of Florida; Ph.D., Rutgers University, Assistant Professor of Statistics.
Dominic Tierney, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Oxford University, Professor of Political Science.
Alex Torra, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.F.A., Brown University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater.
Vivian Truong, A.B., Brown University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan, Assistant Professor of History.
William N. Turpin, M.A., University of St. Andrews; M.A., University of Toronto; Ph.D., Cambridge University, Professor of Classics.
Davina Two Bears, B.A., Dartmouth College; M.A., Northern Arizona University; Ph.D., Indiana University; Post-Doctoral Fellow and Visiting
Assistant Professor of Anthropology.
Richard Valelly, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., Harvard University, Claude C. Smith, Class of 1914, Professor of Political Science.
Elizabeth A. Vallen, B.A., Case Western Reserve University; Ph.D., Princeton University, Howard A. Schneiderman Professor of Biology.
Thomas E. Van Aken, B.S., Indiana University, Laboratory Instructor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Lucas Van Meter, B.A., Haverford College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Washington, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics.
Edlin Veras, B.S., Clayton State University; M.A., Georgia State University; Ph.D., University of South Florida, Visiting Assistant Professor of
Sociology and Black Studies.
Amy Cheng Vollmer, B.A., William Marsh Rice University; Ph.D., University of Illinois, Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professor of Biology.
Eric R. Wagner, B.A., Connecticut College; M.Ed., Temple University, Head Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics.
Mark I. Wallace, B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara; M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary; Ph.D., University of Chicago,
Professor of Religion.
Steve C. Wang, B.S., Cornell University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Professor of Statistics.
Tao Wang, B.A., Tsinghua University; M.A., Ohio State University; Ph.D., Princeton University Assistant Professor of Economics.
Andrew Ward, A.B., Harvard University; Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor of Psychology.
Jonathan North Washington, B.A., Brandeis University; M.A., University of Washington; M.A., Ph.D., Indiana University, Assistant Professor of
Linguistics.
Kevin Webb, B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology; M.S., Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, Associate Professor of Computer Science.
Tara Webb, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., New York University, Assistant Professor of Theater.
Michael Wehar, B.S., M.S., Carnegie Mellon University; Ph.D., University of Buffalo, Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
Miranda Weinberg, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor.
Robert E. Weinberg, B.S., Cornell University; M.A., Indiana University; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Isaac H. Clothier Professor of
History and International Relations.
Caiju Wen, B.A., Hubei University; M.A., Communication University of China, Lecturer in Chinese.
Hansjakob Werlen, M.A., University of Notre Dame; Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor of German.
Patricia White, B.A., Yale University; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, Professor of Film and Media Studies.
Tyrene White, B.A., Middle Tennessee State University; M.A., Ph.D., Ohio State University, Professor of Political Science.
Ian Whitehead, B.S., Stanford University; M.A.,Ph.D., Columbia University, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
Thomas Whitman, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate in Performance (Music).
Richard Wicentowski, B.S., Rutgers College, Rutgers University; M.S., University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Professor of
Computer Science.
Craig Williamson, B.A., Stanford University; M.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Alfred H. and Peggi Bloom Professor
of English Literature.
Sarah Willie-LeBreton, B.A., Haverford College; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern University, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Professor of
Sociology.
David Wilson, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Assistant Professor Linguistics.
Peng Xu, B.A., M.A., Peking University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Liliya A. Yatsunyk, S.D., Chernivtsi State University, Ukraine; Ph.D., University of Arizona, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Carina Yervasi, B.A., Hofstra University; Ph.D., City University of New York, Associate Professor of French.
Benjamin Zinszer, B.A., Wheaton College (IL), M.S., M.A.S., Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Neuroscience.
Matthew Zucker, B.A., Vassar College; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Associate Professor of Engineering.
13.3 Divisions, Departments, and Programs
Below are the divisions of the college for administrative purposes; for the purposes of the distribution graduation requirement see section 7.2.
13.3.1 Division of the Humanities
Bob Rehak, Chair
Art and Art History
Logan Grider, Chair
Classics
Grace Ledbetter, Chair
Dance
Pallabi Chakravorty, Chair
English Literature
Eric Song, Chair
Film and Media Studies
Bob Rehak, Chair
Modern Languages and Literatures
William Gardner, Chair
Music
Gerald Levinson, Chair
Philosophy
Alan Baker, Chair
Religion
Yvonne Chireau, Chair
Spanish
Nanci Buiza, Chair
Theater
K. Elizabeth Stevens, Chair
13.3.2 Division of the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Paul Rablen, Chair
Biology
Bradley Davidson, Chair
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Kathleen Howard, Chair
Computer Science
Andrew Danner, Chair
Engineering
Lynne Molter, Chair
Mathematics and Statistics
Cheryl Grood, Chair
Physics and Astronomy
David Cohen, Chair
Psychology
Dan Grodner, Chair
13.3.3 Division of the Social Sciences
Ann Renninger, Chair
Classics
Jeremy Lefkowitz, Chair
Economics
Stephen O'Connell, Chair
Educational Studies
Diane Anderson, Chair
History
Robert Weinberg, Chair
Linguistics
Theodore Fernald, Chair
Political Science
Ayse Kaya, Chair
Psychology
Dan Grodner, Chair
Sociology and Anthropology
Christine Schuetze, Chair
13.3.4 Interdisciplinary Programs
Tamsin Lorraine, Chair
Asian Studies
Tyrene White, Coordinator
Black Studies
Joseph Derrick Nelson, Coordinator
Cognitive Science
Frank Durgin, Coordinator
Comparative Literature
Alexandra Gueydan-Turek, Coordinator
Environmental Studies
Carr Everbach, Coordinator
Gender and Sexuality Studies
Bakirathi Mani, Coordinator
Global Studies
Ayse Kaya, Coordinator
Interpretation Theory
Patricia Reilly, Coordinator
Islamic Studies
Tariq al-Jamil, Coordinator
Latin American and Latinx Studies
Diego Armus, Coordinator
Medieval Studies
Steve Hopkins, Coordinator
Peace and Conflict Studies
Lee Smithey, Coordinator
13.4 Standing Committees of the Faculty
Academic Assessment Committee
Aydelotte Foundation Steering Committee
Committee on Academic Requirements
Committee on Faculty Procedures
Committee on Fellowships and Prizes
Committee on Promotion and Tenure
Council on Educational Policy
Curriculum Committee
Faculty Committee on Diversity and Excellence
Health Sciences Advisory
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Institutional Biosafety Committee
Lang Center Advisory Board
Mellon Mays Advisory Committee
Physical Education and Athletics Advisory Committee
Research Ethics/Institutional Review Board
Teacher Education Committee
Writing Program Advisory Committee
13.5 Other Committees with Faculty Representation
Center for Innovation and Leadership Advisory Committee
College Art Committee
College Judiciary Committee
Cooper Foundation Committee
Crum Woods Stewardship Committee
Data Governance Committee
Endowed Funds Committee
Faculty and Staff Benefits
Get Out The Vote Committee
Honorary Degrees
Mellon Tri-College Forum Steering Committee
Off Campus Study Committee
Public Safety Advisory Committee
Sager Committee
Student Disability Services Faculty Advisory Committee
Student Life Committee
Sustainability Committee
14 Administration
14.1 Administrative Structure
President
President
Chief of Staff and Secretary of the College
Sustainability
Title IX
Vice President and Dean of Admissions
Admissions
Vice President for Communications
Communications Office
Vice President for Advancement
Advancement Services
Advancement Systems
Alumni and Gift Records
Alumni Relations
Development
Alumni and Parent Engagement
Individual Giving
Donor Relations
Advancement Research
Vice President for Finance and Administration
Associate Vice President for Finance and Assistant Treasurer
Controllers Office
Student Accounts
Purchasing
Budget & Planning
Occupational and Environmental Safety
Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services
Dining Services
Events & Summer Programs
Lang Performing Arts Center
Office Services
OneCard
Post Office
The Inn at Swarthmore
Swarthmore Campus and Community Store
Financial Aid Office
Institutional Research
Institutional Risk Management, Office of the General Counsel
Investment Office
Public Safety
Associate Vice President for Sustainable Facilities Operations and Capital Planning
ADA Program Coordinator
Environmental Services
Grounds
Maintenance
Planning and Construction
Scott Arboretum
Vice President for Human Resources
Human Resources
Payroll
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Associate Dean of Faculty for Diversity, Recruitment, and Retention
Associate Dean of Faculty for Academic Programs
Associate Provost for Administration
Assistant Provost for Administration
Eugene M. Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility
Institutional Relations
Institutional Review Board and Research Compliance
Information Technology Services
Libraries
Cornell Science and Engineering Library
Friends Historical Library
McCabe Library
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Underhill Music and Dance Library
Off-Campus Study Office
Physical Education and Athletics
Sponsored Programs
Vice President for Student Affairs
Academic Success
Black Cultural Center
Career Services
Center for Innovation and Leadership
Counseling and Psychological Services
Dean of Students and Student Deans
Disability Services
Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement
International Student Center
Interfaith Center
Fellowships and Prizes
First Generation and Low-Income Student Initatives
Gender Education
Hormel-Nguyen Intercultural Center
Registrar
Student Life/Office of Student Engagement
Student Conduct
Student Health & Wellness
14.2 Admissions Office
James L. Bock III, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.Ed., University of Virginia, Vice President and Dean of Admissions.
Yvetta Moat, Administrative Coordinator.
Andrew Moe, B.A., Arizona State University; M.Ed, Vanderbilt University; Ed.D., University of Pennsylvania, Director of Admissions.
Windsor L. Jordan, Jr., B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Lehigh University, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions.
Daniel Wittels, B.A., Tufts University; M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions.
Margaret T. Kingham, B.A., Mary Washington College, Admissions Officer.
Margaret Ralph, Systems Support Analyst.
Carolyn Moir, Operations Coordinator.
Anthony Weed, B.S., Oakland University Rochester, Administrative Assistant/Technical Support Specialist.
Demetria Hamilton; Sharon Hartley, A.A., Neumann College; Stacy Jordan; Susan Wigo, Administrative Assistants.
14.3 Advancement
Elizabeth Boluch Wood, B.A., Amherst College, Vice President.
Liam McAlpine, B.A., Wesleyan University, Assistant Vice President.
Deborah Scheiner, B.A., Washington University in St. Louis, M.S. Rosemont College, Administrative Coordinator.
Advancement Research
Daniel Alamia, B.A., University of North Carolina, Greensboro: M.F.A., University of North Carolina, Wilmington, Director.
Michelle Crouch, B.A., Swarthmore College, M.L.I.S., University of Pittsburgh, M.F.A., University of North Carolina - Wilmington, Associate
Director, Prospect Development.
Abigail Komlenic, B.A. Franklin & Marshall College, Associate Director, Advancement Analytics.
Advancement Systems
Dierdre W. Konar, B.S., Babson College; M.S., Drexel University, Director.
Jason Ebersole, B.A., Muhlenberg College; M.S., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Director.
Barbara Mann, B.S., West Chester University, Senior Associate Director.
Rachelle N. Miclette, B.A., American University, Assistant Director, Advancement Systems
Alumni and Gift Records
Ruth Krakower, B.F.A., University of Hartford, Hartford Art School, Director.
Jane Pedrick, B.A., Franklin & Marshall College, MSW, Bryn Mawr College, Senior Alumni Information Specialist.
Trish Tancredi, Senior Gift Information Specialist.
Marianne Kennedy, Gift Recorder.
Catherine Powell, B.S., Rosemont College, Alumni Recorder.
Andrea Rincon, B.A., Rutgers University, M.S., Drexel University, Alumni Recorder
Theresa Rodriguez, Administrative Assistant.
Alumni and Parent Engagement
Lisa Shafer, B.A., Wilkes University; M.A, West Chester University, Senior Director.
Alexandria L. Craig, B.S., B.A., Gettysburg College, Senior Associate Director, Volunteers.
Caitlin Halloran Edwards, B.A., UNC Asheville, Assistant Director, Volunteers.
Katie Kuzoian, B.A., Villanova University, M.Ed., Temple University, Assistant Director, Alumni and Parent Engagement
Marty Roelandt, B.F.A., Wright State University, Associate Director, Volunteers.
Molly Scott, B.A., Goucher College, Senior Associate Director, Events.
Geoff Semenuk, B.A., University of Delaware, Associate Director, Events.
Fritz Ward, B.A., Eckerd College; M.F.A., University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Senior Associate Director, Marketing.
Carol Stuart, Administrative Assistant, Volunteers.
Individual Giving and Donor Relations
Mike Gillum, B.A., Furman University, Senior Director, Individual Giving & Donor Relations.
Renee P. Atkinson, B.A., Neumann University, Associate Director, Individual Giving.
Sue Brennan, B.A., Shippensburg University, Assistant Director, Individual Giving.
Maura Demming, B.A. State University of New York Fredonia, M.A. Syracuse University, Associate Director, Individual Giving.
Brian T. Myers, B.A. Gettysburg College; M.A. University of Maryland, College Park, Associate Director, Individual Giving.
Anne O'Donnell, B.M., Bucknell University, M.M., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Associate Director, Individual Giving.
Nikki Senecal, A.B., Bryn Mawr College; Ph.D., University of Southern California, Director, Donor Relations.
Mary Carr, A.B.A., Keystone School of Business, Administrative Assistant, Individual Giving.
Julie DiPietro, Administrative Assistant, Individual Giving and Donor Relations.
14.4 Auxiliary Services
Anthony Coschignano, B.S., The Florida State University; MBA, Valparaiso University, Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services.
Anthony Condo, B.A., M.A., Temple University, Director, OneCard Services.
Paula Dale, B.A., Wake Forest University; M.A., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Director, Campus and Community Store.
Susan Eagar, B.A., West Chester University; M.S., University of Pennsylvania, Director, Events Management.
Linda McDougall, B.A., Temple University, Director, Dining Services.
James P. Murphy, B.F.A., State University of New York, Albany, Managing Director.
Vincent J. Vagnozzi, B.S., West Chester University, Supervisor, Post Office.
14.5 Campus and Community Store (Swarthmore)
Paula Dale, B.A., Wake Forest University; M.A., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Director.
Erica Considine, B.A., West Chester University, Assistant Director.
Michael Harper, Operations Manager.
14.6 Career Services
Erin Massey, B.A., Kutztown University; M.Ed., Widener University, Senior Associate Director.
Jennifer Barrington, B.A., Gettysburg College; M.Ed., University of Delaware, Associate Director, Career Development (job share).
Kristie Beucler, B.A., Gettysburg College; M.S., West Chester University, Associate Director, Career Development (job share).
Pattie Kim-Keefer, B.A., Haverford College; M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Director, Technology and Assessment.
Jackie Moriniere '12, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.Ed., Drexel University, Assistant Director, Employer Relations.
Lisa Maginnis, Administrative Assistant.
Michelle Hall, Program Assistant.
14.7 Communications Office
Andy Hirsch, B.A. and B.S., Syracuse University, Vice President for Communications.
Mark Anskis, B.A., Susquehanna University; M.J., Temple University, Director of Content Strategy.
Kate Campbell, B.A., Temple University, Editorial Director/Editor of the Swarthmore College Bulletin.
Ryan Dougherty, B.A., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., Chestnut Hill College, Assistant Director of Editorial Content/Senior Editor.
Nick Forrest, B.A., Swarthmore College, Communications and Marketing Specialist.
Alisa Giardinelli, B.A., Pennsylvania State University; M.A., Temple University, Assistant Vice President of Communications.
Roy Greim, B.A., Swarthmore College, Assistant Director of Communications.
Nora Kelly, B.A., Emmanuel College; M.A., University of Baltimore; Media Relations Specialist.
Laurence Kesterson, U.S. Army/Air Force Still Photographic Specialist School, Photographer/Videographer.
Steven Lin, B.A., University of Maryland, Web Developer.
Lauren McAloon, B.A., University of Delaware, Administrative Coordinator.
Alexandra Sastre, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Director for Campus Communications.
Rachel Semigran, B.A., Drexel University, M.A., Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; Director of Enrollment Marketing and
Communications.
Elizabeth Slocum, B.J., University of Texas at Austin, Assistant Director of Editorial Content/Managing Editor.
Phillip Stern, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.F.A., University of Pennsylvania, Associate Director for Design; Designer of the Swarthmore
College Bulletin.
Natavan Werbock, B.S., University of the Arts; Video and Multimedia Producer.
Amanda Whitbred, B.A., Lafayette College, Director of Advancement Communications.
14.8 Controller's Office
Business Office
Alice Turbiville, B.A., New School University; M.B.A., Drexel University; C.P.A., Associate Vice President for Finance & Assistant Treasurer
Carrie DiEnna, B.S., Neumann University; M.B.A., St. Joseph's University, Controller
Joseph Cataldi, B.S., LaSalle University; M.B.A., LaSalle University, Associate Controller
Elizabeth Baksi, B.S., Shippensburg State College; M.B.A., St. Joseph's University, Associate Controller
Robert Lopresti, B.S., Rutgers; C.P.A., Director, Finance and Administration Business Process
Ernest Wright, B.A. Haverford College; M.A.L.D., Fletcher School, Tufts University, Director of Budget and Planning
Denise A. Risoli, B.S., LaSalle University, Senior Accountant
Patricia Braun, Senior Buyer for Facilities
Patricia Hearty, PCARD Administrator/Buyer
Barbara Turner, Accounts Payable Coordinator
Deborah McGinnis, Accounts Payable Clerk
Nancy Kremmel, Accounting Assistant and Cashier
Student Accounts
Linda Weindel, Student Accounts Manager
Maria McBride, Student Accounts Assistant
Occupational and Environmental Safety
Colleen Battista, B.S., Drexel University; M.S., Drexel University, Environmental Health and Safety Officer
14.9 Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Stacy Green, B.A., Ithaca College; M.S.S, Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Clinical Social
Worker & Social Work Supervisor.
Heejin Kim, B.A., M.A., Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea; M.A., Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College, Clinical Psychologist and Assessment
Supervisor.
Dawn Philip, B.A., University of California at Los Angeles; J.D., City University of New York; M.S.W., University of Maryland, Clinical
Community Liaison.
Joseph C. Hewitt, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; D.O., University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine,
Consulting Psychiatrist.
Dana Marcus, B.S., Bryant University; M.S.S., Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Case Manager and Therapist
Nasim Chatha, B.A., Overlin College; Smith College for Social Work, Candidate for Master of Social Work, Social Work Intern
Alissa Hochman, B.A., Brandeis University; M.A.,, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Post-Doctoral Resident
Christina Hong Huber, B.S., University of Michigan; M.A., University of Delaware; Doctorate in Psychology at Widener University for Graduate
Clinical Psychology, Pre-Doctoral Intern
Kaamila Mohamed, B.A., Brandeis University; M.S.S., Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Social Work
Fellow
Stefanie Poulos-Hopkins, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Ph.D. Candidate, Bryn Mawr College Clinical Developmental Psychology,
Pre-Doctoral Intern
Ellie Taylor, B.Ph., Earlham College; Smith College for Social Work, Master of Social Work; LCSW
Theresa D. McGrath, Administrative Assistant.
14.10 Student Affairs Division
James S. Terhune, A.B., Middlebury College; Ed.M., Harvard University, Vice President for Student Affairs.
Felicite W. Gibson, B.S., Elizabeth City State University, Administrative Coordinator.
Eve Altmann, B.S., Emory University; M.S., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Residential Communities Coordinator.
Katie Clark, B.A., Smith College; M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania, Assistant Dean of Integrated Learning and Leadership, Director of Center
for Innovation and Leadership.
Elizabeth Derickson, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Princeton University, Associate Dean of Academic Success.
Imaani Jamillah El-Burki, B.A., Temple University; M.S., Ph.D., Drexel University, Assistant Dean and Director of the Hormel-
Nguyen Intercultural Center.
Khadijah Greene, Residential Communities Coordinator.
Rachel Head, B.S.W., Florida State University; Ed.M., University of South Florida, Associate Dean and Director of Student Engagement.
Karen M. Henry, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.S.S., Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work; Ph.D., Temple University, Dean of
First Year Students.
Traci Huppman, B.S., M.Ed., Temple University, Assistant Director of Student Disability Services.
Usha Nair Jenemann, B.S., M.Ed., Penn State University; M.S., Neumann University, Associate Registrar.
Dion W. Lewis, B.A., M.Ed., Rutgers University; Ph.D. University of Virginia, Associate Dean and Director of the Black Cultural Center.
Estrellita "Star" Longoria, B.A., Texas State University; M.Ed. University of Texas at Austin, Director of Residential Communities.
Ryan MacMorris, B.A., The College of New Jersey, International Student Coordinator.
Melissa Mandos, B.A., Wesleyan University; Master of City and Regional Planning, Rutgers University, Fellowships and Prizes Adviser.
Jennifer Marks-Gold, B.S., Drexel University; Ed.M., Cabrini College, Assistant Dean and Director of International Student Programs.
Nathan P. Miller, B.A., St. Olaf College; M.S., Minnesota State University, Mankato; Ed.D., University of Pennsylvania, Senior Associate Dean
of Student Life.
Jasmin Owens, B.A., M.S., California University of Pennsylvania, Residential Communities Coordinator.
M. Umar Abdul Rahman, B.A. Lehigh University; J.D. Temple University of Law; M.A. Hartford Seminary, Muslim Student Advisor.
Michael Ramberg, B.A., Williams College; M.A., Rabbinic Ordination, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Jewish Student Advisor.
Michelle D. Ray, B.A., University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown; M.A., Indiana University Pennsylvania, Assistant Dean and Director of Case
Management.
Tomoko Sakomura, B.A., Keio University, Tokyo; M.A. and Ph.D., Columbia University, Dean of Students and Professor of Art History.
Ben Shalk, B.A., University of Delaware; M.S., West Chester University, Residential Communities Coordinator.
Angela "Gigi" Simeone, A.B., Wellesley College; Ed.M., Boston University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Health Sciences Adviser and Pre-
Law Adviser.
Carl Sveen, B.S. Wheaton College; M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania, Assistant Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership.
Tiffany Thompson, B.A., Georgetown University; M.S., Temple University, Interim Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Director of
Gender and Sexuality Initiatives and Program Manager for the Women's Resource Center.
Monica Vance, B.A., West Chester University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Drexel University, Director of Student Disability Services.
Ben Wilson, Assistant to the Director and Progam Coordinator for the Office of Student Engagement.
Mira Baric, B.A., University of Sarajevo; Samantha Coccerino; Simone Hayes; Jennifer Lenway, M.S.W., Portland State University;
Administrative Assistants.
14.11 Dining Services
Linda McDougall, B.A., Temple University, Director of Dining Services.
Barbara Boswell, Cash Operations Manager.
Lynn Grady, Office Manager.
Therese Hopson, Front-of-House Manager.
Amanda Karpen, M.B.A., Virginia Tech, Associate Director.
Mary Kassab, Swarthmore College, Allergen Awareness Coordinator.
Benton Peak, A.S., Bucks County Community College, Executive Chef.
Joshua Szczypiorski, B.A., Saint Joseph's University, Production Manager.
Richard Plummer, A.S., Runaway Bay Heart Academy Jamaica W.I, Sous Chef/Catering.
Patricia Woods, Assistant Front of House Manager
14.12 Facilities and Capital Projects
Andrew Feick, B.L.A., University of Rhode Island, Associate Vice President for Sustainable Facilities Operations and Capital Planning.
Christi A. Muller Ford, B.S., St Joseph's University, Office Manager for Facilities and Capital Planning.
Susan Smythe, B.A., Wesleyan University, ADA Program Coordinator and Project Manager.
Environmental Services
Tyrone W. Dunston, Director of Environmental Services.
Christopher Proctor, Manager of Administration.
Ursula Young, Day Supervisor.
William Dunbar, Day Supervisor.
Steve Lockard, Night Supervisor.
Grounds
Jeff Jabco, B.S., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., North Carolina State University, Director of Grounds/Coordinator of Horticulture.
Steve Donnelly, Athletic Fields Supervisor.
Chuck Hinkle, B.S., Temple University, Garden Supervisor.
Adam Glas, Professional Gardener Program, Garden Supervisor.
Lars Rasmussen, B.A., Juniata College; B.S., Temple University, Assistant Garden Supervisor.
Paul Rowe, Motor Pool
Maintenance
James Adams, PE, B.S., Syracuse University, Director of Sustainable Maintenance.
Bill Maguire, Clerk of the Works.
Domenic M. Porrini, Manager, Heat Plant/HVAC.
Carolyn Saufley, Work Order Manager.
Bernard Devlin, Paint Supervisor.
Rob Torres, Maintenance Supervisor.
Capital Planning and Project Management
Janet M. Semler, B.S., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., Drexel University, Director of Capital Planning and Project Management.
Michael Boyd, Senior Project Manager.
Mary E. Ciurlino, B.S., Drexel University, Associate Project Manager/Interior Designer.
Roderick H. Wolfson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, B.A. Trinity College; M.Arch. University of Pennsylvania, Planner/Project Manager.
Tom Cochrane, Senior Project Manager for Engineering Systems
14.13 Finance and Administration
Alice Turbiville, B.A., New School University; M.B.A., Drexel University; C.P.A., Assistant Vice President for Finance & Controller.
Mark C. Amstutz, B.A., College of William and Mary; M.A., University of Virginia, C.F.A., Chief Investment Officer.
Andrew Feick, B.L.A., University of Rhode Island, Associate Vice President for Sustainable Facilities Operations and Capital Planning.
Sharmaine B. LaMar, B.S., St. Joseph's University; J.D., University of Richmond, General Counsel.
Anthony P. Coschignano, B.A., Florida State University, MBA, Valparaiso University, Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services
Varo L. Duffins, B.A., University of Delaware; M.S., Drexel University, Director of Financial Aid.
Robin H. Shores, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Delaware, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, Assistant
Secretary of the College.
Michael J. Hill, CPP, B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Director of Public Safety.
Jennifer Kennedy, B.A., Pennsylvania State University, Administrative Coordinator
14.14 Financial Aid Office
Varo L. Duffins, B.A., University of Delaware; M.S., Drexel University, Director of Financial Aid
Judith A. Strauser, B.S., B.A., Gannon University, Director of Operations, Financial Aid
Kristin Moore, B.S., St. Francis University; M.A., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Director of Services, Financial Aid
Rune Horvik, B.S., M.S., University of Maryland University College, Senior Assistant Director of Financial Aid Systems
Katie Menschner, B.A., Temple University, Assistant Director, Financial Aid
Tim Haight, BA., M.Ed., University of Pittsburgh, Assistant Director, Financial Aid
14.15 Health Sciences/Prelaw Advisory Program
Gigi Simeone, A.B., Wellesley College; Ed.M., Boston University; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Health Sciences Advisor.
Jennifer Lenway, M.S.W., Portland State University, Administrative Assistant.
14.16 Health & Wellness Services
Casey Anderson, C.R.N.P., B.S., M.S., Desales University, Nurse Practitioner, Director of Student Health and Wellness Service
Mary Reilly, C.R.N.P., B.A., University of Pennsylvania, B.S.N., Pace University, M.S.N., University of Pennsylvania, Nurse Practitioner,
Assistant Director of Student Health and Wellness
Leah Orchowski, C.R.N.P., B.S. Villanova University, M.S. Thomas Jefferson University, Nurse Practitioner
Lauren Godfrey, C.R.N.P., B.S. Emory University, B.S. Columbia University, M.S. Columbia University, Nurse Practitioner
Holly Clarke, C.R.N.P., B.S.N., Thomas Jefferson University, M.S.N., Thomas Jefferson University, Nurse Practitioner
Cheryl Donnelly, R.N., B.S.N., West Chester University, Nurse
Suzanne Janczewski, R.N., B.S.N., Thomas Jefferson University, Nurse
Eileen Stasiunas, R.N., B.S.N., Villanova University, Nurse
Joshua Ellow, M.S., Chestnut Hill College, Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor
Brittany Pizio, B.S., The Pennsylvania State University, M.A., R.D.N., L.D.N., Immaculata University, Nutritionist
Mary Jane Palma, Administrative Assistant/Insurance Coordinator.
14.17 Human Resources
Beth R. Glassman, B.A., Tufts University, J.D., M.B.A., Widener University, Vice President for Human Resources.
Patricia Carey, B.S., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, M.A., University of Maryland, Director of Benefits and Wellness.
Janis Leone, Human Resources Coordinator.
Terri Maguire, B.S., Widener University, Coordinator, Human Resources Manager.
Stephanie Norman, B.S., M.P.A., Eastern Michigan University, Compensation and Benefits Manager.
Georgina Texeira, B.A., Computer Science, Temple University; M.S, Business Intelligence, Saint Joseph's University, Associate Director for
Human Resources Information Systems and Project Management.
Payroll
Karen Phillips, A.A., Neumann University, Payroll Director.
Susan Watts, Payroll Coordinator.
14.18 Information Technology Services
Joel P. Cooper, B.A., Calvin College; M.A., University of Texas-Austin, Chief Information Technology Officer.
Nicholas Hannon, B.S., Worcester Polytechnic Institute; M.S., Syracuse University, Information Security Analyst.
Kelly A. Fitzpatrick, IT Coordinator.
Mary K. Hasbrouck, B.A., Oberlin College, Technology Coordinator.
Academic Technologies
Andrew Ruether, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.Eng., Cornell University, Head of Academic Technology Support.
Corrine Schoeb, B.A., Goddard College, Technology Accessibility Coordinator.
Ashley Turner, B.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City, Academic Technologist.
Anthony Weed, B.S., Oakland University Rochester, Academic Web Developer.
Doug Willen, B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., University of California, Academic Technologist.
Administrative Information Systems
Wenping Bo, B.A., Tianjin Foreign Languages Institute; M.S., Lawrence Technological University; M.S., Clemson University, System Analyst.
Patrick Kelly, B.S., University of Delaware; M.B.A. La Salle University, Analyst.
Frank Milewski, B.S., St. John's University, Director, Administrative Information Systems.
Jean Pagnotta, B.S.I.E., University of Pittsburgh, Senior Analyst.
Rhoni A. Ryan, B.S., Villanova University, Senior Analyst.
Edward Siegle, B.A., West Chester University, Senior Systems Analyst.
Enterprise Services
Angela Andrews, A.A.S., Community College of Philadelphia; B.S., Chestnut Hill College, System Administrator.
Michael Clemente, B.S., Rowan University, Systems Administrator.
Michael Kappeler, B.A., Stockton University, Front End Web Developer.
Leslie Leach, B.S., University of Maine, Web Developer.
John Porter, B.B.A., Temple University, Database Administrator.
Jason Rotunno, B.S., Drexel University, System and Security Administrator.
R. Glenn Stauffer, B.B.A., Temple University, Director, Enterprise Systems.
Donald Tedesco, B.A., Rutgers University, Data Center Supervisor.
Language & Media Centers
Michael Jones, B.A., State University of New York, Buffalo, Director of Language and Media Centers.
Jeremy Polk, B.A., University of Delaware; M.A., American University, Media Center Coordinator.
Russell Prigodich, B.A., Saint Michael's College; MFA University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MakerSpace Manager.
John Word, B.A., San Francisco State University, Language Media Center Technologist/
Networking and Telecommunications
Mark J. Dumic, B.A., M.B.A., University of Rochester, Director, Networking and Telecommunications.
Denny Moore, B.S., Temple University, Network Engineer.
Martin Reynolds, B.S, M.S.I.S, Pennsylvania State University, Senior Network Engineer.
Support Services
Michael Bednarz, B.A., Pennsylvania State University, Classroom and Media Technologist.
Mark CJ Davis Jr., A.S., CLC, B.S., Delaware Valley College, Manager of Desktop Systems.
Heather Dumigan, Technical Support Specialist.
Seth Frisbie-Fulton, B.A., Antioch College, Technical Support Specialist.
Oliver Ryan Hollocher-Small, A.A., Community College of Philadelphia, Technical Support Specialist.
David T. Neal Jr., B.A., Temple University, Classroom and Media Technologist.
Jeffrey Oaster., B.A Temple University; Postbaccalaureate Certificate (Educational Technology), Penn State University; Classroom and Media
Technologist.
Michael Patterson, B.A., Temple University, Media Services Manager.
Joel F. W. Price, B.A., Swarthmore College, Technology Education Coordinator.
Jessica Stockett, B.A., Albright College, Technical Support Coordinator.
Christina Webster, B.A., Temple University, Technical Support Specialist.
14.19 Institutional Research Office
Robin H. Shores, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Delaware, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, Assistant
Secretary of the College.
Pamela Borkowski-Valentin, B.A., University of Delaware; M.S.S., M.L.S.P., Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research,
Assistant Director for Institutional Research.
Jason Martin, B.A., Trinity Christian College; M.A., Ph.D., Temple University, Assistant Director for Institutional Analysis.
14.20 Investment Office
Mark C. Amstutz, B.A., College of William and Mary; M.A., University of Virginia, C.F.A., Chief Investment Officer.
Frank C. Grunseich, B.A., Bucknell University; M.S., Temple University: Fox School of Business, Managing Director of Investments.
Patrick A. Lewis, B.S., University of Utah, Investment Analyst
14.21 Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility
Benjamin Berger, A.B., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University; Executive Director of the Lang Center and Associate Professor
of Political Science.
Denise A. Crossan, B.Sc., Queen's University, Belfast; M.Sc., University of Ulster, Jordanstown; Ph.D., University of Ulster, Magee. The Eugene
M. Lang ´38 Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change.
Ashley Henry, B.A., Dartmouth College; M.S.Ed., University of Pennsylvania. Program Manager, Lang Center.
Brenna Leary, B.S., Babson College. Sustainability and Engaged Scholarship Fellow.
Roseann Liu, B.S., New York University; Ed.M., Teachers College, Columbia University; Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania. Visiting Assistant
Professor of Educational Studies. Senior Fellow of Engaged Scholarship, Lang Center.
Jennifer Magee, B.A., M.A., Washington College; Post Graduate Diploma, University of Ulster, Magee; Ph.D., George Mason University. Senior
Associate Director, Lang Center.
Guilu Murphy, B.A., Wesleyan University. Sustainability and Engaged Scholarship Fellow.
Katie Price, B.A., University of Utah; M.A., University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania. Associate Director for Co-Curricular
Programming and Outreach, Lang Center.
Delores Robinson, Administrative Assistant, Lang Center.
14.22 Lang Performing Arts Center
James P. Murphy, B.F.A., State University of New York, Albany, Managing Director.
J. Scott Burgess, Sound Designer, Audio/Video Engineer.
Melanie Leeds, B.A., Hamilton College, Production Stage Manager.
Jose Antonio Dominic Chacon, M.F.A. Temple University, Lighting Design. Master Electrician
Thomas Snyder, B.S., Pennsylvania State University, Manager of Operations.
Jean R. Tierno, B.A., J.D., Widener University, Administrative Assistant.
14.23 Libraries
14.23.1 College Libraries-McCabe, Cornell and Underhill
Maria Aghazarian, B.A., Bryn Mawr College, Digital Resources and Scholarly Communications Specialist.
Andrea Baruzzi, B.A., University of North Carolina-Greensboro; M.S., Drexel University, Head of Cornell Library of Science and Engineering
and Science Librarian.
Jessica Brangiel, B.A., The George Washington University; M.L.I.S., Drexel University, Electronic Resources Management Librarian.
Bridgette Brown, B.A., Temple University, Weekend Acess and User Services Supervisor.
Kate Carter, B.F.A., New York University; M.L.S., University of Pittsburgh, Head of Digital Initiatives & Strategies.
Susan Dreher, B.A., Wesleyan University; M.L.I.S., Drexel University, Visual Resources and Initiatives Librarian.
Sarah Elichko, A.B., Bryn Mawr College; M.L.I.S., Rutgers University, Social Sciences & Data Librarian.
Donna Fournier, B.A., Connecticut College; M.L.S., Southern Connecticut State University; M.A., West Chester University, Performing Arts
Librarian.
Kimberly Gormley, B.A., Cabrini College; M.S.L.S. Drexel University, Late Night Access and Lending Services Supervisor.
Jason Hamilton, B.A., Temple University, User Technology Support Specialist
Pam Harris, B.A., Mary Washington College; M.L.S., Drexel University, Associate College Librarian Research & Instruction.
Mary Huissen, B.A., Calvin College; M.M., Catholic University of America; M.L.I.S., Drexel University, Librarian for Assessment, User
Experience and Assistant Head of Collections.
Linda Hunt, B.A., West Chester University, Access and Lending Services Specialist.
Katrina Jackson, B.A., University of Arizona; M.L.I.S., University of Arizona, Metadata Librarian.
Melinda Kleppinger, B.S., Lebanon Valley College, Government Documents and Digital Archives Specialist.
Roxanne Lucchesi, B.A., Cabrini College, Technical Services Specialist.
Danie Martin, B.A., B.S., Ohio State University; M.L.S., Kent State University, Technical Services Specialist.
Joanne McCole, B.A., Pennsylvania State University, Access and Lending Services Supervisor.
Amy McColl, B.A., University of Delaware; M.L.S., Drexel University, Assistant Director for Collections and TriCollege Consortium Licensing
Librarian.
Kerry McElrone, B.A., Saint Joseph's University, Interlibrary Loan Specialist.
Annette Newman, B.A., The Evergreen State College, Assistant to the College Librarian.
Roberto Vargas, B.A., Knox College; M.L.I.S, Drexel University, Research Librarian for Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies.
Sandra M. Vermeychuk, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.S. in Ed., University of Pennsylvania, Interlibrary Loan Services Coordinator.
Ken Watts, Book Van Driver.
Barbara J. Weir, B.S., Pennsylvania State University; M.L.S., Drexel University, Associate College Librarian for Technical Services & Digital
Initiatives.
14.23.2 Friends Historical Library
Jordan Landes, B.A., Haverford College; M.A., M.L.S., University of Maryland, College Park; Ph.D. University of London, Curator.
Rachel Mattson, B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Ph.D., New York University; M.L.I.S., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Director of
Special Collections and Curator of the Peace Collection.
Celia Caust-Ellenbogen, B.A., Swarthmore College; M.L.I.S., University of Pittsburgh,
Archivist.
Emily Higgs, B.A., Rice University; M.S.I.S., University of Texas at Austin, Digital Archivist.
Mary Beth Sigado, B.M., Temple University; M.S.W., Widener University, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian.
J. William Frost, B.A., DePauw University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor Emeritus of
Quaker History and Research.
Honorary Curators of the Friends Historical Library
Lynne Calamia, Esther Leeds Cooperman (emerita), Christopher Densmore, Maurice Eldridge, James E. Hazard (emeritus), Thomas C. Hill,
Emma Lapsansky-Werner, Lisa Samson, Ann Upton, Nancy V. Webster, Signe Wilkinson, and Harrison M. Wright (emeritus).
14.23.3 Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Rachel Mattson, B.A., Oberlin College; M.A., Ph.D., New York University; M.L.I.S., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Director of
Special Collections and Curator of the Peace Collection.
Victoria Russo, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.L.I.S., Drexel University, Digital Archivist.
Mary Beth Sigado, B.M., Temple University; M.S.W., Widener University, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian.
Anne Yoder, B.A., Eastern Mennonite College; M.L.S., Kent State University, Archivist.
Advisory Council of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Harriet Hyman Alonso, Kevin Clements, John Dear, Donald B. Lippincott.
14.24 List Gallery
Andrea Packard, B.A., Swarthmore College; Certificate, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; M.F.A., American University, Director.
Tess Wei, List Gallery Assistant
14.25 Off-Campus Study Office
Patricia C. Martin, B.A., Williams College; M.A., School for International Training, Director.
María-Luisa Guardiola, Faculty Advisor.
Lotte Buiting, M.A., Utrecht University, M.Ed, Utrecht University, Ph.D., Harvard University, Associate Director.
Diana R. Malick, B.S., Neumann University, Administrative Assistant.
14.26 Office of the General Counsel
Sharmaine B. LaMar, B.S., St. Joseph's University; J.D., University of Richmond, General Counsel.
Elizabeth B. Pitts, B.F.A., Philadelphia College of Art; J.D., Widener University School of Law, Assistant General Counsel.
Christopher J. Kelly, B.S., Drexel University, Paralegal.
14.27 President's Office
Valerie A. Smith, B.A., Bates College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia, President of the College.
Erin Brownlee Dell, B.A., Kalamazoo College; M.Ed., Harvard University; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Chief of Staff
and Secretary of the College.
Denise A. Crossan, B.Sc., Queen's University, Belfast; M.Sc., University of Ulster, Jordanstown; Ph.D., University of Ulster, Magee, Director of
Community and Strategic Initiatives.
Pamela K. Shropshire, B.A., State University of New York at Binghamton, Special Assistant for Presidential Initiatives.
Jenny Gifford, Executive Coordinator
Meg Gebhard, B.S., Kutztown University, Administrative Coordinator.
14.28 Program on Urban Inequality and Incarceration (Formerly Center for Social
and Policy Studies)
Keith W. Reeves, B.A., Swarthmore College; Ph.D., University of Michigan, Faculty Director.
Margaret O'Neil, B.A., Swarthmore College, UII Engagement Fellow and Teaching Assistant.
Nina Johnson, B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., New York University; Ph.D., Northwestern University, Inside-Out Course Instructor.
Ellen Ross, B.A., Princeton University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago, Inside-Out Course Instructor.
14.29 Provost's Office
Sarah Willie-LeBreton, B.A. Haverford College; M.A., Ph.D., Northwestern University, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Professor of
Sociology.
Ameet Soni, B.S., University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Diversity,
Recruitment, and Retention and Associate Professor of Computer Science.
Jean-Vincent Blanchard, B.A., M.A., Université de Montréal; Ph.D., Yale University, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Programs and
Professor of French.
Kim Fremont, B.S., St. Joseph's University; M.A., George Washington University; Ph.D., Temple University, Associate Provost for
Administration.
Lesa Shieber, B.S., Tuskegee University; M.A., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Assistant Provost for Administration.
Joanne Kimpel, Executive Assistant.
Jennifer Piddington, B.A., Long Island University, Special Assistant for Faculty Affiars.
Debbie Thompson, B.S., Kutztown University, Academic Divisional Programs and Operations Manager.
Institutional Relations
David M. Foreman, B.A., M.A., West Virginia University, Director.
Sponsored Programs
Tania Johnson, B.A., M.A., University of Pennsylvania, Director.
Joseph Watson, B.S. West Chester University; M.S. Neumann University, Associate Director.
14.30 Public Safety
Michael J. Hill, B.A., University of Pennsylvania, CPP, Director of Public Safety.
John Bera, B.A., Ursinus College; M.S., Philadelphia University, Associate Director for Community Engagement.
Candice Evans, George Iredale, Patrol Sergeant.
Shaun Shields, Joshua Smedley, Joseph Theveny, Patrol Corporals.
Nicholas Borak, Sean Foley, Greg Hartley, Thomas Kincade, Eric Lillie, John McCans, Keya Miah, Desmond McNeill, Bob Stephano, Tina
Wallen, Community Resource Officers.
George Darbes, Security Systems & Training Administrator.
Mary Lou Lawless, Assistant to the Director of Public Safety & Office Manager.
Sandra Briggs-Edwards, Allisa Dyitt, Marcella Pringle, Michelle Wollman, Communications Center.
Aimee Anderson, Robert Bennett, Anthony DiMartino, Joe McSwiggan, Zach Witman, Shuttle Drivers.
Meghan Browne, Administrative Assistant.
14.31 Registrar's Office
Kristen Smith, B.A., Pace University; M.A., New York University; M.A., Ed.D, Mills College.
Usha Nair Jenemann, B.S., M.Ed., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., Neumann University, Associate Registrar.
Jenna Hunt, Assistant Registrar.
Jana Daly, Assistant Registrar.
14.32 The Scott Arboretum
Josh Coceano, B.S. and M.S. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Horticulturist.
Jody Downer, A.A.S., Drexel University, Administrative Assistant.
Jeff Jabco, B.S., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., North Carolina State University, Horticultural Coordinator.
Julie Jenney, B.A., University of Oregon, Educational Programs Coordinator.
Sue MacQueen, B.S. Temple University; B.A. Ohio Wesleyan University, Campus Engagement Coordinator.
Jacqui Ricchezza, Administrative Coordinator.
Rebecca Robert, B.S., M.S., Pennsylvania State University, Member and Visitor Programs Coordinator.
Claire Sawyers, B.S., M.S., Purdue University; M.S., University of Delaware, Director.
Mary Tipping, M.S., Temple University; M.S. University of Illinois, Curator.
14.33 Secretary of the College
Erin Brownlee Dell, B.A., Kalamazoo College; M.Ed., Harvard University; Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Chief of Staff
and Secretary of the College.
Robin H. Shores, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Delaware, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, Assistant
Secretary of the College.
Meg Gebhard, B.S., Kutztown University, Administrative Coordinator.
14.34 Sustainability
Elizabeth Drake, B.S., Cornell University, Interim Director of Sustainability.
Clare M. Hyre, B.A., Guilford College; M.A., New York University, Sustainability Program Manager.
14.35 Title IX Office
Bindu Kolli Jayne, B.A., Cornell University; J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, Title IX Coordinator.
Chelsey Everest Eiel, B.A., University of Maine; M.F.A. University of Southern Maine, Title IX Project Manager.
Kathleen Withington, B.A., St. Joseph's University, Administrative Assistant.
14.36 Academic Administrative Assistants and Technicians
Art and Art History: Stacy Bomento, B.A., LaSalle University, Slide Curator; Caren Brenman, Administrative Assistant; Doug Herren, B.F.A.,
Wichita State University; M.F.A., Louisiana State University, Studio Technician.
Asian Studies: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
Biology: Matt Powell, B.S., Central Michigan University, Administrative and Technology Manager; Alison Danilak, Administrative Coordinator;
John Kelly, A.A.S., Community College of Philadelphia; B.S., Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Senior Technical Specialist; Gwen
Kannapel, B.S., Denison University; M.E., Widener University, Laboratory Coordinator; Kendra Ashenfelder, B.S., Delaware Valley University,
Animal Facilities Manager.
Black Studies: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
Chemistry and Biochemistry: Lauren Nuttle, Administrative Coordinator; Ian P. McGarvey, B.S., Temple University, Scientific Instrumentation
Specialist.
Classics: Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistant.
Cognitive Science: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
Computer Science: Kathleen Reinersmann, Administrative Assistant; Jeffrey M. Knerr, B.S., College of William and Mary; M.S., Ph.D.,
University of North Carolina, Lab/System Administrator. Lauri Courtenay, Academic Coordinator.
Dance: Susan Grossi, Administrative Assistant.
Economics: Megan Salladino, B.S., Widener University, Administrative Assistant II.
Educational Studies: Ruthanne Krauss, Administrative Assistant.
English Literature: Donna McKeever, B.A., Bryn Mawr College, M.A., Rosemont College, Administrative Assistant.
Engineering: Cassy Burnett, Administrative Coordinator; Edmond Jaoudi, B.S., Fairleigh Dickinson University; M.Arch., Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University, Electronics, Instrumentation, and Computer Specialist; James Johnson, Machinist; Ann Ruether, B.S., Swarthmore
College, Academic Support Coordinator
Environmental Studies: Cassy Burnett, Administrative Coordinator.
Film and Media Studies: Catalina Lassen, B.F.A., West Chester University, Administrative Assistant.
Gender and Sexuality Studies: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
History: Maddie LeSage, B.A., Ursinus College; M.Ed., Temple University, Administrative Assistant.
Interpretation Theory: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
Islamic Studies: Anita Pace, Administrative Assistant.
Latin American and Latino Studies: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
Linguistics: Jeremy Fahringer, B.A., Swarthmore College, Phonetics Lab Coordinator; Tarsia Duff, A.A., Delaware County Community College,
Administrative Assistant.
Mathematics and Statistics: Stephanie J. Specht, Administrative Assistant; Danielle Ledford, B.S., York College of Pennsylvania, M.S., University
of Vermont, Academic Support Coordinator.
Modern Languages and Literatures: Suzanne McCarthy, Administrative Assistant; Bethanne Seufert, B.A., Penn State University, Administrative
Assistant; Michael Jones, B.A., State University of New York, Buffalo, Director, Language and Media Centers; John Word, B.A., San Francisco
State University, Language Media Center Technologist/Multi-Media Editor.
Music: Molly Floyd, B.A., Temple University, Administrative Coordinator; Jeannette Honig, B.A., University of Rochester, Director of Concert
Programming, Production, and Publicity.
Peace and Conflict Studies: Cheryl Sharp, Deborah Sloman, Administrative Assistants.
Philosophy: Donna Mucha, Administrative Assistant.
Physical Education and Athletics: Tobin Adams, B.S., B.A. Bloomsburg University, Assistant Director of Athletics for Internal
Operations; Stephie Berman, Administrative Coordinator, B.A. State University of New York at Buffalo; Valerie Gómez, B.A. Lafayette College,
M.S. Ed. Old Dominion University; Matthew Judge, M.P.A. Widener University, B.A. La Salle University, Assistant Director of Athletic
Communications; Marie Mancini, A.T.C., B.S., C.C.C.S., West Chester University; Allison Hudak, A.T.C., West Chester University; Chris Irvin,
M.B.A, La Salle University , B.S. Widener University, Athletics Business Operations Manager; Maxwell Miller, M.S., Texas State University,
B.S., Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Assistant Director of Athletics for Recreation, Wellness, & Physical Education; Matt Mizanin,
B.A., Rowan University, Director Athletic Communications; Chris McPherson. B.S., Temple University, Director of Sports Performance and
Matchbox Fitness Center Coordinator; Larry Yannelli, B.A., Widener University, Equipment/Facilities Manager.
Physics and Astronomy: Carolyn Warfel, A.S., Widener University, Administrative Coordinator; Paul Jacobs, B.S., Georgia Institute of
Technology; M.S., Ph.D., University of Michigan, Instrumentation Technician; Steven Palmer, Machine Shop Supervisor.
Political Science: Christina Ruzzo, Administrative Assistant.
Psychology: Elizabeth (Betsy) Durning, Administrative Coordinator; Kim Ngan Hoang, B.A. Gustavus Adolphus College, Research Manager &
Academic Assistant; Peiyao Chen, B.A., Fuzhou University (China); M.S., Beijing Normal University (China); M.A., Northwestern University;
Research Fellow, Psychology Department.
Religion: Anita Pace, Administrative Assistant.
Sociology and Anthropology: Stacey Hogge, B.S. West Chester State University, Administrative Assistant.
Spanish: Suzanne McCarthy, Administrative Assistant.
Theater: Scott Cassidy, , B.A. Wilkes University, Production Manager & Technical Director, ; Michael Lambui, B.F.A., University of the Arts,
Production Intern; Jean Tierno, B.A., J.D., Widener University, Administrative Assistant; TBD, Costume Shop Manager.
Writing Program: Joanne Mullin, Administrative Assistant.
15 Visiting Examiners
2021 Visiting Examiners
Art
Nina Gurianova, Northwestern University
Jordan Rose, University of California San Diego
Jennifer Hock, Maryland Institute College of Art
Dianne Harris, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Niko Vicario, Amherst College
Kayleigh Perkov, University of California, Davis
Biology
Mansi Srivastava, Harvard University
Spencer Nyholm, University of Connecticut
Mike Muszynski, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Sharon Lynn, Wooster College
Diane Downs, University of Georgia
Robyn Tanguay, Oregon State University
Morgan Kelly, Louisiana State University
Alexander Huk, University of Texas at Austin
Jeannette Yen, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jack Bateman, Bowdoin College
Phoebe Lostroh, Colorado College
Danielle Devenport, Princeton University
Jose Dinenny, Stanford University
Anne Todgham, University of California Davis
Jr-Kai Sky Yu, Academia Sinica
Black Studies
None
Chemistry and Biochemistry
James Jackson, Michigan State University
Michael Krout, Bucknell University
Michael Campbell, Barnard College
Classical Studies
Jacob Morton, Carleton College
Emily Baragwanath, University of North Carolina
Nancy Felson, University of Georgia
Nandini Pandey, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Corey Brennan, Rutgers University
Kathryn Morgan, University of California
Comparative Literature
None
Computer Science
Jerod Weinman, Grinnell College
Adam Eck, Oberlin College
Olivier Georgeon, Universite Catholique de Lyon
Scott Doerrie, Johns Hopkins University
Aline Normoyle, Bryn Mawr College
Sanjeev Khanna, University of Pennsylvania
Economics
Pablo D'Erasmo, Research Department of the Fed Res Bank of Phila
Alex Rees-Jones, University of Pennsylvania
Kyle Wilson, Pomona College
Roy Allen, University of Western Ontario
Isaac Sorkin, Stanford University
Ron Cheung, Oberlin College
Sandra Goff, Skidmore College
Tamara Mcgavock, Grinnell College
Hale Utar, Grinnell College
Educational Studies
Alecia Magnifico, University of New Hampshire
Marcelle Haddix, Syracuse University
Cris Mayo, University of Vermont
Katherine Mcclelland, Franklin and Marshall College
Dana Edell, Tisch School of the Arts NYU
Susan Browne, Rowan University
Engineering
Gerard Jones, Villanova University
Feng-Wei Hung, Lehigh University
John Pisciotta, West Chester University
English Literature
Sara Johnson, University of California San Diego
Mary Mullen, Villanova University
Harriet Pollack, College of Charleston
Jill Richards, Yale University
Josephine Park, University of Pennsylvania
Sarita See, University of California Riverside
Daniel Justice, University of British Columbia
Nalo Hopkinson, University of California Riverside
Anthony Cuda, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Patrick Rosal, Rutgers University Camden
Film and Media Studies
Meta Mazaj, University of Pennsylvania
History
Timothy Stewart-Winter, Rutgers University Newark
Justene Hill Edwards, University of Virginia
Michael Pfeifer, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Jennifer Denetdale, University of New Mexico
Lisa Ubelaker Andrade, Universidad de San Andres
Kristen Alff, North Carolina State University
Ana Maria Candela, Binghamton University
Cindy Ewing, University of Missouri
Adele Lindenmeyr, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova University
Linguistics
Rusty Barrett, University of Kentucky
Jeffrey Reaser, North Carolina State University
Victor Sanchez-Cartagena, University of Alicante
Betsy Rymes, University of Pennsylvania
Chris Kennedy, University of Chicago
Mathematics and Statistics
Lisa Traynor, Bryn Mawr College
Kevin Ross, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
Ursula Whitcher, Mathematical Reviews
Stephen Robinson, Wake Forest University
Modern Languages and Literatures
Lingzhen Wang, Brown University
Erin Schoneveld, Haverford College
Xincun Huang, The University of Hong Kong
Frieda Ekotto, University of Michigan
Music and Dance
Alexandra Beller, Princeton University
Peace and Conflict Studies
Nell Gabiam, Iowa State University
Philosophy
Mavis Biss, Loyola University Maryland
Joseph Shieber, Lafayette College
John Oberdiek, Rutgers Law School
Joshua Ramey, Haverford College
Thomas Polger, University of Cincinnati
Jason Miller, Waren-Wilson College
Jessica Moss, New York University
James Van Cleve, University of Southern California
Physics and Astronomy
Thomas Baumgarte, Bowdoin College
Matthew Stoneking, Lawrence University
Estelle Epstein, Rutgers University
Kerstin Nordstrom, Mount Holyoke College
Michael Schulz, Bryn Mawr College
Daniel Grin, Haverford College
Political Science
Santiago Anria, Dickinson College
Mark Graber, University of Maryland
Melissa Labonte, Fordham University
Craig Borowiak, Haverford College
Paul Macdonald, Wellesley College
Ellen Donnelly, University of Delaware
Gordon Arlen, Justitia Center for Advanced Study at the Goethe University
Psychology
Eunice Chen, Temple University
Steven Brunwasser, Rowan University
Carla Hudson, University of British Columbia
Paul Thibodeau, Oberlin College
Anna Papafragou, University of Pennsylvania
Peter Mende-Siedlecki, University of Delaware
Arturo Hernandez, University of Houston
Kenneth Short, The US Army Engineering Graduate School
Hannah Reese, Bowdoin College
Scott Eidelman, University of Arkansas
Shirit Kronzon, University of Pennsylvania
Nancy Dennis, Penn State University
Religion
Dr. Jacob Erickson, School of Religion Trinity College Dublin
Jon Pahl, United Lutheran Seminary Philadelphia/Gettysburg
Paula Arai, Louisiana State University
Aaron Hollander, Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute
Xu Ma, Department of Religious Studies Lafayette College
Jamel Velji, Claremont McKenna College
Sociology and Anthropology
Nikhil Anand, University of Pennsylvania
Ilana Gershon, Indiana University Bloomington
Magne Flemmen, University of Oslo
Apo Aporosa, University of Waikato New Zealand
Timothy Murphy, Worcester State University
Becca Howes-Mischel, James Madison University
Spanish
Frieda Ekotto, University of Michigan
Theater
Michael Garces, Cornerstone Theater Company
Allison Horsley, Freelance
Olusegun Ojewuyi, Southern Illinois University Department of Theater
Adrian Giurgea, Colgate University
Louisa Thompson, Hunter College
Sherrine Azab, A Host of People
16 Degrees Conferred
June 6, 2021
16.1 Bachelor of Arts
Sukhrob Abdushukurov, Special Major in Psychology and Educational Studies
Bashar Abu Ein, Computer Science and Economics
Amaechi Ikechukwu Abuah, Theater and Computer Science
Ellen Margaret Adams, Biology
Omene Samantha Addeh, Economics and Peace & Conflict Studies
Ji Su Ahn, Mathematics
Christian Andres Alfaro De La Rosa, Sociology & Anthropology
Cristopher Castrellon Alvarado, Special Major in Neuroscience and Educational Studies
Matthew Erik Anderson, Economics and Computer Science
Chioma Adaezi Anomnachi, English Literature
Kaavya Venkat Arakoni, Economics and Political Science
Ryan Arazi, Peace & Conflict Studies
Taing Eaindray Aung, Political Science and Peace & Conflict Studies
Christine Ayoh, Special Major in Cognitive Science
Jong Hyup Baek, Theater
Julius John Balisanyuka-Smith, Special Major in Cognitive Science and Mathematics
Alexandra Nina Baratta, Computer Science
Lux Kreider Barton, Educational Studies
David Norman Bauman, Computer Science and Political Science
Faith M. Becker, Economics and Peace & Conflict Studies
Matthew James Becker, Economics
William James Bein, Political Science
Dana Beseiso, Special Major in Biochemistry and Peace & Conflict Studies
Ananya Bhattacharya, Economics and Environmental Studies
Thomas Andrew Blakelock, Economics and Mathematics
Faith Diamond Booker, Special Major in Black Studies
Julia Isabel Botkin, Political Science and Spanish
Youssef Bouhadiba, Computer Science
Madison Elizabeth Bowe, Biology and Psychology
Jenna Grace Bowman, Biology
Emily Nicole Branam, Biology and Special Major in Japanese
Gabriel Brossy de Dios, Special Major in Spanish Literature and Educational Studies
Grant Chandler Brown, Philosophy
Paul Frederick Buchanan, English Literature and Special Major in Black Studies
David Brown Buckley, Special Major in Black Studies
Julian Bueno, Economics
Ismail Cemal Can, Biology
Kahlaa M. Cannady, Economics
Katherine Elizabeth Capossela, Political Science
Mia Ann Capozzoli, Economics
Louisa Bradlow Carman, Political Science
Steven Francisco Castro,Art
Hyeyun Chae, Biology and Computer Science
Jake Chanenson, Computer Science
Alaina Llorens Chen, Economics and Psychology
Meena Aarathi Chen, Environmental Studies
Richard Chen, Economics and Computer Science
Andi Cheng, Biology and Computer Science
Kassidi Lim Cheng, Psychology and English Literature
Noah Curran Cheng, Biology
Talbot Michael Child, Economics and Mathematics
Kevin Taeyoung Choi, Economics and Mathematics
Veronica Angeline Chua, Biology
Dylan Thomas Clairmont, Linguistics and Peace & Conflict Studies
Jacob Taylor Clark, Spanish
Sariah Renee Cochran, Psychology and Spanish
Eleazer Grissom Cohen, Philosophy
Rivkah Orah Cohen, English Literature and Educational Studies
Charles Hodson Cole, Religion
Esther K. Couch, English Literature
George D. Curtis, Classical Studies
Lia Rose D’Alessandro, Biology and Dance
Julia Lynne Dalrymple, Mathematics
Zaina Yasmin Dana, Theater
Hope-Elizabeth Darris, Special Major in Sociology & Anthropology and Educational Studies
Vitor Leopoldo De Aguiar Dos Anjos, Biology
Maria Consuelo De Dios, Special Major in Psychology and Educational Studies
Lucy K. Decker, Physics and Mathematics
Maya Deutsch, English Literature
Kadiata Lamarana Diallo, Special Major in English Literature and Educational Studies
Francis McCall Dillon, Economics
Bria Morgan Dinkins, Sociology & Anthropology
Nicole Distinto Algaranaz, Peace & Conflict Studies
Shelby Dolch, Special Major in Black Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies
Madison Faith Dorr, Psychology
Grace Hkam Dumdaw, Peace & Conflict Studies and Special Major in Performance for Stage, Screen, and New Media
Scott Kirkwood Eberle, Computer Science
Francis John Eddy Harvey, Economics
Samantha Ann Ehlers, Computer Science
Gabriella Ekens, Film & Media Studies
Dawson Walter Epstein, Peace & Conflict Studies
Ilana Marion Bensussen Epstein, Film & Media Studies
Andrew Joseph Estella, Economics and Spanish
Charles Mason Evarts, Economics
Isabelle Grace Catabran Ewart, Economics
Alec Matthew Ferry, Chemistry
Kelly Alissa Finke, Special Major in Cognitive Science and Special Major in Computational Biology
Alexander Scott Flowers, Mathematics
Peter Foggo, Economics
Julia Katherine Ford, Psychology
Mackenzie Ann Frost, Special Major in Neuroscience
Alexander William Galarraga, Mathematics
Jonathan Blake Galvan, Sociology & Anthropology
Leren Gao, Religion
Devan Nene Geib, Economics
Reuben Gelley Newman, English Literature
Joshua Welz Geselowitz, Mathematics and Special Major in Cognitive Science
Alessandro Blessing Getzel, Special Major in Politics, Philosophy, Economics
Adena J. Gordon, Biology
Michael Gross, Political Science and Peace & Conflict Studies
Jonathan Scott Guider, Philosophy and Computer Science
Lizhi Guo, Mathematics
Kathryn Clare Hafertepe, Biology
Anna Hamm, Economics
William Han, Computer Science and Mathematics
Micah Trivers Harkins, Physics
Liya J. Harris-Harrell,Art and Educational Studies
Houyi He, Sociology & Anthropology and History
Xia L. Headley, Psychology
Coleson Mack Hebble, Economics and History
Steven Mesropian Hergenroeder, Economics and Political Science
Fiorenza Amanda Maria Herrera Diaz, Economics and Peace & Conflict Studies
Aaron Samuel Hersch, Physics and Economics
Nicholas John Hirschel-Burns, History and Political Science
Consolée Dusenge Hitayezu, Computer Science
Lauren A. Holt, Biology
Dana E. Homer, Biology and Educational Studies
Yinhan Hong, Economics and English Literature
Sharon Hu, Computer Science
Bellara Ann Sakda Huang,Art History and Computer Science
Kieran Richard Yaffe Huang, Film & Media Studies
Kevin Daiki Hudson, Economics
Helen Jacquelyn Huh, Computer Science
Halsey Lilac Hutchinson, Economics
Ryan Alexander Izquierdo, Biology
Omar Ibrahim Jadallah-Karraa, Peace & Conflict Studies and Religion
Lauren Elizabeth James, Educational Studies
Siyuan Jiang, Film & Media Studies
Cameron Hale Johnson, History
Jayna Catherine Jones, Special Major in Neuroscience
Nora Maeve Joyce,Art History and Political Science
Jiung Jung, Mathematics and Economics
Grigorii Kalminskii, Biology
Lucas Ford Katz, History
Adero A. Kauffmann-Okoko,Art History
Genji Kawakita, Mathematics
Vinay Read Keefe, Physics
Momoka Keicho, Special Major in Linguistics and Educational Studies
Jamail Ali Khan, Religion
William Khan, Physics and Economics
Inna Meagan Kimbrough,Art
Elizabeth Jane Mitchell King, Sociology & Anthropology
Derek Connor Kinsella, Psychology
Madison Young Kline, Classical Studies and Political Science
Hannah Rayne Kloetzer, Educational Studies
Adriana Saskia Knight, English Literature and Computer Science
Ainsley Victoria Clark Knox, Special Major in Biochemistry
Raveesh Rakesh Koul, Special Major in Neuroscience
Cyndi Quynh Lai, Political Science and Asian Studies
Sara Laine, Peace & Conflict Studies and Special Major in Global Political Economy
John Alexander Lathrop, Biology
AV Lee-A-Yong, Peace & Conflict Studies
Carole Geesun Lee, English Literature
Eleanore Lee, Psychology
Gregory Lee, Computer Science
Hyun Kyung Lee, Chemistry and Psychology
Noah Kobori Lee, Psychology
Sophia O’Mara Lee, Psychology
Sarah Bridgeen Leonard, Peace & Conflict Studies
Peem Lerdputtipongporn, Mathematics and Computer Science
Kevin Liao, Political Science and Asian Studies
Christopher Edward Licitra, Economics
Ari Adler Liloia, Physics
Christie Elizabeth Little, Computer Science
Raymond Liu, Computer Science
Yung Yung Liu, English Literature
Jasiel Eduardo Lopez Juarez, Computer Science
Eudy De Jesus Lopez, Economics
Matthew Craig Lucker, Computer Science
Ercong Luo, Physics
Zachary Lewis Lytle, Economics
Arjun Singh Madan, Economics and Mathematics
Mika Ling Maenaga, Chemistry
Shani Patrice Mahotiere, Environmental Studies
Lamia-Emilie Makkar, Sociology & Anthropology and Computer Science
Nadia Mansoor, Biology
Diego A. Marcano, Computer Science
Samantha Ann Martin, Psychology
Richard Francesco Maimon Maria Massari,
Special Major in Cognitive Science and Mathematics
Patrick Robert McAnally, Peace & Conflict Studies
Abigail Rose McFarland, Economics and Computer Science
Lilia Isabelle McGee-Harris, Psychology and Linguistics
Keegan Benham McKenna, Computer Science and Mathematics
Kieran Michael McKenna, History and Spanish
Gerald Michael McManus, Theater and Political Science
Olivia Christine McManus, Biology
Matiwos Assefa Mebratu, Physics and Computer Science
Pei Yi Mei, Economics
David Amadeus Melo, Theater and Special Major in Computer Science and Educational Studies
Richmond Kobina Mensah, Computer Science and Economics
Adam Gregory Mermelstein, Biology
Clayton Kennedy Meyer, Biology
Zane Haskin Lowry Meyer, Computer Science
Bryce Gannon Mick, Classical Studies
Grayson Joseph Mick, Economics
Susannah C. Midla, Biology
Elisabeth Renae Miller, English Literature and History
Emma Lee Miller,Art
Catherine Rose Mohr, Economics
Sierra Rebecca Mondragón, Special Major in Indigenous Interdisciplinary Studies and History
Elena Bernadette Moore,Art History
Oswaldo Morales Solorzano, Environmental Studies
Pempho Ellen Moyo, Psychology and Educational Studies
Richard In-soo Muniu, Mathematics and Computer Science
Declan Voss Murphy, Environmental Studies and Biology
Paul-Donavon Alexander Murray, Political Science
Juliette Narame, Mathematics
Najla Khoury Nassar, Peace & Conflict Studies
Faith Ashley Nation, Special Major in Psychology and Educational Studies
Keonwoo Oh, Mathematics and Computer Science
Edna Amirali Olvera, Special Major in Astrophysics and Educational Studies
Sumi Onoe, Computer Science and Mathematics
Julia Mary Ostrowski, Spanish and Peace & Conflict Studies
Victoria Darlene Overbeck, Biology
Ariel Marie Overdorff, Special Major in Astrophysics
Yusa Cagri Parcali, Economics and Political Science
Naomi Jun Park, English Literature and Computer Science
Curtis Clarence Parker, Biology
Trina Rani Paul, Economics
Sally Yue Peng, Computer Science
Maleyah Makai Peterson, Special Major in Black Studies
Katherine Elizabeth Phillips, Educational Studies
Lucas James Pietrantonio, Computer Science
Yifan Ping, Sociology & Anthropology
Nathan Asher Pitock, Peace & Conflict Studies and Special Major in Astrophysics
Christina Ponsa Nazario, Religion and German Studies
Rebecca Leah Posner-Hess, Greek
Lilian Marie Posta,Art History and Psychology
William Maurice Potts, Sociology & Anthropology
Christian Lauren Precise, Special Major in Black Diasporic Studies
Nana Abayiye Ekow Quakyi, Religion
Daniel Antonio Quintans Nunez, Computer Science
Judah Brennan Raab, Chemistry
Miryam Ramirez, Computer Science and Educational Studies
Herbert Jack Rand, Computer Science
Alexandria Christine Rensing, Physics
Emma Gianna Ricci-De Lucca, French & Francophone Studies
Jean-Baptiste Robert, Biology and Economics
Sarah Murphy Roberts, Economics and Spanish
Daniel Afonso Rodrigues, Biology
Josephine Florence Ross, Theater and Educational Studies
Danielle Christine Rossetti Dos Santos,
Computer Science and Mathematics
Francesca Danielle Rothell, Special Major in Medical Anthropology
Samuel Joseph Rothstein, Computer Science and Mathematics
Alexandra Talia Rugg,Art
Ziad Walid Sabry, Biology
Matthew Joseph Salah, Economics and Political Science
Maria Fernanda Sampaio Ferreira, Computer Science and Mathematics
Alejandra de Jesús Sánchez Erb, Spanish
Getulio Valentin Sanchez Ozuna, Computer Science and Political Science
Rebecca G. Sanders, Greek
Jaydeep Singh Sangha, Biology
Isaac Barr Satz, Psychology
Michael Anthony Selvaggio, Computer Science and Linguistics
Shayena Shah, Economics
Samuel Michael Sheppard, Special Major in Astrophysics and Computer Science
Mia Shoquist, Chinese and Music
Daya Shrestha, Economics
Twan Wang Sia, Biology
Raymond Joseph Sutterley Sidener, Mathematics and Computer Science
Anjali Singapur, Political Science and Sociology & Anthropology
Dotty Savana Smith, Special Major in Quantitative Social Science
Lauryn E. Smith, Special Major in Psychology and Educational Studies
Sarah Madison Smith, Peace & Conflict Studies
Parker Snipes, Economics and Computer Science
Erin Paige Snoddy, Special Major in Astrophysics
Justin David Snyder, Economics and Peace & Conflict Studies
Madison Alexandra Snyder, Biology and Spanish
Xirui Song,Art History
Akshay Srinivasan, Mathematics and Computer Science
Timothy St. Pierre, French & Francophone Studies and Political Science
Kristina Brielle Stallvik, Special Major in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Environmental Studies
Erik-Stephane Daniel Stancofski, Special Major in Biochemistry
Sophia Hero Stills, History and Political Science
Megan Fox Strachan, Computer Science
Daniel Glen Swanson, Mathematics and Linguistics
Elise Anne Talley, Economics and Psychology
Grace Elmslie Taylor, Economics and Computer Science
Helena Claire Tebeau, Psychology and English Literature
Oliver James Michael Tenenbaum, Biology
Veronica Testi Melgarejo, Sociology & Anthropology
Skylar Aborn Thoma, Special Major in Political Science and Educational Studies
Terence Andrew Thomas Jr., Special Major in Global Political Economy
Allyson Josephine Thrasher, Biology and French & Francophone Studies
Tiara DaShay Tillis, Special Major in Biochemistry
Marie Gilliam Tillson, Special Major in Arabic Studies and Computer Science
Kendall Tammany Tribus, Psychology
Bing Xin Tu, Economics and Chinese
Cameron Renee Tumey, Religion and Biology
Evelien van Gelderen, Economics and Biology
Narine Vapuryan, Special Major in Biochemistry
Thibault Charles Vernier, Computer Science
Kayla Vieira, Special Major in Neuroscience
Matthew Calixte Lawson Villeneuve, Philosophy
Julia Bayliss Wagner, English Literature
Samantha Blair Wagner, History and Classical Studies
Iris I-Ning Wang, Special Major in Astrophysics
Muge Luke Wang, Mathematics and Economics
Tiffany Elizabeth Wang, History
Tom Wang, Economics and Mathematics
Madeleine Claire Ward, Mathematics and Psychology
Hannah Miriam Watkins, Biology
Yi Wei, English Literature and Special Major in Asian American Studies
Sarah Joy Wheaton, Economics and Political Science
Henry Briggs Wilson, Philosophy
Gene Thomas Witkowski, Special Major in Mathematics and Educational Studies and Music
Corinne Elizabeth Wolyniec, Sociology & Anthropology
Jason Takashi Wong, Philosophy
John S. Woodliff-Stanley, Special Major in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Dominic Chi Cother Woodward, Biology and Mathematics
Yunhao (Eddie) Wu, Economics and Mathematics
Xinyu Xu, Mathematics
Yanwen Effie Xu, Computer Science
Sam Yan, Economics and Computer Science
Steve Yang, Computer Science
Xinrui Yang, Economics and Mathematics
Ariana Yett, Sociology & Anthropology and Chemistry
Jihye Yoon, Biology and Mathematics
Abigail Ximena Young, French & Francophone
Studies and English Literature
Raymond Alexander Youngblood, Special Major in Psychology and Educational Studies
Adora Zhang, Special Major in Neuroscience
Ethan Daniel Zhao, Computer Science
Andrew Zhu, Biology
Maya Kai Zimmerman, Environmental Studies and Biology
Gillian Dorie New Zipursky, Philosophy and Biology
Dylan Andre Zuniga, Computer Science
16.2 Bachelor of Science
Kelvin Paa Kwesi Adjei, Engineering
Ellen Margaret Adams, Engineering
Natalie Samantha Balbuena, Engineering
Hannah Elizabeth Bartoshesky, Engineering
Franz Kristoffer Alanes Chee, Engineering
Charles Hodson Cole, Engineering
Skyler Hart Cornell, Engineering
Rekha Crawford, Engineering
Daniel Sanford Curtis, Engineering
Nusaybah Michael Estes, Engineering
Ricardo Gonzalez, Engineering
Vinay Read Keefe, Engineering
Kwame Panyin Aboagye Markin, Engineering
Temba Mateke, Engineering
Alec Jeffrey Menzer, Engineering
Zane Haskin Lowry Meyer, Engineering
Catherine Rose Mohr, Engineering
Oswaldo Morales Solorzano, Engineering
Alyssa Corrinne Nathan, Engineering
Lucas James Pietrantonio, Engineering
Emma Gianna Ricci-De Lucca, Engineering
George Roman Rubin, Engineering
Megan Fox Strachan, Engineering
17 Distinctions, Awards, and Fellowships
17.1 Honors Awarded by the Visiting Examiners
Highest Honors
Amaechi Ikechukwu Abuah, Grant Chandler Brown, Kassidi Lim Cheng, Veronica Angeline Chua, Sierra Rebecca Mondragón, Yifan Ping,
Allyson Josephine Thrasher, Samantha Blair Wagner, Tiffany Elizabeth Wang
High Honors
Lux Kreider Barton, Julia Isabel Botkin, Emily Nicole Branam, Katherine Elizabeth Capossela, Louisa Bradlow Carman, Andi Cheng, Noah
Curran Cheng, Kevin Taeyoung Choi, Dylan Thomas Clairmont, Eleazer Grissom Cohen, Charles Hodson Cole, Zaina Yasmin Dana,
Kadiata Lamarana Diallo, Francis McCall Dillon, Julia Katherine Ford, Alexander William Galarraga, Leren Gao, Alessandro Blessing Getzel,
Houyi He, Aaron Samuel Hersch, Nicholas John Hirschel-Burns, Bellara Ann Sakda Huang, Siyuan Jiang, Cyndi Quynh Lai, Yung Yung Liu,
Ercong Luo, Richard Francesco Maimon Maria Massari, Gerald Michael McManus, Matiwos Assefa Mebratu, Elena Bernadette Moore,
Rebecca Leah Posner-Hess, Judah Brennan Raab, Josephine Florence Ross, Matthew Joseph Salah, Rebecca G. Sanders, Isaac Barr Satz, Twan
Wang Sia, Daniel Glen Swanson, Cameron Renee Tumey, Tom Wang, Sarah Joy Wheaton, Henry Briggs Wilson, Jason Takashi Wong, Ariana
Yett, Gillian Dorie New Zipursky
Honors
Julius John Balisanyuka-Smith, Lizhi Guo, Kevin Daiki Hudson, William Khan, Peem Lerdputtipongporn, Parker Snipes, Kayla Vieira
17.2 Elections to Honorary Societies
Phi Beta Kappa
Ryan Arazi, Grant Chandler Brown, Louisa Bradlow Carman, Andi Cheng, Noah Curran Cheng, Kevin Taeyoung Choi, Dylan Thomas
Clairmont, Kelly Alissa Finke, Julia Katherine Ford, Joshua Welz Geselowitz, Micah Trivers Harkins, Aaron Samuel Hersch, Dana E. Homer,
Vinay Read Keefe, Momoka Keicho, Inna Meagan Kimbrough, Eleanore Lee, Kevin Liao, Arjun Singh Madan, Richard Francesco Maimon
Maria Massari, Lilia Isabelle McGee-Harris, Pei Yi Mei, Zane Haskin Lowry Meyer, Grayson Joseph Mick, Sierra Rebecca Mondragón, Elena
Bernadette Moore, Keonwoo Oh, Yifan Ping, Rebecca Leah Posner-Hess, George Roman Rubin, Alexandra Talia Rugg, Matthew Joseph Salah,
Michael Anthony Selvaggio, Shayena Shah, Twan Wang Sia, Anjali Singapur, Kristina Brielle Stallvik, Sophia Hero Stills, Skylar Aborn Thoma,
Bing Xin Tu, Julia Bayliss Wagner, Samantha Blair Wagner, Iris I-Ning Wang, Madeleine Claire Ward, Gene Thomas Witkowski, Jason Takashi
Wong, Yunhao (Eddie) Wu, Xinrui Yang, Ariana Yett, Jihye Yoon, Andrew Zhu, Gillian Dorie New Zipursky.
Sigma Xi
Ellen Margaret Adams, Matthew Erik Anderson, Dana Beseiso, Jake Chanenson, Andi Cheng, Noah Curran Cheng, Kevin Taeyoung Choi,
Veronica Angeline Chua, Lia Rose D'Alessandro, Vitor Leopoldo De Aguiar Dos Anjos, Kelly Alissa Finke, Mackenzie Ann Frost, Lizhi Guo,
Micah Trivers Harkins, Aaron Samuel Hersch, Dana E. Homer, Jayna Catherine Jones, Genji Kawakita, Vinay Read Keefe, Adriana
Saskia Knight, Ainsley Victoria Clark Knox, Gregory Lee, Hyun Kyung Lee, Peem Lerdputtipongporn, Ari Adler Liloia, Jasiel Eduardo Lopez
Juarez, Ercong Luo, Mika Ling Maenaga, Diego A. Marcano, Zane Haskin Lowry Meyer, Susannah C. Midla, Victoria Darlene Overbeck, Ariel
Marie Overdorff, Alexandria Christine Rensing, Emma Gianna Ricci-De Lucca, Jean-Baptiste Robert, Michael Anthony Selvaggio, Twan Wang
Sia, Allyson Josephine Thrasher, Narine Vapuryan, Jihye Yoon, Andrew Zhu, Gillian Dorie New Zipursky.
Tau Beta Pi
Ricardo Gonzalez, Vinay Read Keefe, Zane Haskin Lowry Meyer, George Roman Rubin.
17.3 Pennsylvania Teacher Certification
Rivkah Orah Cohen, Liya Harris-Harrell, Lauren Elizabeth James, Katherine Elizabeth Phillips, and Daniel Afonso Rodrigues.
17.4 Awards and Prizes
The Bruce Abernethy Community Service Award was created by Bruce Abernethy '85 to support Swarthmore students, faculty, and staff involved
in community service. Not awarded this year.
The Adams Prize is awarded each year by the Economics Department for the best paper submitted in quantitative economics. Awarded to Reed
Orchinik '19.
The Stanley Adamson Prize in Chemistry was established in memory of Stanley D. Adamson '65. It is awarded each spring to a well-rounded
junior majoring in chemistry or biochemistry, who, in the opinion of the department, gives the most promise of excellence and dedication in the
field. Awarded to Emma Parker Miller '22.
The American Chemical Society Scholastic Achievement Award is given to the student whom the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
judges to have the best performance in chemistry and overall academic achievement. Awarded to Judah Raab '21.
The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry is awarded annually to the student whom the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Department judges to have the best academic performance in analytical chemistry and instrumental methods. No award this year.
The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry is awarded annually to the student whom the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Department judges to have the best academic performance in inorganic chemistry. Awarded to Omar Saleh '22.
The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Organic Chemistry is awarded annually to the student whom the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Department judges to have the best academic performance in organic chemistry. Awarded to Mika Maenaga '21.
The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Physical Chemistry is awarded to the student whom the Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department judges to have the best performance in physical chemistry. No award this year.
The American Institute of Chemists Student Honor Awards are given to students whom the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department judge to have
outstanding records in chemistry and overall academic performance. Awarded to Ariana Yett '21.
The Solomon Asch Award recognizes the most outstanding independent work in psychology, usually a senior course or honors thesis. Awarded to
Elias Palmer Blinkoff '17 and Tina Olympia Zhu '17.
The Boyd Barnard Prize, established by Boyd T. Barnard '17 is awarded by the music faculty each year to a student in the junior class in
recognition of musical excellence and achievement. Awarded to Reuben Gelley-Newman '21 and Cheyenne Valenzuela '21.
The James H. Batton '72 Award, endowed in his memory by G. Isaac Stanley '73 and Ava Harris Stanley '72, is awarded for the personal growth
or career development of a minority student with financial need. Awarded to Anis Charles '17 and Sedinam Worlanyo '17.
The Paul H. Beik Prize in History is awarded each May for the best thesis or extended paper on a historical subject by a history major during the
previous academic year. Awarded to Sierra Mondragón '21 and Samantha Wagner '21.
The Bobby Berman '05 Memorial Prize Fund was established in 2008 in his memory, by his family. It is awarded by the Physics Department to a
graduating senior with a major in physics who has shown achievement, commitment, and leadership in the field. Awarded to Vinay Keef '21 and
Edna Olvera '21.
The Tim Berman Memorial Award is presented annually to the senior man who best combines qualities of scholarship, athletic skill, artistic
sensitivity, respect from and influence on peers, courage, and sustained commitment to excellence. Not awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Black Alumni Prize is awarded annually to honor the sophomore or junior minority student who has shown exemplary academic
performance and community service. Awarded to Maxine Annoh '18 and Tyrone Clay '18.
The Black Cultural Center Director's Special Recognition Award is awarded for significant contributions to the Black community and campus-
wide. Awarded to Allison Alcena '17, Bolutife Fakoya '17, Aaliyah Dillon '17, Summer Johnson '17, and Davis Logan '17.
The Black Cultural Center Highest Academic Achievement Award recognizes the minority students from the graduating class who earned one of
the highest grade point averages and contributed to the larger college community. Awarded to Medgine Elie '17 and Xavier Lee '17.
The Black Cultural Center Freshman of the Year Award recognizes the First Year student(s) who have been exceptional leaders and have made
significant contributions to the Swarthmore black community. Awarded to Rasheed Bryan '20, Brandon Ekweonu '20 and Coleman Powell '20.
The Black Cultural Center Leadership Award recognizes the graduating senior(s) who continues the legacy of Black student leadership and
activism by constructively and proactively contributing to the Black Cultural Center and advocating for and acting on issues of concern to the
larger campus community. Awarded to Mosea Esaias '17.
The Brand Blanshard Prize honors Brand Blanshard, professor of philosophy at Swarthmore from 1925 to 1945, and was established by David
H. Scull '36. The Philosophy Department presents the award each year to the student who submits the best essay on any philosophical topic.
Awarded to Sagar Rao '22 and Megan Wu '23.
The Sophie and William Bramson Prize is awarded annually to an outstanding student majoring in sociology and anthropology. The prize
recognizes the excellence of the senior thesis, in either the course or external examinations program as well as the excellence of the student's
entire career in the department. The Bramson Prize is given in memory of the parents of Leon Bramson, founding chairman of Swarthmore's
Sociology and Anthropology Department. Awarded to Ariana Yett '21.
The Heinrich W. Brinkmann Mathematics Prize honors Heinrich Brinkmann, professor of mathematics from 1933 to 1969, and was established
by his students in 1978 in honor of his 80th birthday. Awards are presented annually by the Mathematics and Statistics Department to the student
or students who have demonstrated dedication to the field and to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Awarded to Kevin Choi '21,
Alexander Galarraga '21 and Xinrui Yang '21.
The William J. Carter '47 Grant is funded by the William J. Carter '47 Religious Harmony Fund, administered by the Religion Department, and
supports a student summer research project or internship in keeping with William J. Carter's goal of "encouraging and promoting understanding,
harmony, and respect among the various religions of the world." Awarded to Alicia Liu '24.
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Junior Service Award is given each year to the student who has provided the department with the
greatest service during the preceding academic year. Awarded to Joe Scott '22.
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Senior Service Award is given each year to the student who has provided the department with the
greatest service during the preceding academic year. Awarded to Hyun Kyung Lee '21.
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Sophomore Service Award (formerly American Chemical Society/POLYED Undergraduate Award
in Organic Chemistry) is awarded annually to a sophomore whom the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department judges to have the best academic
performance in the sophomore year sequence of organic chemistry and biochemistry. Awarded to Sam Winickoff '23.
The Susan P. Cobbs Scholarship is awarded to the most outstanding student(s) of classics in the senior class. It was made possible by a bequest
of Susan P. Cobbs, who was dean and professor of classics until 1969, and by additional funds given in her memory. Awarded to Rebecca
Sanders '21.
The Sarah Kaighn Cooper Scholarship, founded by Sallie K. Johnson in memory of her grandmothers, Sarah Kaighn and Sarah Cooper, is
awarded to the member of the junior class who is judged by the faculty to have had the best record for scholarship, character, and influence since
entering the College. Awarded to Chanoot Sirisoponsilp '19.
The CRC Press Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award is awarded annually by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department to the first-year
student(s) who achieves the highest performance in the first-year chemistry curriculum. Awarded to Ipeknaz Icten '24.
The Alice L. Crossley Prize in Asian studies is awarded annually by the Asian Studies Committee to the student or students who submit the best
essays on any topic in Asian studies. First prize for theses awarded to Leren Gao '21 and Tiffany Wang '21. Best Individual Paper awarded to
Cyndi Lai '21, Nicole Liu '21, and Shaoni White '22. Honorable mention to Pei Yi Mei '21 and Yifan Ping '21.
The Dunn Trophy was established in 1962 by a group of alumni to honor the late Robert H. Dunn, a Swarthmore coach for more than 40 years. It
is presented annually to the sophomore male who has contributed the most to the intercollegiate athletics program. Not awarded in 2019-20 due
to COVID-19.
The Robert S. DuPlessis Prize is awarded each May to a student for the best senior comprehensive research paper on a historical subject by a
history major in the previous year. Awarded to Houyi He '21.
The Maurice G. Eldridge '61 Community Service Award is awarded to a graduating Senior that has served the Black Cultural Center
Community, as well as the Swarthmore Community-at-large with a commitment to academic excellence linked to socially responsible and civic
engagement. Awarded to Patrick Houston '17.
The William C. Elmore Prize is given in recognition of distinguished academic work. It is awarded annually to a graduating senior majoring in
physics, astrophysics, or astronomy. Awarded to Matiwos Mebratu '21.
The Lew Elverson Award is given in honor of Lew Elverson, who was a professor of physical education for men from 1937 to 1978. The award is
presented annually to the junior or senior man who has demonstrated commitment and dedication to excellence and achieved the highest degree
of excellence in his sport. Not awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Flack Achievement Award, established by Jim and Hertha Flack in 1985, is given to a deserving student who, during his or her first two
years at the College, has demonstrated leadership potential and a good record of achievement in both academic and extracurricular activities.
The Renee Gaddie Award. In memory of Renee Gaddie '93, this award is given by the music faculty to a member of the Swarthmore College
Gospel Choir who is studying voice through the Music Department (MUSI 048: Individual Instruction) program. The award subsidizes the entire
cost of voice lessons for that semester. Not awarded in the 2019-2020 academic year.
The Dorothy Ditter Gondos Award was bequeathed by Victor Gondos Jr. in honor of his wife, Class of 1930. It is given by a faculty committee to
a student of Swarthmore College who submits the best paper on the subject dealing with a literature of a foreign language. The prize is awarded
in the spring semester. Preference is given to essays based on works read in the original language. The prize is awarded under the direction of
the Literature Committee. First Prize awarded to Laura Hirai '22, Second Prize awarded to Kirhit Minhas '24.
The John Russell Hayes Poetry Prizes are offered for the best original poem or for a translation from any language. Awarded to Reuben Gelley
Newman '21, Rachel Lapides '22, Devyani Mahajan '23, and Ryan Oet '24.
The Eleanor Kay Hess Award is given in honor of "Pete" Hess, whose 33 years of service to Swarthmore College and Swarthmore students were
exemplified by her love of athletics, leadership, hard work, fairness, and objectivity. This award is given to the sophomore woman who best
demonstrates those qualities and has earned the respect and affection of her peers for her scholarship and dedication through athletics. Not
awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Philip M. Hicks Prizes are endowed by friends of Philip M. Hicks, former professor of English and chairman of the English Literature
Department. They are awarded to the students who submit the best critical essays on any topic in the field of literature. Awarded to Eva Baron
'22, Kadiata Diallo '21 (honorable mention), and Nicole Liu '21.
The Jesse H. Holmes Prize in Religion was donated by Eleanor S. Clarke, Class of 1918, and named in honor of Jesse Holmes, a professor of
history of religion and philosophy at Swarthmore from 1899 to 1934. It is awarded by the Religion Department to the student(s) who submits the
best essay on any topic in the field of religion. Awarded to Charles Cole '21 and Jamail Khan '21.
The Gladys Irish Award is presented to the senior woman who has best combined devotion to excellence in athletic performance with qualities of
strong leadership and the pure enjoyment of sports activities at Swarthmore. Not awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Chuck James Literary Prize is awarded to the graduating senior who has made the greatest contribution to the literary life of the black
community.
The Michael H. Keene Award, endowed by the family and friends of this member of the Class of 1985, is awarded by the dean to a worthy student
to honor the memory of Michael's personal courage and high ideals. It carries a cash stipend. Awarded in confidence to a worthy member of the
graduating class.
The Naomi Kies Award is given in her memory by her classmates and friends to a student who has worked long and hard in community service
outside the academic setting, alleviating discrimination or suffering, promoting a democratic and egalitarian society, or resolving social and
political conflict. It carries a cash stipend.
The Kwink Trophy, first awarded in 1951 by the campus managerial organization known as the Society of Kwink, is presented by the faculty of
the Physical Education and Athletics Department to the senior man who best exemplifies the society's five principles: service, spirit, scholarship,
society, and sportsmanship. Not awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Lang Award was established by Eugene M. Lang '38. It is given by the faculty to a graduating senior in recognition of outstanding academic
accomplishment. Awarded to Kelly Alissa Finke '21 and Matthew Joseph Salah '21.
The Leo M. Leva Memorial Prize was established by his family and friends and is awarded by the Biology Department to a graduating senior in
biology whose work in the field shows unusual promise. Awarded in May 2021 to Andi Cheng '21, Noah Cheng '21, Veronica Chua '21, Lia
D'Alessandro '21, Vitor Dos Anjos '21, Kelly Finke '21, Dana Homer '21, Twan Sia '21, and Tiara Tillis '21.
The Tri-Co Linguistics Department Outstanding Thesis Awards were established in 1989 by contributions from alumni interested in linguistics.
Awards are presented annually to the students who, in the opinion of the program in linguistics, submit the best senior thesis. Awarded in May
2021 to Mary Emma Hignite '21 (Bryn Mawr College), Momoka Keicho '21 (Swarthmore College), and Megan Tedford '21 (Haverford College).
The McCabe Engineering Award, founded by Thomas B. McCabe, Class of 1915, is presented each year to the outstanding engineering student in
the senior class. A committee of the Engineering Department faculty chooses the recipient. Awarded to Zane Meyer '21.
The Morris Monsky Prize in Mathematics was established by a gift from the children of Morris Monsky, who fell in love with mathematics at
Boys' High and at Columbia University and maintained the passion all his life. This prize in his memory is awarded to first-year students who
have demonstrated outstanding promise and enthusiasm. Awarded to Adithi Attada '24, Zoe Markman '24, Lydia Masis '24 and Emilie Rivkin '24.
The Kathryn L. Morgan Award was established in 1991 in honor of late Professor of History, Kathryn L. Morgan. The award recognizes the
contributions of members of the African American community at the College to the intellectual and social well-being of African American
students. The Morgan fund also supports acquisitions for the Black Cultural Center Library. The fund is administered by the Dean's Office and
the Black Cultural Center in consultation with alumni. Awarded to Donny Thomas.
The Lois Morrell Poetry Award, given by her parents in memory of Lois Morrell '46, goes to the student who has submitted the best original
poem in the annual competition for this award. The fund also supports campus readings by visiting poets. Awarded to Anoushka Narendra '24.
The Morrell-Potter Summer Stipend in Creative Writing, intended to enable a summer's writing project, is awarded by the English Literature
Department to a poet or fiction writer of exceptional promise in the spring of the junior year. Awarded to Carolyn Cheng '22 and Rachel Lapides
'22.
The Music 48 Special Awards (Freeman Scholars). Endowed by Boyd T. Barnard, Class of 1917, and Ruth Cross Barnard, Class of 1919, and
named for James D. Freeman, professor emeritus of music, grants are given by the music faculty to students who show unusual promise as
instrumentalists or vocalists. Awarded to Matthew Anderson '21; Shelby Billups '20; Omar Camps-Kamrin '20; Eleanor Naiman '20; Sumi Onoe
'21; Herbie Rand '21; Shira Samuels-Shragg '20; .
The A. Edward Newton Library Prize, endowed by A. Edward Newton, to make permanent the Library Prize first established by W.W. Thayer, is
awarded annually by the Committee of Award to the undergraduate who shows the best and most intelligently chosen collection of books upon
any subject. Particular emphasis is laid not merely upon the size of the collection but also on the skill with which the books are selected and upon
the owner's knowledge of their subject matter. Awarded to Grant Brown '21, Keton Kakkar '20, and Therese Ton '19.
The Oak and Ivy Award is given by the faculty to students in the graduating class who are outstanding in scholarship, contributions to
community, and leadership. Awarded to Sierra Rebecca Mondragón '21, Yifan Ping '21, and Shayena Shah '21.
The Pan American Award is administered by Latin American and Latino Studies. Not awarded this year.
The May E. Parry Memorial Award, donated by the Class of 1925 of which she was a member, is presented by the Physical Education and
Athletics Department faculty to the senior woman who has made a valuable contribution to the College by her loyalty, sportsmanship, and skill in
athletics. Not awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Drew Pearson Prize is awarded by the dean on the recommendation of the editors of The Phoenix, The Daily Gazette and Voices, and the
senior producers of War News Radio at the end of each staff term to a member of those respective organizations for excellence in journalism. The
prize was established by the directors of The Drew Pearson Foundation in memory of Drew Pearson, Class of 1919. It carries cash stipends.
The John W. Perdue Memorial Prize, established in 1969 in memory of an engineering student of the Class of 1969, is awarded by the
Engineering Department to the outstanding student entering the junior class with a major in engineering. Awarded to Amra Mendoza '23.
The William Plumer Potter Public Speaking Fund and Prize in Fiction was established in 1927. It provides funds for the collection of recorded
literature and sponsors awards for the best student short stories. The fund is also a major source of funds for campus appearances by poets and
writers. Awarded to Omene Addeh '21, Amal Haddad '22, and Hannah Watkins '21.
The Snyder-Potter Summer Stipend in Literary Criticism supports students in summer learning experiences related to their course-work in the
English major. These experiences may involve independent research projects or work with faculty on research of mutual interest. Not awarded in
2020-21.
The Ernie Prudente Sportsmanship Award is given in honor of Ernie Prudente, a coach and professor at Swarthmore College for 27 years, to the
male and female athletes that, through their participation, have demonstrated the characteristic exemplified by Ernie: sportsmanship, love of the
sport, and respect for their teammates. Not awarded in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Dinny Rath Award is administered by the Athletics Department and is given to a senior woman who demonstrates the highest degree of
achievement, commitment to intercollegiate athletics, high regard for fair play, and awareness of the positive values of competition. Not awarded
in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.
The Jeanette Streit Rohatyn '46 Fund is used to grant the "Baudelaire Award" to a Swarthmore student(s) considering a major or a minor in
French, and use the award, which is granted on the recommendation of the program director, to travel in metropolitan France. Awarded to
Samuel H. Leonard '20 and Christian L. Precise '21.
The Gil Rose Prize, endowed by John Marincola '76 in honor of Gilbert P. Rose, Susan Lippincott Professor Emeritus of Modern and Classical
Languages, is awarded to a senior student of Latin and/or Greek, who, in the judgment of the department faculty, displays deep knowledge of the
ancient language(s) and whose written work is both rigorous and imaginative. Awarded to Rebecca Posner-Hess '21.
The Royal Society of Chemistry Certificate of Excellence is awarded to the student majoring in Chemistry or Biochemistry whom the Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry judges to have the strongest performance in biochemistry. Awarded to Linda Yingqi Lin '20.
Judith Polgar Ruchkin Prize Essay is an award for a paper on politics or public policy written during the junior or senior year. The paper may
be for a course, a seminar, or an independent project, including a thesis. The paper is nominated by a faculty member and judged by a committee
of the Political Science Department to be of outstanding merit based on originality, power of analysis and written exposition, and depth of
understanding of goals as well as technique. Awarded to Will Bein '21.
The Robert Savage Image Award recognizes outstanding biological images taken by Swarthmore biology students. The award is supported by the
Robert Savage Fund which was established by students and colleagues to honor Professor Robert E. Savage, the first professor of Cell Biology at
Swarthmore College. Awarded to Jiaxian Xu '22, Colin Perkins-Taylor '20, Ryan Stanton '20 and Calvin Chan '20.
The Frank Solomon Jr. Student Art Purchase Fund permits the Art and Art History Department to purchase outstanding student art from the
senior major exhibitions. Awarded to Yixuan "Maisie" Luo '19 and Anna Marfleet '19.
The Hally Jo Stein Award, endowed in her memory by her brother Craig Edward Stein '78, is given to an outstanding student who the dance
faculty believes best exemplifies Hally Jo's dedication to the ideals of dance. It carries a cash stipend. Awarded to Louisa Carman '21 and Lia
D'Alessandro '21.
The Karen Dvonch Steinmetz '76 Memorial Prize, endowed in her memory by many friends and family, is awarded annually to a Swarthmore
medical school applicant who demonstrates a special compassion for others. Awarded to Elizabeth Erler '20, Susan Gonzalez '19, and Sarah
Solomon '19.
The Peter Gram Swing Prize is awarded by the music faculty to an outstanding student whose plans for graduate study in music indicate special
promise and need. The endowment for the prize was established in the name of Ruth Cross Barnard, Class of 1919. Awarded to Shira Samuels-
Shragg '20.
The Melvin B. Troy Prize in Music and Dance was established by the family and friends of Melvin B. Troy '48. Each year, it is given by the Music
and Dance Department to a student with the best, most insightful paper in music or dance or composition or choreography. This award carries a
cash stipend. Awarded to Meena Chen '21 and Zoe Jannuzi '22 (Dance); Omar Camps-Kamrin '20 and Clay Conley '20 (Music).
The Albert Vollmecke Engineering Service Award was established in 1990 in memory of Albert Vollmecke, father of Therese Vollmecke '77. The
Vollmecke Prize is awarded for service to the student engineering community. The Engineering Department administers the fund. Awarded to
Emma Gianna Ricci-De Lucca '21.
The Eugene Weber Memorial Fund was established in honor of the late Eugene Weber, professor of German. The Weber Fund supports study
abroad by students of German language and literature. Awarded to Shantal Garcia '20.
The Jerome H. Wood Memorial Excellence and Leadership Award was created in 1997 in honor of the late Professor Jerry Wood and is awarded
annually. Awarded to Chinyere Odim '17.
17.5 Faculty Award
The Flack Faculty Award is given for excellence in teaching and promise in scholarly activity by a member of the Swarthmore faculty to help
meet the expenses of a full year of leave devoted to research and self-improvement. This award acknowledges the particularly strong link that
exists at Swarthmore between teaching and original scholarly work. The president gives the award based upon the recommendation of the
provost and the candidate's academic department. This award is made possible by an endowment established by James M. Flack and Hertha
Eisenmenger Flack '38.
17.6 Fellowships
The Abbott Family Summer Opportunity Fund was established in 2016 by Janet G. Abbott '66 in honor of her 50th reunion. The fund is intended
to provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting the study of a currently spoken foreign language during the
summer months. Awarded to Adam Boxer '22, Benjamin Winckler-Olick '23, and Robert Zigmund '22.
The Stanley Adamson Summer Internship for Research in Chemistry is endowed in memory of Stanley D. Adamson '65 by his parents, June and
George Adamson. It provides funding for the summer research of a well-rounded rising student who, in the opinion of the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Department, gives great promise of excellence and dedication in the field. Not awardeed this year.
The Altman Summer Grant was created by Shingmei Poon Altman '76 in memory of her husband, Jonathan Leigh Altman '74. It is awarded by
the Art Department to a junior who has strong interest and potential in art. It provides support for purposeful work during the summer between
junior and senior year. Awarded to Inna Kimbrough '21, Yanyi Liu '22, Eva Low '22, and Tristan Walker-Andrews '22.
John W. Anderson '50 Memorial Internship was created by his wife, Janet Ball Anderson '51. The Anderson internship supports students teaching
science to disadvantaged children, with preference for students interested in working with children in grades K-12. Not awarded this year.
The Lotte Lazarsfeld Bailyn '51 Research Endowment established by Bernard Bailyn in 2005, in honor of his wife, the T. Wilson Professor of
Management, emerita, at MIT. The fund supports a student summer research fellowship for a rising junior or senior woman majoring in
mathematics, science, or engineering who intends to go into graduate studies in one or more of these fields. Awarded to Eva Karolczak '22 and
Celia Parts '22.
The David Baltimore/Broad Foundation Endowment was established in 2007 by a grant from the Broad Foundation at the request of David
Baltimore '60. This fellowship is awarded to a student doing summer research in the natural sciences or engineering with a preference given to a
student engaging in mentored off-campus laboratory research and with letters of support from an on-campus faculty mentor. Awarded to Yi Fei
Cheng '22, Bailey Jones '22, Daria Syskine '22, Zhichun Zhang '22, Sara Asgari '23, Elena Lee '23, and Deven Ayambem '24.
The Monroe C. Beardsley Research Fellowship and Internship Fund was established in 2004 to support students in the humanities by providing
grants to encourage and facilitate research, original scholarship, and professional development in the areas of art, classics (literature), English
literature, modern languages and literature, music and dance, philosophy, religion, and theater. Named after renowned contemporary
philosopher Monroe C. Beardsley, a professor of philosophy at Swarthmore for more than 20 years, the fund is administered by the Division of
the Humanities and the Provost's Office. Awarded to Mrinali Taskar '22, Nya Kuziwa '22, Jamelah Lahoud '23, Anna Larson '23, Jacob Rothman
'23, Harrison Saunders '24, and Jinny Yoon '24.
The Believe Endowed Social Action Award was established in 2006 to enable students to spend the summer in a developing country working on a
global social action project. The Mission of the Believe Award is "To support inspired global citizens who believe in the reality of a better world,
and who believe that the key to peace and progress in the world is to develop personal connections in other cultures through social action and
direct community engagement." The Believe award is administered through the Lang Center for Social Responsibility. Awarded to Juliette
Narame '21.
The Leo and Dorothy Braudy Fund was established in 2019 by Leo '63 H'16 and Dorothy Braudy. The fund supports students who are the first
generation in their family to attend college or are independent students to travel abroad for the first time or do research at a scholarly archive.
The recipient(s) will be chosen by the Provost's Office. Not awarded this year.
The William Carter '47 Religious Harmony Fund was established in 2011. The fund's purpose is to encourage and promote understanding,
harmony and respect among the various religions of the world. Awared to Alicia Liu '24.
The Cilento Family Community Service Internship was established in 2002 by Alexander Cilento '71 to support Swarthmore College students
who carry out community service projects that benefit low-income families in the area. The Swarthmore Foundation administers the fund. Not
awarded this year.
The Cilento Family Information Technology Fund was established in 2002 by Alexander P. Cilento '71 as an expression of gratitude and
appreciation for the Engineering Department at Swarthmore College. The fund supports teaching innovations in information science, with
preference for computer science, engineering, and related disciplines. The fund is administered by the Provost's Office. Awarded to Alexander
Lehner '22, Amra Mendoza '23, and Ann Sinclair '23.
The Class of 1961 Fund for the Arts and Social Change was established by the Class of 1961 in honor of its 50th Reunion. This fund provides a
Summer Social Action Award to one or more students each summer with a preference for projects in which the arts and social change are joined.
This reflects the distinctive interests of the Class of 1961 in the art, theater, music and dance of their time and their commitment to making a
difference in the world. The recipient(s) will be chosen by the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. Summer Social Action Awards are
granted to students on a competitive basis so that they may spend a summer engaging meaningfully with non-profit organizations, grass-roots
advocacy groups, or public service agencies. Awarded to Amalia Gelpi '20, Max Gruber '20, and Zaina Dana '21.
The Class of 1962 Student Summer Fellowship was established in 2012 by contributions from class members, on the occasion of their 50th
Reunion celebration. The fund is intended to provide enriching learning experiences for students by supporting work, study or research during
the summer. Awarded to Dohyun Lee '22, Yerin Chang '23, and Patrick Li '23.
The Class of 1968 President's Sustainability Research Fellowship was established in 2018 by members of the Class of 1968 in recognition of
their 50th reunion. The fund is intended to provide support for at least one President's Sustainability Research Fellowship annually. The
recipient(s) are chosen by a committee consisting of representatives from the President's Office, the Office of Sustainability, the Lang Center for
Civic and Social Responsibility, and the Environmental Studies Program.
The Susan P. Cobbs Prize Fellowship is awarded to one or more students to assist them in the study of Latin or Greek or with travel for
educational purposes in Italy or Greece. It was made possible by gifts from alumni, managers, faculty members, and friends made in memory of
Susan P. Cobbs, who was dean and professor of classics until 1969. Awarded to Jewoo Chang '22 and Cynthia Ruimin Shi '22.
The Hilde Cohn Student Fellowship Endowment was established in 2007 by Walter H. Clark, Jr. '54 to honor a former faculty member who
conveyed to her students her love of the German language and literature. The fund shall be used to support students participating in academic
study, internships, and research fellowships in German-speaking countries or in immersive German language programs. It will be administered
by the German section of the Modern Languages and Literatures Department. Awarded to Pauline McMurry '20, Tobias Philip '20, Grayson
Mick '21, Lanson Tang '19, and Cyndi Lai '21.
The Joel Dean Fellowships were established in 1982 and are supported by gifts from the Joel Dean Foundation. These fellowships are awarded
for summer research in the social sciences. Awarded to Ethan Bergmann '22, Egor Cherniuk '22, Colin Donahue '22, Yiying Jiang '22, Gidon
Kaminer '22, Martin Rakowszczyk '22, Emma Klein '23, Jonathan Lehr '23, Samantha Gutierrez '24, and Dana Nigrin '24.
The Deborah A. DeMott '70 Student Research and Internship Fund was established by Deborah A. DeMott '70 in 2004. The fund is awarded to
students following their second or third years on the recommendation of the Provost's Office in conjunction with an advisory panel of faculty. The
recommendation is based on the caliber and potential of the student project proposals. Awarded to Sarah Daniels '22 and Rebecca Putnam '24.
The Denison Fund for Summer Scholars was established anonymously in 2019. This fund supports one scholar annually, to be named the
Denison scholar, taking part in the Swarthmore Summer Scholars Program (S
3
P). This fund, which supports the Swarthmore Summer
Scholarship Program Budget, is administered by the Provost's Office.
The Economic Justice Internship Endowment was established in 2017 by Taras Kihiczak '86 and Kristen Boling, who have a deep interest in
addressing issues related to income inequality, and is intended to provide enriching summer research fellowships and/or internships for
Swarthmore students in the Social Sciences Division. Preference shall be given to students conducting projects which are related to political or
economic inequality. Recipients will be awarded by the academic division and administered by the Provost's Office. Awarded to Han Chen '22,
Bess Markel '22, and Daniel Pantini '22.
The Robert W. Edgar Endowed Fund for Internships was created in 2013 by contributions from Robin M. Shapiro. The fund, named for the late
Bob Edgar, who represented the Seventh District, including Swarthmore, in the United States House of Representatives, is intended to provide
enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work experience in any field during the summer months, with preference
given to those whose internship opportunities stem from previously held externships. Two fellowships will be administered by the Career Services
Office each summer.
The Robert Enders Field Biology Award was established by his friends and former students to honor Dr. Robert K. Enders, a member of the
College faculty from 1932 to 1970. It is awarded to support the essential costs of both naturalistic and experimental biological studies in a
natural environment. The Biology Department gives the field research award annually to Swarthmore students showing great promise in
biological field research. Awarded to Mia Kwan '22, Zoha Ashraf '24, Anastasia Erley '24, and Natalie Fraser '24.
The Anne and Alexander Faber International Travel Fund was established by family and friends in honor of Anne Faber and in memory of
Alexander L. Faber, parents of three Swarthmore graduates. It provides grants for travel outside the United States and Canada for students
majoring in the humanities. Not awarded this year.
The Haskin Fernald Student Summer Fellowship was established in 2007 by Guy Haskin Fernald '94 and Lia Haskin Fernald '94 and is intended
to broaden and enrich the experience of a student by supporting a work or study experience dealing with public health issues of global
significance, within a public or non-profit setting, in a lower or middle-income country. A student who has identified an opportunity to do
research or volunteer work abroad can submit a proposal for support for travel and/or living expenses. Not awarded this year.
The David E. Fisher '79-Arthur S. Gabinet '79 Summer Internship for Biological Sciences and Public Service was established by Andrew H.
Schwartz '79 and his wife, Dagmar Schwartz, to honor Andy's friends and classmates, David E. Fisher '79 and Arthur S. Gabinet '79, and
supports students working in life sciences or public service who exemplify Fisher's and Gabinet's values, pursuing studies out of love of learning
and devotion to the improvement of the human condition. Awarded to Bereketab Abeje '23.
The Dorothy Ditter Gondos Summer Research Fellowship in Comparative Literature is chosen by the Program in Comparative Literature to
support a fellowship for summer research in Comparative Literature. The fellowship may be used for research undertaken in the US or abroad,
and preference will be given to juniors who will be preparing to write a comparative literature thesis in their senior year. Awarded to Sagan
Costello '22 and Veronica Yabloko '22.
The Carl Grossman Summer Opportunity Fund was established in 2018 by Eunice Cheung '93. This fund honors Carl H. Grossman, who taught
in the physics department from 1990 to 2015 and served as a trusted mentor to many of his students. The fund is intended to provide enriching
learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work, study, or research in physics during the summer months. The recipient(s) will
be chosen by the Provost's Office. Awarded to Matthew Cerep '22, Gwendolyn Rak '22, Elizabeth Brown '23, and Shouzhuo Yang '23.
The Hannay Chemistry Fund was established by a gift from the General Signal Corp. in honor of N. Bruce Hannay '42. The fund will provide
support for a student's summer research in chemistry. Bruce Hannay was a research chemist with Bell Laboratories and received an honorary
doctor of science degree from Swarthmore in 1979. Awarded to Charlotte Pohl '22, Omar Saleh '22, Sophie Engels '23, Chayanne Petit '23, Rory
Schmidt '23, and Sara Yun '23.
The Judith Rich Harris Research Award will provide mentored summer research experience to students working on senior thesis projects or
planning to pursue graduate studies in psychology, neuroscience, or related fields, including but not limited to summer research opportunities,
conference travel, and the like, at Swarthmore College in accordance with College policies and procedures. Awarded to Chloe Savage '22.
The Hay-Urban Prize in Religion is named in honor of Stephen N. Hay '51 and P. Linwood Urban, professor emeritus of religion. Thanks to a
generous gift from Stephen Hay '51, and funds given in honor of Professor Urban's distinguished service as a Religion Department faculty
member, the Hay-Urban Prize assists in supporting one student internship, summer study, or research in the area of religion studies. Awarded
to Ibrahem Hassouna '23.
The Samuel L. Hayes III Award. Established in 1991 through the generosity of members of Swarthmore Alumni in Finance, the Hayes Award
honors the contributions made by Samuel L. Hayes III '57, former member of the Board of Managers and the Jacob Schiff Professor of Business
at the Harvard Business School. The Economics Department administers the award, which provides support for student summer research in
economics. Awarded to Qianyi Cao '22, Jacqueline Acunto '23, Jay Leeds '23, and Sijia Wei '23.
The Hopkins International Public Policy Internship Endowment was established in 2005 to support students interested in policy issues of global
significance, working within a public or non-profit organization. Such issues may be addressed within the U.S. or abroad, with a strong
preference for experience internships overseas. The internship is available for two to six months--anytime of the year, including summers. It shall
be administered by the Provost's Office. Awarded to Guy Berreby '23 and Henry Lei '23.
The William L. Huganir Summer Research Endowment is awarded each spring by the chairs of the Social Science Division based on the
academic interests of a student or students who wish to pursue summer research on global population issues. Awarded to Nicole Daly '23, and
Cynthia Shi '23.
The Richard M. Hurd '48 Engineering Research Endowment was created in 2000 in memory of distinguished alumnus and former member of the
Board of Managers Richard M. Hurd '48. The fund supports students interested in pursuing engineering research during the summer. Awarded
to Julio Del Cid '23 and Eleanor Van Rheenen '24.
The Connie Hungerford and Hans Oberdiek Student Summer Fellowship was established in 2017 through the generosity of Jeffrey '75 and Marge
Pearlman '48 Scheuer and Adrienne Asch '69 (posthumously) in honor of Connie's and Hans's innumerable contributions to the humanities at
Swarthmore. This fund is intended to provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work, study, or research in
the humanities during the summer months. The Fellowship is administered by the Provost's Office, and awards are made in consultation with
faculty. Awarded to Susannah Broun '22 and Hannah Sobel '22.
The Interdisciplinary Biology Fellowship, established in 2014, is intended to provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by
supporting on- or off-campus summer research in Biology, with a primary focus on supporting students performing interdisciplinary work that
integrates subjects or research methods from biology with those of other natural sciences, social sciences, or humanities. The fund will also make
grants available for expenses related to off-campus travel associated with the student's research project. The recipient(s) will be chosen by the
Biology Department and the Provost's Office. Awarded to Johanna Schubert '23.
The Islamic Studies Summer Fellowship was established in 2015 by Inger Larsen '88 and is intended to provide enriching summer research
fellowships and/or internships for Swarthmore students in the area of Islamic Studies. These fellowships are administered by the Provost's Office
in consultation with the Islamic Studies Program Coordinator. Not awarded this year.
The Janney Fellowship, established through the bequest of Anna Janney DeArmond '32, is named in honor of the donor's grandmother, Anna
Canby Smyth Janney, the donor's mother, Emily Janney DeArmond (1904), and the donor's aunt, Mary Janney Coxe (1906). It is awarded each
year to a woman graduate of the College, preferably a member of the Religious Society of Friends, to assist graduate study in the humanities in
this country or elsewhere. This renewable fellowship is awarded annually by the faculty to seniors or graduates of the College for the pursuit of
advanced work on the basis of scholarship, character and need. Applications must be submitted by April 20. Awarded to Anita Castillo-
Halvorssen '15, Camila Ryder '13 and Lucille Whitacre '14.
The Japanese Summer Language Fellowship provides opportunities for students to study at intensive summer language programs recommended
by the Japanese Studies Department. Awarded to Clio Hamilton '22.
The Giles K. '72 and Barbara Guss Kemp Student Fellowship Endowment was established by Giles and Barbara Kemp in 2005 to support student
internships and research projects with a preference for students whose fellowship experience will be abroad. Awarded to Evan McNall '22,
Camille Brix '23, and Bhaavana Oruganty '23.
The Kaori Kitao Humanities Research Fellowship. Kaori Kitao, Professor Emerita in Art History, established this research fellowship in 2013 in
celebration of her 80th birthday. The fund supports students in the humanities by providing grants to encourage and facilitate historical research,
original scholarship, and professional development, with a preference for Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, and Performing Arts. The fund is
administered by the Division of the Humanities and the Provost's Office. Not awarded this year.
Howard G. Kurtz, Jr. and Harriet B. Kurtz Memorial Fund was established to honor their lifelong dedication to ensuring a world at peace
through the systematic prevention of war including the use of outer space technologies to assist in the design and implementation of war
prevention systems. Not awarded this year.
The Olga Lamkert Memorial Fund is income from a fund established in 1979 by students of Olga Lamkert, professor of Russian at Swarthmore
College from 1949 to 1956. It is available to students with demonstrated financial need who wish to attend a Russian summer school program in
this country or summer or semester programs in Russia. Awards based on merit and financial need will be made on the recommendation of the
Russian section of the Modern Languages and Literatures Department.
The Olga Lamkert Endowed Student Opportunity Fund was established in 2017 by Jane Moody Picker '57 and Sidney Picker Jr. in memory of
Olga Lamkert. The fund is intended to provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work, study, travel,
research and/or internships in the study of Russia, including, but not limited to, language, literature, history, politics, or culture of Russia. The
recipient(s) will be chosen by the Provost's office, in consultation with the faculty of the Russian program. Awarded to Matthew Koucky '22 and
Ash Shukla '22.
The Landis Community Service Fund was established in 1991 by James Hormel and other friends of Kendall Landis '48 in support of his 18 years
of service to the College. The fund provides grants for students (including graduating seniors) to conduct service and social change projects in
the city of Chester. Not awarded this year.
The Lande Research Fund was established in 1992 through a gift by S. Theodore Lande to provide support for student research in field biology
both on and off campus. Grants are awarded at the direction of the provost and the chair of the Biology Department. Awarded to Amy-Ann
Edziah '22, Moey Rojas '22, and Chelsea Semper '22.
The Eugene M. Lang Summer Initiative Awards are made each spring to several students who are selected by the provost in consultation with the
appropriate division heads to support faculty-student research, independent student research, and student social service activity specifically
related to research objectives and tied to the curriculum, under the supervision of faculty members. Awarded to Abigail Irene Bautista '22, Kali
Blain '22, WonJoon Choi '22, Jino Chough '22, Maxwell Gong '22, Grace Griego '22, Laura Hirai '22, Eva Logan '22, Aidan McKay '22, Simon
Moore '22, Vir Shetty '22, Horace Shew '22, Max Sundgren '22, Satyaa Suresh '22, Helen Tumolo '22, Jacob Weitzner '22, Aleah Wilson '22,
Yifan Yan '22, Rubing Zhang '22, Cassel '23, Gabrielle Cosey '23, Molly Erdman '23, Sherry Huang '23, Daniela Kim '23, Moe Htet Kyaw '23,
Devyani Mahajan '23, Adria Retter '23, Satchel Tsai '23, and Jackie Le '24.
The Genevieve Ching-wen Lee '96 Memorial Fund was established in her memory by family and friends and recognizes the importance of mutual
understanding and respect among the growing number of ethnic groups in our society. The fund supports an annual lecture by a prominent
scholar of Asian American studies and/or an annual award to two students to assist in projects pertaining to Asian American studies. Awarded
to Dorothy-Rui Corrigan '23.
The Hannah A. Leedom Fellowship was founded by the bequest of Hannah A. Leedom. This award is granted on recommendation of the
Committee on Fellowships and Prizes for a proposed program of advanced study that has the approval of the faculty. Applications must be
submitted by April 20. Awarded to Leanna Browne '15, Julia Melin '13, Zachary Postone '11, Alan Smith '05 and Harrison Tasoff '14.
The Lenfest Student Fellowship Endowment was established in 2008 by Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest. The fund shall be used to support student
participation in research fellowships, internships, and other summer opportunities, and selection will be made by the Provost's Office and the
Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. Awarded to Marion Carr '22, Shane Jung '22, and Joshua Vandervelde '23.
The Joshua Lippincott Fellowship was founded by Howard W. Lippincott, of the Class of 1875, in memory of his father. This award is granted on
recommendation of the Committee on Fellowships and Prizes for a proposed program of advanced study that has the approval of the faculty.
Awarded to Efua Kumea Asibon '16, Matthew Armstead '08, Griffin Dowdy '13, Aaron Austin Jackson '16, Katia Lom '06, Laura Michelle
Thompson-Martin '16, Nicole Lakesha Walker '16.
The John Lockwood Memorial Fellowship, founded by the bequest of Lydia A. Lockwood, New York, in memory of her brother, John
Lockwood. In honor of the wishes of the donor the fellowship will be granted preferentially to members of the Society of Friends, but is open to
all candidates.
The Joanna Rudge Long '56 Conflict Resolution Endowment was created in 1996 in celebration of the donor's 40th reunion. The stipend is
awarded to a student whose meritorious proposal for a summer research project or internship relates to the acquisition of skills by elementary
school or younger children for the peaceful resolution of conflict. Not awarded this year.
The Carol Finneburgh Lorber Fellowship in Environmental Studies was established in 2017 by the Swarthmore College Board of Managers in
memory of Carol Finneburgh Lorber '63, who held a passionate interest in the environment and supported numerous environmental
organizations. The fund is intended to provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work, study, or research in
Environmental Studies during the summer months. The recipient(s) will be chosen by the Provost's Office in consultation with the department of
Environmental Studies. Awarded to Eva Krueger '24.
The Julia and Frank L. Lyman '43 Student Summer Research Stipend was created in February 2000. It is awarded each spring by the provost
upon receiving recommendations from members of the faculty involved with peace and conflict studies. Awarded to Sokeyra Francisco '22 and
Posel '22.
The Penelope Mason '57 Memorial Fund was established to support student and faculty projects in Asian Studies. Students may apply for support
for summer research projects in Asian Studies, as well as intensive summer language study in Asian languages contributing to the student's
continuing course of studies, including but not limited to Asian Studies majors. Awarded to Jinwook Lee '22.
The Thomas B. McCabe Jr. and Yvonne Motley McCabe Memorial Fellowship. This fellowship, awarded annually to graduates of the College,
provides a grant toward an initial year of study at the Harvard Business School, or at other business schools as follows: the University of
Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, or Stanford University. The McCabe
Fellowship is renewable for a second year on the same program. Yvonne and Thomas B. McCabe Jr. lived in Cambridge, Mass., for a time, and
he received an M.B.A. from Harvard and was a visiting lecturer there. In selecting the recipient, the Committee on Fellowships and Prizes
follows the standards that determine the McCabe Achievement Awards, giving special consideration to applicants who have demonstrated
superior qualities of leadership. Young alumni and graduating seniors are eligible to apply. Awarded to Michael Giannangeli '12, Gary
Herzberg '10 and Ann Murray '11.
The Norman Meinkoth Field Biology Award was established by his friends and former students to honor Dr. Norman A. Meinkoth, a member of
the College faculty from 1947 to 1978. It is awarded to support the essential costs of the study of both naturalistic and experimental biological
studies in a natural environment. The intent of this fund is to facilitate the joint participation of Swarthmore students and faculty in field biology
projects, with priority given to marine biology. The awards are given annually by the Biology Department. Awarded to Musa Salaam '22 and
Cecilia Williamson '22.
The Norman Meinkoth Premedical Research Fund was established in 2004 by Marc E. Weksler '58 and Babette B. Weksler '58 to honor Norman
A. Meinkoth's long service as a premedical adviser to students at Swarthmore College, where he was professor of biology for 31 years and
chairman of the department for 10 years. The funds are awarded on the basis of scientific merit to a rising junior or senior premedical student to
allow the pursuit of laboratory research in the sciences on or off campus. The Provost's Office administers the fund. Awarded to Arina Kazakova
'22 and Alexis Metoyer '23.
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has provided a grant to establish an undergraduate
fellowship program intended to increase the number of minority students, and others, who choose to enroll in doctoral programs and pursue
academic careers. The foundation's grant provides term and summer stipends for students to work with faculty mentors as well as a loan-
forgiveness component to reduce undergraduate indebtedness for those fellows who pursue graduate study. The fellowships are limited to the
humanities, a few of the social sciences, and selected physical sciences. A faculty selection committee invites nominations of sophomores in
February and awards the fellowships in consultation with the dean and provost. Awarded to Eduardo Burgos '22, John "Major" Eason '23,
Atinuke Lardner '22, Destiny Samuel '22, and Megan Wu '23.
The James H. '58 and Margaret C. Miller Internship for Environmental Preservation enables a Swarthmore student to engage in meaningful
work directed toward the preservation of the environment, including such activities as environmental education, environmental justice, habitat
preservation and restoration, issues dealing with environmentally sustainable technologies and economies, and relevant public policy. This may
take the form of an internship with an organization which is committed to a sustainable future. The Nature Conservancy, American Farmland
Trust, and Natural Resources Defense Council are current examples of organizations engaging in such work. The Award is intended to
encourage a student to explore a career in public policy relating to preserving the environment for future generations. The Lang Center for Civic
and Social Responsibility selects the internship recipient. Awarded to William Marchese '20.
The Margaret W. and John M. Moore Endowment was created in September 1999 through the maturity of a life income gift contract. Income
from this endowment helps to provide research stipends for the academic year or summer months for selected scholars using the resources of
Friends Historical Library and/or the Peace Collection at Swarthmore College. Fellowship awarded to Bellara Huang '21.
The Lucretia Mott Fellowship was founded by the Somerville Literary Society and is sustained by the contributions of Swarthmore alumnae. It is
awarded each year to a senior woman or alumna who is to pursue advanced study in an institution approved by the committee. Applications must
be submitted by April 20. Awarded to Ruby Bhattacharya '11, Melanie Braithwaite-Jalloh '07, Christine Jane Emery '16, Anne Fredrickson '07,
Paola Monseratt Mero '14, Lauren Mirzakhalili '15, Natalia Munoz-Cote '12, Sabrina Singh '15 and Aikaterini Stampouloglou '14.
The John W. Nason Community Service Fellowship. The John W. Nason Community Service Fellowship celebrates the contributions of
Swarthmore's eighth president by supporting students pursuing off-campus community service related to their academic program. The Nason
Fellowship was initiated by members of the Class of 1945 in anticipation of their 50th reunion. The Nason Fellowship is administered by the
Swarthmore Foundation. Awarded to Jasmine Moore '20, Melissa La Noire '20, Brandon Shi '20, Destiny Samuel '22, Kadiata Diallo '21,
Kaitelyn Pasillas '20, Kiara Rosario '22, Lucas Barton '21, Pempho Moyo '21, Sarah Wheaton '21, and Sydnie Schwartz '20.
The Helen F. North Fund in Classics, established in 1996 by Susan Willis Ruff '60 and Charles F.C. Ruff '60 to honor the distinguished career of
Helen F. North and her enduring impact on generations of Swarthmore students, is awarded to support the program of the Classics Department.
At the discretion of the department, it shall be used to fund annually the Helen F. North Distinguished Lectureship in Classics and, as income
permits, for a conference or symposium with visiting scholars; summer study of Greek or Latin or research in classics-related areas by students
majoring in the field; or study in Greece or Italy in classics by a graduate of the department. Awarded to Pablo Salvatierra '22.
The Arthur S. Obermayer '52 Summer Internship was established in 2005 and is intended to broaden and enrich the experience of a Swarthmore
student. The grant shall be awarded with preference to a domestic student who is studying in a major that may not inherently offer an
international opportunity. Not awarded this year.
The Martin Ostwald Fund in Classics, established in 2012 by John Marincola '76 and other friends and colleagues to memorialize the
distinguished career of Martin Ostwald and his enduring impact on generations of Swarthmore students, is awarded to support the program of
the Classics Department. At the discretion of the department, it shall be used to fund annually the Martin Ostwald Distinguished Lectureship in
Classics, and, as income permits, for a conference or symposium with visiting scholars; summer study of Greek or Latin or research in Classics-
related areas by students; or study in Greece or Italy in Classics by a graduate of the department.
The Robert F. Pasternack Research Fellowship was established in 2005 by a gift from the estate of Thomas Koch, deceased husband of Jo W.
Koch and father of Michael B. Koch '89. The fellowship honors a beloved member of Swarthmore's Chemistry Department and supports student
summer research in chemistry. The fellowship shall be administered by the Provost's Office. Awarded to Joseph Scott '22.
The J. Roland Pennock Undergraduate Fellowship in Public Affairs. The fellowship, endowed by friends of Professor J. Roland Pennock at his
retirement in 1976 and in recognition of his many years of distinguished teaching of political science at Swarthmore, provides a grant to support
a substantial research project (which could include inquiry through responsible participation) in public affairs. The fellowship, for Swarthmore
undergraduates, would normally be held off campus during the summer. Preference is given to applicants from the junior class. Awarded
to Daniela Gomez '22, Yousef Khan '22, and Lauritz Christensen '24.
The Penrose International Service Fund provides a stipend to support participation in a project to improve the quality of life of a community
outside North America. The project should involve direct interaction with the affected community and be of immediate benefit to them rather than
action in support of social change at a regional or national level. The stipend will be available to a Swarthmore student from any class for a
project in any country other than that of his or her own citizenship. The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility administers the Penrose
International Service Fund. Awarded to Tom Jensen '20 and William Han '21.
The Petrucci Family Foundation Summer Research Grant in Black Studies is awarded to allow students to pursue research, praxis, and creative
development in the arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences and the students must center their experiences of black populations in Africa
and/or the Diaspora. Not awarded this year.
Phi Beta Kappa Fellowship. The Swarthmore Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (Epsilon of Pennsylvania) awards a fellowship for graduate study to a
senior who has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa and has been admitted to a program of advanced study in some branch of the liberal arts.
Awarded to Sophia Libkind '14.
The Simon Preisler Memorial Endowment was established in 2006 by Richard A. Barasch '75 and Renee Preisler Barasch to honor the memory
of Simon Preisler. Mr. Preisler, Renee's father, was an Auschwitz survivor, and with this endowment the Baraschs's wish to create a permanent
memorial of the human devastation that occurred during the Holocaust and the lack of adequate global response to the tragedy. The fund
supports Ruach at Swarthmore as well as student summer internships and research fellowships in human rights, conflict resolution, and the
promotion of peace and understanding. Preference will be given to students pursuing internships and research fellowships related to genocide
and other large-scale violent conflicts, projects involving peaceful prevention or intervention, non-violent resistance, or local peacemaking,
reconciliation, and healing initiatives. Awarded to Edward Tranter '22, Clare D'Amato '23, and Meyer-Lee '23.
The Project Japan Fund is used to support one student during the summer months to conduct research in Japan on contemporary issues. Not
awarded this year
The Ruth A. Rand '56 Summer Research Fellowship was established in 2014 by William K. Wible, together with members of his family and
friends, in memory of his wife. The fund is intended to provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work,
study, or research in the sciences during the summer months. The recipient(s) will be chosen by the Provost's Office. Awarded to Gabrielle Ma
'23.
The Robert Reynolds and Lucinda Lewis '70 Endowed Fund for Summer Research was established in 2013. The fund is intended to provide
enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work, study, or research in the biological sciences during the summer
months. The fund will be administered by the Provost's Office and awards are made in consultation with faculty in the Biology and Chemistry
departments. Awarded to Emily Hapgood '22, Dulce Ventura '22, Krystle Boadi '23, Thembalami Dube '24, and Vivian Guo '24.
The Robbins/Chang Summer Fellowship for Projects combining Big Data and Social Change/Liberal Arts in coordination with the Lang
Center. The Internship was established in 2017 by David Robbins '83 and Joyce Chang. The fund shall be used to support student participation in
fellowships, internships, and other summer opportunities that support our students' use of big data while working for social change or in
connection with the Liberal Arts. The selection will be made by the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, but is open to all students at
Swarthmore.
The Sager Fund of Swarthmore College was established in 1988 by alumnus Richard Sager '73, a leader in San Diego's gay community. To
combat homophobia and related discrimination, the fund sponsors events that focus on concerns of the lesbian, bisexual, and gay communities
and promotes curricular innovation in the field of lesbian and gay studies. The fund also sponsors an annual three-day symposium. The fund is
administered by a committee of women and men from the student body, alumni, staff, faculty, and administration. In 2004, Richard Sager created
an "internship" to provide funding for students in internships with nonprofit organizations whose primary missions address
gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender issues. The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility administers the internship. Awarded to Dylan
Clairmont '21.
The Savage Fund, created in 1996 in honor of Professor Emeritus of Biology Robert Savage, supports student research and other activities in
cellular and molecular biology.
The James H. Scheuer Summer Internship in Environmental and Population Studies Endowment was established in 1990. The Scheuer Summer
Internship supports student research in environmental and public policy issues. The coordinators of the environmental studies and public policy
concentrations select interns in alternate years. Awarded to Bethany Bronkema '22, Lucy Fetterman '22, Vanessa Levy '22, and Christopher Folk
'23.
The June Rothman Scott Biology Summer Research Fellowship was established in 2017 by June Rothman Scott '61. The fund is intended to
provide enriching learning experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting off-campus research in Molecular Biology during the summer
months. The recipient(s) will be chosen by the Provost's Office in collaboration with the Biology Department. Student recipients are eligible to
apply for an additional grant (of up to 15% of the current summer stipend value) to cover post-research travel, professional conference and/or
meeting registration. Awarded to Elliot Kim '23.
The Robin M. Shapiro '78 Endowed Fund for Summer Research was established in 2013. The fund is intended to provide enriching learning
experiences for Swarthmore students by supporting work, study, or research in any field during the summer months. Two fellowships will be
administered by the Provost's Office each summer, and awards are made in consultation with the faculty. Awarded to Anna Kottakis '22, Maya
Plotnick '22, Andy Zhang '22, Bryce Bussert '23, and Kaja Arusha '24.
The Somayyah Siddiqi '02 Economics Research Fellowship, for economics research, is funded by T. Paul Schultz '61 in memory of Somayyah
Siddiqi '02. Not awarded this year.
The David G. Smith Internship in Health and Social Policy, endowed by alumni, faculty, friends, and former students of David G. Smith, is to
support an internship in the social services, with priority for the field of health care, for a Swarthmore undergraduate during the summer or a
semester on leave. Not awarded this year.
Solodar Family Science and Engineering Summer Research Fund was established in 2006. The fund supports a summer research fellowship for a
Swarthmore student of science or engineering, with a preference toward the chemical sciences. Awarded to Rebecca Lin '22 and Caleb Richmond
'22.
The Starfield Student Research Endowment was established by Barbara Starfield '54 and Phoebe Starfield Leboy '57 in 2004. The fund supports
student summer research fellowships in social justice with a preference for students pursuing research in the areas of health services
delivery/health policy and social, demographic, and geographic equity. Starfield and Leboy established the fellowships to honor their parents,
Martin and Eva Starfield, educators who instilled a love of learning and social justice in their daughters. Awarded to Toan Cao '22, Keyan
Shayegan '22, and Adithi Attada '24.
The Surdna Fellowships were established in 1979 by a gift from the Surdna Foundation and are awarded for summer research by Swarthmore
students in collaboration with a faculty member in any department in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Division. Awarded to Jonah Covitz
'22, Shady Lawendy '22, Nader Ahmed '23, William Ball '23, Rezhwan Kamal '23, Benjamin Pauley '23, Colby Stoddard '23, Gabriel Straus '23,
Brandon Daniel-Morales '24, and Kevin Murillo '24.
The Pat Tarble Summer Research Fund was established in 1986 through the generosity of Mrs. Newton E. Tarble. The Tarble Summer Fund
supports undergraduate research. The Provost's Office administers the fund. Awarded to Simon Ji '22, Kevin Bayingana '23, Thomas Dilts '23,
Rebecca Keating '23, Seth Keim '23, Aimen Khan '23, and Hellman Zhao '23.
The Martha E. Tyson Fellowship was founded by the Somerville Literary Society in 1913 and is sustained by the contributions of Swarthmore
alumnae. It is awarded each year to a senior woman or alumna who plans to enter elementary or secondary-school work. The recipient of the
award is to pursue a course of study in an institution approved by the committee. Applications must be submitted by April 20. Awarded to
Samantha Stevens '15.
The Hans Wallach Research Fellowship, endowed in 1991 by colleagues and friends, honors the eminent psychologist Hans Wallach (1904-
1998), who was a distinguished member of the Swarthmore faculty for more than 60 years. The fellowship supports one outstanding summer
research project in psychology for a rising Swarthmore College senior or junior, with preference given to a project leading to a senior thesis.
Awarded to Luke Bastiaansen '23.
The Ann Trimble Warren '38 and Sally A. Warren '65 Fund was established in 2017 by Sally Warren. The Fund is intended to provide enriching
learning experiences for Swarthmore students by enabling them to further their pursuit of the Arts, including performing, work, study, or
research during the summer months, with a preference given to production in the arts. The Fund supports summer experiences in Studio Arts,
Music and Dance, Theater, and Art History, but not Film and Media Studies. The recipient(s) will be currently enrolled students selected by the
Office of the Provost through an application process in consultation with the arts departments specified in this agreement. Awarded to Marie
Inniss '23.
17.7 Faculty Fellowships and Support
The Mary Albertson Faculty Fellowship was endowed by an anonymous gift from two of her former students, under a challenge grant issued by
the National Endowment for the Humanities. It will provide an annual award of a semester's leave at full pay to support research and writing by
members of the humanities faculty. Mary Albertson joined the Swarthmore faculty in 1927 and served as chair of the History Department from
1942 until her retirement in 1963. She died in May 1986.
The Janice Robb Anderson '42 Junior Faculty Research Endowment was established by Janice Robb Anderson '42 in 2001. The Anderson
endowment supports faculty research, with preference for junior faculty members in the humanities whose research requires study abroad.
The George Becker Faculty Fellowship was endowed by Ramon Posel '50 under a challenge from the National Endowment for the Humanities, in
honor of this former member of the English Department and its chairman from 1953 to 1970. The fellowship will provide a semester of leave at
full pay for a member of the humanities faculty to do research and write, in the fields of art history, classics, English literature, history,
linguistics, modern languages, music, philosophy, or religion but with preference given to members of the Department of English Literature.
The Brand Blanshard Faculty Fellowship is an endowed faculty fellowship in the humanities established in the name of philosopher and former
faculty member Brand Blanshard, who taught philosophy at Swarthmore from 1925 to 1944. The fellowship will provide a semester leave at full
pay for a member of the humanities faculty to do research and to write. On recommendation of the Selection Committee, a small additional grant
may be available for travel and project expenses. Any humanities faculty member eligible for leave may apply. Fellows will prepare a paper
about the work of their leave year and present it publicly to the College and wider community. The Blanshard Fellowship is made possible by an
anonymous donor who was Blanshard's student at Swarthmore, and a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Constance Hungerford Faculty Support Fund was established in 2007 by Eugene M. Lang '38 to recognize Constance Cain Hungerford for
her dedicated service as provost and faculty leader and for her outstanding contributions to Swarthmore's educational program. Connie
Hungerford, an art historian, joined the Art Department in 1974 and served as provost from 2001 to 2011. This fund allows the provost to make
grants to individual faculty members to support their professional responsibilities and scholarly and creative careers. Awarded to Sean Emery
'20.
The Robert L. Jones '75 and Catherine A. Rivlin '79 Faculty Research Fund, established in 2017, supports faculty research at Swarthmore
College on an unrestricted basis. This fund is administered by the Provost's Office.
The Eugene M. Lang Faculty Fellowship is designed to enhance the educational program of Swarthmore College by contributing to faculty
development, by promoting original or innovative scholarly achievement of faculty members, and by encouraging the use of such achievements to
stimulate intellectual exchange among scholars. The fellowship will provide financial support for faculty leaves through a grant of about one-half
the recipient's salary during the grant year. On recommendation of the Selection Committee, a small additional grant may be available for travel
and project expenses and for library book purchases. The Selection Committee shall consist of the provost, three divisional chairs, and three
others selected by the president, of whom at least two must be Swarthmore alumni. Any faculty member eligible for leave may apply. Fellows will
be expected to prepare a paper or papers resulting from the work of their leave year, presented publicly for the College and wider community.
The Selection Committee may wholly or partially support the cost of publishing any of these papers. These fellowships are made possible by an
endowment established by Eugene M. Lang '38.
18 Endowed Chairs
The Edmund Allen Professorship of Chemistry was established in 1938 by a trust set up by his daughter Laura Allen, friend of the College and
niece of Rachel Hillborn, who served on the Board of Managers from 1887 to 1913.
The Franklin E. and Betty Barr Chair in Economics was established in 1989 as a memorial to Franklin E. Barr Jr. '48 by his wife, Betty Barr.
The Alfred H. and Peggi Bloom Professorship was established in 2002 by Eugene M. Lang '38 in honor of President Alfred H. and Peggi Bloom.
The Albert L. and Edna Pownall Buffington Professorship was established in 1964 by a bequest from Albert Buffington, Class of 1896 in honor of
his wife, Edna Pownall Buffington, Class of 1898.
The Dorwin P. Cartwright Professorship in Social Theory and Social Action was created in 1993 by Barbara Weiss Cartwright '37, to honor her
husband, Dorwin P. Cartwright '37. The professorship is awarded for a period of five years to a full professor who has contributed to and has the
promise of continuing major contributions to the understanding of how social theory can be brought to bear on creating a more humane and
ethically responsible society.
Centennial Chairs. Three professorships, unrestricted as to field, were created in 1964 in honor of Swarthmore's centennial from funds raised
during the Centennial Fund Campaign.
The Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professorship of Biology was established by Isaac H. Clothier Jr. as a tribute of gratitude and esteem to Dr. Spencer
Trotter, a professor of biology from 1888-1926.
The Isaac H. Clothier Professorship of History and International Relations was created in 1888 by Isaac H. Clothier, a member of the Board of
Managers. Originally the professorship was granted in the field of civil and mechanical engineering. Clothier later approved its being a chair in
Latin; in 1912, he approved its present designation.
The Morris L. Clothier Professorship of Physics was established in 1905 by Morris L. Clothier, Class of 1890.
The Julien and Virginia Cornell Visiting Professorship was endowed by Julien Cornell '30 and Virginia Stratton Cornell '30, former members of
the Board of Managers, to bring professors and lecturers from other nations and cultures for a semester or a year. Since 1962, Cornell
professors and their families from every corner of the world have resided on the campus so that they might deepen the perspective of both
students and faculty.
The Alexander Griswold Cummins Professorship of English Literature was established in 1911 in honor of Alexander Griswold Cummins, Class
of 1889, by Morris L. Clothier, Class of 1890.
The Howard N. and Ada J. Eavenson Professorship in Engineering was established in 1959 by Mrs. Eavenson, whose husband graduated in
1895.
The Neil R. Grabois '57 Professorship was established in 2010 by Eugene M. Lang '38 to honor Neil Grabois, mathematician and educator. This
fund supports a professorship in the division of natural sciences and engineering, with a preference for a member of the mathematics department.
The James H. Hammons Professorship was established in 1997 by Jeffrey A. Wolfson '75, to recognize the inspiring academic and personal
guidance provided by James H. Hammons, professor of chemistry, who began his distinguished teaching career at Swarthmore in 1964. The
professorship may be awarded in any division, with preference given to the Chemistry Department.
The Elizabeth and Sumner Hayward Professorship was established by Priscilla Hayward Crago '53 in 2013 in memory of her parents, Elizabeth
and Sumner Hayward. This fund supports a full professorship awarded to an existing professor with preference for, in order, psychology,
sociology, anthropology, English, Romance languages, or linguistics.
The James C. Hormel Professorship in Social Justice, established in 1995 by a gift from James C. Hormel '55, is awarded to a professor in any
academic division whose teaching and scholarship stimulate increased concern for and understanding of social justice issues, including those
pertaining to sexual orientation.
The Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professorship of Quakerism and Peace Studies was endowed in 1924 by Charles F. Jenkins H'26 and a
member of the Board of Managers, on behalf of the family of Howard M. Jenkins, a member of the Board of Managers, to increase the usefulness
of the Friends Historical Library and to stimulate interest in American and Colonial history with special reference to Pennsylvania. The fund was
added to over the years through the efforts of the Jenkins family and by a 1976 bequest from C.
Marshall Taylor, Class of 1904.
The Walter Kemp Professorship in the Natural Sciences was established in 2006 by Giles K. "Gil" '72 and Barbara Guss Kemp. Gil and Barbara
wanted to honor Gil's father, a retired psychiatrist, who "has always been an inspiration" and "a great believer in both science and education."
The professorship is awarded with particular regard for combining professional engagement with excellence in teaching.
The William R. Kenan Jr. Professorships were established in 1973 by a grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust to "support and
encourage a scholar-teacher whose enthusiasm for learning, commitment to teaching, and sincere personal interest in students will enhance the
learning process and make an effective contribution to the undergraduate community."
The Eugene M. Lang Research Professorship, established in 1981 by Eugene M. Lang '38, a member of the Board of Managers, normally rotates
every four years among members of the Swarthmore faculty and includes one year devoted entirely to research, study, enrichment, or writing. It
carries an annual discretionary grant for research expenses, books, and materials.
The Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professorship, endowed in 1981 by Eugene M. Lang '38, brings to Swarthmore College for a period of one
semester to 3 years an outstanding social scientist or other suitably qualified person who has achieved prominence and special recognition in the
area of social change.
The Jane Lang Professorship in Music was established by Eugene M. Lang '38, to honor his daughter, Jane Lang '67. The Jane Lang
Professorship is awarded to a member of the faculty whose teaching or professional activity promotes the centrality of music in the educational
process by linking it to other disciplines.
The Stephen Lang Professorship of Performing Arts was established by Eugene M. Lang '38, to honor his son, Stephen Lang '73. The Stephen
Lang Professorship of Performing Arts is awarded for five years to a member of the faculty whose teaching or professional activity promotes
excellence in the performing arts at Swarthmore.
The Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professorship was created by the College in 1992 in recognition of an unrestricted gift by James A. Michener '29.
The professorship is named in honor of Sara Lawrence Lightfoot '66, Doctor of Humane Letters, 1989, and a former member of the Board of
Managers.
The Susan W. Lippincott Professorship of Modern and Classical Languages was endowed in 1911 through a bequest from Susan W. Lippincott, a
member of the Board of Managers, a contribution from her niece, Caroline Lippincott, Class of 1881, and gifts by other family members.
The Edward Hicks Magill Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Sciences was created in 1888 largely by contributions of interested friends
of Edward H. Magill, president of the College from 1872 to 1889, and a bequest from John M. George.
The Charles and Harriett Cox McDowell Professorship of Philosophy and Religion was established in 1952 by Harriett Cox McDowell, Class of
1887 and a member of the Board of Managers, in her name and that of her husband, Dr. Charles McDowell, Class of 1877.
The Mari S. Michener Professorship was created by the College in 1992 to honor Mrs. Michener, wife of James A. Michener '29, and in
recognition of his unrestricted gift.
The Gil and Frank Mustin Professorship was established by Gilbert B. Mustin '42 and Frank H. Mustin '44 in 1990. It is unrestricted as to field.
The Richter Professorship of Political Science was established in 1962 by a bequest from Max Richter at the suggestion of his friend and
attorney, Charles Segal, father of Robert L. Segal '46 and Andrew Segal '50.
The Scheuer Family Chair of Humanities was created in 1987 through the gifts of James H. Scheuer '42; Walter and Marge Pearlman Scheuer
'48; and their children, Laura Lee '73, Elizabeth Helen '75, Jeffrey '75, and Susan '78 and joined by a challenge grant from The National
Endowment for the Humanities.
The Howard A. Schneiderman '48 Professorship in Biology was established by his wife, Audrey M. Schneiderman, to be awarded to a professor
in the Biology Department.
The Claude C. Smith '14 Professorship was established in 1996 by members of the Smith family and friends of Mr. Smith. A graduate of the Class
of 1914, Claude Smith was an esteemed lawyer with the firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher and was active at the College, including serving as
chairman of the Board of Managers. This chair is awarded to a member of the Political Science or Economics departments.
The Henry C. and Charlotte Turner Professorship was established in 1998 by the Turner family. Henry C. Turner, Class of 1893 and J. Archer
Turner, Class of 1905, served as members of the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College, as officers of the corporation, and as members of
various committees. Henry Turner was founder of the Turner Construction Co.; his brother, J. Archer Turner, was the firm's president. Four
generations of Turners have had ties with the College, and Sue Thomas Turner '35, wife of Robert C. Turner '36 (son of Henry C. Turner), is a
board member emerita. Howard Turner '33, son of J. Archer Turner, has also been very active as a member of the Board of Managers over the
years.
The J. Archer and Helen C. Turner Professorship was established in 1998 by the Turner family. Henry C. Turner, Class of 1893 and J. Archer
Turner, Class of 1905, served as members of the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College, as officers of the corporation, and as members of
various committees. Henry Turner was founder of the Turner Construction Co.; his brother, J. Archer Turner, was the firm's president. Four
generations of Turners have had ties with the College, and Sue Thomas Turner '35, wife of Robert C. Turner '36 (son of Henry C. Turner), is a
board member emerita. Howard Turner '33, son of J. Archer Turner, has also been very active as a member of the Board of Managers over the
years.
The Henry C. and J. Archer Turner Professorship of Engineering was established with contributions and gifts from members of the Turner family
in 1946 in recognition of the devoted service and wise counsel of Henry C. Turner, Class of 1893 and his brother, J. Archer Turner, Class of
1905. Both were members of the Board of Managers.
The Daniel Underhill Professorship of Music was established in 1976 by a bequest from Bertha Underhill to honor her husband, Class of 1894
and a member of the Board of Managers.
The Marian Snyder Ware Director of Physical Education and Athletics was endowed in 1990 by Marian Snyder Ware '38.
The Joseph Wharton Professorship of Political Economy was endowed by a trust given to the College in 1888 by Joseph Wharton, chair of the
Board of Managers.
The Isaiah V. Williamson Professorship of Civil and Mechanical Engineering was endowed in 1888 by a gift from Isaiah V. Williamson.
19 Enrollment Statistics
19.1 Enrollment of Students by Classes (Fall 2020)
Men
Women
Total
First-time first-year
187
187
374
Sophomores
179
195
374
Juniors
175
171
346
Seniors and Beyond
161
182
343
Total Degree Seeking
702
735
1437
Graduate Students
0
0
0
Non-Degree Seeking
0
2
2
Total
702
737
1439
Notes:
-In Fall 2020, enrollments and enrollment patterns were impacted by COVID-19. See the College Fact Book at
https://www.swarthmore.edu/institutional-research/fact-book for trend information.
-These counts include 2 students Studying Abroad.
19.2 Geographic Distribution of Students (Fall 2020)
Alabama
4
Alaska
4
American Samoa
1
Arizona
23
Arkansas
8
California
167
Colorado
19
Connecticut
16
Delaware
28
District of Columbia
13
Florida
33
Georgia
15
Guam
2
Hawaii
6
Idaho
1
Illinois
34
Indiana
6
Iowa
3
Kansas
7
Kentucky
7
Louisiana
7
Maine
6
Maryland
47
Massachusetts
55
Michigan
14
Military PO's
0
Minnesota
14
Mississippi
3
Missouri
9
Montana
4
Nebraska
7
Nevada
4
New Hampshire
5
New Jersey
93
New Mexico
5
New York
162
North Carolina
32
North Dakota
0
Ohio
15
Oklahoma
4
Oregon
17
Pennsylvania
179
Puerto Rico
1
Rhode Island
5
South Carolina
7
South Dakota
2
Tennessee
9
Texas
45
Utah
3
Vermont
7
Virgin Islands
0
Virginia
37
Washington
27
West Virginia
4
Wisconsin
5
Wyoming
1
Total United States,
Military PO, and U.S. Trust Territories
1232
Argentina
1
Australia
2
Bangladesh
1
Belarus
1
Bhutan
2
Brazil
2
Burma (Myanmar)
2
Cambodia
1
Cameroon
1
Canada
10
Chile
1
Colombia
1
Egypt
4
Ethiopia
4
Fiji
1
France
1
Germany
1
Ghana
5
Hong Kong
1
Hungary
1
India
6
Iraq
1
Israel
2
Japan
5
Jordan
1
Kenya
4
Lebanon
1
Malawi
1
Mongolia
3
Nepal
2
New Zealand
1
Nigeria
4
Oman
1
Pakistan
4
Palestine
2
Paraguay
2
Peoples Republic of China
64
Peru
1
Poland
1
Portugal
1
Russia
2
Rwanda
5
Singapore
9
South Korea
11
Taiwan
1
Thailand
5
Tunisia
2
Turkey
2
Uganda
1
Ukraine
1
United Arab Emirates
2
United Kingdom
10
Vietnam
2
Zambia
2
Zimbabwe
2
Total from Abroad
207
Grand Total
1439
Notes:
-In Fall 2020, enrollments and enrollment patterns were impacted by COVID-19. See the College Fact Book at
https://www.swarthmore.edu/institutional-research/fact-book for trend information.
-These counts include 2 students Studying Abroad.
20 Course Credit and Numbering System
The semester course credit is the unit of credit. One semester course credit is normally equivalent to 4 semester hours elsewhere. Upper-class
seminars and colloquia are usually given for 2 semester course credits. A few courses are given for 0.5 credit.
Courses are numbered as follows:
001 to 010
Introductory courses
011 to 099
Other courses (Some of these courses are not open to first-year students or sophomores.)
100 to 199
Seminars for upper-class students and graduate students.
The numbers for yearlong courses are joined by a hyphen (e.g., 001-002) and must be continued for the entire year. For introductory language
yearlong courses, credit is not given for the first semester's work only, nor is credit given for the first semester if the student fails the second
semester. In cases where credit is not earned for the second half of a yearlong course, the first semester is excluded from counting toward degree
credit, although the registration and grade for the first semester remain on the permanent record.
Course listings in this catalog are intended to facilitate planning, but are subject to change. A better guide to course offerings in any particular
semester is the schedule of courses available at the Registrar's website www.swarthmore.edu/registrar/.
Credit Policy
Academic Period: Swarthmore College uses the semester course credit system, and lists semester course credits on the official Swarthmore
College transcript. Excluding holidays, Swarthmore College has two semesters of fourteen or fifteen weeks, thirteen or fourteen instructional
weeks including a mid-semester break, and one week of final examinations. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Swarthmore has shortened the fall
and spring semesters to 12 weeks of instruction each, and added a 4-week January term, for 28 weeks of instruction over the year, with finals in
addition. The Fall 2020 semester normal load is 3-3.5 credits, with a maximum of 4.0 credits. The January 2021 term is 1-1.5 credits. Spring
2021 follows the usual load described in chapter seven. Eligibility to enroll in the January term depends on being enrolled in either the Fall or
the Spring semester.
Recommended instructional time: Our official normal student work load is four course credits per semester. One unit of Swarthmore College
credit normally represents three to four hours of class or seminar time, with conference sessions and laboratory periods in addition. Conference
sections, professor-lead additional study sessions, and laboratories are usually three hours or more in length, and are not reflected on the
transcript, but occur in many courses.
Recommended out of class time requirements: We advise students to plan to spend two to three hours of work for every hour of class attended.
Our research shows that Swarthmore College students typically work at least two hours outside of class preparing for every hour of class
attended. The typical student attends class or seminar for 12 or more hours per week, and prepares for class or seminar at least 24 hours per
week.
Subject Code Key
ANCH
Ancient History
GSST
Gender and Sexuality Studies
ANTH
Anthropology
HIST
History
ARAB
Arabic
INTP
Interpretation Theory
ARTH
Art History
ISLM
Islamic Studies
ARTT
Art
JPNS
Japanese
ASIA
Asian Studies
LALS
Latin American and Latino Studies
ASTR
Astronomy
LATN
Latin
BIOL
Biology
LING
Linguistics
BLST
Black Studies
LITR
Modern Languages and Literatures
CHEM
Chemistry and Biochemistry
MATH
Mathematics
CHIN
Chinese
MDST
Medieval Studies
CLST
Classical Studies
MUSI
Music
COGS
Cognitive Science
PEAC
Peace and Conflict Studies
CPLT
Comparative Literature
PHIL
Philosophy
CPSC
Computer Science
PHYS
Physics
DANC
Dance
POLS
Political Science
ECON
Economics
PSYC
Psychology
EDUC
Educational Studies
RELG
Religion
ENGL
English Literature
RUSS
Russian
ENGR
Engineering
SOAN
Sociology and Anthropology
ENVS
Environmental Studies
SOCI
Sociology
FMST
Film and Media Studies
SPAN
Spanish
FREN
French and Francophone Studies
STAT
Statistics
GLBL
Global Studies
THEA
Theater
GMST
German Studies
GREK
Greek
Footnote Key
1
Absent on leave, fall 2021.
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
4
Absent on administrative leave, 2021-2022.
5
Fall 2021.
6
Spring 2022.
7
Affiliated faculty.
8
Ex-officio.
Academic Programs
Art and Art History
Courses
Faculty
SYDNEY L. CARPENTER, Professor of Art
PALOMA CHECA-GISMERO, Assistant Professor of Art History
RANDALL L. EXON, Professor of Art
BRIAN D. GOLDSTEIN, Assistant Professor of Art History
LOGAN GRIDER, Associate Professor of Art, Art Program Chair
TIFFANY LEE, Visiting Professor of Art History
PATRICIA L. REILLY, Associate Professor of Art, Art History Program Chair
RON TARVER, Associate Professor of Art
JODY JOYNER, Assistant Professor of Art
DAVE WALSH, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art
1
ANDREA PACKARD, List Gallery Director
TESS WEI, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art
1
, List Gallery Exhibitions Manager and Assistant
Curator
STACY BOMENTO, Visual Resources Curator
DOUG HERREN, Studio Technician
CAREN BRENMAN, Administrative Coordinator
1
Spring 2022
The Academic Program
THE MAJORS: The Department of Art & Art History offers two majors: Art History and Art.
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, COURSE OFFERINGS AND UPDATED INFORMATION,
PLEASE VISIT THE ART AND ART HISTORY DEPARTMENT WEBSITES.
The Art History Major consists of eight credits in art history (ARTH) and one credit in art (ARTT).
The Art History Minor The course minor in art history will consist of 5 credits in art history: four of the 5 credits must be taken at Swarthmore.
Art History minors graduating in 2024 and after must take courses with at least two different Art History faculty members during their time at
Swarthmore. Art Majors can complete an art history minor with the completion of 4 art history credits in addition to those required by their
studio art major. Courses toward the minor may not be taken CR/NC (excepting those taken in semesters when CR/NC is required, such as a
student's first semester).
The Art Major for 2021 and 2022 graduating classes consists of seven credits in studio art (ARTT) and three credits in art history (ARTH).
The Art Major for 2023 and later graduating classes consists of seven credits in studio art (ARTT) and three credits in Art History (ARTH). These
required credits include five courses in one art concentration (includes Independent Thesis Project), two elective (ARTT) studio courses, two
(ARTH) Art History survey courses, one upper level (ARTH) Art History course.
(ART Major, Minor and Honors program requirements for graduating classes 2023 and later have new ART requirements which are noted
throughout. Please visit http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history/major-minor-and-honors-art for a complete overview.)
First course recommendations
ARTT 100 Painting I: Drawing into Painting
This course provides an intensive exploration of the foundational elements of drawing and painting through the practice of direct observation.
Subjects of study will include; still life, the figure, interiors, and the landscape. The development of perceptual skills and the capability to
translate visual relationships onto a two dimensional surface is central to this course. No prior painting or drawing experience is necessary.
Throughout the semester we will engage in frequent discussions addressing historical and contemporary painting problems. The purpose of these
discussions is to provide art historical context and concrete examples of the painting issues we confront in class. In addition to learning about the
formal principles of painting, the class will provide an overview of practical tool usage and techniques. An emphasis will be placed on good
studio habits, making the environment safe, clean, and productive for everyone.
ARTT 020 Ceramics I: The Potter's Wheel
This introduction to ceramic process and aesthetics focuses on acquiring basic skills on the potter's wheel as well as an introduction to making
and applying glazes both high and low temperature. Students will also learn to oper
ate an electric kiln. Through image presentations and
exposure to actual objects, students will learn to discuss and evaluate the aesthetic attributes of the handmade object.
ARTT 225 Sculpture I: Form, Material, Process
This course serves as an introduction to the foundational materials, techniques, and concepts associated with sculpture. Sculpture I emphasizes
the development of skills in wood, steel, and introductory mold-making/casting techniques through a series of hands-on demos and exercises that
culminate in creative studio projects. This class also foregrounds creative process, introducing students to the expression of sculptural ideas
through iterative studio practice. Each major course project will involve brainstorming, drafting, mocking-up, working, and re-working
sculptural objects. We will approach form-making as a language in and of itself, one which demands 3D thinking and making and the
development of hands-on, embodied knowledge. Sculpture I prepares students to move onto a variety of Sculpture II courses, where individual
concepts and technical skills can be further honed and applied to specific topics in contemporary sculpture. While emphasis falls on introductory
techniques in wood, metal, and casting, we will engage a spectrum of finding and making. Students will often be invited to incorporate everyday
materials and found objects in relationship to foundational sculptural concepts. Studio projects will be complemented by field trips, visiting
artists, readings, films, and slide presentations, all aimed at developing diverse, nuanced contexts for contemporary sculpture.
The Art History Major:
Most Art History courses do not have pre-requisites, except for 2-credit seminars that are intended for juniors and seniors. While students may
elect mid-level topics that interest them, we recommend that for a 1
st
course students take either a First Year Seminar or an introductory
survey. These courses are valuable even for students who may arrive with AP credit.
A First Year Seminar introduces students to the discipline of art history - questions, methods of inquiry - through an in-depth focus on a topic
such as "Architecture of Philadelphia," "Animation in East Asia" or "Michelangelo." There is no presumption of prior study of art history or
engagement with studio arts; the course is ideal for art history and studio students, but equally for those who may not think they will take other
art history courses (though they may, completing a major or minor). Limited to 12 students, these courses foreground discussion and individual
and group presentations, as well as writing.
Introductory surveys focus on broader coverage of major topics in art history: Western Tradition (ARTH 002 ), Asian Art (ARTH 003 ), Modern
Art in Europe and the US (ARTH 005 ), Global History of Architecture: 1800-Present (ARTH 073 ). With slightly larger enrollments, these
courses may be more lecture-driven, but also entail writing and often discussion.
Course Major
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MAJORS
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON MAJOR AND MINOR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT THE ART AND ART HISTORY
PROGRAM WEBSITES.
ART HISTORY:
1. Overall average of C or better in all courses taken during the two semesters preceding the time of application.
2. Completion of at least two courses in art history at Swarthmore with grades of B or better. For a double major the grade minimum is
also B.
ART for Graduating Classes 2021 and 2022:
1. Overall average of C or better in all courses taken during the two semesters preceding the time of application. For a Double Major
the overall average must be B.
2. Completion of at least one course in art history and one course in studio art at Swarthmore with grades of B or better.
3. A student may be asked to present a portfolio as evidence of ability to see, describe, and analyze visual phenomena critically.
ART for Graduating Classes 2023 and later:
1. Completion of at least one course in art history and one course in art at Swarthmore with grades of B or better.
Art History
Requirements for Completion of the Major
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR MINOR REQUIREMENTS, VISIT THE ART
HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITE.
Beginning in fall 2020, the major requirements for Art History have changed. The specific requirements for the classes of 2022 and 2023 (and
after) vary. Please see descriptions of course and senior comprehensive requirements below.
Art History Majors, Course and Honors, graduating in 2022 are required to take the following courses and fulfill the comprehensive requirement
(see details below):
● ARTH002 The Western Tradition (students are encouraged to take this early in their major program)
● One course or seminar on art in the western tradition post-1800
● One course or seminar on art outside the Western tradition
● ARTH100 Senior Capstone (to be offered in spring 2022)
● One credit in studio art
Among the nine credits required for the major (which include credits from the required courses listed above), two must be in the form of a 2-
credit seminar.
Art History Majors, Course and Honors, graduating in 2023 and after are required to take the following courses and fulfill the comprehensive
requirement (see details below):
● One introductory survey course (of student's choosing)
● One studio art course
● One 2-credit honors seminar (seminar must be taken before senior capstone, preferably in junior year)
● ARTH100 Senior Capstone (offered each spring; the research paper from this course meets the senior comprehensive requirement)
● Four additional credits of student's choosing
Among the nine credits required for the major, students must take courses with at least three different Art History faculty members during their
time at Swarthmore (Senior Capstone does not count toward that requirement).
A maximum of two introductory survey courses will count
toward the major. The art history chair maintains a list of current introductory courses.
Art
FOR CURRENT ART MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENT INFORMATION, VISIT THE ART PROGRAM WEBSITE.
For Graduating Classes 2021 and 2022: All Art Majors, in both Course and Honors Programs, are required to take 10 courses to fulfill major
requirements:
1. Seven credits of studio art and three credits of art history, which must include ARTH 002 The Western Tradition:
ARTT 001 Foundation Drawing, (Or, ARTT 002 First-Year Seminar: Drawing)
A level I 2-D course
A level I 3-D course
A level II course, (2D or 3D)
A level II course, (2D or 3D)
ARTT 090 Senior Workshop I
ARTT 091 Senior Workshop II
2. Art majors can complete an art history minor as well with the completion of 4 art history credits in addition to those required by their
art major.
Five credits in studio art must be completed before entry to ARTT 090 Senior Thesis Workshop I.
Students are encouraged to consult with professors and advisors about art history selections relevant to their interests.
The Senior Art Major is required to mount a one-person exhibition in the school gallery representing a culmination in their studio
work. This exhibition-and accompanying artist statement (of no less than 2500 words), is the comprehensive examination for the art
major. Senior exhibitions are scheduled during the last weeks of the spring semester each year.
There is no course minor in art.
CR/NC designations cannot be accepted for courses inside the major (two exemptions: first semester C/NC policy and Spring 2020
C/NC courses).
For Graduating Classes 2023 going forward: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history/major-minor-and-honors-art
All Art Majors, in both Course and Honors, are required to take 10 courses (seven credits of art and three credits of art history) to fulfill major
requirements.
Five art credits in a chosen medium will form an art concentration. In addition to the five studio credits in one concentration (Painting,
Ceramics, Photography, Sculpture), students must complete two additional studio courses outside their area of concentration. Of the three credits
of art history, two must be survey courses and the third needs to be an upper level art history course.
Five courses in one art concentration (includes Independent Thesis Project)
Two elective art courses
Two art history survey courses
One upper level art history course
CR/NC designations cannot be accepted for courses inside the major (two exemptions: first semester C/NC policy and Spring 2020
C/NC courses).
Art History Senior Comprehensive Requirement
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR MINOR REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT THE
ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITE.
During the senior year, Course Majors will complete a comprehensive project as part of the Senior Capstone (ARTH100). Honors Majors may
also satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement through a 2-credit thesis (ARTH097). Two-credit thesis writers are not required to take the
Senior Capstone.
Honors
Honors in Art History
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT
THE ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITE.
Requirements for admission to Honors do not differ from those for admission to the Course Major. Once admitted to the Honors Major, students
will be expected to maintain an average of B+ or better in all courses in art history.
Art History Honors Major
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, VISIT THE
ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITE.
An Honors Major in Art History requires three 2-credit ARTH preparations. The normal prerequisite for any art history seminar is 2 credits of
previous art history course work. Each honors seminar or alternative honors preparation will be evaluated by an outside examiner (for details
on honors preparations and exam formats see the Honors Handbook).
An Honors Major in Art History must also fulfill the requirements for a 9-credit Course Major. Honors majors may find that they must take more
than nine credits to complete all requirements, so are reminded to be attentive to the rule that students must take 20 credits outside their major to
graduate.
Art History Honors Minor
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT
THE ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITE.
An Honors Minor in Art History consists of one 2-credit preparation, and completion of at least two other courses in Art History. Only one of
those credits can be a transfer credit.
Honors in Art
FOR CURRENT HONORS INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE ART DEPARTMENT WEBSITE
For Graduating Classes 2021 and 2022:
Requirements for admission to Honors do not differ from those for admission to the Course Major. Students will be expected to maintain an
average of B+ or better in all courses in studio art.
For Graduating Classes 2023 going forward: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history/major-minor-and-honors-art
Requirements for admission to Honors do not differ from those for admission to the Course Major. Students will be expected to maintain an
average of B or better in all courses in art.
Art Major
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ABOUT ART HONORS MAJOR AND HONORS MINOR REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT THE ART
DEPARTMENT WEBSITE.
For Graduating Classes 2021 and 2022
1. An Honors Major in Art will present 2 preparations in studio art and 1 preparation in art history.
2. Each of the two studio preparations will consist of two paired studio courses. The examiner of each preparation will receive the
syllabus for both courses and slides representing the body of work produced in them and will examine the student in an individual oral
examination of 30 minutes.
a. One preparation pair will consist of ARTT 030 Senior Workshop I and ARTT 040 Senior Workshop II.
b. The second pair might consist of an intermediate and an advanced course in a specific medium OR two courses with a
different approach to the same medium (ex: Pottery and Ceramic Sculpture, Drawing and Life Drawing), OR two related
courses (ex: Ceramic Sculpture and Sculpture, Drawing and Photography, Drawing and Works on Paper, Drawing and
Painting.
ALL PREPARATIONS FOR HONORS MUST BE APPROVED IN ADVANCE BY THE DEPARTMENT.
Studio courses taken at an institution outside of Swarthmore cannot count towards an honors studio preparation.
Only courses taught by regularly teaching faculty in studio art can be applied toward a preparation. Courses taught by regularly
returning adjuncts might be applied pending department approval.
Honors preparations approved in the sophomore year must be adhered to. Any later changes to your program as it relates to
preparations, must be approved by the department.
3. The preparation in art history will consist of one 2-credit seminar.
a. The prerequisite for any art history seminar is 2 previous credits in art history, including ARTH 002.
b. All Majors in Art, whether Course or Honors, must do 3 credits of art history work. Studio faculty may recommend
particular art history courses as most relevant to a student's studio interests.
4. Honors candidates in Art must fulfill the Course Major Requirements. The prerequisite for all studio work, unless waived, is ARTT
001. The distribution requirements for 2-D and 3-D for the Honors Major in Art are the same as those in course.
5. Honors study in Art is comprised of a culminating exhibition of the student's studio work, with an accompanying artist essay of 3750
to 5000 words. Some of this work may figure in the selections of work presented for one or both of the course pairs described above,
but the rationale for inclusion in the exhibition will differ. The artist essay will be sent to both examiners of studio preparations. A
revision of a paper written previously for the art history preparation will be sent to the art history examiner.The senior honors study
essay will differ from the artist essay written by course students in that it will integrate the preparations in studio and art history.
1. The SHS essay will differ from the artist essay written by course students in that it will integrate the preparations in studio
and art history.
2. For Honors Majors, ARTT 040 will count outside the Major for purposes of calculating the 20-course rule, since it serves
as Senior Honors Study. It will be listed on the transcript not as ARTT 040 but as Senior Honors Study.
3. If a student drops out of Honors after the drop/add period in the last semester, the SHS credit will receive a grade of NC.
Senior Workshop II (ARTT 040), assuming it had been successfully completed in the Spring, will then be listed on the
transcript with the appropriate grade.
4. WARNING: if a student drops out of Honors, Senior Workshop II no longer counts as outside the major, but as within. A
student who has taken 12 other credits within the department, and who is graduating with the minimum of 32 credits will
then have 13 in the major and only 19 outside. Honors Art Majors should be especially careful to take enough credits
outside the department if they contemplate withdrawing from Honors.
For Graduating Classes 2023 and later: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history/major-minor-and-honors-art
Honors in Art (Major and Minor)
Requirements for admission to Honors do not differ from those for admission to the Course Major. Students will be expected to maintain an
average of B or better in all courses in art. The Honors Art major is an 11 credit major with the additional credit (to the Course Major) added
from the required 2 credit art history seminar. ALL PREPARATIONS FOR HONORS MUST BE APPROVED IN ADVANCE BY THE
DEPARTMENT.
Major
An Honors Major in Art will present 2 preparations in art and 1 preparation in art history. The preparation in art history must be a 2
credit seminar.
Each of the two art preparations will consist of two paired art courses. The examiner of each preparation will receive the syllabus for
both courses and images representing the body of work produced in them and will examine the student in an individual oral of 30
minutes.
Each pair of art courses can consist of an intermediate and an advanced course in a specific medium OR two courses with a different
approach to the same medium OR, two related courses
Art courses taken at an institution outside of Swarthmore cannot count towards an honors studio preparation.
Only courses taught by regularly teaching faculty in art can be applied towards a preparation. Courses taught by regularly returning
adjuncts might be applied pending department approval.
Honors preparations approved in the sophomore year must be adhered to. Any later changes to your program as it relates to
preparations, must be approved by the department.
The prerequisite for any art history seminar is 2 previous credits in art history
Honors candidates in Art must fulfill the Course Major requirements.
Honors study in Art consists of a culminating exhibition of the student's studio work, with an accompanying artist essay of 3750 to
5000 words. Some of this work may figure in the selections of work presented for one or both of the course pairs described above, but
the rationale for inclusion in the exhibition will differ. The artist essay will be sent to both examiners of studio preparations. A
revision of a paper written previously for the art history preparation will be sent to the art history examiner.
Honors Minor in Art
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON ART MAJOR AND MINORS, COURSE OFFERINGS AND UPDATED INFORMATION, VISIT THE ART
PROGRAM WEBSITE.
For Graduating Classes 2021 and 2022
1. An Honors Minor in Art will present to the honors examiners one studio preparation consisting of ARTT 030 Senior Workshop I and
ARTT 040 Senior Workshop II.
2. An Honors Minor in Art must fulfill the requirements for the Course Major in studio art (see Major in Art.)
3. During the Spring semester of the senior year a minor will write a 2500 word artist essay to be sent to the examiner, along with the
relevant syllabi and slides for the two-credit preparation.
For Graduating Classes 2023 going foward http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history/major-minor-and-honors-art
1. An Honors Minor in Art will present to the honors examiners one studio preparation which must be a combination of the Independent
Thesis Project and another related course.
2. An Honors Minor in Art must fulfill the requirements for the Course Major in art.
3. During the Spring semester of the senior year a minor will write a 2500 word artist essay to be sent to the examiner, along with the
relevant syllabi and slides for the two-credit preparation.
Major Application Process
Requirements for admission to the majors:
Art History
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, VISIT THE
ART HISTORY DEPARTMENT WEBSITE.
1. Overall average of C or better in all courses taken during the two semesters preceding the time of application.
2. Completion of at least two courses in art history at Swarthmore with grades of B or better. For a double major the grade minimum is
also B.
Art
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION REGARDING THE ART PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT THE DEPARTMENT WEBSITE.
For Graduating Classes 2021 and 2022:
1. Overall average of C or better in all courses taken during the two semesters preceding the time of application. For a double major the
overall average must be C. Completion of at least one course in art history and one course in art at Swarthmore with grades of B or
better.
2. Completion of at least one course in art history and one course in art at Swarthmore with grades of B or better.
For Graduating Classes 2023 and later:
1. Completion of at least one course in art history and one course in art at Swarthmore with grades of B or better.
Art and Art History Department Majors and the 20-Course Rule
FOR INFORMATION ON MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, COURSE OFFERINGS AND CURRENT INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT
THE ART AND ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITES.
It is a college requirement that 20 of the 32 credits required for graduation must be OUTSIDE the major. This means that one can take no more
than 12 courses in the major, unless one graduates with more than 32 credits, in which case the surplus can also be in the major.
For Art Majors, the required three credits in art history count within the major, but additional credits in art history count outside the major.
For Art History Majors, the 1 required credit of studio art coursework counts as within the Major, but additional credits of studio art count as
outside. Thus, an Art History Major graduating with 32 credits could take no more than 3 additional art history credits beyond the 8 art history
credits that are required for the Major. But an Art History Major could take as many more studio credits as desired.
Advanced Placement Credit
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON ART HISTORY COURSE OFFERINGS AND MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE VISIT
THE ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITE.
Credit for an AP5 will be given upon completion of an art history course in the department. For majors in the class of 2022, this credit will cover
the requirement for ARTH 002. For majors in the classes of 2023 and after, this credit can count only for one of the four elective credits (and not
for the required introductory survey course).
Transfer Credit, Credit/No Credit/Overlapping Credits
FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON MAJOR AND MINOR REQUIREMENTS, COURSE OFFERINGS AND CURRENT INFORMATION,
PLEASE VISIT THE ART AND ART HISTORY PROGRAM WEBSITES.
Transfer Credit
A maximum of two transfer credits will count toward the major, either from study abroad or other U.S. institutions. Students transferring into
Swarthmore from another institution should consult with the art history coordinator regarding their specific situation.
Credit/No Credit
Except in semesters when CR/NC is required (such as a student's first semester or the spring 2020 semester), students may not take courses
toward major requirements as CR/NC.
Overlapping Credits
A maximum of two credits may double count for both the ARTH major and a student's second major. For major and minor credit overlap, the
standard overlap rule applies. Because departmental policies vary, please consult with your non-ARTH advisor for questions about counting
overlapping credits in your second major.
Off-Campus Study
The Art and Art History Department programs strongly encourages those with an interest in art and its history to consider incorporating study
abroad into their Swarthmore program either during a summer or a regular academic term. Important examples of art and architecture are
found throughout the world, and the encounter with works still embedded in their original context is vital to an understanding of their historical
and contemporary significance. Past experience has shown, however, that art courses in most study abroad programs fall considerably below the
academic standards of comparable courses at Swarthmore. Students who are interested in bettering their chances of gaining a full Swarthmore
credit for a course taken abroad are strongly advised to meet with the Art History Coordinator or the Studio Art Coordinator before leaving the
campus to review course syllabi and determine course credit value. PLEASE NOTE: to receive transfer credits in art history, you must have
taken at least one art history course at Swarthmore (normally before going abroad).
Art History Courses
ARTH 001C. First-Year Seminar: Making Art History
Are works of art direct extensions, pure reflections, or unique expressions of an individual artist's genius, fragile by implication and susceptible
to destruction from over analysis? Or are works of art (as well as the definition just offered) cultural artifacts produced under specific material
and social conditions, and fully meaningful only under extended analysis? Must we choose? And are these questions themselves, and the talk they
generate or suppress, yet another manifestation of the Western European and American commodification of art, its production, and its
consumption? Such questions will underlie this introduction to the goals, methods, and history of art history. Focusing on works drawn from a
variety of cultures and epochs, as well as on the art historical and critical attention those works have attracted, students will learn to describe,
analyze, and interpret both images and their interpretations and to convey their own assessments in lucid writing and speaking.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 001D. First-Year Seminar: Architecture of Philadelphia
Philadelphia offers a virtual hall of fame of architectural and urban history. Even a cursory list touches on many of the major developments in
the built environment over the last five centuries and beyond: William Penn's Philadelphia Plan; Independence Hall; Eastern State Penitentiary;
Levittown; Society Hill; the Vanna Venturi House; and the Barnes Foundation. This discussion-based seminar turns to this history not only to
understand the architecture of one important metropolitan area, but to understand how these examples can teach about broader themes including
the history of land use and planning, the industrial and urban revolutions, social struggle and social change, public memory, metropolitan
growth and urban renewal, and aesthetic and formal innovation. Through field trips, archival research, critical interpretation of interdisciplinary
sources, and writing assignments, students will learn the foundational methods of architectural history as well as many of the major cultural and
social forces that have shaped it.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Goldstein
Spring 2024. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 001G. First Year Seminar: Brought to Life: The Art of Animation in East Asia
To bring an image to life is an undying fantasy. In this discussion-based seminar, we explore the art of enlivenment in East Asia, beginning with
early accounts of inanimate objects coming to life, from bronze sculptures of the Buddha walking off of their pedestals in medieval China, deities
captured in paintings animated by shamans in Korea, to abandoned furniture and kitchen utensils banding together to seek vengeance on their
owners in Japan. Imbued with movement, lifelike dolls, puppets and automata also take on a life of their own, and static images like those painted
on a handscroll move to tell riveting stories. We trace this development of moving images into the twentieth century by examining the early
history of animation in China and Japan, the emergence of anime and its media culture, and the use of animation in avant-garde art and cinema.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Lee.
Spring 2024. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 001H. FYS: The American Home
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 001J. First Year Seminar: Arts of Everyday Life
This first year seminar introduces students to the interconnectedness of art and everyday life. Centered on the study of six artworks, it traces a
history of modern art in Europe and the United States from 1850 until the present that foregrounds how artists have used art to make sense of
their lived experience. Throughout this seminar, students will learn how artists relate to phenomena of historical importance such as the
appearance of leisure time and mass media, world wars, women's fight for equal rights, the AIDS/HIV epidemic, and mass migration. This
writing course will also introduce students to forms of art writing such as the art review, the personal essay, the wall caption, and the research
paper.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
Fall 2022. TBA.
Fall 2023. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 001M. First-Year Seminar: Leonardo: Artist, Engineer, Architect, and Anatomist
Leonardo da Vinci was a great anatomist, engineer, architect and inventor whose drawings circulated around the courts of Europe. In this
discussion-based course we will study the inventions, writings, paintings, drawings and biographies of this important Renaissance artist. We will
consider the ways in which the works, biographies, and myths of Leonardo have been analyzed (and created) over the centuries. In doing so, we
will develop a critical understanding of the methods and terminology of the discipline of art history itself.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 002. The Western Tradition
This course provides an introduction to Mediterranean and European art from prehistoric cave painting to the 18th century. We will consider a
variety of media-from painting, sculpture, and architecture to ceramics, mosaic, metalwork, prints, and earthworks. The goal of this course is to
provide a chronology of the major works in the Western tradition and to provide the vocabulary and methodologies necessary to analyze these
works of art closely in light of the material, historical, religious, social, and cultural circumstances in which they were produced and received.
We will give attention to the use and status of materials; the representation of social relations, gender, religion, and politics; the context in which
works of art were used and displayed; and the critical response these works elicited.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 003. Asian Art: Past and Present
This course provides a thematic introduction to the arts of India, China, Korea, and Japan from prehistoric times to the present. Through
explorations of select works of calligraphy, painting, prints, ceramics, sculpture, and architecture, this course aims to familiarize students with
artistic vocabularies and conventions, sociocultural contexts of production and consumption, and tools of art historical analysis. Particular focus
will be given to the interrelationships between art, religion, philosophy, and literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Lee.
Spring 2023. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 005. Modern Art in Europe and the United States
This course surveys Western European and American art from the late 18th century to the 1960s. It introduces significant artists and art
movements in their social and political contexts and also focuses attention on art historical approaches that have been developed to interpret this
art, including socio-economic and feminist perspectives.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Fall 2022. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 019. Contemporary Art
This survey class introduces students to key developments within art practice in Western Europe and the United States since 1950.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 026. Painting, Chemistry and Conservation
CHEM 003B
This interdisciplinary course explores the intersection of chemistry with the visual arts. During the course of the semester we will learn about the
materials available to artists, issues faced by museum curators and conservators, and some basic chemistry concepts related to these topics. Our
exploration of the chemistry, and history, of art media will include labs that extend and enhance the lecture topics.
Humanities. Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Reilly. Stephenson.
Spring 2024. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 028. Replication in Chinese Art
The making of duplicates informs a long tradition of artistic productions in China. This course explores diverse modes and technologies of
reproduction, bringing into focus the function and cultural value of the copy in the history of Chinese art and visual culture. Through case studies
of replications of painting, calligraphy, sculpture, film, architecture, ritual and religious art, we will consider a range of motivations for making
copies that often became something more than just mindless imitation, serving as integral components of an artist's training, as acts of piety, as
forms of preservation and documentation, as agents of dissemination, and as homage to artists and calligraphers of the past. As we study
multiples made from the Bronze Age to contemporary China, we will pay close attention to the different processes of reproduction, examining
how technique and material shape not only the duplicate produced but also the varied perception of the practice of copying.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Lee.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 029. Colloquium: Architecture of Philadelphia
Swarthmore sits amidst a hall of fame of architectural and urban history. This course turns to this history not simply to understand the
architecture of one important metropolitan area, but to understand how these examples can teach about broader themes including the history of
city planning, the industrial and urban revolutions, the search for "American" architectural styles, metropolitan growth and urban renewal, the
ascent of modernism, the emergence of postmodernism, and historic preservation, among others. Students will learn both foundational methods
of architectural history as well as many of the major movements that have constituted it.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 031. Arts of China
1 credit.
ARTH 037. Modern & Contemporary Chinese Art
This course explores Chinese art and visual culture from the late nineteenth century to the present. It surveys key artists, movements, landmark
exhibitions, major debates and issues to trace the contours of the modern and contemporary art scene, focusing on intercultural encounters
beginning from the era of international treaty ports to contemporary global art circuit. By studying works across media in tandem with primary
sources including artist writings, group manifestoes, and exhibition statements, we consider how artistic concerns engaged with the unfolding
seismic sociopolitical and economic transformations in China, as well as with an expanding art world and art market.
Option: Honors Attachment
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Fall 2021. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 040. Michelangelo to Mussolini: Classical Tradition in Rome
This course considers how artists and patrons in Rome (and beyond) imitated, reinterpreted, and challenged the classical tradition of art and
architecture-and to what ends. I will first provide students with a foundational knowledge of the Greco-Roman tradition and then we will analyze
how artists and architects from the Renaissance to the twentieth-century employed this tradition to promote the agendas of popes, bankers, kings
and dictators. For the final project, students will analyze an example of how the "neoclassical" project took form in other countries, such as
Germany, Russia, England and the United States.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 042. Photography and East Asia
This course explores the history of photography in China, Japan, and Korea from the 1840s to the end of the twentieth century. It focuses on the
development of this powerful form of visual communication against specific cultural and historical contexts, examining the various motivations
for making and displaying photographs as well as the ways in which the history of modern East Asia was mediated through the lens. We consider
how photography was integrated into artistic practices and everyday life, playing a vital role in forging new national and social identities and the
shaping of both public and personal memories.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Lee.
Spring 2024. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 046. Socially Engaged Art in the Americas
Can art change the world? Questions about the impact of art in the social fabric are constitutive of the idea of avant-garde art. This course will
introduce students to these debates as they took shape in the American continent since 1960. With an emphasis on forms of art practice that
outspokenly seek to provoke positive social change, this class provides a parallel narrative of contemporary art, in which art exits the museum
space to ingrain itself in broader social processes.
During the semester students will learn about different theories of socially engaged art articulated by artists and art historians alike. We will
consider art as activism in the Civil Rights era, forms of artistic resistance to Latin American military dictatorships, second wave feminist art,
contemporary community-based art, and forms of engaged art practice concerned with planet-wide environmental crisis. We will debate the
tactics and ideals guiding these practices, and we will evaluate the potential risks that come with relying on art for social transformation. This
course alternates short lecture periods with in-class discussion of primary and secondary sources. It is structured around six thematic blocs, at
the end of which students will produce a short written assignment.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, PEAC, GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/
ARTH 047. Counterculture Architecture and Urbanism
During the 1960s and '70s in the United States, young builders and planners gave form to the ideological shifts generated by the Countercultural
Movement. Their radical designs were formal condemnations of the technocratic, homogenous strategies favored by the previous generation.
This course examines the multifaceted nature of countercultural architecture, planning, and technology through primary sources and critical
texts that provide a broader cultural, social, and political context for the work. Each seminar focuses upon either an abstract component of
"outlaw" design, such as whole systems theory, gender and race politics, cybernetics, etc., or particular building forms that came to symbolize
the movement, including inflatables, geodesic domes, and vernacular constructions. The course encourages students to draw connections
between built work and countercultural theory and to challenge preconceived notions of architecture during the period.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 048. 20th Century Latin American Art
This introductory course exposes students to the histories, theories, and forms of modern art in Latin America in the 20th Century. The course
explores the development of artistic scenes in the continent, and how avant-garde art practices have engaged a variety of nation-building
programs -either as reinforcements or as refutations. During this course students will become familiar with scholarship and critical frameworks
formulated in Latin America, as well as in the United States.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 049. Document: History Of Photo
(Cross-listed as ARTT 049 )
This course combines the history and hands-on making of photography for an integrated exploration of this medium as a form of visual
documentation. It examines the uses and abuses of photography from the late nineteenth century to the present to focus on techniques and
practices that challenge the documentary authority of photography. With its unique combination of lectures, reading discussions, demonstrations,
hands-on image-making and critiques along with guest speaker sessions, this course will provide students with a robust set of critical and
practical tools and perspectives for thinking about how the photographic image profoundly shapes our understanding of the world.
No prerequisite; students should have a smartphone or digital camera, other supplies will be provided.
Humanities.
1 credit.
ARTH 052. Global Renaissance
The "Global Renaissance," focuses on Europe's relations with Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East in the early era of colonization
and global expansion.
Students will explore what the visual arts can reveal about the transfer of ideas and the growth of global trade and cultural/religious conflict in
this era of increasing internationalism. We will focus on cross-cultural exchange in the 15
th
and 16
th
centuries, and consider these issues
primarily from the European perception of the expanding world. The theme of globalism will be addressed though the lens not only of painting,
sculpture and architecture, but also objects that are not typically considered "high art" such as maps, textiles, festival art, and ceramics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 057. Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo
Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo have come to stand for Renaissance art itself. This course will study these masters, their works, and their
heated rivalries with one another in the context of the worlds in which they lived and worked. We will consider topics such as the construction of
the artist as genius, the relationship between art and science, the role of art in the domestic sphere, the use of art as propaganda, and the
education of the artist.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 058. Modern Architecture
This course addresses the history of modern architecture from the nineteenth century through World War II. The course will pay particular
attention to the ways in which architects have responded to, and participated in, formal and aesthetic developments in other arts, as well as the
role of architecture in broader technological, economic, and social-political transformations. Covering many aspects of architecture from
buildings, drawings, models, exhibitions, and schools, to historical and theoretical writings and manifestoes we will investigate a range of
modernist practices, polemics, and institutions. The readings, both primary and secondary texts, have been selected both to provide an overview
of the history of modern architecture and to offer a number of critical and historical approaches to evaluating its legacy.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 059. Topics in Contemporary Art
This mid-level course familiarizes students with current discussions in contemporary art history. Topics may rotate depending upon the year to
include ongoing debates in the field about topics such as art and climate catastrophe, contemporary performance, and art and labor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 060. Building New Worlds: The Arts and Architectures of Liberation
This mid-level course examines the legacies of artists and architects who, since the 1960s, have relied on the power of cultural work in struggles
for racial emancipation. It centers the contributions to the fields of socially engaged art and architecture of African American, Latinx, Asian
American, and Native American practitioners who worked to make the United States a nation for all. Faced with a hostile environment of
systemic racism that often excluded them from institutions of artistic and architectural legitimacy, these practitioners relied on imagination and
the power of community to plan, realize, and historize their interventions. We will focus on six sites of the built environment that have historically
been settings of struggle against racialized systemic violence: the prison, the home, public space, the school, the international border, and the
neighborhood.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 063. Architecture and American Landscape
In his essay, "Preserving Wildness," environmentalist Wendell Berry wrote: "We need to understand [nature] as our source and preserver, as an
essential measure of our history, and as the ultimate definer of our possibilities." With Berry's multidimensional conception of nature in mind,
this course examines the interrelationship of architecture, planning, and the ever-changing American landscape. It looks at the ways in which
architecture may respond to the political, social, and philosophical implications of diverse ecological perspectives and uncovers the part
architecture plays in environmental preservation and degradation. The class takes as its starting point colonial settlements and Native American
land use patterns in the Eastern United States and concludes with national responses to 21st-century climate change discourse, paying
particular attention to fluctuating conceptions of wildness and nature over time and to the wider socio-cultural implications of these attitudes.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 066. Race, Space, and Architecture
This colloquium considers how race and identity interact with architectural and urban spaces, especially in the United States in the twentieth
century. By studying the historical and theoretical dimensions of topics including the meanings attached to public and private housing, the
training and practice of designers, and the reconstruction and transformation of urban places, we will interpret how race has shaped buildings,
landscapes, and plans. In turn, we will also examine how the built environment has shaped the formation and interpretation of racial categories.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2023. Goldstein.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 072. Global History of Architecture: Prehistory to 1750 CE
This survey will provide an introduction to the history of the global built environment from the earliest human settlements to the middle of the
second millennium. Chronologically and geographically broad, we will examine selected works of architecture and urbanism from diverse
cultures around the world, commencing ca. 10,000 B.C.E. and ending around 1750 C.E. In doing so, we will interpret the built environment as
both a product of its social, political, and cultural contexts and a force that shapes those contexts. Despite a diversity of examples, common
themes--such as cultural interaction and exchange, religion and belief, transmission of knowledge, architectural patronage, spatial and aesthetic
innovation, and technological transformation--will emerge across the course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- Core, MDST
Fall 2022. Goldstein.
Fall 2023. TBA
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 073. Global History of Architecture: 1800-Present
This survey will visit some of the major structures, events, and innovations that defined the global built environment in the last six centuries,
beginning with the Renaissance and its contemporaries and extending through Modernism. Our consideration will go beyond a history of style to
examine the built environment as a product of and force acting on its broader social, political, and cultural contexts. We will pay attention to
architecture and urbanism from the place of work to the place of leisure; from sites belonging to the very powerful to those belonging to the
disenfranchised; and from those designed by well-known figures to those without known designers. Themes will include power, belief, technology,
industrialization, trade, patronage, professionalization, identity, empire, and urbanization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Goldstein.
Spring 2024. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 074. Histories of Photography
This course surveys the history of photography from the announcement of photography's invention in the nineteenth century to the end of the
twentieth century. It traces the development of the medium as a form of artistic expression and as means of visual communication, highlighting
how photographic images, practices, and discourses have not only informed but also changed our perception of the world around us. We examine
the varied meanings of photography within specific social, historical, cultural contexts as well as through different methodological lenses across
disciplinary divides, reflecting on the countless ways through which photography bound itself to modern life.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lee.
Fall 2023. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 076. Art Museums: History, Theory, Controversy
Humanities.
Fall 2022. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 092. Arts of Propaganda in Early Modern Europe
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 093. Building Architecture from Dirt to Dust
This course will offer a history of architecture not as a history of styles or historical periods but as an account of building, making, and constant
remaking. Starting from the production of materials from which we construct architecture and ending with the decline, deterioration, and
afterlife of structures, this discussion-based course will offer a chance to reflect on the labor that constructs the built environment and the many
people who are involved in its production from the very beginning to the very end. Beyond the architect, we will also consider the role of miners
and manufacturers, finance capital, labor unions, construction workers, users and renovators, maintenance staff, and those involved in
deconstruction and resale. Over the course of the semester, we will come to understand architecture as constructed by many hands, largely
outside of the control of the principal architect, and involving many forms of design.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Goldstein.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 094. Transnational Modernisms
This seminar applies a transnational lens to study the development of artistic modernisms during the Cold War. In this course, students will learn
the theories and forms of avant-garde art production in a world shaped by the ideological competition between the United States and the Soviet
Union. Departing from an examination of how these tensions materialized in New York and Moscow, students will examine how this polarized
climate impacted as well artistic production in Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, setting the
foundations of a transnational sphere of artistic circulation that anticipated the globalization of art at the turn of the century.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Checa-Gismero.
Fall 2023. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 096. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 097. Thesis
A 2-credit thesis normally carried out in the fall of the senior year. The topic must be submitted and approved by the instructor in charge before
the end of the junior year.
Fall 2023. Goldstein. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 100. Senior Capstone
This course is open to and required of senior majors in art history and is the culminating research experience in the major. Students will write a
substantial research paper over the course of the semester based on their previous coursework and interests. Weekly meetings will focus on
developing the project step-by-step; learning about research methodologies from the instructor, other department faculty, and staff; and
workshopping in-progress writing with classmates. Successful completion of the Senior Capstone fulfills the senior comprehensive requirement
for Art History.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Goldstein.
Spring 2023. Lee.
Spring 2024. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 136. Word and Image in Japanese Art
This seminar explores the dialogue between text and image as manifested in visual representations of courtly culture in Japan from the 10th to
the 18th century. Through select works of courtly narrative and poetry, such as the 11th-century classic The Tale of Genji, we will examine the
complex and nuanced interactions of text, image, calligraphy, object, function, patronage, production, and consumption as shaped by the
materiality of a range of media including handscrolls, folding screens, poem sheets, illustrated and printed books, lacquerware, and fans.
Prerequisite: two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 138. European Art and Global Expansion: Honors Seminar
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for Writing.
Fall 2023. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 160. Global Contemporary Art: Honors Seminar
What is 'Global Contemporary Art'? Since the end of the Cold War, contemporary art has experienced a phenomenon of rapid planet wide
expansion. Over 600 art fairs and biennial exhibitions structure a network where artworks, art professionals, and ideas circulate periodically,
informing a community autonomous -yet connected to- local art scenes. In these last three decades, avant-garde art as practiced in Europe and
the United States has expanded to acquire planetary visibility. Simultaneously, traditions of art making from other regions of the world have been
welcomed -albeit in altered fashion-, into the central stages of the artworld. As historians, artists, and critics: How do we make sense of this
shift? More importantly: How do we fit in this picture?
In this seminar, students will learn about the institutional, epistemic, and sociopolitical processes involved in the formation of 'global
contemporary art' as a new art historical category. We will study the role that exhibitions, academia, and the art market play in the setting of
artistic trends, while we analyze how these influences materialize in the practice of artists around the globe. During the semester students will
engage with primary sources such as artworks and artists writings, and secondary sources from the art industry and academia alike. At the end
of this course, students will be ready to describe the political, economic, and cultural processes active in the globalization of the art industry
since 1990, and reflect on the consequences of this process in academic, practiced, and curatorial approaches to contemporary art.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
Writing.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL - Core
Spring 2024. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 152. Arts & Crafts as Avant-Garde Labor
The relationship between the arts and the crafts is... complicated. Since the mid 19th Century, artists, theorists, industrialists, and reformers have
tried to define the terms of their bond, albeit unsuccessfully. While some defend their necessary entanglement and permanent cross-pollination,
others work hard to defend their fundamental incompatibility. In this honors seminar students study the nuances of this messy yet fertile affair
involving avant-garde art and artisan productions from the 1850s until today. They hypothesize on the foundations of their attraction and thread
through the different historical narratives that have argued for or against their marriage. This course considers the status of artisanship with
regards to art making in the Arts & Crafts movement, 20th century modernism, the Black arts movement, feminist art, decolonial aesthetics, and
new materialism studies. So as to better understand this complicated liaison, students will craft two fabric objects and reflect on their experience
as artisans, or artists, in the making.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 153. Modern Architecture and Urbanism: Honors Seminar
This honors seminar examines the broad array of designed and built works, makers, sites, and texts that constitute modern architecture and
urbanism. Students will interpret the many facets of modernism through key historical readings-both primary and secondary, canonical and
revisionist; analysis of examples; and consideration of their makers, both well-known and less so. A guiding assumption is that modernism was
never only one thing and had different-even sometimes opposite-intentions, manifestations, and consequences in different contexts. Yet we will
follow one persistent question as a link across the semester: how did modern architects and urbanists seek to create a better world? The
motivations behind and answers to this defining question of modernism were never consistent across our period of study. While centering
designed objects, then, we will interrogate how people have experienced modernism differently, depending on their identities, subject positions,
geographic locations, and social roles.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Goldstein.
Spring 2023. Goldstein.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 154. Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art: Honors Seminar
This honors seminar explores modern and contemporary Chinese art and visual culture, with a greater emphasis on the period between the
founding of the Republic and the end of the Cultural Revolution. Taking advantage of recent surge in scholarship on visual and material culture
from this period, the course examines key artists, movements, and landmark exhibitions, major debates and issues, and how the narrative of
modern art has developed in its domestic and global contexts. By studying works across media in tandem with primary sources including artist
writings, group manifestoes, and exhibition statements, we consider how artistic concerns engaged with the unfolding seismic sociopolitical and
economic transformations in China, as well as with an expanding art world and art market.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 180. Thesis
A 2-credit thesis normally carried out in the fall of the senior year. The topic must be submitted and approved by the instructor in charge before
the end of the junior year.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Seminars
For up-to-date information on Art History course offerings and major and minor requirements, please visit the department website.
Unless otherwise noted, the prerequisite for all seminars is two courses in art history.
ARTH 136. Word and Image in Japanese Art
This seminar explores the dialogue between text and image as manifested in visual representations of courtly culture in Japan from the 10th to
the 18th century. Through select works of courtly narrative and poetry, such as the 11th-century classic The Tale of Genji, we will examine the
complex and nuanced interactions of text, image, calligraphy, object, function, patronage, production, and consumption as shaped by the
materiality of a range of media including handscrolls, folding screens, poem sheets, illustrated and printed books, lacquerware, and fans.
Prerequisite: two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 153. Modern Architecture and Urbanism: Honors Seminar
This honors seminar examines the broad array of designed and built works, makers, sites, and texts that constitute modern architecture and
urbanism. Students will interpret the many facets of modernism through key historical readings-both primary and secondary, canonical and
revisionist; analysis of examples; and consideration of their makers, both well-known and less so. A guiding assumption is that modernism was
never only one thing and had different-even sometimes opposite-intentions, manifestations, and consequences in different contexts. Yet we will
follow one persistent question as a link across the semester: how did modern architects and urbanists seek to create a better world? The
motivations behind and answers to this defining question of modernism were never consistent across our period of study. While centering
designed objects, then, we will interrogate how people have experienced modernism differently, depending on their identities, subject positions,
geographic locations, and social roles.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Goldstein.
Spring 2023. Goldstein.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 164. Modernism in Paris and New York
This seminar focuses on "Modernism" in 19thand 20th-century art, addressing selected artists from Courbet and Manet through Degas, Gauguin,
Cézanne, Picasso, Pollock, and Rothko. Artists and readings are also chosen to illuminate current scholarly approaches to "Modernism,"
including socio-economic, feminist, and post-colonialist perspectives.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Art Courses
ARTT 019. Studio Practices in Ceramics
This class focuses on Studio practices in Ceramics: from inspiration and research to conceptualizing ideas and making models to techniques for
creating finished forms in clay, concluding with documentation of work. Studio practices in Ceramics aims to help students find and develop their
personal voice or style in the medium of clay and to create meaningful work. Thematically conceived projects will allow students to explore
problems in three-dimensional design using a broad range of references. The experience will be complimented with virtual slide presentations,
demonstrations, field trips and guest artists. There will be an introduction to the historical uses of clay with one project exploring Ceramic
History. One project will explore the intersection of Art and Social Change.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Patterson.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTT 020. Ceramics I: The Potter's Wheel
This introduction to ceramic process and aesthetics focuses on acquiring basic skills on the potter's wheel as well as an introduction to making
and applying glazes both high and low temperature. Students will also learn to operate an electric kiln. Through image presentations and
exposure to actual objects, students will learn to discuss and evaluate the aesthetic attributes of the handmade object.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Carpenter. Staff.
Fall 2022. Carpenter.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 022. Ceramics II - The Container as Architecture
This class focuses on designing and constructing container-based forms using clay as the primary medium. Using hand-building processes
including slab, coil and cast forms students will develop architecturally imagined forms. Thematically conceived projects will allow students to
explore problems in three-dimensional design using a broad range of architectural references. The experience will be complimented with slide
presentations, demonstrations and guest artists.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 025. Ceramics ll: Form and Design for the Potter
This class is for students with basic skills on the potter's wheel. Students will learn the language of design and craftsmanship in addition to
developing their throwing skills. Critique of class work and objects from the department collection will encourage students to think critically and
perceptively about objects. Both handmade and industrially produced objects will be considered. Frequent demonstrations will provide various
approaches to imagining and producing form on the wheel. As a support to studio practice, the history of craft will be introduced through
lectures and independent research projects.
Prerequisite: ARTT 020
Humanities.
Fall 2021. Carpenter.
Spring 2023. Carpenter.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 070. Advanced Studies - Ceramics
These courses are designed to usher the intermediate and advanced student into a more independent, intensive study in one or more of the fields
listed earlier. A discussion of formal issues generated at previous levels will continue, with greater critical analysis brought to bear on stylistic
and thematic direction. All students are expected to attend, throughout the semester, a given class in their chosen medium and must make sure at
the time of registration that the two class sessions will fit into their schedules. In addition to class time, students will meet with the professor for
individual conferences and critiques.
This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce
work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty
coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
STUDENTS MUST HAVE PRIOR APPROVAL OF INSTRUCTOR TO REGISTER
Note: Although this course is for full credit, a student may petition the studio faculty for 0.5 credit.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 071. Advanced Studies - Drawing
These courses are designed to usher the intermediate and advanced student into a more independent, intensive study in one or more of the fields
listed earlier. A discussion of formal issues generated at previous levels will continue, with greater critical analysis brought to bear on stylistic
and thematic direction. All students are expected to attend, throughout the semester, a given class in their chosen medium and must make sure at
the time of registration that the two class sessions will fit into their schedules. In addition to class time, students will meet with the professor for
individual conferences and critiques.
This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce
work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty
coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Note: Although this course is for full credit, a student may petition the studio faculty for 0.5 credit.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 072. Advanced Studies - Painting
These courses are designed to usher the intermediate and advanced student into a more independent, intensive study in one or more of the fields
listed earlier. A discussion of formal issues generated at previous levels will continue, with greater critical analysis brought to bear on stylistic
and thematic direction. All students are expected to attend, throughout the semester, a given class in their chosen medium and must make sure at
the time of registration that the two class sessions will fit into their schedules. In addition to class time, students will meet with the professor for
individual conferences and critiques.
This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce
work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty
coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Note: Although this course is for full credit, a student may petition the studio faculty for 0.5 credit.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 073. Advanced Studies - Photography
These courses are designed to usher the intermediate and advanced student into a more independent, intensive study in one or more of the fields
listed earlier. A discussion of formal issues generated at previous levels will continue, with greater critical analysis brought to bear on stylistic
and thematic direction. All students are expected to attend, throughout the semester, a given class in their chosen medium and must make sure at
the time of registration that the two class sessions will fit into their schedules. In addition to class time, students will meet with the professor for
individual conferences and critiques.
This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce
work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty
coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Note: Although this course is for full credit, a student may petition the studio faculty for 0.5 credit.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 074. Advanced Studies - Sculpture
These courses are designed to usher the intermediate and advanced student into a more independent, intensive study in one or more of the fields
listed earlier. A discussion of formal issues generated at previous levels will continue, with greater critical analysis brought to bear on stylistic
and thematic direction. All students are expected to attend, throughout the semester, a given class in their chosen medium and must make sure at
the time of registration that the two class sessions will fit into their schedules. In addition to class time, students will meet with the professor for
individual conferences and critiques.
This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce
work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty
coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Note: Although this course is for full credit, a student may petition the studio faculty for 0.5 credit.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 075. Advanced Studies - Architectural Drawing
These courses are designed to usher the intermediate and advanced student into a more independent, intensive study in one or more of the fields
listed earlier. A discussion of formal issues generated at previous levels will continue, with greater critical analysis brought to bear on stylistic
and thematic direction. All students are expected to attend, throughout the semester, a given class in their chosen medium and must make sure at
the time of registration that the two class sessions will fit into their schedules. In addition to class time, students will meet with the professor for
individual conferences and critiques.
This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce
work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty
coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Note: Although this course is for full credit, a student may petition the studio faculty for 0.5 credit.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 080. Advanced Studies II - Ceramics
Continuation of ARTT 070 on a more advanced level. This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio
art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and
individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 081. Advanced Studies II - Drawing
Continuation of ARTT 071 on a more advanced level. This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio
art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and
individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 082. Advanced Studies II - Painting
Continuation of ARTT 072 on a more advanced level. This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio
art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and
individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 083. Advanced Studies II - Photography
Continuation of ARTT 073 on a more advanced level. This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio
art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and
individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 084. Advanced Studies II - Sculpture
Continuation of ARTT 074 on a more advanced level. This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio
art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and
individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 085. Advanced Studies II - Architectural Drawing
Continuation of ARTT 075 on a more advanced level. This series of courses also serves as the Junior Workshop, a colloquium for junior studio
art majors in the spring semester. Students will produce work within the classes offered as Advanced Studies. Regularly scheduled group and
individual critiques with other junior majors and a faculty coordinator will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a group exhibition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 090. Senior Thesis Workshop
This course is designed to strengthen critical, theoretical, and practical skills on an advanced level. Critiques by the resident faculty members
and visiting artists as well as group critiques with all members of the workshop will guide and assess the development of the students' individual
directed practice in a chosen field. Assigned readings and scheduled discussions will initiate the writing of the thesis for the senior exhibition.
This course is required of senior art majors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Grider.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 091. Senior Thesis Workshop II
This course is designed to further strengthen critical, theoretical, and practical skills on a more advanced level. During the spring semester of the
senior art major, students will write their senior artist statement and mount an exhibition in the List Gallery of the Eugene M. and Theresa Lang
Performing Arts Center. The artist statement is a discussion of the development of the work to be exhibited. The exhibition represents the
comprehensive examination for the studio art major. Gallery exhibitions are reserved for studio art majors who have passed the senior workshop
and fulfilled all requirements, including the writing of the senior art major statement.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Grider.
Fall 2023. Grider.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 100. Painting I: Drawing into Painting
This course provides an intensive exploration of the foundational elements of drawing and painting through the practice of direct observation.
Subjects of study will include; still life, the figure, interiors, and the landscape. The development of perceptual skills and the capability to
translate visual relationships onto a two dimensional surface is central to this course. No prior painting or drawing experience is necessary.
Throughout the semester we will engage in frequent discussions addressing historical and contemporary painting problems. The purpose of these
discussions is to provide art historical context and concrete examples of the painting issues we confront in class. In addition to learning about the
formal principles of painting, the class will provide an overview of practical tool usage and techniques. An emphasis will be placed on good
studio habits, making the environment safe, clean, and productive for everyone.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Grider. Staff. Staff.
Spring 2022. Exon.
Fall 2022. Exon.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 110. Painting I: FYS
This course is open to all first year students who desire an intensive studio painting experience. The class will explore the elements and principles
of drawing and painting through the practice of working from direct observation while also covering other subjects, methods and approaches to
painting. The class will gradually transition from directed assignments to self-directed study, culminating in a final project. The class is
structured so each student will receive individual feedback and critique during the daily exercises. Group discussions and group critique of work
will be held frequently to reflect on current work.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Exon.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 120. Studio Architecture I: Turning Corners; Drawing Arch and 3-D Design
This Beaux-Arts practice of "analytique"-a drawn or sketched, tour of a building's unifying visual elements, proportional relationships, and
structural details-will be the primary mode of inquiry in this course. Taking advantage of the great number of the fine examples of historial and
contemporary architecture in this region, the class will take a series of field trips to select group of local monuments to gather visual material.
We will continue and build on the student's competency and understanding of linear perspective and free hand sketching, established in the
prerequisite, while introducing new methods in site measuring and isometric drawing. Extensive use of watercolor and gouache will also be used,
although previous experience in these techniques is not required, in order to articulate the decorative and light specific qualities of Humanitites.
Humanities.
Fall 2021. Wei.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 125. Painting II: Color and Structure
For this course, students will choose a path of study in painting with a special focus on color. The initial challenge of the course will be to
identify a visually rich subject of study that each student finds compelling. As the independent projects build through dialogue with peers and new
iterations, different approaches to using and thinking about color will be introduced. Students will be asked to share studio research, collected in
a sketchbook/journal. This collection will evolve in meaning and direction as the projects develop. We will explore ways color can be used to
create light, space, structure as well as emotional and symbolic meaning in painting. Feedback will be given in the form of individual and group
critiques to address the formal, technical and conceptual properties of color usage and other elements of the work.
Prerequisite: ARTT 100 or 110
Humanaities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Grider.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 126. Painting II: Figure Composition
This advanced level course will focus on the human figure as a means of developing a pictorial composition. This course will begin with a single
figure in the form of a portrait or figurative study. Gradually, we will combine multiple figures into larger, more complex designs. The class will
work from models on a regular basis. The students will also develop the skill of developing figures and gestures using drawing as a means of
*building* forms from their imaginations. Outside assignments will contribute to a larger painting executed in the studio, each completed on a
two week cycle. The final will be the most ambitious work combining outside assignments, and in class work sessions, for the last four weeks of
the semester (including the reading period). Weekly critique sessions will focus on the practical challenges associated with figure painting, but
the ultimate aim will be to assist each student in realizing a personal, stylistic direction and purpose in their work. Examples of figurative art
from world history and contemporary artists will be discussed. Each student will be expected to make a verbal presentation of an artist's work
whom they admire. Visits to the museums in Philadelphia, and visits by artists will be featured in the class.
Prerequisite: ARTT 100 OR 110
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Exon.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 127. Studio Architecture II: The Swarthmore Campus and 3D Design
This course applies careful study of the elements and principles of design to the context of the Swarthmore College campus. Through a series of
walks and on-campus field trips to sites, archives, and collections, we will consider our lived experiences of the built environment as well as the
history of Swarthmore's campus. Each excursion will emphasize an aspect of 3D Design, and will present an exercise to study and deepen
understanding of 3D form and space (i.e., line, plane, volume, mass, weight, texture, surface, parts-to-whole relationships). By mid-way through
the semester, the scope of course projects will expand to involve design challenges on Swarthmore's campus that involve site analysis, measuring,
drawing, and modeling. We will use both analog and digital modes of drawing and modelling. Students will be introduced to human-centered and
equity-centered community design practices through our approach to design challenges. At a few points throughout the semester, the scope of our
thinking will expand to relate course projects to broader ideas about the role place in higher education and the notion of college campuses in
American culture.
Prerequisite: ARTT 120
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 128. Studio Architecture III: Critical Studies in Architecture
This advanced level course introduces a wide range of influential historical and contemporary approaches to architectural design. Each student
will create a body of independent work developed over the course of the semester. Weekly critiques will be the primary method of feedback with
the purpose of helping each student set independent goals using their aesthetic preferences and developing their individual artistry. Readings,
film/video, and exhibition recommendations will be given on an individual basis. Students will be expected to keep a research journal to track the
development of their work and thoughts about painting in general. The class will include visits to architects studios and visits to buildings they
have designed.
Prerequisite: ARTT 127
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 130. Studio Architecture IV: Materials and Methods
This advanced level course is designed to strengthen existing critical, theoretical and practical skills related to independent architectural
practices. Regular critiques will guide and assess the development of work. In addition to the weekly meetings with the instructor, students will
be expected to hold peer-led critiques, studio visits and discussions. At the culmination of the course, students will be expected to collaborate
with their peers, the List Gallery Director and studio faculty to participate in and help mount their studio thesis exhibitions.
Prerequisite: ARTT 128
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 175. Painting III: Critical Studies in Studio
This advanced level course introduces a wide range of influential historical and contemporary approaches to painting. Each student will create a
body of independent work developed over the course of the semester. Weekly critiques will be the primary method of feedback. Readings,
film/video, and exhibition recommendations will be given on an individual basis. Students will be expected to keep a research journal to track the
development of their work and thoughts about painting in general. The class will include visits to artist's studios and various galleries.
Prerequisite: ARTT 125 or ARTT 126
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Exon.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 176. Painting III: Studio Materials and Methods
This advanced level course is designed to give a broad, practical introduction to various painting media and tools while simultaneously
addressing the individual technical needs of each student. An abbreviated history of painting mediums, significant changes to the processes and
practices, as well as specific tools and applicable techniques will be covered. The materials and methods introduced over the semester will be
decided by the class but could include: fresco, egg tempera, oil, distemper, gouache, watercolor, and acrylic. The class will be structured around
lab-like demonstrations, assigned readings, critiques and visits to artist's studios and pigment/paint producers.
Prerequisite: ARTT 125 or ARTT 126
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Grider.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 200. Painting IV: Independent Thesis Project
This advanced level course is designed to strengthen existing critical, theoretical and practical skills related to independent painting practices.
Regular critiques will guide and assess the development of work. In addition to the weekly meetings with the instructor, students will be expected
to hold peer-led critiques, studio visits and discussions. At the culmination of the course, students will be expected to collaborate with their peers,
the List Gallery Director and studio faculty to participate in and help mount their studio thesis exhibitions.
Prerequisite: Four Credits in Painting
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 210. Studio Architecture: Independent Thesis Project
This advanced level course is designed to strengthen existing critical, theoretical and practical skills related to independent architectural
practices. Regular critiques will guide and assess the development of work. In addition to the weekly meetings with the instructor, students will
be expected to hold peer-led critiques, studio visits and discussions. At the culmination of the course, students will be expected to collaborate
with their peers, the List Gallery Director and studio faculty to participate in and help mount their studio thesis exhibitions.
Prerequisite: Four Studio Arch. Classes
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Exon.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 225. Sculpture I: Form, Material, Process
This course serves as an introduction to the foundational materials, techniques, and concepts associated with sculpture. Sculpture I emphasizes
the development of skills in wood, steel, and introductory mold-making/casting techniques through a series of hands-on demos and exercises that
culminate in creative studio projects. This class also foregrounds creative process, introducing students to the expression of sculptural ideas
through iterative studio practice. Each major course project will involve brainstorming, drafting, mocking-up, working, and re-working
sculptural objects. We will approach form-making as a language in and of itself, one which demands 3D thinking and making and the
development of hands-on, embodied knowledge. Sculpture I prepares students to move onto a variety of Sculpture II courses, where individual
concepts and technical skills can be further honed and applied to specific topics in contemporary sculpture. While emphasis falls on introductory
techniques in wood, metal, and casting, we will engage a spectrum of finding and making. Students will often be invited to incorporate everyday
materials and found objects in relationship to foundational sculptural concepts. Studio projects will be complemented by field trips, visiting
artists, readings, films, and slide presentations, all aimed at developing diverse, nuanced contexts for contemporary sculpture.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Joyner.
Spring 2022. Joyner.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 240. Sculpture II: Installation Art
Installation Art is a studio-based inquiry into the fundamental concepts, visual elements, critical language, and fabrication processes relevant to
the creation of contemporary installations. Installation Art is a porous term used to describe mixed-media artworks designed for a specific space
or for a temporary amount of time. Installation has been a prevalent mode of expression within contemporary art since the 1960s, and today is
more often a strategy for articulating a particular set of ideas than an all-encompassing genre. Throughout the course, students will explore how
they might respond to aspects of their physical surroundings and the built environment through installation. This course will begin with a series
of studies, in which students practice their capacity to think both spatially and temporally-- beyond the making of discrete objects. These initial
studies will each trace a specific line of thinking and making within installation practices, such as spatial drawing, light and space, and video
projection, and will build towards an expanded installation made by students on campus. The culminating course project will be a mock open call
in which the class works in small groups to propose a sculptural installation for a specific local context (i.e., a nearby museum, a public space,
etc.).
Prerequisite: ARTT 225 or ARTT 120
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 245. Sculpture II: Meaning and Materiality
From pandemic toilet paper hysteria to Tesla's cars of the future, we shape material culture and it, in turn, shapes us. As such, this course
explores materiality as being central to the human experience, and a primary concern in contemporary sculpture. We will ask: how might
materiality drive form and content in works of art? We will consider family histories, vernacular traditions, mass manufacturing, and consumer
culture as ways in which materiality intersects with and shapes lived experience. We will ask what things are made of, and what impact they have
on the environment. Critical to our exploration will be a consideration of what to make sculpture out of now, in an era defined by ecological
precarity and climate change. Studio projects will emphasize material experimentation, process, and iteration. Advanced mold-making and
casting techniques will be covered. The class will likely work with Recycled Artist in Residence (RAIR) in Philadelphia or an alternative
community-based art organization for the culminating course project.
Prerequisite: ARTT 225 or ARTT 120
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 250. Sculpture II: Sculpture and the Environment
This class is an introduction to site-specific sculpture, it's context, history and problems.
Prerequisite: ARTT 225 or ARTT 120
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 255. Sculpture III: Independent Thesis Project
This course is designed for students interested in emphasizing sculpture as their art major.
Prerequisite: Four Credits in Sculpture
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 300. Photography I: Foundations in Photography
The purpose of this class is to introduce students to film-based photography as the primary image-making medium. Students will learn how to
develop negatives in the darkroom, scan, and process the image with industry-standard software, then output to a digital printer. In the class, we
will discuss design principles that will help students develop a personal vision for their work and explore creative ways of thinking and talking
about photography. We will travel to various places off-campus to take pictures. Guest speakers and weekly research presentations on
historically significant photographers will round out the experience.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Tarver. Cooper.
Fall 2022. Tarver. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 310. Photography II: The Long Term Project
This class will offer an understanding of digital photography. The fundamentals of composition, the process of seeing, and lighting will constitute
much of the discussion. Images will be processed using Adobe Lightroom. Students will learn workflows to create high-quality color images
output to a professional level Epson color inkjet printer. In addition to the technical aspects of digital photography, this class's main objective is
to help students develop a deeper and more personal vision for their work.
Prerequisite: ARTT 300 or Professor Approval
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Tarver.
Spring 2023. Tarver.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 320. Photo III: Long Term Project
What is required to create a long-term photographic project? This course will focus on assembling images into a visual narrative in the
documentary tradition. Students will be guided through the various stages of a documentary project, from its history, equipment, and research
decisions, to strategies for sharing work with the broader community. Individual and class critiques will provide guidance through the process.
Examples of successful projects will be shared.
Prerequisite: ARTT 310 or Professor Approval
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Tarver.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 330. Photo III: Alternative Processes
It could be argued that photography is dependent on technology and processes more than any other art form. In this class, we will investigate an
assortment of methods and materials, which may not reflect traditional photography, but maintain the medium at its core. Assignments are
designed to increase understanding of the various techniques artists have exploited the medium, including 19th-century cyanotype, Vandyke
processes, and physical construction to create objects to photograph.
Prerequisite: ARTT 300 or 310 or Professor Approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Tarver.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 340. Document: History and Practice of Photography
This course combines the history and hands-on making of photography for an integrated exploration of this medium as a form of visual
documentation. It examines the uses and abuses of photogrpahy from the late nineteenth century to the present to focus on techniques and
practices that challenge photography's documentary authority. With its unique combination of lectures, reading discussions, demonstrations,
hands-on image making, and critiques along with guest speaker sessions, this course will provide students with a robust set of crticial and
practical tools and perspectives for thinking about how the photographic image profoundly shapes our understanding of the world.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 350. Photography IV: Independent Thesis Project
This course is designed for Seniors interested in emphasizing photography as their art major.
Prerequisite: Four Credits in Photography or Professor Approval
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Tarver.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 800. Capstone: Interpreting Narrative through Creation with Clay and Language
INTP 091 and LING 091
This is a course using creative arts to bring into focus questions about the fundamental nature of narrative, about the analogies between different
types of creative arts, and even about what a creative art is. Students will create narratives and realize them through the media of clay and
language. Students will learn the basics of constructing with clay to create representations in shape and form in relation to their own linguistic
narrations.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Carpenter. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 810. Ceramics IV: Independent Thesis Project
This course is designed for students interested in emphasizing ceramics as their art major.
Prerequisite: Four Credits in Ceramics
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTT 815. Design for the Potter
Basic throwing skills are required for this exploration of form and design originating from wheel thrown forms. Students will focus on expanding
their vocabulary of shapes ultimately developing a personalized series. In pursuit of form, students will research both contemporary and
historical examples that may serve to stimulate ideas. To augment their technical development, students will develop a palette of glazes which
may be fired in either the gas, wood or oxidation kilns.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Carpenter.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Art History Goals for Student Learning
1. Students will broaden their perspectives and ways of thinking through the study of a variety of works of art and architecture produced in
different cultures and at different times.
2. Through carefully looking at works of art and architecture students will learn to dedicate the patient, sustained effort necessary to come to an
understanding of an object on its own terms.
3. Through the study of works of art and architecture students will learn to move beyond subjective response to develop an informed
understanding of something outside their knowledge and experience.
4. Through visual analysis students will be able to comprehend and articulate the logic of the formal, spatial, material, and technical elements of
a work of art or architecture.
5. Through contextual analysis students will know how to develop an interpretative project by:
● Critically assessing the art historical literature
● Identifying the subject of the work of art and exploring its meanings
● Situating the work in its context of production and reception
6. Students will be able to place works of art and architecture within the history of art.
Asian Studies
Coordinator:
TYRENE WHITE, Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Farid Azfar (History)
Pallabi Chakravorty (Music and Dance)
BuYun Chen (History)
K. David Harrison (Linguistics)
William Gardner (Modern Languages and Literatures, Japanese)
Steven Hopkins (Religion)
3
Yoshiko Jo (Lecturer, Modern Languages and Literatures, Japanese)
Wol A Kang (Lecturer, Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Haili Kong (Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Gerald Levinson (Music and Dance)
Bakirathi Mani (English Literature)
Lei X. Ouyang (Music and Dance)
Benjamin Ridgway (Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Tomoko Sakomura (Art History)
Joe Small (Music and Dance)
Kirsten Spiedel (Lecturer, Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Atsuko Suda (Lecturer, Modern Languages and Literatures, Japanese)
Jonathan Washington (Linguistics)
Tyrene White (Political Science)
3
Absent on leave, 2021-22 Academic Year
Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary program that introduces students to the critical and methodological approaches that have informed the study
of Asia. As one of the largest interdisciplinary programs at Swarthmore, Asian Studies trains students in the study of diverse texts, images,
performances, bodies of knowledge and cultural practices across geographic and temporal boundaries. Students are encouraged to engage in a
rigorous examination of the political, economic, social, environmental, and religious formations of the myriad societies that have constituted
Asia. Asian Studies aims to provide students with a depth of knowledge and multiple critical perspectives with which to understand how these
diverse locales have been and continue to be interwoven with the global.
The Academic Program
The Asian Studies Program offers a major and a minor in course and honors. Students who declare a major in Asian studies construct
individualized programs of study, with a focus on a comparative theme or on a particular country or region. Some examples of comparative
themes are classical traditions in Asian literature and art, Buddhist studies, Asian nationalisms and the emergence of nation-states, and the
political economy of Asian development. In all cases, the core of the major involves exposure to multiple regions and multiple disciplines.
Students interested in Asian studies are urged to consult the Asian studies website for up-to-date information on courses and campus events.
Students should meet with the program chair in advance of preparing a Sophomore Plan. Advance planning is especially important for students
contemplating the Honors Program and those planning to study abroad.
Learning Goals
1. Interdisciplinary breadth. The student must have mastered more than one academic discipline, to be able to speak to issues/ themes of
their research on topics rooted in Asian traditions/regions from more than one disciplinary perspective;
2. Comparative Scope. The student must know in some depth more than one region in Asia; though they may focus, for instance,
primarily on studies in Chinese traditions, pre-modern or modern, the student must also be able to think comparatively, and engage
with more than one Asian tradition in regard to the topics/ themes that are central to their main region-specific research;
3. Depth of Knowledge in One Tradition. If the student's research project is fundamentally trans-national or trans-regional, they should
know at least one Asian tradition with depth and detail, including knowledge of language (see below);
4. The Past, the Present, and the Future. The student should be aware of modern/contemporary or pre-modern formations (depending
upon the student's scholarly focus) within the Asian traditions they study, with the idea that one cannot never really understand the
present without more than cursory knowledge of the past, and also that one cannot study the past without a scholarly awareness of the
present forms of political, economic, social, environmental, or religious formations at the center of a student's project in Asian
Studies;
5. Languages and Language Study. The student majoring in Asian Studies should demonstrate advanced knowledge of at least one Asian
language central to the region/tradition that is the focus of their academic work.
Course Major
Asian studies invites students to make connections among courses that differ widely in content and method. When considering applicants to the
major, the Asian Studies Committee looks for evidence of intellectual flexibility and independence. Students must have completed at least two
Asia-related courses in different departments with grades of B or better to be accepted into the major.
The major in Asian studies consists of a minimum of ten (10) credits, with requirements and distribution as follows:
1. Geographic breadth. Coursework must include more than one of the following regions of Asia: (East, South, Central, Northeast, Southeast,
and study of Asian diasporas). This requirement can be fulfilled by taking at least two courses that are pan-Asian or comparative in scope or by
taking at least one course on a country or region that is not the principal focus of a student's program.
2. Disciplinary breadth. Courses must be taken in at least three different departments.
3. Temporal breadth. At least one course focusing on the Premodern or Early Modern (before 1900) Eras, and at least one course on the Modern
(after 1900) Era must be completed. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking at least two courses that examine substantial material on both the
Premodern/Early Modern and Modern Eras.
4. Intermediate and advanced work. A minimum of 5 credits must be completed at the intermediate or advanced level in at least two departments.
5. Asian language study. At least one year of college-level study of an Asian language or its equivalent in intensive summer coursework is
required of all majors. Up to four credits of Asian language study may be applied to the major. Advanced topical courses taught in the original
language are not subject to the four credit limit. Students wishing to study an Asian language not offered at Swarthmore are encouraged to fulfill
this requirement through study abroad, intensive summer study, approved coursework at neighboring institutions (tri-co, University of
Pennsylvania), etc. The language requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Asian Studies coordinator in cases of advanced oral and
written proficiency in an Asian language relevant to a student's area of geographic focus.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
Thesis / Culminating Exercise. Students in the Asian studies course major have a choice of culminating exercises.
Thesis option. A 1- or 2-credit thesis, followed by an oral examination. A thesis must be supervised by a member of the Asian studies faculty.
Students normally enroll for the thesis, ASIA 096, in the fall semester of the senior year.
Qualifying papers option. Students revise and expand two papers they have written for Asian studies courses in consultation with Asian studies
faculty members.
Honors seminar option. Students take a 2-credit honors seminar in an Asian studies topic in either their junior or senior year. (Note: A two-
course combination or a course plus attachment will not satisfy this requirement.)
Course Minor
Students will be admitted to the minor after having completed at least two Asian studies courses in different departments with grades of B or
better. The Asian studies minor in course consists of five courses, distributed as follows:
1. Geographic breadth. Coursework must cover more than one region of Asia. This can be accomplished by taking at least two courses that are
pan-Asian or comparative in scope or by taking at least one full course on a country that is not the principal focus of a student's program.
2. Disciplinary breadth. Asia-related courses must be taken in at least two departments outside of the disciplinary major. Only one course may
overlap the Asian studies minor and the disciplinary major.
3. Temporal breadth. At least one course focusing on the Premodern or Early Modern (before 1900) Eras, and at least one course on the Modern
(after 1900) Era must be completed. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking at least two courses that examine substantial material on both the
Premodern/Early Modern and Modern Eras.
4. Intermediate or advanced work. At least 2 credits of work must be completed at the intermediate or advanced level.
5. Asian language study. Asian-language study is not required but is strongly recommended. Up to two credits in Asian language study may be
applied toward the course minor. For languages offered at Swarthmore (Chinese and Japanese), courses above the first-year level may count
toward the minor. For Asian languages not offered at Swarthmore, courses at the entry level may count toward the minor if at least the
equivalent of 1.5 credits is earned in an approved program.
Honors Major
To be admitted to the honors major, students should have completed at least two Asian studies courses in different departments with grades of B+
or better.
The honors major in Asian studies consists of a minimum of ten (10) credits (including four honors preparations). The four preparations in an
Honors Program must be drawn from at least two different disciplines.
1. Geographic, disciplinary, and temporal breadth requirements. These are the same as those for the course major (see above)
2. Asian language study. This requirement is the same as for the course major (see above).
3. Asian studies as an interdisciplinary major. All four fields for external examination must be Asian studies subjects. One of the fields may also
count toward an honors minor in a department. The four preparations must be drawn from at least two different disciplines.
4. Grade-point average requirement. A student must earn at least a B+ in all courses applied to the honors major.
Honors Minor
To be admitted to the honors minor, students should have completed at least two Asian studies courses in different departments with a grade of
B+ or above.
An honors minor in Asian studies consists of a minimum of 5 credits, distributed as follows:
1. Geographic breadth. There are two tracks within the minor:
a. Comparative Asian cultures: The selection of courses and the honors preparation should offer a comparative perspective
on the traditional or modern cultures of Asia. Individual programs should be worked out in close consultation with the
Asian studies coordinator. (Language study does not count toward this track.)
b. Focus on a single country or region: All courses in the program should focus on the same region or country. One or 2
credits of language study may be included.
2. Disciplinary breadth. Asia-related courses must be taken in at least two departments outside of the disciplinary honors major. Only
one course may overlap the honors minor and the disciplinary honors major
3. Temporal breadth. At least one course focusing on the Premodern or Early Modern (before 1900) Eras, and at least one course on the
Modern (after 1900) Era must be completed. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking at least two courses that examine substantial
material on both the Premodern/Early Modern and Modern Eras.
4. Asian language study. Asian language study is not required, but courses in Asian languages may count toward the honors minor. Up
to 2 credits of Asian language study may be applied to the honors minor. For languages offered at Swarthmore (Chinese and
Japanese), courses above the second-year level count toward the minor. For Asian languages not offered at Swarthmore, courses at
the entry level may be counted if the equivalent of 1.5 credits is earned in an approved program.
5. Honors preparation. One preparation, normally a two-credit seminar, will be submitted for external examination.
6. Senior Honors Seminar for minors. The student will fulfill the requirements set for honors minors by the department offering the
honors preparation.
7. Grade-point average requirement. A student must earn at least a B+ in all courses applied to the honors major.
Fellowship and Grant Opportunities for Students
The Alice L. Crossley Prize in Asian Studies is awarded annually to the student or students who submit the best essay(s) on any topic in Asian or
Asian American Studies.
The Genevieve Ching-wen Lee '96 Memorial Fund supports a lecture each year in Asian American studies. This fund also supports an annual
competition for summer research support for projects related to Asian studies or Asian American studies.
The Penelope Mason '57 Memorial Fund for Asian Studies is available to support Asian studies related projects proposed by students, faculty
members, or both.
Off-Campus Study
Students with majors in Asian studies are strongly encouraged to undertake a period of study in Asia. The Asian studies faculty can recommend
academically rigorous programs in several Asian countries. Study abroad is the ideal arena for intensive language study. Courses taken abroad
may be applied toward the major, subject to the approval of the Asian studies coordinator. However, at least half of the credits in a student's
Asian studies major or minor should be earned at Swarthmore.
Life After Swarthmore
Students with a background in Asian studies have pursued a number of paths after graduation. Some have gone abroad to continue their studies,
do research, or work in humanitarian or social service organizations. Others have gone directly to graduate school. Many eventually become
teachers or professors. Others work in the arts, journalism, international law, business, finance, in the diplomatic corps, or in non-governmental
organizations. Other Asian studies graduates pursue careers not directly related to Asia, in medicine or law, for example. All consider Asian
studies to have been an important part of their liberal arts education.
Asian Studies Courses
Courses in the Asian Studies Program are listed below. Courses of independent study, special attachments on subjects relevant to Asian Studies,
and courses offered by visiting faculty that are not regularly listed in the catalog may also qualify for credit in the program, subject to the
approval of the Asian Studies Committee. Students who wish to pursue these possibilities should consult with the Asian Studies chair.
(See descriptions in individual departments to determine offerings for each semester.)
Art (Art History)
ARTH 001L. First-Year Seminar: From Handscrolls to Comic Books: Pictorial Narratives in Japan
Through examination of select pictorial narratives produced in Japan between the 12th century and the present, this first-year seminar
introduces students to the basics of art historical research and analysis. We will look at the ways in which handscrolls, folding screens, and
(comic) books employ image and text in addressing subjects such as romances, miracles, battles, and fantasies, and consider the roles and
functions performed by pictorial narratives in society.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 003. Asian Art: Past and Present
This course provides a thematic introduction to the arts of India, China, Korea, and Japan from prehistoric times to the present. Through
explorations of select works of calligraphy, painting, prints, ceramics, sculpture, and architecture, this course aims to familiarize students with
artistic vocabularies and conventions, sociocultural contexts of production and consumption, and tools of art historical analysis. Particular focus
will be given to the interrelationships between art, religion, philosophy, and literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Lee.
Spring 2023. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 001G. First Year Seminar: Brought to Life: The Art of Animation in East Asia
To bring an image to life is an undying fantasy. In this discussion-based seminar, we explore the art of enlivenment in East Asia, beginning with
early accounts of inanimate objects coming to life, from bronze sculptures of the Buddha walking off of their pedestals in medieval China, deities
captured in paintings animated by shamans in Korea, to abandoned furniture and kitchen utensils banding together to seek vengeance on their
owners in Japan. Imbued with movement, lifelike dolls, puppets and automata also take on a life of their own, and static images like those painted
on a handscroll move to tell riveting stories. We trace this development of moving images into the twentieth century by examining the early
history of animation in China and Japan, the emergence of anime and its media culture, and the use of animation in avant-garde art and cinema.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Lee.
Spring 2024. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 028. Replication in Chinese Art
The making of duplicates informs a long tradition of artistic productions in China. This course explores diverse modes and technologies of
reproduction, bringing into focus the function and cultural value of the copy in the history of Chinese art and visual culture. Through case studies
of replications of painting, calligraphy, sculpture, film, architecture, ritual and religious art, we will consider a range of motivations for making
copies that often became something more than just mindless imitation, serving as integral components of an artist's training, as acts of piety, as
forms of preservation and documentation, as agents of dissemination, and as homage to artists and calligraphers of the past. As we study
multiples made from the Bronze Age to contemporary China, we will pay close attention to the different processes of reproduction, examining
how technique and material shape not only the duplicate produced but also the varied perception of the practice of copying.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Lee.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 030. Brought to Life: The Art of Animation in East Asia
To bring an image to life is an undying fantasy, one that predates anime and computer-animated films. This course takes as its focus the art of
enlivenment in East Asia. It explores the idea of animation through a range of topics spanning across time, media, and contexts, including: the
production of remarkably life-like images, such as ikiningyo ("living doll") in Japan; activation and enlivenment of Buddhist icons; theories on
the criteria of "spirit resonance" in Chinese paintings; pictorial formats and optical devices that set static pictures into motion; animated films
from Korea, China, and Japan; and the use of animation in experimental and contemporary art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 036. Modern Architecture in Japan: Culture, Place, Tectonics
This course explores the diversity of forms and meanings that architecture took on in Japan since its industrialization in the 19th century. With
that focus, it opens up more general questions on the capacity of construction, structure, materials and their assembly to express cultural,
aesthetic, environmental and social concerns. It begins by introducing the context of traditional architecture that served as a foundation for the
emergence of modern architecture, and continues to discuss the work and words of architects who demonstrated salient topics in architecture in
the 20th and 21st centuries in Japan.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Art
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 037. Modern & Contemporary Chinese Art
This course explores Chinese art and visual culture from the late nineteenth century to the present. It surveys key artists, movements, landmark
exhibitions, major debates and issues to trace the contours of the modern and contemporary art scene, focusing on intercultural encounters
beginning from the era of international treaty ports to contemporary global art circuit. By studying works across media in tandem with primary
sources including artist writings, group manifestoes, and exhibition statements, we consider how artistic concerns engaged with the unfolding
seismic sociopolitical and economic transformations in China, as well as with an expanding art world and art market.
Option: Honors Attachment
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Fall 2021. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-art-history
ARTH 136. Word and Image in Japanese Art
This seminar explores the dialogue between text and image as manifested in visual representations of courtly culture in Japan from the 10th to
the 18th century. Through select works of courtly narrative and poetry, such as the 11th-century classic The Tale of Genji, we will examine the
complex and nuanced interactions of text, image, calligraphy, object, function, patronage, production, and consumption as shaped by the
materiality of a range of media including handscrolls, folding screens, poem sheets, illustrated and printed books, lacquerware, and fans.
Prerequisite: two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Asian Studies
ASIA 015. Introduction to East Asian Humanities
(Cross-listed as CHIN 015, LITR 015CH)
This course is a survey of East Asian literatures and cultural histories from antiquity to around 1800. The primary purpose is to provide students
with a basic literacy in East Asian cultures and literatures with substantive emphasis on topics common across East Asia, such as the classical
traditions and cosmology, the Chinese script, Buddhism, the civil service examination, folklore, theater, literature, and medicine. This course is a
colloquium designed to meet the needs of students just beginning their study of China, Japan and Korea, who would like to explore the region
broadly; and those who have already done substantial study of China or Japan and welcome the chance to situate it within the larger context of
traditional East Asia. This course will provide students with information and approaches to analyze primary sources in translation through
assigned postings and short writing assignments.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Asian Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/asian-studies
ASIA 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Asian Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/asian-studies
ASIA 096. Thesis
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Asian Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/asian-studies
ASIA 180. Honors Thesis
Writing course.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Asian Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/asian-studies
Chinese
CHIN 003. Second-Year Mandarin Chinese
Designed for students who have mastered basic grammar and 350 to 400 characters. Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading
in the modern language. Emphasis is on rapid expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and thorough understanding of grammatical
patterns. Prepares students for advanced study at the College and in China.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Li, Wen.
Fall 2022. Li, Wen.
Fall 2023. Li, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 004. Second-Year Mandarin Chinese
Designed for students who have mastered basic grammar and 350 to 400 characters. Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading
in the modern language. Emphasis is on rapid expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and thorough understanding of grammatical
patterns. Prepares students for advanced study at the College and in China.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Li, Wen.
Spring 2023. Li, Wen.
Spring 2024. Li, Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 007. Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy
(Cross-listed as JPNS 007)
Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting. This course will introduce students to the importance of calligraphy in East Asian Culture. In
addition to being a valuable cultural skill, calligraphy is also a process of self-cultivation and self-expression, which reflects the mind-set of the
writer. Thus, students will have the opportunity to learn Chinese/Japanese characters not only as linguistic symbols but also as cultural emblems
and as an art form. Course objectives include learning to appreciate the beauty of Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, experiencing calligraphy by
writing with a brush and ink, and studying various philosophies of calligraphy. In addition to learning several different calligraphic scripts,
students will be introduced to the origin, evolution, and aesthetic principles of the Chinese and Japanese writing systems, as well as calligraphy's
close connections with painting and poetry. Persistent hands-on practice will be required of all students; course work will include in-class
practice, individual/group instruction, reading assignments, and take-home assignments. This class is open to all students and has no language
requirement. Due to the course's practicum component, enrollment will be limited by lottery to 10 students.
The course can be repeated for credit.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 008. First-Year Seminar: Literary and Cinematic Presentation of Modern China
(Cross-listed as LITR 008CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 011. Third-Year Chinese
Concentrates on strengthening and further developing skills in reading, speaking, and writing modern Chinese, through a diversity of materials
and media.
Classes are conducted in Chinese, with precise translation also a component.
Prerequisite: CHIN 004 or equivalent language skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Ridgway.
Fall 2022. Ridgway.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 011A. Third-Year Chinese Conversation
This course meets once a week for 75 minutes and concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through multimedia
materials (including selected movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and
prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in
Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN 004 or equivalent language skills.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Wen.
Fall 2022. Wen.
Fall 2023. Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 012. Advanced Chinese
A multimedia course concentrating on greatly expanding skills in understanding and using modern Chinese in a broad variety of cultural and
literary contexts, through a diversity of authentic materials in various media, including the Internet.
Prerequisite: CHIN 011 or equivalent language skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Li.
Spring 2023. Li.
Spring 2024. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 012A. Advanced Chinese Conversation
This 0.5-credit course meets once a week for 75 minutes and concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through
multimedia materials (including movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and
prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in
Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN 011 and/or CHIN 011A or equivalent language skills.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Wen.
Spring 2023. Wen.
Spring 2024. Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 020. Readings in Modern Chinese
This course aims to perfect the student's Mandarin Chinese skills and at the same time to introduce a few major topics concerning Chinese
literature and other types of writing since the May Fourth Movement. All readings, writing, and discussion are in Chinese.
Prerequisite: Three years of Chinese or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Fall 2022. Kong.
Fall 2023. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 020A. Chinese Business Conversation
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/Chinese
CHIN 021. Reading and Writing in Modern Chinese
Reading and examination of individual authors, selected themes, genres, and periods, for students with strong Chinese-language proficiency. All
readings, writings, and discussions are in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN 020 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Kong.
Spring 2023. Kong.
Spring 2024. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 023. Modern Chinese Literature: A New Novelistic Discourse (1918-1948)
(Cross-listed as LITR 023CH)
Modern Chinese literary texts created between 1918 and 1948, presenting a series of political, social, cultural, and ideological dilemmas
underlying 20th-century Chinese history. The class will discuss fundamental issues of modernity and new literary developments under the impact
of the May Fourth Movement. All texts are in English translation, and the class is conducted in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 024. History of Chinese Literature: Fiction and Drama
(Cross-listed as LITR 024CH)
This course surveys major narrative and genres, forms and works from the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) through the early twentieth century with an
emphasis on fiction and drama. Readings consist of both primary texts in English translation and secondary critical works. Issues to be
emphasized include print history and format (including illustration), performance context, the relationship between oral and written, vernacular
and classical storytelling, the invention of Chinese literary history as a discipline in the Republican period.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 025. Contemporary Chinese Fiction: Mirror of Social Change (1949-2005)
(Cross-listed as LITR 025CH)
The purpose of this course is to introduce to students some fundamental questions underlying contemporary Chinese history through examining
literary narratives created from Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong since 1949, mainly those written between the mid-1980s and the 1990s. The
selected stories and novels, the most representative and provocative, articulate the historical specificity of ideological dilemma and cultural
dynamics, in the imaginary process of dealing with love, politics, sex, morality, economic reform, and feminist issues. Through our textual
analysis and discussion, the students will have a better understanding of contemporary Chinese society as well as new developments in
literature. All lectures and discussions will be conducted in English, and all readings are in English translation, and no previous preparation in
Chinese is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 027. Nature and the Non-Human in Classical Chinese Tales of the Strange
(Cross-listed as LITR 027CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese
(Cross-listed as LING 033)
This is an introductory course on reading one of the world's great classical languages. Classical Chinese includes both the language of China's
classical literature as well as the literary language used for writing in China for well over 2 millennia until earlier this century. Complemented
with readings in English about Chinese characters and classical Chinese, this course imparts the principal structures of the classical language
through an analytical presentation of the rudiments of the language and close reading of original texts. It is not a lecture course and requires
active, regular participation on the part of the student, with precise translation into English an integral component. The course is conducted in
English. The course is open to all interested students and has no prerequisites; no previous preparation in Chinese is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Spring 2023. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 036. Women's Literature in Premodern China
(Cross-listed as LITR 036CH)
Contrary to our stereotypes about the silent, invisible woman of premodern China, women actually wrote and published their work in
unprecedented numbers from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. This course will explore the literary and historical significance of
this output, which mainly took the form of poetry and prefaces to poetry collections, letters, some drama, and novels in verse, and which was
produced primarily by gentry women (e.g. women from elite families), courtesans, and nuns. A central theme will be the place and problem of
women's poetry in a male-dominated literary tradition and society. Topics to be addressed include the social function of poetry and women's
literary networks, women's relationship to the publishing market as writers, editors, and readers, the forces driving male interest in women's
writing at certain historical moments, and the changing ideas about what kinds of styles of past poets should be offered to boudoir poets as a
repertoire of available choices to read and imitate.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 037. Text and Image: Classical Chinese Poetry and Painting
(Cross-listed as LITR 037CH)
Combining some of the greatest works of Chinese poetry with approaches and visual materials from the history of Chinese landscape painting, in
this course we will examine the changing use of landscape as a medium to express different philosophical and social meanings by competing
social groups across historical periods from early times to the 13th century. In the first half of this course, we will see how natural landscape in
poetry became a medium for conveying a range different ideals and problems: official service and reclusion in the countryside, Daoist liberation
and Buddhist enlightenment, the sorrows of war on the frontier or travel into exile. In the second half of this course, we then apply our
knowledge of Chinese poetry to interpreting a series of paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1279). This period is the golden age of Chinese
landscape painting. It saw the emergence of literati-painters who, much like the great painters of the Renaissance, argued that painting
possessed the same expressive power as poetry. We will explore the ways they employed painting to comment on an unprecedented range of
issues, including government affairs, the role of women in society, the relation of private to public life, as well as the experience of dynastic
collapse and war.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 052. Chinese Opera and Performing Art
(Cross-listed as LITR 052CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 055. Contemporary Chinese Cinema: The New Waves (1984-2005)
(Cross-listed as LITR 055CH, FMST 055)
Cinema has become a special form of cultural mirror representing social dynamics and drastic changes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan since the mid-1980s. The course will develop a better understanding of changing Chinese culture by analyzing cinematic texts and the
new wave in the era of globalization. All films are English subtitled, and the class is conducted in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 065. Peking Opera and Globalization
(Cross-listed as LITR 065CH)
By using cultural globalization as an explanatory framework built on the foundation of historical studies, this course enables students to conduct
critical and interdisciplinary analysis of Peking opera, a living theatrical tradition commonly considered to be the "national theater" of China.
The central question we ask is: How have the cultural dimensions of globalization-transnational flows of technology, media, and popular culture-
intensified Peking opera's connection to urban culture, archival digitalization, visual arts, politics of style, Chinese nationalist ideology and
intercultural influences in America? Students not only engage with scholarly literature that cuts across different disciplines and
genres (including theater anthropology, cultural history, cinema, music, literature, and art history), but also are introduced to a rich body of
sources, ranging from photographs to opera films and documentaries. They have the opportunity to learn some basics of singing and movement
and conduct field trips to study with Peking opera troupes in the Chinese community in Philadelphia.
No previous knowledge of Chinese literature or culture is required. All texts are provided in English translation.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 086. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as LITR 086CG, ENVS 052)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerable food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more ecologically
friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more traditional diets and
redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR and US food
conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class (Environmental
Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Recommended: some knowledge of Chinese culture or language
Prerequisite: The course has no prerequisite; some knowledge of Chinese culture or language is preferred but not required.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 087. Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.
(Cross-listed as POLS 087, ENVS 037)
Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21
st
century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing
and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users,
between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh
water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution;
groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management;
wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. What role do governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs and grassroots
citizens' movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management.
Chinese language ability desirable but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 088. Governance and Environmental Issues in China
(Cross-listed as POLS 088A )
This course examines China's environmental challenges and the range of governmental policies and institutions that have an impact on those
challenges. Topics include air pollution, food supply, energy consumption, urbanization, and environmental activism. Special attention will be
given to the transformation of Beijing and other major cities, to China's policy-making process, and the role of environmental NGOs and global
institutions in shaping domestic policy outcomes. Literary works (Chinese novels and short stories) and feature films/documentary films
reflecting environmental issues will be combined with readings from social science and environmental science to provide an interdisciplinary
perspective
All required readings/screenings are in English or English translation/subtitled. Chinese language ability is preferred, but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 089. Tea in China: Cultural and Environmental Perspectives.
Tea is a longstanding and vital constituent of Chinese culture, and also has had a marked and pervasive presence in other parts of the world.
This course will focus on "Tea in China" through three major aspects: the cultural, social, and historical; tea cultivation and the natural
environment; and the economies of tea. Literary writings and films will be combined with other relevant readings and audio-visual materials for
the class. Tea experts and professionals will offer guest lectures to enhance our understanding of tea from bio-ecological and botanical
perspectives. As a component of this interdisciplinary cultural course, students will have the chance to participate in"sipping culture," and will
taste major kinds of tea from Mainland China and Taiwan during the semester.
All required readings/screenings are in English or English translation/subtitled. Chinese language ability will be an asset, but it is not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 090. Practicum in Bridging Swarthmore and Local Chinese Communities
This is a service-learning course. Students are required to provide community service to our neighboring immigrant community-Philadelphia's
Chinatown-through an internship with a NPO in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Asian American diaspora and their social issues in
the context of contemporary global migration. Besides the mandatory community-based service (a minimum of 3 hours per week, excluding
transportation time), students will also read academic literature, keep an internship journal and write reflection papers to integrate their
learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. The outcome project for this course is to build a digital archive to document the
community, individual immigrants and residents, social activities and changes around Philadelphia's Chinatown. The working language in the
local NPO office is English, but knowledge of Mandarin or regional dialects is a plus for working with the Chinese American community.
Graded CR/NC.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 099. Senior Colloquium
0.5 - 1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Kong.
Spring 2023. Li.
Spring 2024. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 103. Lu Xun and His Legacy in 20th- Century China
This seminar is focused on topics concerning modernity, political/social change, gender, and morality through close examination of intellectuals'
responses to the chaotic era reflected in their literature writings in 20th-century China. Literary forms, styles, and changing aesthetic principles
are also included for discussion. Literary texts, chosen from Lu Xun to Gao Xingjian, will be analyzed in a social and historical context. All texts
are in English translation, and the seminar is conducted in English.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2023. Kong.
Spring 2024. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 108. The Remaking of Cinematic China: Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee
The seminar focuses on three leading filmmakers, Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee, and their cinematic products, which have not only
won international praises but also fundamentally reconstructed the national/regional cinemas and tremendously challenged the international film
industry. Through Zhang's magic lens, Wong's avant-garde imagination, and Lee's transnational vision, their bold cinematic reconfigurations
have been speeding up the transformation of Chinese cinema, and at the same time China itself has been represented in a new light on the world
stage. The seminar will explore their impact on the formation of the new wave of Chinese-language films after the mid-1980s and its recent new
developments. More importantly, we will cultivate our critical thinking skills and research abilities; and train our eyes to able to read cinematic
messages and decode cinematographic patterns.
All discussions will be conducted in English, and all films have English subtitles and readings are in English. Knowledge of China and basic film
theory are preferred, but not required.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST.
Fall 2022. Kong.
Fall 2023. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Classics
CLST 022. Readings in Sanskrit
This is an intermediate level course for Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the transregional, transcultural language of erudition in Ancient and Premodern
South Asia. Its historical importance cannot be overstated in terms of both linguistic and cultural impact. Its systematic linguistic codification
gave birth to the field of linguistics today and its rich diversity of expression led to its use as the language par excellence for the development of a
wide range of fields including philosophy, grammar, art, ritual, mythology, statecraft, warfare, amorous play, prosody, aesthetics, drama, and
much more. This course will be an intensive reading course diving deeply into a variety of genres of Sanskrit to enable students to be able to read
different styles of Sanskrit more comfortably. It will also include a spoken component to engage with the language more naturally and to enhance
students' fluency and comfort with reading.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna.
Spring 2023. Khanna.
Spring 2024. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 023. Introduction to Sanskrit
A basic introduction to the pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of Sanskrit, in preparation for reading. No prerequisites. This course plus
either CLST 022 Readings in Sanskrit or CLST 024 Sanskrit Grammar fulfills the language requirement.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Khanna.
Fall 2022. Khanna.
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 024. Sanskrit Grammar
LING 024
This course is designed to help students appreciate the grammar system of Sanskrit as codified by the great grammarian Pânini (5th century
BCE), whose system has been called the "greatest monument to human intelligence" (G. Cardona). In this course, students will first be exposed to
basic features of the Sanskrit language, followed by a study of the grammar system of Pânini, and, by the end of the semester, readings in
Sanskrit. This course is open to all students interested in learning Sanskrit. No prior knowledge is necessary. It is also open to students who took
CLST 023 in Fall 2018, as a continuation of the first class, but following a different parallel stream of learning Sanskrit. This course, taken with
CLST 023 Introduction to Sanskrit, fulfills the language requirement.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 028. Origins of Indic Thought
PHIL 038
Origins of Indic Thought is designed to give students a foundation in various
major philosophical schools that have emerged in the Indian subcontinent by
studying their origin stories. These schools include Buddhism, Jainism,
Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Sikhism. Students will learn
the fundamental arguments that each school makes and understand the
ongoing conversation between the various schools about the nature of and
relationship between the Self, the World, and God.
Prerequisite: See PHIL 038 description; prerequisite for PHIL credit only.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 029. Mythology of India
Stories are one of the foremost narrative tools in Indian society. Characters including gods, sages, kings, and the like are often used to present
morals, virtues, and a blueprint for living a civilized life. Stories from ancient Indian texts and oral culture find their way into modern Bollywood
dramas, soap operas, comic books, novels, music, and countless other Indian media. In modern Indian political discourse, these characters are
often used as examples for what should and should not be done. Beyond India, Hindu gods and goddesses can be seen in art, architecture,
Hollywood, TV shows, album covers, and more. At the same time, there are countless stories from the various cultures in India that are untold in
popular media, with differing perspectives, deviant morals, and contrary visions of the world.
This course will broadly sample mythological narratives in India from Vedic times until the present. This will include dominant Hindu cultural
stories, but also stories of minority cultures existing within India such as those of Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious traditions in oral, textual,
visual, and performative forms. Discussion about the stories we encounter will give students the opportunity to problematize and complexify their
understanding of terms like "myth," "religion," "culture," and "history."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 030. Caste and Power
In this course, we will critically analyze caste as a hierarchy of human beings through a study of theory, history, religion, and law in South Asia
and the South Asian diaspora. We will approach caste from an intersectional perspective, understanding its relationship with other modes of
oppression such as race, gender, color, and class. We will understand its religious underpinnings in Hinduism, but also how it permeates into
other religious traditions in the South Asian context, which is then translated to communities in the diaspora.
We will proceed to study the relationship between caste and race in America, challenging our own preconceived notions about racial injustice
and developing a lexicon for articulating its relationship to caste injustice, as well as engaging with the meaning of allyship.
Through this course students will learn to be more critical in their readings and articulations of their positions on power in general, particularly
in the context of caste. This course aims to foster an inclusive environment in which to discuss, in as open a way, crucial issues related to caste,
power, and justice.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 031. Consciousness: Sanskrit Perspectives
The study of "consciousness" has been of interest to scientists, philosophers, and laypeople alike for millennia. Its intangible nature, however,
has made consciousness difficult to define. How can we describe something that we cannot perceive with our senses? We can know what it is like
to perceive, and what it is like to have consciousness, but it has proven difficult to actually pinpoint with a measure of certainty what
consciousness actually is. Over time, thinkers from around the world have offered different theories of consciousness. This course will study
theories that arose from the intellectual milieu of the Indian subcontinent from Vedic times to the present. What is consciousness? How can we
study it? What is its relationship to our bodies? Is there a self? What is our relationship to the world? We will discuss these questions and more
by reading source texts in translation and secondary literature from different ancient, medieval, pre-modern, and modern South Asian
philosophical schools including Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Sufi philosophies.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 102. Capstone: Sanskrit and Greek Epic
Epic literature is integral to the cultures of ancient India and ancient Greece. This course will critically analyze selections of Sanskrit and Greek
epics, comparing the two using a variety of criteria, including but not limited to themes, character development, morality, language, aesthetics,
and ornamentation.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Dance
DANC 025A. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as ANTH 020J)
How do we locate competing claims of globalization, place-ness, and hybridization of cultural identity in a single frame? Dance offers an
unconventional but powerful frame for studying such competing claims of identity formation. This course will explore the interrelated themes of
performance, gender, personhood, and migration in the context of diasporic experiences. By focusing on specific dance forms from Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, we will examine the trajectories of the global and the local in constructing identity and difference. Students will engage with
theories on nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, as well as embodiment and experience. Broadly, the course will investigate the
interlocking structures of aesthetics and politics, economics and culture, and history and power, all of which inform and continue to reshape
these cultures and their dance forms.
The primary goal for this course is to develop an understanding of cross-cultural identity and difference through the study of dance in
contemporary society. The readings will introduce students to the constructed nature of cultural traditions and the contested nature of cultural
identities. The writing goals are to teach students how to read critically and write within the disciplines of Anthropology, Dance/Culture Studies,
Black Studies, and Global Studies. This course is eligible for credit towards a major or minor in Black Studies.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 038. Performing Ecstasy Dancing the Sacred
(Cross-listed as RELG 042)
By locating the sacred in the experiences of ecstatic dance and music, the course will specifically examine the evolution of Bhakti (Hindu) and
Sufi religious practices from ritual to performance art. By exploring the sacred in relation to social processes of culture and their
transformations, it will connect the sacred not only to history, tradition, ritual, spirituality and subjectivity but also to national identity,
commodity and tourism in contemporary culture.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 046. Dance Technique: Kathak
This class introduces the hot rhythms (/talas/) and the cool emotions (/rasa/s) of the Indian classical dance art: Kathak. The dancing involves
high energy, rapid turns, and fast footwork as well as movement of eyes, hands, neck, and fingers. This syncretic dance style from north India
draws on Hindu and Muslim cultural traditions (Bhakti and Sufi) and forms the raw material for the global-pop Bollywood dance. Students who
are enrolled for academic credit will be required to write papers and/or create performance texts or choreographies.
Open to all students. No prior dance experience is required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ISLM, ASIA
Fall 2021. Green.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049D. Dance Performance Repertory: Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble
T
Taiko is an energetic neo-folk drumming art stemming from Japan and its postwar diaspora. Emphasizing choreographic, embodied approaches
to Taiko, as an ensemble we learn contemporary and folk-based repertory from Japan and the international Taiko community, culminating in
end-of-semester performances. Through Taiko, we hone intense physicality and musicianship, perseverance, mindfulness, cooperation,
responsibility, creativity, and an appreciation for Japanese and Asian American cultures.
No prior experience required.
A dance technique course, such as DANC057 Taiko I, taken concurrently is highly encouraged but not necessary.
Video viewings, readings, and performance participation.
2 PE or 0.5 academic credit (1~2 short papers)
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Small.
Spring 2022. Small.
Fall 2022. Small.
Spring 2023. Small.
Fall 2023. Small.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049F. Dance Performance Repertory: Kathak
This is a moderate level technique course on Kathak. We will work on teen tala or metrical scale of sixteen beats to learn complex rhythmical
structures called bols. The various patterns of bols such as tukra, tehai and paran will also be explored. The two aspects of Kathak technique
nrtta (abstract movement) and nritya (expressive gestures) will be used for a final composition.
The final composition will be presented in a scheduled student dance concert.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 046 or prior knowledge of any classical Indian dance forms.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 057. Dance Technique: Taiko I
Taiko I introduces us to Taiko drumming, an energetic neo-folk art stemming from Japan and its postwar diaspora. Taiko emphasizes drumming
as choreographic and embodied. Through games, drills, and repertory excerpts focused on kata/form and upper-lower body coordination, we will
simultaneously cultivate physical and musical skills grounded in Japanese and international Taiko culture and history.
Possible video viewing and performance attendance.
2 PE or .5 academic credit (2 short papers)
Graded CR/NC.
Recommendations: Students already enrolled in DANC 049D. Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble (also known as Dance Repertory: Taiko) are highly
encouraged wherein possible to take this course concurrently, or, as a means of maintaining proficiency if intending to re-enroll in the ensemble
course in a later semester.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Small.
Spring 2022. Small.
Fall 2022. Small.
Spring 2023. Small.
Fall 2023. Small.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 079. Dancing Desire in Bollywood Films
(Cross-listed as ANTH 079B)
This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the
dance sequences in Bollywood. We will examine the place of erotic in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to
desires for commodity. The primary focus will be centered on approaches to the body from anthropology and sociology to performance, dance,
and film and media studies.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 079A. Screening Bollywood Film
Recent shifts in the representation of the "erotic" in Bollywood dances have transformed the past representations of gender and sexuality in
Bollywood cinema. The course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions from national to transnational symbols through the
songs and dances (item numbers) in Bollywood cinema and its most visible media platform, T.V Reality Shows. We will explore this through
viewing and analyzing select screen performances in three parts: First, we will examine the place of the erotic in reconstructing gender and
sexuality from past notions of romantic love (associated with ghazal songs or classical and folk dances) to desires for commodity. Second, we will
explore the aesthetic shifts from the traditional song and dance repertoire to trendy MTV-inspired moves. We will examine how transnational
images of commodity production intersect with sexuality, desire, spirituality, and modernity in these screen dances. This course will explore the
song and dance sequences through video-viewing and studio work (with a Bollywood choreographer) as well as reading a few key texts. The list
of videos will be included in the final syllabus.
This is a half semester course begining the second half of the semester.
0.5 Credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Spring 2022. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Economics
ECON 051. International Trade and Finance
This course surveys the theory of trade (microeconomics) and of the balance of payments and exchange rates (macroeconomics). The theories
are used to analyze topics such as trade patterns, trade barriers, flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international
monetary system, and macroeconomic interdependence.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ,PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 081. Economic Development
A survey covering the principal theories of economic development and the dominant issues of public policy in low-income countries. Topics
include the determinants of economic growth and income distribution, the role of the agricultural sector, the acquisition of technological
capability, the design of poverty-targeting programs, the choice of exchange rate regime, and the impacts of international trade and capital flows
(including foreign aid).
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. O'Connell.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 083. East Asian Economies
This course will provide an overview of the East Asian economy and the economic inter-dependencies that characterize the region. After
providing an understanding of the factors that have made East Asia the most dynamic in the world economy, current challenges of the region will
be given particular attention. Topics that will be addressed include: economic growth in East Asia; trade and economic growth; the East Asian
trade-production network; East Asia's role in global imbalances; the Asian financial crisis; financial cooperation in East Asia; monetary
cooperation in East Asia; East Asia's role in global economic governance; inequality in East Asia; demographic challenges of East Asian
countries; environmental challenges and the move to sustainable economics.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 151. International Economics
Both microeconomics and macroeconomics are applied to an in-depth analysis of the world economy. Topics include trade patterns, trade
barriers, international flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international monetary system, financial crises, macroeconomic
interdependence, the roles of organizations such as the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, and case studies of selected
industrialized, developing, and transition countries.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC, GLBL Core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 181. Economic Development
The economics of long-run development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We cover the leading theories of growth, structural change, income
distribution, and poverty, with particular attention to development strategies and experience since World War II. Topics include land tenure and
agricultural development, rural-urban migration, industrialization, human resource development, poverty targeting, trade and technology policy,
aid and capital flows, macroeconomic management, and the role of the state. Students write several short papers examining the literature and a
longer paper analyzing a particular country's experience.
Prerequisite: ECON 011, ECON 021, and either ECON 031, STAT 011, or STAT 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
English Literature
ENGL 047B. Alternate War Histories of Asia/America
In what ways do cultural disparities and conflictual historical experiences lead to not only different perceptions of reality but in fact multiple
realities? Anchored in two wars-World War II, from which the US emerged as a world power, and the Vietnam War, the first televised war and
America's "unwinnable war"-this course focuses on Asian/American entanglement and the worlds to which it gives rise. There are multiple
Japans that emerged in World War II: the empire that might have conquered the US, as imagined in the alternate history of The Man in the High
Castle; the lost land of origin that has brought trauma on its "heirs," the Japanese interned by the US; the Japan experienced by comfort women
in Asia. Similarly, the story of the Vietnam War has been told almost exclusively from an American viewpoint. Yet The Sympathizer promises to
tell another story: not only of the US in Vietnam as seen by the Vietnamese but of the Vietnamese in America, indeed of two Vietnams. What
might we learn from alternate (hi)stories about the political functions and ontological power of narrative? Texts may include The Man in the
High Castle, No-No Boy, Comfort Woman, The World at War, Cold War, Apocalypse Now, Vietnam War protest poetry, The Sympathizer, Night
Sky with Exit Wounds, We Should Never Meet, Forgetting Vietnam, Maya Lin, and the Vietnamese Oral History Project, along with theoretical
texts on war and reality. Students will be evaluated based on class participation and presentations, written responses, (con)textual analysis, and
comparative analysis.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired, PEAC.
Fall 2021. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047D. Southeast Asian Literature in English
In traditional terms the part of the world between China and India, Southeast Asia lies at a global crossroads where the giants of the continent
have historically spread their influence and where the East met the West due to the European scramble for "the (East) Indies." Its position at
these borderlands has made Southeast Asia one of the world's most diverse, but also liminal, sites, as indicated by its elision in history and
literary studies (including in postcolonial studies, if not as much in area studies). Given the minor role to which it is relegated in the world and in
Asia, how does the history of Southeast Asia get narrated in its literature-in particular, in literature written in or translated into English, the
postwar lingua franca? This course charts modern Southeast Asian history through literature from or about its different periods-from the
colonial era to the world between the wars to independence to the contemporary time. In the process, we will examine the literary strategies
invented and adopted by locals to tell their (version of) history as well as the language of transmission-a language that, as it becomes more and
more universal, might efface the very thing for which we are looking. Readings will come from mainland and maritime Southeast Asia as well as
the diaspora and may include Dumb Luck, The Harmony Silk Factory, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Only a Girl, Insurrecto, Virtual Lotus,
and A/PART.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 065. Asian American Literature
How does Asian American literature function as the site of key debates about ethnic and national identity? This course explores Asian American
cultural production over the past 50 years, beginning with Flower Drum Song (1961), the first Hollywood film starring an all-Asian American
cast, and ending with the Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's short stories. Authors include Maxine Kingston, Chang-Rae Lee, David
Henry Hwang, and Theresa Hak-Kyung Cha.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 066. In/Visible: Asian American Cultural Critique
Popular representations of Asian Americans frame this immigrant group as either invisible (unseen and unheard) or hypervisible (as "yellow
peril" or "terrorist"). By contrast, the writers, scholars, and artists that we will examine in this class challenge such linear narratives, and create
new futures of Asian America. This class will highlight critical theories of race and ethnicity in relation to a wide range of textual forms:
literature, performance, visual culture. Students will also collaborate, when possible, with Asian American arts organizations in the
Philadelphia area.
Prerequisite: ENGL 065, 19th/20th Century English course
INTP, GSST, FMST classes will also be considered.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, ESCH
ENGL 077. South Asians in America
This class surveys a century of migration from the Indian subcontinent to the United States. Two questions will guide our readings and
discussion: First, what does it mean to identify as South Asian? Second, how do new ethnic identities expand our understanding of what it means
to be American? In this interdisciplinary class, we'll read Pulitzer Prize winning authors Jhumpa Lahiri and Ayad Akhtar; discuss what it means
to identify as "brown" or "Muslim" after 9/11; and explore the lives of South Asian teenagers in Silicon Valley; political activists in New York
City; and workers and artists nationwide. Throughout our readings, we will explore how ethnicity is shaped by differences of gender, religion,
sexuality and class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Environmental Studies
ENVS 052. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as CHIN 086, LITR 086CG)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerable food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more
ecologically friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more
traditional diets and redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR
and US food conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class
(Environmental Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Prerequisite: Some knowledge of Chinese culture or language is preferred but not required.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ASIA
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Film and Media Studies
FMST 047. Race and Media Studies
This course interrogates the foundational role of race in the development of modern technologies and media theory. Moving across different
periods and media formations, we will address how race as a social category and cultural fantasy has been materialized through specific film
technologies, representational norms, and institutional networks. At the same time, we will also look at a range of films and television shows that
challenge protocols for constituting race as an object of knowledge and control.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 055. Contemporary Chinese Cinema
(Cross-listed as CHIN 055)
Cinema has become a special form of cultural mirror representing social dynamics and drastic changes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan since the mid-1980s. The course will develop a better understanding of changing Chinese culture by analyzing cinematic texts and the
new wave in the era of globalization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CHIN, FMST
Fall 2021. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
History
HIST 001N. First-Year Seminar: Chinatowns: Then & Now
Chinatowns have long been a fixture of urban life, serving as a haven for workers fleeing anti-Asian violence, a home for immigrant families, and
a hub for tourism. This course will focus on the histories and contemporary conditions of Chinatowns in major U.S. cities, though we will also
discuss the development of suburban Chinatowns and Chinatowns around the world. We will explore questions including: what spurred the
development of Chinatowns? What purpose do they continue to serve, and for whom? What has been their role in Asian American, American, and
urban history?
Social Sciences.
Writing.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 009A. Premodern China
This course surveys the history of premodern China. Thematic focus and content will vary.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2023. Chen.
Fall 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 009B. Modern China: Reformers, Revolutionaries, and Rebels
This course is an introduction to the intellectual, social, and economic forces that shaped the history of modern China. We will rely heavily on
primary sources as we try to reconstruct the plural, contradictory, and fluid ways in which Chinese intellectual and political leaders viewed
themselves as "modern."
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 010. Asian American History
This course explores how "Asian America" came to be. We will begin with the historical experiences of Asians in the U.S., examine the origins of
the term "Asian American" in the movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and consider its current contested usage as a demographic category.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2022. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 060. The East India Company, 1600-1857
The course explores the history of the East India Company, paying special attention to the 18th century and attending to how the history of the
East India Company engages questions of capitalism, empire, race, justice, and modernity.
Prerequisite: A HU or SS course within TriCo.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 061. From the Ocean to the River: Spaces of Global History
How would our picture of global history change if we shifted the central unit from oceans to rivers? In this course, we will explore this question
from multiple angles, centering our inquiry around a set of questions raised by the intertwined histories of the Indus and Mississippi rivers in the
mid-19th century. Literary sources, works of cinema and primary sources will enrich our inquiry.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 075. Craft and Technology in China
This course explores the history of craft and technology in China. Through an examination of different industries, including ceramics, weaving
and dyeing, printing, and paper-making, we will engage with broader questions about the role of expertise, skill, and the production of technical
knowledge in Chinese history.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 077. Fashion: Theory and History
This course traces the historical development of fashion systems and fashion theory, with a special focus on East Asia. Using textual, visual, and
material sources, we will explore historical representations of dress, the politics of dress, fashion and the body, and consumption and modernity.
Prerequisite: A history course or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 078. China, Capitalism, and Their Critics
This course examines the creation of a discourse centered on the relationship between China, a nation with distinct cultural characteristics, and
capitalism, conceived of as an economic system specific to European social formation.
Prerequisite: A history, sociology, or anthropology course, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 145. Women and Gender in Chinese History
This seminar explores the theoretical frameworks and multiple methodologies that have been applied to the study and interpretation of women
and gender in late imperial and modern China (1700-1980s). Our primary aim is to understand the relationship between the construction of
gender (in particular, the formation of "woman" and "man" as fixed and normative subjects) and the writing of Chinese history.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Spring 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Japanese
JPNS 003. Second-Year Japanese
Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading in the modern language. The course attempts to increase students' expressive ability
through the introduction of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions. The course will introduce approximately 300 new
kanji characters in addition to the 200 covered in JPNS 001-JPNS 002.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff, Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 004. Second-Year Japanese
Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading in the modern language. The course attempts to increase students' expressive ability
through the introduction of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions. The course will introduce approximately 300 new
kanji characters in addition to the 200 covered in JPNS 001-JPNS 002.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Bundschuh. Jo.
Spring 2023. Staff. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 007. Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy
(Cross-listed as CHIN 007)
Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting. This course will introduce students to the importance of calligraphy in East Asian Culture. In
addition to being a valuable cultural skill, calligraphy is also a process of self-cultivation and self-expression, which reflects the mind-set of the
writer. Thus, students will have the opportunity to learn Chinese/Japanese characters not only as linguistic symbols but also as cultural emblems
and as an art form. Course objectives include learning to appreciate the beauty of Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, experiencing calligraphy by
writing with a brush and ink, and studying various philosophies of calligraphy. In addition to learning several different calligraphic scripts,
students will be introduced to the origin, evolution, and aesthetic principles of the Chinese and Japanese writing systems, as well as calligraphy's
close connections with painting and poetry. Persistent hands-on practice will be required of all students; course work will include in-class
practice, individual/group instruction, reading assignments, and take-home assignments. This class is open to all students and has no language
requirement. Due to the course's practicum component, enrollment will be limited by lottery to 10 students. Students who are also enrolled in
ARTH 034 (Colloquium: East Asian Calligraphy) will receive priority in the lottery.
Can be repeated for credit.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 008. Extensive Reading in Japanese
This course will offer students an opportunity to develop their Japanese readings skills through free readings of Japanese materials (stories, non-
fiction, manga, etc.) gathered at McCabe Library. The course will follow the Extensive Reading or Graded Reading methodology, which
encourages students to build their reading ability through exposure to a broad variety of texts with minimal use of dictionaries, with the
assistance and supervision of the Japanese instructor. The course is open to all students of Introduction to Japanese (JPNS 002) level and above.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Jo.
Spring 2023. Jo.
Spring 2024. Jo.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 012. Third-Year Japanese
These courses aim to lead Japanese students into the intermediate-advanced level, deepening students' exposure to Japanese culture through the
study of authentic materials and the application of language skills in diverse linguistic contexts. They will combine oral practice with reading,
viewing, and discussion of authentic materials including newspaper articles, video clips, and literary selections. Students will continue to develop
their expressive ability through use of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions, and will gain practice in composition and
letter writing. These courses will introduce approximately 300 new kanji characters in addition to approximately 500 covered in first- and
second-year Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 004 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the Placement Exam.
Recommended: Concurrently with JPNS 012A; provides additional opportunities for application and extension of newly acquired skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 012A. Japanese Conversation
This course aims to improve students' command of spoken Japanese at the intermediate level.
Can be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 004 or permission of the instructor.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 013. Third-Year Japanese
These courses aim to lead Japanese students into the intermediate-advanced level, deepening students' exposure to Japanese culture through the
study of authentic materials and the application of language skills in diverse linguistic contexts. They will combine oral practice with reading,
viewing, and discussion of authentic materials including newspaper articles, video clips, and literary selections. Students will continue to develop
their expressive ability through use of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions, and will gain practice in composition and
letter writing. These courses will introduce approximately 300 new kanji characters in addition to approximately 500 covered in first- and
second-year Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 012 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the placement exam.
Recommended: Concurrently with JPNS 013A; provides additional opportunities for application and extension of newly acquired skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Suda.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 013A. Readings in Japanese
This course aims to improve students' intermediate-advanced reading skills, while introducing them to the world of Japanese literature in the
original. We will examine texts in various genres, such as personal essays, short stories, folk tales, manga, haiku, and free-verse poetry, and
discuss the distinctive features of each genre as well as the cultural context for each work. Readings and discussion will be in Japanese.
Can be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 012 or permission of the instructor.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 018. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as LITR 018FJ, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 019. Fourth-Year Japanese
This fourth-year level course aims to develop students' advanced language proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, through
examination and discussion of a variety of authentic materials on selected topics such as literature, language, history, education and society.
Readings and discussion will be in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 013 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the placement exam.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 020. Fourth-Year Japanese
This fourth-year level course aims to develop students' advanced language proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, through
examination and discussion of a variety of authentic materials on selected topics such as literature, language, history, education and society.
Readings and discussion will be in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 019 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the placement exam.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Spring 2022. Jo.
Spring 2023. Jo.
Spring 2024. Jo.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 022. Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
(Cross-listed as LING 022)
This course introduces various aspects of Japanese linguistics, such as Japanese phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.
Through obtaining theoretical insights on the structural organization of the Japanese language and examining linguistic data, the course aims to
broaden students' knowledge of the structural aspects of the language and to cultivate their ability to analyze linguistic facets of Japanese
communicative culture.
In class, we will go over the main concepts and data analyses from weekly readings and discuss relevant data, questions, and counter-examples,
while going over study questions and exercises. Students are encouraged to share their own experiences and compare the Japanese linguistic
structures and communicative practices with those of English and other languages.
Students who take this class will develop their understanding of the differing layers of the Japanese language by solving concrete linguistic
problems, enhance their ability to learn new grammatical structures in the Japanese language by analyzing them linguistically, and receive
guidance in producing an objective linguistic analysis of a facet of the Japanese language.
Readings and discussion will be in English.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 001 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Bundschuh.
Spring 2024. Bundschuh.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 024. Japanese Film and Animation
(Cross-listed as LITR 024J, FMST 057)
This course offers a historical and thematic introduction to Japanese cinema, one of the world's great film traditions. Our discussions will center
on the historical context of Japanese film, including how films address issues of modernity, gender, and national identity. Through our readings,
discussion, and writing, we will explore various approaches to film analysis, with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of formal and
thematic issues. A separate unit will consider the postwar development of Japanese animation (anime) and its special characteristics. Screenings
will include films by Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Imamura, Kitano, and Miyazaki.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 036. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as PEAC 036, ENVS 047)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 033. Tokyo Central: The Metropolis in Modern Japanese Literature and Film
(Cross-listed as LITR 033J)
This course aims to equip students to recognize and contextualize changing concepts of self and individual identity, family, community, and labor
as represented in literature and film narratives depicting the urban center of modern Japan: Tokyo. Brief lectures on literary historical and
historical contexts will precede guided discussions of literary texts and films. Students will be asked to consider, compare, and contrast
representations of Tokyo and its inhabitants over time, using close reading, historicization, and visual critical strategies from film studies. In
discussions we will also treat Tokyo's relationship to the nation of Japan, other Japanese regions, East Asia, and the world. We will further
assess how the course texts represent shifting views and experiences of the urban populace regarding family roles, romance, marriage, gender
roles, socio-economic class and social status, social responsibility, consumerism, and leisure over the course of Japan's modern history, from the
late 19th century through to the present.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 035. Narratives of Disaster and Rebuilding in Japan
(Cross-listed as LITR 035J, ENVS 051)
This course will explore documentary and fictional representations of the modern Japanese landscape and cityscape in crisis, with special
attention to the role of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster as a catalyst for change in contemporary Japan.
Documentaries and fictionalizations of the 2011 "triple disaster" reignited debates over cultural trauma and the ethics of representing disaster.
Through the study of literature, film, and critical discourse, we will examine the historical and cultural implications of such famous 20th-century
disaster narratives as Godzilla and Japan Sinks, as well as the latest writing and films from Japan, in the context of public debates about safety,
sustainability, and social change after the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. Readings and discussion will be in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 041. Fantastic Spaces in Modern Japanese Literature
(Cross-listed as LITR 041J)
As Japanese society has transformed rapidly in the 20
th
century and beyond, a number of authors have turned to the fantastic to explore the
pathways of cultural memory, the vicissitudes of interpersonal relationships, the limits of mind and body, and the nature of story-telling itself. In
this course we will consider the use of anti-realistic writing genres in Japanese literature from 1900 to the present, combining readings of novels
and short stories with related critical and theoretical texts. Fictional works examined will include novels, supernatural tales, science fiction, and
mysteries by such authors as Tanizaki Junichirô, Edogawa Rampo, Kurahashi Yumiko, and Murakami Haruki. Readings are in English; no
previous background in Japanese language or culture is required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 042. Language Policy and Planning in Japan
Language policy and planning is a fundamental aspect of society: it has the potential to enrich the quality of human lives or impose great
conflicts and struggles in our everyday lives. Despite its image of homogeneity, Japanese society has a much linguistic diversity and a great
number of linguistic minorities, including indigenous groups and immigrants; however, it is questionable if the society has provided a systematic
support to maintain this diversity. Japan is also constantly facing the need to improve its language education, although, arguably, the attempts so
far have been rather unsuccessful. This course aims to understand the current state of Japanese society in light of these political issues relevant
to Japanese language.While learning the basic notions and theoretical approaches in language policy, the course will cover topics including
historical aspects of language policy in Japan, linguistic minorities in Japan, legal issues of languages in Japan, and issues regarding Japanese
language education as well as foreign/second/ heritage language education. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to critically
consider the politics of using their own language as well as Japanese.
Readings and discussion will be in English. Some knowledge of Japanese is recommended but not required for this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 073. Transnational Japanese Literature: Diversity and Diaspora in Modern Japanese Literature
Cross-listed with LITR 073J
This seminar-style course will challenge the myths of Japanese ethnic homogeny and cultural isolation and will explore how modern "Japanese"
literature crosses national and cultural borders. Topics to be examined include Japanese authors writing from abroad, colonial and postcolonial
literatures, migration and writing in the Japanese diaspora, and the writings of ethnic minorities in Japan, including writers from Okinawa and
Japan's resident Korean community. Readings and discussion will be in English but students with reading knowledge of Japanese will be
encouraged to read works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, ASIA, INTP, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 075. Japanese Modernism
(Cross-listed as LITR 075J)
A lively and cosmopolitan modernist literature and art scene thrived in early 20th Century Japan, as cities such as Tokyo and Osaka grew
rapidly, and writers and artists established connections with their counterparts across the globe. During the same decades, stylish "modern girls"
and "modern boys" in Japanese cities were hailed in the press as avatars of newly liberated lifestyles and fashions, or derided by conservatives
as the dupes of corrupt Western influences. This course will explore Japanese modernist literature, its global connections, and its social context,
using a seminar format. Topics include: Japanese avant-garde literature, film, and art; gender, sexuality, and modernism; the politics and
aesthetics of "modern" life and lifestyles; socialist and anarchist literature; "ero-guro-nonsense" as subversive literature; wartime censorship
and propaganda; and Japanese influences on global modernisms. Readings and discussion will be in English; students with
advanced Japanese reading ability are encouraged to read the texts in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Music
MUSI 002C. Taiko & Asian American Experiences
(cross-listed as DANC 003 )
In this course we will examine the origins of Taiko drumming in Japan and consider how the tradition has developed in North America over the
past four decades. We will discuss the role of Taiko drumming in the Asian American Movement, explore different styles of contemporary Taiko
in Asian America, and gain basic drumming competency. Through the integration of academic and performance study we will consider and
experience Taiko drumming as a prominent and dynamic Asian American performing art. Open to all students without prerequisite. No prior
performance or musical background is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, Lang Engaged Scholarship
Spring 2022. Ouyang.
Spring 2023. Ouyang.
Spring 2024. Ouyang.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 008A. Music & Mao: Music and Politics in Communist China
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020E)
In this course we will examine music in post-1949 China with particular emphasis on cultural and political trends of the 20th and 21st century.
We will consider cultural policies of the Communist Party of China and influential interactions with other countries inside and outside of Asia.
Though focusing primarily upon music, discussion will also include visual arts, dance, and theater.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 030. Music of Asia
An introduction to selected musical traditions from the vast diversity of Asian cultures. Principal areas will include classical music of India,
Indonesian gamelan from Bali and Java, ritual music of Tibet, ancient Japanese court music, Turkish classical music and others. These music
will be studied in terms of their technical and theoretical aspects as well as their cultural/philosophical backgrounds. Western musical notation
and terminology, including scale types and intervals, will be used. This course fulfills the World Traditions component of the music major.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 031. Music and Culture in East Asia
This course examines music and culture in East Asia with a focus on a selection of contemporary case studies. The course is divided into three
units of China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. Each unit will begin with an introduction to leading musical traditions of the area
including main instruments, ensemble, and musical genres. We will then closely examine case studies from the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries with
attention to music and significant social, political, and historical contexts. Students will develop critical reviews of scholarly articles and
facilitate class discussions based on assigned reading and listening materials. Additional coursework includes performance workshops, reading,
and listening.
Next offered Fall 2023.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 042. Chinese Music Ensemble
Performance of traditional and contemporary music from different regions of China and the Chinese Diaspora. Students perform on traditional
Chinese instruments including the guzheng (zither), erhu (bowed fiddle), pipa (plucked lute), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), dizi (flute), and
percussion. Students will choose 1-2 instruments to focus on for the semester based on instrument availability, interest, repertoire, and ensemble
needs. Students with no prior musical experience (of any tradition) are welcome to attend the first rehearsal and discuss your interests with
Professor Ouyang.
Instruments will be provided by the Department and the class will present a public performance at the end of the semester. Weekly rehearsals in
Lang #415, plus an additional 30 minutes per week in smaller groups ("sectional").
Graded CR/NC.
0.0 or 0.5 credit
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Ouyang. Wang.
Spring 2022. Ouyang. Wang.
Fall 2022. Ouyang. Wang.
Spring 2023. Ouyang. Wang.
Fall 2023. Ouyang. Wang.
Spring 2024. Ouyang. Wang.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 049A. Balinese Gamelan
Performance of traditional and modern compositions for Balinese Gamelan (Indonesian percussion orchestra). Students will learn to play
without musical notation. No prior experience in Western or non-Western music is required. The course is open to all students.
0.5 or 0.0 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Whitman. Suadin.
Spring 2022. Whitman. Suadin.
Fall 2022. Whitman. Suadin.
Spring 2023. Whitman. Suadin.
Fall 2023. Whitman. Suadin.
Spring 2024. Whitman. Suadin.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Linguistics
LING 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese
(Cross-listed as CHIN 033)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the chinese rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 064. Structure of Tuvan
Tuvan belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family and is spoken in Siberia and Mongolia by nomadic herders. It has classically
agglutinating morphology and curious phenomena such as vowel harmony, converbs, and switch reference. It has rich sound symbolism, a
tradition of oral (unwritten) epic tales, riddles, and world-famous song genres ("throat singing"). We will investigate the sounds, structures, oral
traditions, and ethnography of Tuvan, using both printed and digital media.
Prerequisite: LING 050 and LING 045 or LING 052 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 068. Structure of Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz is a Turkic language which is spoken throughout the Tien-Shan mountains and surrounding areas of Central Asia and has been
influenced by Mongolian, Persian, Arabic, and Russian.
Students will examine all main areas of Kyrgyz grammar, with a focus on the major phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of the
language. Some of the topics we'll look at in depth include vowel harmony, sonority effects across syllable boundaries, morphological and
syntactic strategies for using one part of speech as another, and intricate systems for marking tense, aspect, mood, voice, and evidentiality. We'll
also talk about historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts for the language.
Assignments and class activities will involve hands-on exploration of primary and secondary printed and digital materials and interaction with
Kyrgyz speakers, with the aim of building students' skills in linguistic analysis and reasoning, as well as their understanding of the range of
perspectives involved in linguistic study of a language and the community it's used in.
Prerequisite: Any two of LING 001, LING 045, LING 050, LING 052, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ASIA.
Spring 2022. Washington.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 073. Computational Linguistics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 013 )
This course explores the possibilities for creating computational resources for languages for which vast collections of text don't exist. Students
will choose a language lacking in computational resources and develop tools for it. The focus will be on creating nuanced symbolic
representations of the language that can be employed by computers, to the benefit of both language researchers who wish to test grammatical
models, and language communities which lack the social capital to benefit from corporately developed resources. Topics covered include input
methods and spell-checking, morphological analysis and disambiguation, syntactic parsing, building corpora, and rule-based machine
translation, with an emphasis on anti-colonial methodologies and free/open-source technologies.
Prerequisite: LING 001 (or equivalent) or CPSC 021 (or equivalent), or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Washington.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 075. Field Methods
In this course, students work directly with a speaker of an unfamiliar language to gather data and analyze the structures of that language.
Students develop inference techniques for eliciting, understanding, analyzing, and presenting complex linguistic data. We discuss and enact best
practices for working collaboratively with speech communities, including ethical training in Human Subjects research. Students also gain
practical experience using state-of-the-art digital recording, annotation, and archiving for scientific purposes. A different (typically non-
European) language will be investigated each time the course is taught.
Prerequisite: Familiarity with IPA transcription and any two of: LING 001 , LING 025 , LING 040 , LING 043 , LING 045 , LING 050 , or
permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS
Fall 2021. Dockum.
Fall 2023. Dockum.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Literatures
LITR 018FJ. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as JPNS 018, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
There is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 018A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 027CH. Nature and the Non-Human in Classical Chinese Tales of the Strange
(Cross-listed as CHIN 027)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 036CH. Women's Literature in Premodern China
(Cross-listed as CHIN 036)
Contrary to our stereotypes about the silent, invisible woman of premodern China, women actually wrote and published their work in
unprecedented numbers from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. This course will explore the literary and historical significance of
this output, which mainly took the form of poetry and prefaces to poetry collections, letters, some drama, and novels in verse, and which was
produced primarily by gentry women (e.g. women from elite families), courtesans, and nuns. A central theme will be the place and problem of
women's poetry in a male-dominated literary tradition and society. Topics to be addressed include the social function of poetry and women's
literary networks, women's relationship to the publishing market as writers, editors, and readers, the forces driving male interest in women's
writing at certain historical moments, and the changing ideas about what kinds of styles of past poets should be offered to boudoir poets as a
repertoire of available choices to read and imitate.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 037CH. Text and Image: Classical Chinese Poetry and Painting
(Cross-listed as CHIN 037)
Combining some of the greatest works of Chinese poetry with approaches and visual materials from the history of Chinese landscape painting, in
this course we will examine the changing use of landscape as a medium to express different philosophical and social meanings by competing
social groups across historical periods from early times to the 13th century. In the first half of this course, we will see how natural landscape in
poetry became a medium for conveying a range different ideals and problems: official service and reclusion in the countryside, Daoist liberation
and Buddhist enlightenment, the sorrows of war on the frontier or travel into exile. In the second half of this course, we then apply our
knowledge of Chinese poetry to interpreting a series of paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1279). This period is the golden age of Chinese
landscape painting. It saw the emergence of literati-painters who, much like the great painters of the Renaissance, argued that painting
possessed the same expressive power as poetry. We will explore the ways they employed painting to comment on an unprecedented range of
issues, including government affairs, the role of women in society, the relation of private to public life, as well as the experience of dynastic
collapse and war.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 075J. Japanese Modernism
(Cross-listed as JPNS 075)
A lively and cosmopolitan modernist literature and art scene thrived in early 20th Century Japan, as cities such as Tokyo and Osaka grew
rapidly, and writers and artists established connections with their counterparts across the globe. During the same decades, stylish "modern girls"
and "modern boys" in Japanese cities were hailed in the press as avatars of newly liberated lifestyles and fashions, or derided by conservatives
as the dupes of corrupt Western influences. This course will explore Japanese modernist literature, its global connections, and its social context,
using a seminar format. Topics include: Japanese avant-garde literature, film, and art; gender, sexuality, and modernism; the politics and
aesthetics of "modern" life and lifestyles; socialist and anarchist literature; "ero-guro-nonsense" as subversive literature; wartime censorship
and propaganda; and Japanese influences on global modernisms. Readings and discussion will be in English; students with
advanced Japanese reading ability are encouraged to read the texts in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 086CG. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as CHIN 086, ENVS 052)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerous food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more ecologically
friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more traditional diets and
redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR and US food
conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class (Environmental
Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 052. Afghanistan: Where Central & South Asia Meet
This course examines conflict, politics, culture, and daily life in present day Afghanistan. Occupying a historic crossroads in Asia, Afghanistan is
a place of regional, ethnic, and cultural diversity. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, internal and external actors, including the British
Empire, Pashtun dynasties, the Soviet Union, the Taliban, the United States and its allies, and the Islamic State, have battled for control of
Afghanistan. Today, as conflict continues, the international community exerts significant influence on Afghanistan's politics, security, economy,
and social institutions. This course will explore themes related to conflict, peacemaking, statebuilding, and international intervention, and their
intersection with cultural and ethnic diversity, religion, gender norms, and the lived experiences of Afghan people. Students will read memoirs,
literature, and scholarly work from various disciplines.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ASIA
Fall 2021. Kapit.
Fall 2022. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Philosophy
PHIL 030. Buddhist Philosophy
This course explores some of the central arguments and debates in Indian Buddhist philosophy from the second to the eleventh centuries. Topics
include the problem of human suffering, the existence of the self and the external world, the nature and source of mental content, epistemological
skepticism, moral responsibility, and the problem of other minds. Students will have the opportunity to reconstruct and critically analyze the
arguments of Buddhist philosophers in their historical contexts, as well as ask what we can learn from them today.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Fall 2022. Picascia.
Fall 2023. Picascia.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 038. Origins of Indic Thought
Cross-listed as CLST 28
Origins of Indic Thought is designed to give students a foundation in various major philosophical schools that have emerged in the Indian
subcontinent by studying their origin stories. These schools include Buddhism, Jainism, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Sikhism.
Students will learn the fundamental arguments that each school makes and understand the ongoing conversation between the various schools
about the nature of and relationship between the Self, the World, and God.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 135. Topics in Indian Philosophy
In this seminar, we will engage with some of the great debates in Indian philosophy. We will situate these debates in their historical contexts and
inquire into what we can learn from them today. Topics include the sources of knowledge, the nature of persons and consciousness, the
metaphysics of momentariness, the nature and meaning of language, and moral motivation.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Political Science
POLS 050. International Relations of East Asia (IR)
After the Cold War's conclusion, East Asia emerged as a geopoliltical hotspot rife with tension and conflict. The course investigates how regional
identity, U.S. presence, historical trauma, nationalism, cultural diversity, and the rise of China shapes the region's security landscape,
institutional architecture and international political economy. Students will be expected to draw connections betwen theory and contemporary
examples drawing on historical and culturally sensitive perspectives.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 055. Ethics and International Relations (IR)
Ethical questions are central to the study of international relations. Does justice extend beyond the borders of states? Do we have
moral obligations to distant strangers? Do we have an obligation to obey international law? When is war, if ever, just? Who should punish war
crimes? In this course we explore the links between international normative theory (what would a just world order look like? how should it be
constructed?) and the role norms and ethics actually play in contemporary international relations according to different theoretical perspectives
(e.g. realist, constructivist, etc.). Topics include: the nature of ethical reasoning; state sovereignty, national self-determination, and secession;
just war, human rights, and intervention; pluralism and cosmopolitanism; Black Lives Matter and international racial justice; transnational
environmental responsibility and the ethics of climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA; PEAC
Spring 2023. Emily Paddon Rhoads.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 056. Patterns of Asian Development (CP)
Patterns of political, social, and economic development in Asia will be traced, with special focus on China, Japan, North and South Korea,
Taiwan, Vietnam, and India. Topics include the role of authoritarianism and democracy in the development processes, the legacies of colonialism
and revolution and their influences on contemporary politics, sources of state strength or weakness, nationalism and ethnic conflict, gender and
politics, and patterns of political resistance.
Professor White is offering this course as an Honors Preparation if taken in conjunction with POLS 058 in Spring 2024.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 058. Contemporary Chinese Politics (CP)
Just how strong is China? Is it on the path to great power status? This course considers those questions by examining the rise of China in recent
decades, along with the political, economic and social backdrop to this historic development. Topics will include China's political and economic
development, urban and rural unrest, regionalism and nationalism, music and the arts as forms of political expression, environmental politics,
law, justice, and human rights, and the role of the military in Chinese politics. Literature, music, online media and video chat with experts will
supplement traditional written materials.
Professor White is offering this course as an Honors Preparation if taken in conjunction with POLS 056 in Fall 2023.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 087. Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.
(Cross-listed as CHIN 087)
Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21st century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing
and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users,
between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh
water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution;
groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management;
wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. In the U.S. context especially, issues of water rights regimes and property rights,
privatization, and commodification of water will receive attention. Which claims upon fresh water resources come first? What role do
governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs, and grassroots citizens' movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures
will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management. Chinese language ability desirable but not required.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 088. Special Topic: China and the World (CP)
What does China want, and what strategies is it deploying in pursuit of its goals? This course will examine critical issues related to China's role
in the world, including its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its influence in global institutions and governance, its military profile and defense
posture, and its evolving world view. The course will also focus on linkages between domestic politics and foreign policy, as well as contending
theories of Chinese behavior.
Prerequisite: ONE of the following courses: POLS 003, POLS 004, POLS 056, POLS 058, POLS 108,
or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 102. Comparative Politics: Greater China
Examines contemporary Chinese politics against the backdrop of its revolutionary past. Topics include pathways of political and economic
development, the legacy of the Maoist era, the origins and evolution of the modernization and reform program implemented over the last several
decades, and the dynamics of political, economic and social change. Also examine issues of political unrest and instability, demographic change
and migration, religion and nationalism, institutions and governance, law and human rights, and civil-military relations.
Comparative
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 108. Comparative Politics: East Asia (CP)
This course examines the politics of China, Japan, the two Koreas, Vietnam and Taiwan. It compares pathways to development, the role of
authoritarianism and democracy in the development process, the conditions that promote or impede transitions to democracy, and the impact of
regional and global forces on domestic politics and regime legitimacy. It also explores the ideas and cultural patterns that influence society and
politics, and the role of social change and protest in regime transformation.
Comparative
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Religion
RELG 008. Patterns of Asian Religions
A thematic introduction to the study of religion through an examination of selected
precepts and practices of several religious traditions of India, China, and Japan structured
as patterns of religious life. Materials taken from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of
India, Confucian and Taoist traditions of China, and from Zen traditions of Japan.
Themes we will consider include issues of religious symbols, cosmology, and ritual; the
gods, personhood/self, and religious transformation; liberation, gender, and sexuality;
philosophy, narrative and popular piety; and the place of the body in meditation, worship
and religious experience.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Hopkins.
Spring 2024. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 009. The Buddhist Traditions of Asia
This course explores the unity and variety of Buddhist traditions within their historical developments in South, Central, and East Asia, by way of
the study of its texts The course will be organized chronologically and geographically, and to a lesser extent thematically, focusing on the
formations of early Indian Buddhism (the Nikaya traditions in Påli and Sanskrit), the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Thailand, Mahayana
Ch'an/Zen traditions in China and Japan, and Vajrayana (tantra) traditions in Tibet. Themes include narratives of the Buddha and the
consecration of Buddha images; gender, power, and religious authority, meditation, liberation, and devotional vision; love, memory, attachment
and Buddhist devotion; the body, and the social construction of emotions and asceticism.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2022. Hopkins.
Fall 2023. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 012. The History, Religion, and Culture of India I: From the Indus Valley to the Hindu Saints
A study of the religious history of India from the ancient Indo-Aryan civilization of the north to the establishment of Islam under Moghul rule.
Topics include the ritual system of the Vedas, the philosophy of the Upanishads, the rise of Buddhist and Jain communities, and the development
of classical Hindu society. Focal themes are hierarchy, caste and class, purity and pollution, gender, untouchability, world renunciation, and the
construction of a religiously defined social order.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 012B. Hindu Traditions of India: Power, Love, and Knowledge
This course is an introduction to the religious and cultural history of Hindu traditions of India from the prehistoric Indus Valley in the northwest
to the medieval period in the southeast, and major points and periods in between, with a look also at formative points of the early modern period.
Our focus will be on the interactions between Vedic, Buddhist, brahmanical, popular/ritual, and Jain religious traditions in the development, and
formation of Hindu religious streams, along with major ritual and ascetic practices, hagiographies, and myths, hymns and poetry, and art and
images associated with Hindu identities and sectarian formations, pre-modern and modern. In addition to providing students with a grasp of the
basic doctrines, practices, and beings (human, superhuman, and divine) associated with various Hindu traditions, the course also seeks to equip
them with the ability to analyze primary and secondary sources.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 013. The History, Religion, and Culture of India II: Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Dalit in North India
After a survey of premodern Hindu traditions, the course tracks the sources of Indo-Muslim culture in North India, including the development of
Sufi mysticism; Sindhi, Urdu, and Tamil poetry in honor of the Prophet Muhammad; syncretism under Mughal emperor Akbar; and the
consolidation of orthodoxy with Armad Sirhindi and his school in the 16th to 17th century. We then trace the rise of the Sikh tradition in the
milieu of the Mughals, northern Hindu Sants and mendicant Sufis, popular goddess worship and village piety, focusing on several issues of
religious experience. We then turn to the colonial and post-colonial period through the lenses of the Hindu saints, artists, and reformers (the
"nationalist elite") of the Bengali Renaissance, and the political and religious thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Dalit reformer Ambedkar. We
will use perspectives of various theorists and social historians, from Ashis Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Peter van der Veer, to Veena Das and Gail
Omvedt.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ISLM
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 030. The Power of Images: Icons and Iconoclasts
This course is a cross-cultural, comparative study of the use and critique of sacred images in biblical Judaism; Eastern Christianity; and the
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions of India. Students will explore differing attitudes toward the physical embodiment of divinity, including
issues of divine "presence" and "absence"; icons, aniconism, and "idolatry"; and distinctions drawn in some traditions between different types of
images and different devotional attitudes toward sacred images, from Yahweh's back and bleeding icons to Jain worship of "absent" saints.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 034. Partitions: Religions, Politics, and Gender in South Asia Through the Novel
This discussion-focused, seminar-style course will focus on a close reading of modern and contemporary South Asian novels and short stories
structured around the theme of "partition(s)," not only the historical events of the partition of Bengal (East Pakistan, eventually Bangladesh),
India's Partition in 1947, or the social catastrophe of Indira Gandhi's Emergency in the 1970's, but the long shadows of these events right up to
the (social, political) present. We will focus on many "figures of partition," personal, religious, and political, in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil,
Urdu, and English prose literatures of India and Pakistan. Themes will range from religion and politics, gender/power; sexuality; love within
and outside of the family; women, honor, and seclusion; asceticism and eroticism; caste, class, ethnicity, and race; children and their social and
political vulnerabilities; and love, politics, and inter-caste marriage in Hindu, Parsee, Sikh, Muslim, and Christian settings in South Asia.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Hopkins.
Spring 2024. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 042. Performing Ecstasy Dancing the Sacred
(Cross-listed as DANC 038)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 051. Asian Religions in the Americas
Taking a hemispheric approach, this course will examine the histories, communities, and religious practices of Asians in South, Central, and
North America and the Caribbean. We will learn about the indentured labor trade that brought Indian and Chinese laborers to the Americas in
the 19th-20th centuries, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the case of Bhagat Singh Thind, and Japanese internment camps during WWII, in
addition to other examples of racism and resistance that Asians faced migrating across the Americas. Our focus will be on how Asians have
sacralized the local landscape and maintained and/or altered their religious practices, as well as how Asians have penetrated the culture of the
Americas, looking at topics like food, architecture (temples and religious institutions), music, and pop culture. As part of the emphasis on culture,
we will also explore the impact of Asian religions on American culture from the early transcendentalists to the Rajneesh movement and more,
exploring the ways in which Asians have transformed the cultures of the Americas as much as their communities have been transformed by their
new homelands.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC
Fall 2021. Persaud.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 108. Poets, Saints, and Storytellers: The Poetry and Poetics of Devotion in South Asian Religions
A study of the major forms of Hindu religious culture through the lenses of its varied regional and pan-regional literatures, with a focus on the
literature of devotion (bhakti), including comparative readings from Buddhist and Islamic traditions of India. The course will focus on both
primary texts in translation (religious poetry and prose narratives in epic and medieval Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Hindi, Pali, Sinhala,
Sindhi, and Urdu) as well as pertinent secondary literature on the poetry and poetics of religious devotion. We will also pay close attention to
specific literary forms, genres, and regional styles, as well as the performance (music and dance) and hagiographical traditions that frame the
poems of Hindu saint-poets, Buddhist monks, and Muslim mystics. Along with a chronological and geographical focus, the seminar will be
organized around major themes such as popular/vernacular and "elite" traditions; the performance and ritual contexts of religious poetry; the
place of the body in religious emotion; love, karma, caste, and family identity; asceticism and eroticism; gender and power; renunciation and
family obligations.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Fall 2023. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 114. Love and Religion
A comparative seminar that deals with ancient Greek, early and medieval Christian, medieval Jewish, "secular" troubadour, Hindu, South Asian
and East Asian (Japanese) Buddhist traditions on the transformations of "love" in religious devotional literatures. We focus on themes of erotic
and parental love; gender, sexuality, and the body; the emotions as ethical appraisal; individual love, loss, lament, and "ennobling virtue;" and
the enduring tensions between the particular and "universal" in discourses of and about love, the passions and their vicissitudes in the histories
of religion. Primary texts will range from Plato's Symposium, Gregory of Nyssa's Greek commentaries on the Song of Songs and his Bios
makrinou; the Occitan poetry of female Provençal troubadours, Dante's Vita nuova, selections from the Commedia, Angela di Foligno's Libello;
to early Buddhist women in the poetry and narratives of the Pāli Therīgāthā, the Sinhala narratives of the Buddha's wife Yasodharā and the
Buddha's two mothers, Bengali poetry to the Hindu goddess Kālī and to the divine lovers Krishna and Rādhā; Heian-period Japanese love poems
of Izumi Shikibu, and Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, MDST
Fall 2022. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Sociology and Anthropology
ANTH 020J. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as DANC 025A)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 079B. Dancing Desire in Bollywood Films
(Cross-listed as DANC 079)
This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the
dance sequences in Bollywood. We will examine the place of erotic in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to
desires for commodity. The primary focus will be centered on approaches to the body from anthropology and sociology to performance, dance,
and film and media studies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Note:
* Cognate course. Counts toward Asian studies if all papers and projects are focused on Asian topics. No more than two may be applied to the
course or honors major. No more than 1 credit may be applied to the honors minor.
+ Cognate seminar. No more than 1 credit may be applied toward the honors major. It does not count toward an honors minor.
Biology
Faculty
NICHOLAS KAPLINSKY, Professor
1
ELIZABETH A. VALLEN, Professor
AMY CHENG VOLLMER, Professor
ALEXANDER BAUGH, Associate Professor
EVA-MARIA COLLINS, Associate Professor
2
BRAD DAVIDSON, Associate Professor and Chair
VINCENT FORMICA, Associate Professor
JOSE LUIS MACHADO, Associate Professor
3
CAROLYN BAUER, Assistant Professor
DAWN CARONE, Assistant Professor
KIT YU KAREN CHAN, Assistant Professor
JEFF GAUTHIER, Assistant Professor
STEPHANIE CAMPOS, Visiting Assistant Professor
TIMOTHY DUBUC, Visiting Assistant Professor
JACOB GROSSMAN, Visiting Assistant Professor
MATTHEW LESLIE, Visiting Assistant Professor
ERIN CLEMENS, Laboratory Instructor
HANNAH DONALD, Laboratory Instructor
JOCELYNE MATTEI-NOVERAL, Laboratory Instructor
STACEY MILLER, Laboratory Instructor
SUSAN O'DONNELL, Laboratory Instructor
NICOLE STOWELL, Laboratory Instructor
ALISON DANILAK, Administrative Coordinator
1
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
2
Absent on leave, Spring '22 - Fall '23.
3
Absent on leave, Fall '21.
At all levels of the biology curriculum, students are engaged in learning about the functions and evolution of diverse biological systems as well as
the methods by which biologists study nature. There is much flexibility in the curriculum, allowing students to craft a path through the biology
major that best suits their own interests. While fulfilling the requirements for the major, students are able to build a broad biological background
by taking courses focused on different levels of biological organization, while also being able to concentrate on specialized areas of particular
passion if they choose.
Our goals for biology majors
A basic tenet of the department is that the best way to learn about biology is to do biology. Therefore, all of our introductory and intermediate
core courses have weekly laboratories or field trips where students learn to become biologists by making original observations, asking questions
about life processes, solving problems and designing and testing hypotheses by performing experiments. Communication skills are emphasized in
all biology courses, as students read and evaluate research articles in scientific journals, write laboratory reports according to the standards of
professional scientific writing, participate in frequent opportunities for oral presentations and critical discussion, and work in research teams.
The curriculum prepares students to pursue careers in research or to apply their biology interests and knowledge to careers as diverse as
medicine, governmental policy planning, science education, public health, and writing children's books. A number of departmental alumni have
also chosen careers outside of science, such as law and finance, where they report that the organizational, critical thinking, and communication
skills that they learned as a biology major have been crucial for their success.
The Academic Program
In addition to first-year seminars, the department offers four different types of courses. Students are introduced to the study of biology at
Swarthmore by taking BIOL 001, Cellular and Molecular Biology, and BIOL 002, Organismal and Population Biology. Either course may be
taken first. Courses numbered 003-009 do not have associated laboratories. Diverse intermediate-level courses, some offered in alternate years,
allow students to choose coursework in areas of particular interest. Intermediate courses numbered 010-039 have laboratories and courses
numbered 040-069 often do not. Intermediate courses generally have BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 (or AP credit) as prerequisites. Some of these
courses also require prior coursework in the Chemistry Department. Finally, advanced seminars (with three-digit course numbers)
have intermediate-level courses as prerequisites and are usually taken by students in their junior or senior years.
Majors and minors
The Biology Department offers a course major, course minor, honors major and honors minor. In addition, special majors in biochemistry and
neuroscience are regularly offered in cooperation with the Chemistry and Biochemistry and Psychology departments, respectively. A student may
choose an interdisciplinary minor in environmental studies, which includes courses in the Biology Department. In addition, the department has
also supported special majors as described below.
Sample paths through the discipline
As pointed out in the introduction, there are many paths to a biology major. Following are some ideas to keep in mind as you plan your schedule.
Getting started as a biology major: Nearly all majors take BIOL 001 and/or BIOL 002 during their first year. These two courses may be taken in
either order and it is not uncommon for prospective majors to take BIOL 002 during the spring semester of their first year, and BIOL 001 during
the fall semester of their second year. Students who realize their interest in biology later have also taken both courses during their sophomore
year and successfully completed the major in eight semesters. We generally encourage all students to take at least one of the introductory
courses, even if they have AP credit. BIOL 001 is always offered in the fall semester, and BIOL 002 always in the spring semester.
We encourage majors to fulfill the mathematics and chemistry requirements for the major during their first two years. In particular, some
intermediate level courses require CHEM 010 and CHEM 022. Completion of those chemistry courses gives more flexibility in biology course
choice. However, we are willing to work with students to craft the best path for each individual.
Continuing as a biology major: Because most intermediate level courses require both BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 (or AP credit), taking both
courses before continuing on in the field usually serves students best. For planning purposes, most Group III intermediate-level courses are
taught in the fall semester, and most Group I intermediate-level courses are taught in the spring semester. Some Group II courses are taught in
spring and others in fall.
The seminar course(s) you are most interested in taking may influence your other course choices. In addition to your own interests, prerequisites
for seminars (which may consist of a specific intermediate-level course), faculty leave schedules, and study abroad considerations may constrain
your course choice and schedule.
Some faculty strongly encourage students interested in doing research with them to take at least one course with them before working on a
research project. It is important to talk to specific faculty members you are interested in working with to understand their specific requirements
for work in their laboratory.
Completion of the biology major: Course majors must pass the comprehensive exam (BIOL 097 Themes in Biology) during the spring semester of
the senior year. Honors majors are required to enroll in at least one credit of BIOL 180 (often but not always in the fall semester of their senior
year), and in Senior Honors Study (BIOL 199), which is taken in the spring semester of the senior year.
Course Major
Acceptance criteria
a. Three courses (or advanced placement credit and two courses) in biology. If the student does not have an AP, IB, or transfer credit,
both BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 are required. Courses numbered 003-009 may not be used for acceptance to the major.
b. CHEM 010, or placement approved by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.
c. Swarthmore College credit for two courses in mathematics or statistics (not STAT 001 or MATH 003). Alternatively, students may
complete Calculus II (MATH 025) to satisfy the math requirement. Students who place out of Math 025, by the placement test
administered by the Mathematics and Statistics Department, will have satisfied the math requirement for the major. The Biology
Department strongly recommends a course in statistics for majors.
d. Applicants must have an average grade of C (2.00) or better in BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 (or if AP credit is given, in the first two
biology courses taken at Swarthmore). In addition, the applicant must have an average grade of C (2.00) or better in all courses taken
in the Biology Department, and an overall average grade of C (2.00) or better in the Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering at
Swarthmore College (biology, physics and astronomy, chemistry and biochemistry, mathematics and statistics, engineering, and
computer science). Unpublished grades in biology for the first semester of the first year will be considered in the C average
requirement; passing grades of CR in other courses in the Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering are acceptable.
e. Students who have not completed the requirements for acceptance to the major will be deferred until the end of the fifth
semester. Students who have not completed all requirements for acceptance to the major by the end of the fifth semester will no
longer have priority in lotteries based on their sophomore plan, and will need to re-apply for the major before the last day of classes
in their junior year.
Requirements for graduation
a. Credit requirements: Students majoring in biology must complete a minimum of eight biology credits, at least five of which must be
taken at Swarthmore College. Courses taken during the first semester of the first year are all CR/NC. After this semester, only one
Biology course with a recorded grade of CR can be used to fulfill the requirements of a Biology major. Seminars (100-139) and BIOL
097 may not be taken CR/NC. CHEM 038 (Biochemistry) may be counted as one of the eight biology credits. SP credits cannot be
used to satisfy the eight credit requirement.
b. Distribution requirements: Students majoring in biology must pass at least one intermediate course in each of the following three
groups: I. Cellular and Molecular Biology, II. Organismal Biology and III. Population Biology. The digit in the tens place of the
course number signifies the group of the course (i.e., BIOL 010 is a Group I course, BIOL 020 is a Group II course and BIOL 030 is a
Group III course).
i. Students majoring in biology may count only one course numbered 003-009 toward the eight required credits. Courses
numbered 003-009 do not meet the Group distribution requirement.
ii. BIOL 093 (Directed Reading) and BIOL 094 (Independent Research) count as credits toward the biology major but cannot
be used as distribution requirements. No more than two credits in BIOL 093, BIOL 094 or BIOL 093 and BIOL 094 in
combination may be used to satisfy the eight-credit requirement for the biology major.
iii. CHEM 038 (Biochemistry) may be counted as a Group I course and as one of the eight Biology credits required for the
major. In this case, the CHEM 038 grade will be counted towards the biology GPA.
c. Seminar requirement: All biology majors are required to take at least one seminar (with a course number greater than 100). A
seminar in biology is defined as an advanced offering that uses primary rather than secondary source materials and encourages
active student participation in presentation and discussion of materials. Note that all seminars have at least one intermediate level
course (numbered 10-39) as a prerequisite; the particular prerequisites for seminars vary and should be considered during selection
of intermediate level courses. All seminars must be taken at Swarthmore College. Students must earn a B grade or better in the
intermediate course used as the seminar prerequisite to enroll in a seminar.
d. NSE breadth course requirement: Students majoring in Biology must complete two courses from the list of NSE breadth courses
(below).
e. Comprehensive examination: All biology course majors must satisfy the College requirement of passing a comprehensive examination
given by the major department. In biology, this comprehensive examination is the lecture series BIOL 097, Themes in Biology. BIOL
097 is offered only in the spring semester and is usually taken by students during the spring of their senior year. This course features a
series of visiting speakers who give presentations connected by an overarching theme that can be addressed from all areas of biology.
It enables faculty and students to interact on an intellectually challenging project, allows students to think about a topic from a variety
of levels of biological organization and gives students the opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of distinguished biologists.
i. Biology majors are required to take BIOL 097. BIOL 097 counts as one of the eight credits required for a major in biology.
ii. Evaluation of a student's performance for this comprehensive examination will be graded and will be based on the
questions prepared by each individual and team for each lecture, participation in discussions, hosting a guest speaker and
the final presentation.
iii. Students who fail BIOL 097 fail the comprehensive exam and thus may not graduate.
iv. If a student is given permission by the College to be away from campus during the spring semester of the senior year, the
Biology Department faculty may give permission to the student to write a senior paper and enroll in BIOL 095, a Senior
Project, to satisfy the College requirement of a comprehensive examination. Alternatively, the student may be given
permission by the chair of the Biology Department to enroll in Themes in Biology during the junior year if the student has
planned in advance to be away during the spring semester of the senior year.
f. NSE breadth courses: The study of biology relies on concepts and tools from other disciplines in the natural sciences. In order to
strengthen these connections we require that majors take NSE breadth courses that interest them in order to enhance their abilities as
broadly trained biologists. Courses that satisfy the NSE breadth requirement for the Biology major are: ASTRO 014 or above,
CHEM 015 or above, COMP SCI 021 or above, ENGR 005 or above (with the exception of ENGR 010), MATH 15 or above, PHYS
003 or above (with the exception of PHYS 029), STAT 11 or above, ECON 031 or 035.
i. Courses used to meet the Math/Stat criterion for acceptance to the major may not be counted toward the NSE breadth
course requirement. Courses used to meet any other Biology major requirement may not be counted toward this
requirement. While a student may test or place out of the Math criterion by AP, IB, or math placement test for acceptance
to the Biology major, both NSE breadth courses necessary for the completion of the major must be taken after
matriculation at Swarthmore. If a student uses CHEM 038 to satisfy their Group I requirement, it may not be used to
satisfy the NSE breadth requirement.
Course Minor
Students who wish to minor in biology must complete six credits, at least four of which are to be taken at Swarthmore College. The GPA
requirement to enter the minor is the same as for biology course majors 2.00 in BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, 2.00 in courses taken in the Biology
Department, and 2.00 in all courses taken in the Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering. Both BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 are required
(although one or both of these may be replaced by credit from an advanced placement examination after another biology course is completed;
note that the department strongly encourages all students with AP credit to take at least one of the introductory courses). There are no
requirements for courses outside the department. There is no distribution requirement within the department for the minor. Only one course
numbered 003-009 is allowed. Only one credit in BIOL 093 or BIOL 094 is allowed. CHEM 038 (Biochemistry) may be counted as one of the six
biology credits. BIOL 097 may NOT be used as a Biology credit for Biology minors. SP credits cannot be used to satisfy the six credit
requirement.
Courses taken during the first semester of the first year are all CR/NC. After this semester, only one Biology course with a recorded grade of CR
can be used to fulfill the requirements of a Biology minor. Seminars (100-139) may not be taken CR/NC.
Honors Major
Acceptance criteria
a. The course requirements for acceptance to an honors major in biology are the same as those for a course major in biology (see
above).
b. Admission to the Honors Program in biology is based on academic record. Applicants to the Honors Program in biology must have a
grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in all courses taken in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Division at Swarthmore College and
must obtain a grade of B or better in all lecture courses and seminars used for the Honors Program. Applicants must also have a GPA
of 3.00 in all biology courses. Unpublished grades in biology for the first semester of the first year will be considered in these
requirements; passing grades of CR in other courses in the Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering are acceptable.
c. Students should list the anticipated fields of study, including two seminar courses, in their Sophomore Plan.
d. Students who are accepted into the program must select a research project and mentor by the middle of the junior year. Final
approval of the student's Honors Program will occur during the fall semester of the senior year when the Final Honors Program
Form is signed by the chairs of the participating departments.
Requirements for graduation
a. Credit requirements for honors: In addition to fulfilling the requirements to be accepted as biology honors major, honors biology
students must complete a minimum of eight biology credits. Courses taken the first semester of the first year are all CR/NC. After this
semester, only one Biology course with a recorded grade of CR can be used to fulfill the requirements of a Biology honors
major. Seminars (100-139) may not be taken CR/NC. Students must earn a grade of B or better for all courses and seminars used for
honors preparations. Honors students may not take Bio 097, Themes in Biology, for credit but are welcome and encouraged to attend
the seminars. SP credits cannot be used to satisfy the eight credit requirement.
b. Distribution requirements for honors: Students graduating with an honors major in biology must pass at least one intermediate course
in each of the following three groups: I. Cellular and Molecular Biology, II. Organismal Biology, and III. Population Biology. The
digit in the tens place of the course number signifies the group of the course (i.e., BIOL 010 is a group I course, BIOL 020 is a Group
II course and BIOL 030 is a Group III course).
c. Seminar requirement for honors: All honors biology majors are required to complete at least two seminars (those with a number
greater than 100) for honors preparations. A seminar in biology is defined as an advanced offering that uses primary rather than
secondary source materials and encourages active student participation in presentation and discussion of materials. Note that
all seminars have a prerequisite course from the intermediate level (numbered 010-039); the particular prerequisites for each seminar
should be considered during selection of intermediate level courses. The two seminars used for honors preparations must be taken
from different faculty members and must be taken at Swarthmore College. Students must earn a B grade or better in the intermediate
course used as the seminar prerequisite to enroll in a seminar.
d. Research (Thesis) requirement for honors: At least one, but not more than two, credits of thesis research (BIOL 180) are required.
Thesis research will be graded by an External Examiner. The thesis research will be a substantial project carried out over 2
semesters, 2 summers,
or 1 summer + 1 semester.
i. The primary mentor for the thesis need not be a Swarthmore faculty member, but a Swarthmore faculty member must agree
to be an on-campus mentor.
ii. Students should plan on completing their research by the end of the fall semester of their senior year.
iii. The honors thesis has a page limit of 20 pages, not counting references, figures, figure legends or tables.
e. Senior Honors Study: Senior Honors Study (BIOL 199) is required for all honors majors in the spring semester of their senior year.
This integrative and interactive program prepares each student to finalize and present his or her thesis work formally, in both oral
and written forms. During the first few meetings of the semester, faculty members are available for consultation about data analysis.
At mid-semester, students present posters of their projects to the faculty and other honors students for review. Comments from faculty
and students on these posters will guide students in revising and polishing their written theses. SHS BIOL 199 is Credit/No Credit and
the evaluation is done by the biology faculty.
f. Review of work for honors: The Biology Department will review the academic work of all candidates for the external examination at
the end of the junior year and in November of their senior year. Progress on thesis research is assessed at the beginning of the fall
semester of the senior year. At these times, the department may ask a candidate to discontinue participation in the Honors Program.
Withdrawal from the Honors Program must occur by December 1 of the student's senior year. At that time, the student is responsible
for consulting with the department about satisfying the comprehensive requirement for the major.
g. Honors examinations: Students will take two written examinations, one based on each of their seminar preparations. The biology
written examinations will be closed-book, 3-hour exams. The oral exams are normally one-on-one, but there are special
circumstances under which a student may be examined by a panel of examiners. Oral examinations for seminar preparations are
normally 45 minutes in length. The oral exams for thesis research are 60 minutes in length.
h. NSE breadth course requirement: Biology Honors majors must complete two courses from the following list of courses outside the
Biology Department: ASTR 014 or above, CHEM 015 or above, CPSC 021 or above, ENGR 005 or above (with the exception of
ENGR 010), MATH 015 or above, PHYS 003 or above (with the exception of PHYS 029), STAT 011 or above, ECON 031 or 035.
1. Courses used to meet the Math/Stat criterion for acceptance to the major may not also be counted toward the NSE breadth
course requirement. Courses used to meet any other major requirement may not also be counted toward this
requirement. While a student may test of place out of the Math criterion for acceptance to the major, both NSE
breadth courses must be taken after matriculation at Swarthmore.
Honors Minor
Biology minors in the Honors Program do not need to satisfy the distribution requirements of the major or take chemistry or mathematics unless
required to do so for a specific preparation. Honors minors do not participate in Senior Honors Study. Applicants to the Honors Program in
biology must have a GPA of 3.00 in all courses taken in the Divisions of Natural Sciences and Engineering, a GPA of 3.00 in all biology courses
taken at Swarthmore College, and a grade of B or better in all lecture courses and seminars used for the Honors Program.
The program in biology for an honors minor requires at least four credits and usually consists of BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, an intermediate level
course (course number between 10 and 39) and a seminar (course number greater than 100).
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
In addition to the process described by the Dean's Office and the Registrar's Office for how to apply for a major, we also ask that you attend the
departmental information meeting for sophomores. A copy of the Biology Student Handbook, which contains detailed information about courses
and other aspects of the major, minor, and regularized special majors, is available online via a link from the departmental homepage at
www.swarthmore.edu/biology.
Applicants from the sophomore or junior classes who have completed all the requirements with the appropriate grades are accepted as a course
major in biology. Applicants from the sophomore class who are in the process of completing these requirements with the required GPA are
accepted contingent upon successful completion of the missing courses. Others who will not complete these requirements by the end of the
current semester are deferred until the requirements are met. All students who have applied for the major in biology and who have been accepted
or deferred are assigned an adviser in the Biology Department.
Special Majors and Minors
Biochemistry
The Biology Department, in collaboration with the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, offers a course major and an honors major in
biochemistry. This major gives students the opportunity to gain a strong background in chemistry with special emphasis on the application of
chemistry to biological problems. Approval and advising for this special major are obtained through the Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department and details about the course and honors major can be found in the Chemistry and Biochemistry section of this catalog. The Biology
Department encourages biochemistry majors to take both BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 as a number of intermediate level courses in biology require
both courses as a prerequisite.
a. Honors biochemistry majors are expected to participate in Senior Honors Study (BIOL 199) only if the thesis research is done in the
Biology Department.
b. Honors biochemistry majors must conduct thesis research with a Swarthmore faculty member.
Neuroscience
The Psychology and Biology departments offer a special major in Neuroscience for course and honors majors that combines work in the two
departments in a way that allows students flexibility in choosing the focus of their Neuroscience major. Approval for this special major is done
through both departments. Each Neuroscience major is assigned a faculty advisor from whichever of the two departments best reflects the focus
of that student's plan of study. Details about the Neuroscience special major can be found on the Biology website.
Bioeducation
The special major in bioeducation requires six credits in biology. Most students take BIOL 001 and BIOL 002; a score of 5 on the Biology AP
exam or equivalent can substitute for BIOL 001 and/or BIOL 002 and count for 1 credit. Students must take Evolution (BIOL 034) and at least
one intermediate Group I and one intermediate Group II course. Completion of Chem 010, Math 015 and STAT 011 or placement out of these
courses is required. In addition, the NSE elective requirement can be fulfilled by one of the following: ASTR 016, CHEM 015 or CHEM 022,
CPSC 021 or above, PHYS 003/003L or above (not including PHYS 29 or 95), ENGR 005 or above (with the exception of ENGR 010), Math 025
or above. The special major in Bioeducation will include at least five credits in Educational Studies. Students should consult with the chair of
the Educational Studies Department about specific requirements. Approval and advising for this special major are through the Biology and
Educational Studies Departments.
Environmental Studies
A minor in environmental studies consists of an integrated program of five courses plus a capstone seminar (ENVS 091), which a student takes in
addition to a regular major. The details of the minor and courses offered may be found at www.swarthmore.edu/envs.xml. The five courses must
include at least one course in environmental science/technology; at least one course in environmental social science/humanities; and at least one
more course from either of these two groups for a minimum of three courses from these two lists. Up to two of the five required courses may be
chosen from the list designated adjunct and interdisciplinary courses. The capstone seminar is offered in the spring of the student's senior year.
Advising for this program is by the chair of the Environmental Studies Committee.
Other special majors
Individualized special majors may be constructed after consultation with the chairs and approval of the participating departments. The special
major is expected to specify a field of learning that crosses departmental boundaries and can be treated as a sub-field within the normal
departmental major. Individualized special majors consist of at least 10 credits, but usually not more than 12. A more detailed explanation of the
individualized special major is found in Chapter 7 "Educational Program." Previously approved special majors include cognitive science,
neuroscience, environmental science, biostatistics and biophysics.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
See Acceptance Criteria and Requirements for Graduation, Comprehensive Examination.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Both BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 are required for the biology major and minor. However, one or both of these courses may be replaced by credit
from one of the advanced placement examinations listed below, which will be granted after one biology course with laboratory is completed in
the department. One biology credit is awarded for a score of 5 on the advanced placement examination; a score of 6 or 7 on the International
Baccalaureate; or A on the Higher Level of Biology, Advanced Level Examination, German Arbitur, Austrian Matura or French Baccalaureate
exam. Note that the department strongly encourages all students with advanced placement credit to take at least one of the introductory
courses. If both Biology 001 and 002 are taken, however, the AP/IB credit is dropped from the transcript. Our AP policy is unchanged for
students taking the AP Biology examination in 2020
Transfer Credit
Credit for courses taken at an institution at which the student was previously matriculated may be counted toward the biology major. Courses
will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine which departmental distribution requirements they meet.
Off-Campus Study
The Biology Department faculty enthusiastically support study abroad for their majors. Majors may study abroad and earn credits that count
toward the requirements for a biology major or, alternatively, participate in programs without earning biology credit, while still completing the
major in eight semesters. By college regulation, we cannot guarantee a specific amount of credit in advance toward the Swarthmore degree for
successful completion of academic work completed at other institutions, with the exception of regular semester coursework at Bryn Mawr,
Haverford, and the University of Pennsylvania completed under the four-college arrangement. Notwithstanding this restriction, our experience
has shown that, with proper advance planning, study abroad is nearly always compatible with completion of the degree in eight semesters
(including the semester(s) spent abroad). Planning is the key to success, and students contemplating study abroad are urged to see the Off-
Campus Study Adviser early in the planning process.
Prior to studying abroad, students should obtain preapproval and credit estimation as well as final approvals upon return through the Off
Campus Studies Department (OCS). Please refer to the OCS Credits web page for more information. The Biology Department, through this
process, will evaluate comparable credits, distributions and courses. Equivalencies and credits will be given based upon course materials
submitted by the student. Please contact the Biology Department Administrative Coordinator with any questions.
Research and Service-Learning Opportunities
Academic year opportunities
Research
Students may receive academic credit for research carried out either on- or off-campus (BIOL 094). Students interested in doing research on
campus should contact individual faculty members directly. For off-campus research credit in BIOL 094, the student must submit a one-page
proposal to the department indicating 1) prior course work in the area of research, 2) previous technical experience in a laboratory, 3) the name
and address of the director of the laboratory and the name of the person under whom the student will work directly, and 4) a short description of
the proposed project and the methods to be used in the investigation. This proposal must be presented to the chair of the Biology Department, no
later than one week before registration for the semester in which credit will be received.
There are also opportunities for students to be paid for research during the academic year. Individual faculty members should be contacted about
the potential for positions in their laboratory.
Academic Assistants
Each year approximately 10 students are selected to assist in the BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 laboratories. These students are selected for their
academic excellence, laboratory expertise, and ability to communicate with students. Each selected student assists in one laboratory per week
and attends a weekly staff meeting for the course. BIOL 002 hires two or three additional students to staff evening computer clinics. Contact the
laboratory coordinator for BIOL 001 or BIOL 002 for more information.
Approximately eight students are selected as Catalysts for excellence in comprehension, communication and compassion. Catalysts attend all
BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 lectures on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, meet weekly with the Catalyst program coordinator and faculty
lecturers throughout the semester, and facilitate small group problem-based learning in evening study sessions. Contact the department for more
information.
Dean's tutors in biology are hired on a rolling basis, to support student learning in BIOL 001 and BIOL 002. This is a flexible student position in
which tutors meet one-on-one with students at mutually convenient times, typically for one hour per week. Contact the department for more
information.
Experienced students are hired as laboratory assistants, van drivers and/or study guides in several intermediate level courses, including
Genetics, Marine Biology, and Neurobiology. Students are also hired to help with the care of organisms associated with various courses and
research laboratories. The departmental administrative assistant, animal facility manager and greenhouse manager, as well as individual faculty
members, may be contacted about these positions.
The department collaborates with the Chester Children's Chorus (www.chesterchildrenschorus.org/) to support Science for Kids, a summer and
academic year program focused on engaging children from the nearby Chester-Upland school district with experimental science. The academic
year program meets on Saturdays while classes are in session and the College has funds from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to pay
Swarthmore students involved in the program.
Student Committee for faculty searches
Each year the Biology Department conducts several searches for replacement faculty to teach courses when regular members of the department
are on leave. In some years there is a search for a permanent or tenure-track position. Students are invited to serve on a Student Search
Committee to interview and help select a candidate.
Summer opportunities
Research
Paid fellowships for summer research are offered by the Biology Department as well as other institutions. Funds are available for field and
laboratory research projects conducted on- and off- campus. Information regarding the awards, application deadlines and downloadable
applications are available on the Biology Department website. An information session is usually offered at the end of the fall semester to describe
opportunities in more detail.
Community service
The Biology Department collaborates with the Chester Children's Chorus (www.chesterchildrenschorus.org) to support Science for Kids, a
summer and academic year program focused on engaging children from the nearby Chester-Upland school district with experimental science.
The summer program commitment is 5-8 hours per week for 5 or 6 weeks and can usually be integrated with a full-time job or research position
elsewhere on campus. Contact Jocelyne Noveral if you will be on campus for the summer and are interested in participating.
Teacher Certification
Students may complete the requirements for teacher certification through a program approved by the state of Pennsylvania. Options to pursue a
biology major along with teacher certification or to pursue a special major in biology and educational studies are available. For further
information about the relevant set of requirements, please refer to the Educational Studies section of the Bulletin.
Life After Swarthmore
Graduate school
Many of our majors have gone on to graduate school in biology after completion of their degree. While some students attend graduate school
immediately after graduation from Swarthmore, others work for at least a year or two before applying to graduate programs. This time between
finishing at Swarthmore and graduate school can be used to gain more experience in biology, or to try out a new field. These experiences both
strengthen your graduate school applications and help you to know what you are most interested in studying. One- or two-year jobs are available
at a variety of research institutes, field stations, universities, museums, government laboratories and companies.
The Biology Department faculty are happy to talk with students about graduate programs and projects. Note that graduate schools in biology pay
Ph.D. students a stipend for research and/or teaching. In addition, a few prestigious fellowships (e.g., National Science Foundation Graduate
Research Fellowship) are awarded to the student (not to the program), giving the recipient more flexibility and autonomy in their graduate
program.
Career options/opportunities
In addition to graduate school and professional school (medical, law, veterinary, business) there are many other job possibilities. The American
Institute of Biological Sciences web page (www.aibs.org/careers/), which describes jobs open to people with a degree in biology, is a helpful
resource. A degree in biology can lead to positions in the following areas:
Research: This could include laboratory work, fieldwork, or some combination of the two. Major employers include universities, research
institutes, non-government organizations and companies (e.g., pharmaceutical, agricultural, biotechnology, food science).
Healthcare: Many doctors, dentists, nurses, veterinarians, laboratory technicians and other health care providers have backgrounds in the
biological sciences. Other biologists utilize their background in disease prevention and control.
Environmental management: Park rangers, conservation biologists, zoo biologists, and land management specialists use their background in
biology to develop and evaluate management plans to conserve natural resources.
Education: In addition to serving as university and college professors, some of our graduates teach in elementary and secondary schools, at
museums and zoos, and at aquaria and nature centers. Biology majors also author newspaper and magazine articles, and may contribute to
textbooks as writers, editors or illustrators.
Other ideas: Our graduates have obtained jobs in politics and policy, in areas such as economic and biological impacts of land use practices,
science advising on biomedical procedures, effects of climate change, and educating members of Congress about scientific issues. Other biology
majors have found positions in forensics, bioinformatics and computational biology. Finally, some majors have had careers in investment
banking, consulting and law.
Biology Courses
Biology course numbers reflect study at different levels of organization - General Studies (001-009, 040 - 069), intermediate courses in Cellular
and Molecular Biology (010-019), Organismal Biology (020-029), Population Biology (030-039), Seminars in Cellular and Molecular Biology
(110-119), Seminars in Organismal Biology (120-129), and Seminars in Population Biology (130-139).
Suggested first courses:
BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 are usually the first courses for students with an interest in biology. This includes students who are prospective biology
majors or minors as well as students who have taken the biology Advanced Placement exam. These courses can be taken in any order. BIOL 001
is not a pre-requisite for BIOL 002.
General Studies
BIOL 001. Cellular and Molecular Biology
An introduction to the study of living systems illustrated by examples drawn from cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology,
neurobiology, and developmental biology.
BIOL 001
does not have to be taken before BIOL 002; it can be taken afterward.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 001SP. Cellular and Molecular Biology
The Biology Department welcomes and supports students who have historically been and continue to be under-represented in our department
and discipline. This includes, but is not limited to, students who identify as Black, Hispanic or Latinx, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native
Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, first gen, low income, LGBTQIA+, gender non-conforming or who have a disability. BIOL-SP helps us reach
this goal by providing students the opportunity to take part in an encouraging, inclusive, and diverse learning community. Students enroll in
BIOL-SP during the same semester they are enrolled in BIOL 001. During BIOL-SP workshop meetings, students work in a small, supportive and
collaborative group with a faculty member to extend, deepen and synthesize their understanding of the introductory biology course material and
hone their study strategies.
Graded CR/NC.
Corequisite: Students must apply to get into BIOL 001SP and concurrently enroll in BIOL 001 (including a lab section).
Application
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 002. Organismal and Population Biology
Introduction to the study of organisms emphasizing morphology, physiology, behavior, ecology, and evolution of whole organisms and
populations.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
One laboratory per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 002SP. Organismal and Population Biology
BIOL 002SP
The Biology Department welcomes and supports students who have historically been and continue to be under-represented in our department
and discipline. This includes, but is not limited to, students who identify as Black, Hispanic or Latinx, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native
Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, first gen, low income, LGBTQIA+, gender non-conforming or who have a disability. BIOL-SP helps us reach
this goal by providing students the opportunity to take part in an encouraging, inclusive, and diverse learning community. Students enroll in
BIOL-SP during the same semester they are enrolled in BIOL 002. During BIOL-SP workshop meetings, students work in a small, supportive and
collaborative group with a faculty member to extend, deepen and synthesize their understanding of the introductory biology course material and
hone their study strategies.
Graded CR/NC.
Corequisite: Students must apply to get into BIOL 002SP and concurrently enroll in BIOL 002 (including a lab section).
Application.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 008. First Year Seminar: Containing Multitudes
Recent technological advances have illuminated the numerous and complex interactions that plants and animals have with their microbial
partners. These symbiotic relationships play essential roles in all ecosystems as they affect where organisms can live, how they get their
nourishment and even how they behave. Understanding and manipulating these partnerships has the potential to transform aspects of our lives -
from increasing the food supply to altering the practice of medicine. We will address the hurdles, the promise, and the risks of manipulating the
microbiome. Readings will include Yong's I Contain Multitudes, Blaser's Missing Microbes, and Offit's You Bet Your Life, as well as primary and
review articles from scientific literature.
This first-year seminar does not require any previous background in biology.
Natural Sciences and Engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Vallen.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 009. Our Food
(Cross-listed as ENVS 009)
The scale and efficiency of our food system is one of the marvels of the modern world. Yet in many ways this system is broken. This course will
address the current state of our agricultural food system from scientific, humanitarian and sustainability perspectives, focusing on the U.S. Each
student will grow crop plants and maintain a micro-garden plot on campus, as well as develop educational signage for the public that conveys
information about agriculture, food systems and/or their crop. Three full hours of lecture/discussion/lab and one floating hour of fieldwork per
week.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Pfluger.
Fall 2022. Pfluger.
Fall 2023. Pfluger.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Group I: Cellular and Molecular Biology (010-019)
BIOL 010. Genetics
The goal of this course is to provide a detailed understanding of the organization, function, and evolution of genes and genomes from a variety of
model organisms. Topics include classical genetics and the molecular basis of heredity, chromosome structure and genome organization,
genomic variation and gene regulation. In lecture and the laboratory, we will investigate both classical and current molecular approaches to
genetic analysis. A major component of the course will also explore the unique scientific methods geneticists use to solve problems. Finally,
over the course of the semester, we will consider the ways in which modern genetic technology affects society and our understanding of disease.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. DuBuc.
Spring 2022. Carone.
Spring 2023. Carone.
Fall 2023. DuBuc.
Spring 2024. DuBuc.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 013. Stem Cell Biology
Undifferentiated stem cells divide and differentiate throughout development to produce the specialized cell types found in multi-cellular
organisms. Stem cells also play critical roles in tissue regeneration. In this course, the molecular and cellular properties of embryonic and adult
stem cells and their potential therapeutic properties will be examined. Laboratory projects will include the evolution of stem cell systems,
pluripotency during embryonic development, growth, regeneration, and reproduction.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and 002 or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. DuBuc.
Spring 2023. DuBuc.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 014. Cell Biology
A study of the ultrastructure, molecular interactions, and function of cell components, focusing primarily on eukaryotic cells. Topics include
protein and membrane structure, organelle function and maintenance, and the role of the cytoskeleton.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, and previous or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 010; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Vallen.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 016. Microbiology
This study of the biology of microorganisms will emphasize aspects unique to prokaryotes. Topics include microbial cell structure, metabolism,
physiology, genetics, and ecology. Laboratory exercises include techniques for detecting, isolating, cultivating, quantifying, and identifying
bacteria. Students may not take both BIOL 016 and BIOL 017 for credit.
Prerequisite: CHEM 022; BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or by permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Vollmer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 017. Microbial Pathogenesis and the Immune Response
A study of bacterial and viral infectious agents and of the humoral and cellular mechanisms by which vertebrates respond to them. Laboratory
exercises include techniques for detecting, isolating, cultivating, quantifying, and identifying bacteria. Students may not take both BIOL 016 and
BIOL 017 for credit.
Prerequisite: CHEM 022; BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or by permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 019. Omics
An introduction to the study of genome structure, function, and evolution, with a focus on applying our understanding of genomes to answer
fundamental biological questions. The course will also investigate the related fields of proteomics, metabolomics, and systems biology.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or by permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Kaplinsky.
Spring 2024. Kaplinsky.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Group II: Organismal Biology (020-029)
BIOL 020. Animal Physiology
An examination of the principles and mechanisms of animal physiology, ranging from the subcellular to the integrated whole animal in its
environment. Possible topics include metabolism, thermoregulation, endocrine regulation, nutrient processing, and muscle physiology.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or permission of the Instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Bauer.
Fall 2022. Bauer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 021. Neuroethology
This course examines the neural basis of animal behavior. We will build upon biological concepts, taking a comparative approach to explore the
neural architecture underlying diverse animal sensory systems. Why are some responses reflexive and others require further neural
processing? Possible topics include the neural systems underlying startle and escape responses, signal jamming, spatial memory, sending and
receiving social signals, neuroendocrinology, neuroplasticity, and central pattern generators. Textbook reading will be supplemented with
current leterature in neuroethology.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Campos.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 022. Neurobiology
An in-depth study of modern neuroscience, examined through the lens of primary literature. After covering the foundations of nervous system
organization and function, we will perform critical reading of several significant papers, including meeting with authors to better understand the
process of research and publication. Laboratories will explore neurophysiology and behavior in a range of organisms - crayfish, leech, and
Homo sapiens.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Gauthier.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Gauthier.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 023. Biology and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles
An introduction to the scientific study of amphibians and reptiles. Examines their form, function, life histories, habitat requirements, and
biodiversity. Topics include anatomy, physiology, population biology, and conservation biology. Special attention will be given to conceptual
and applied topics relating to current concerns in amphibian and reptile conservation.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 024. Developmental Biology
In this course, we will explore the process by which single cells (fertilized eggs) develop into complex organisms. Students will conduct detailed
observations of live embryos and engage in independent experimental analysis during weekly laboratory sessions.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Davidson.
Spring 2024. Davidson.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 025. Plant Biology
This course is an exploration of the diverse field of plant biology.
Topics will include growth and development, reproduction, genetics and genome biology, evolution and diversity, physiology, responses to
pathogens and environmental stimuli, domestication, agriculture, and applications of plant genetic modification. Laboratories will introduce
organismal, cellular, molecular, and genetic approaches to understanding plant biology.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Grossman.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 029. Developmental Neurobiology
Group A Neuroscience.
This course and its laboratory component will examine the fundamental principles underlying nervous system development in both vertebrates
and invertebrates. Students will be introduced to the complex underlying mechanisms guiding neural development in several model organisms.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002; or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 027. Systems Biology
Can we describe complex biological networks (e.g. transcription regulation, signal transduction, neuronal networks) in terms of basic building
block circuits? Are there simple rules that allow us to understand fundamental biological processes such as cell-environment interactions,
embryonic development, and organismal patterning? Systems Biology is an innovative, cross-disciplinary approach that will train students in the
basic skills to tackle these fundamental biological questions and predict the dynamics of complex biological systems. This will be achieved
through hands-on training in biological, computational, and quantitative methods, and through reading of primary literature. In the laboratory,
students will work with diverse biological systems, including bacteria, eukaryotic cells, Hydra, and planarians, and design and execute
independent research projects.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001, Stat 11, Math 15, or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Collins.
Spring 2024. Collins.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Group III: Population Biology (030-039)
BIOL 030. Animal Behavior
This course provides an integrative and inquiry-based approach to understanding how and why animals behave the way they do. We build from
the foundation of ethology (the study of natural behavior) and explore the current state of the art in this field. During the first half of the
semester students are introduced to the major mechanisms (e.g., learning and memory, communication, sexual behavior, offspring care). During
the second half of the semester, we shift to understanding how these mechanisms and behaviors evolve under natural and sexual selection. Major
principles of evolution are covered, including phylogenetics and speciation. Textbook material is supplemented by primary research
articles. The lab component tracks the lecture organization with a focus on practical laboratory, behavioral testing and quantitative skill
development. Field trips are typically offered to provide an opportunity for data collection and group projects. This course serves as a Group A
Neuroscience elective.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or their equivalents or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Baugh.
Fall 2022. Baugh.
Fall 2023. Baugh.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 031. Marine Mammal Biology and Conservation
A survey of the unique evolutionary histories, ecological strategies and conservation concerns of cetaceans (whales & dolphins), pinnipeds
(seals, sea lions, and walruses), and sirenians (manatees and dugongs). Topics include how biologists study these animals, comparative
approaches to examining their evolution, anatomy and physiology, and marine mammal adaptations for living in a marine environment.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 or permission of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 034. Evolution
The course focuses on how the genetic and phenotypic structure of a population changes in response to mutation, natural selection, migration,
and genetic drift. Other topics, such as quantitative genetics, speciation, phylogeography, and adaptation, provide a broader view of
evolutionary processes.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period or field trip per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Fall 2022. Formica.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 036. Ecology
Spring 2022: How do organisms interact with each other and their environment? In Ecology, we will tackle this question by building quantitative
skills and applying them on the Swarthmore campus. Students will learn to model population growth and species interactions at the community
level in the R programming environment and gain experience with the field and lab skills ecologists use to understand and manage global
change. Through collaboration with local stakeholders and engagement with both Indigenous and Western approaches to understanding humans'
connection with the natural world, we will design and implement an ecological restoration project in the Crum Woods. Students do not need to
have previous fieldwork or R experience, but should be interested in cultivating these skills!
Fall 2022 & Fall 2023: The goal of ecology is to explain the distribution and abundance of organisms in nature through an understanding of how
they interact with their abiotic and biotic environments. Students will gain ecological literacy and practice by studying processes that operate
within and between hierarchical levels or organization such as individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems. All this knowledge will be
applied to understand the current global changes occurring in nature as a result of human activities.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002, or permission of the instructor. ENVS 001 accepted as pre-requisite Spring 2022.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Fall 2022: Three to 6 hours of laboratory and/or fieldwork in the Crum Woods per week, in addition to at least one field trip per semester.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Grossman.
Fall 2022. Machado.
Fall 2023. Machado.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 037. Conservation Biology
Cross-listed as (ENVS 063 )
This course provides an overview of the foundational concepts and future horizons of biodiversity conservation and illustrates central issues in
contemporary conservation with case studies, critical reading of primary literature, field experiences and exposure to quantitative methods
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period or field trip per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Fall 2022. Caviedes-Solis.
Fall 2023. Caviedes-Solis.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 039. Marine Biology
Ecology of oceans and estuaries, including discussions of physiological, structural, and behavioral adaptations of marine organisms.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory per week; several all-day field trips.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Chan.
Fall 2023. Chan.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 068. Bioinformatics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 068)
This course is an introduction to the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology, with a central focus on algorithms and their application
to a diverse set of computational problems in molecular biology. Computational themes will include dynamic programming, greedy algorithms,
supervised learning and classification, data clustering, trees, graphical models, data management, and structured data
representation. Applications will include genetic sequence analysis, pair wise-sequence alignment, phylogenetic trees, motif finding, gene-
expression analysis, and protein-structure prediction. No prior biology experience is necessary.
Can count as one of the credits required for the Biology major but does NOT satisfy distribution (Group I, II, or III) requirements.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035.
Natural science and engineering.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Group IV: (040-049)
BIOL 040. Astrobiology
In this lecture and discussion course, we will focus on the molecular and geological processes that contributed to the emergence of life on
earth. We will investigate what characteristics living organisms share and how those traits can be detected. These concepts underlie current
explorations for discovering life in our solar system as well as in other parts of our galaxy. Occasional guest lecture about discoveries of earth-
like planets elsewhere will enhance our understanding of current research.
This course can be counted towards the Biology major.
This course cannot be used to satisfy the Group I, II, or III requirements for the Biology major because it does not include a laboratory
component.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001, BIOL 002 and CHEM 010.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Vollmer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 041. Ecology, Evolution and Development
As we venture into the unknowns of human-induced environmental change, there is great urgency to understand the interplay between our
environment and animal development. Ecosystems rely on precise environmental cues to maintain their equilibrium and the reproduction,
embryogenesis, and speciation of many organisms is influenced by their environment. In this course we well discuss the plasticity of natural
systems, the links between epigenetics and phenotype, and delve into the role of the environment in evolution and development.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 042. Climate Change Science and Communication
cross listed as ENVS 061
Climate change is shaped by and shapes biological processes from the individual to the biome. In this course, students will develop a
foundational understanding of the physical and geochemical factors underlying Earth's changing climate, the impact of such changes on the
biological systems, and the consequences for human-environment interactions. Students will also develop strategic communication skills for
sustainability through practice with research-tested science communication tools. Course meetings will be split between lecture, hands-on
activities, paper discussions, and workshops.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 or 002 and one additional NSE course or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS., GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Independent Studies
BIOL 093. Directed Reading
A program of literature study in a designated area of biology not usually covered by regular courses or seminars and overseen by a biology
faculty member. Register through the Biology Department's Administrative Coordinator with faculty member's approval.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 094. Research Project
Qualified students may pursue a research program for course credit with the permission of the department. The student will present a written
report to the biology faculty member supervising the work. Register through the Biology Department's Administrative Coordinator with faculty
member's approval.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 094A. Research Project: Departmental Evaluation
Students carrying out a BIOL 094 research project will present a written and oral report on the project to the Biology Department.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 098. Neuroscience Thesis
As a means of fulfilling the neuroscience thesis requirement in the Biology department, a student must write a sole-authored scientific paper,
regarding research conducted in neuroscience, with a biology faculty advisor. Enrollment is usually during the senior year. Between 0.5 and 2.0
credits of BIOL 098 can be taken. See Neuroscience website for details.
https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology/neuroscience
A Biology Faculty Member must agree to supervise a student before he or she may enroll in BIOL 098. Register through the Biology
Department's Administrative Coordinator with faculty member's approval.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: Permission of the faculty advisor.
0.5 - 2.0 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 180. Honors Research
Independent research in preparation for an honors research thesis. A Biology faculty member must agree to supervise student honors research
before enrollment in this course.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Senior Comprehensive Examination
BIOL 095. Senior Project
With the permission of the department chair, a student may write a senior paper in biology to satisfy the requirement of a comprehensive
examination for graduation.
0.5 credits.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 097. Themes in Biology
Invited scientists present lectures and lead discussions on a selected topic that can be engaged from different subdisciplines within biology.
Serves as the senior comprehensive and examination; it is required of all biology majors in course. BIOL 097 may NOT be used as a Biology
credit for Biology minors.
Prerequisite: This class is available only to Biology course majors who are seniors or with permission from the department chair.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Honors Study
BIOL 199. Senior Honors Study
An interactive, integrative program that allows honors students to finalize their research thesis spring semester. BIOL 199 is not part of the 8-
credit minimum required for the biology major.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Seminars
BIOL 111. Genome Regulation by Noncoding RNA
This seminar explores regulatory mechanisms governing gene expression, nuclear organization and inheritance. We will specifically explore the
ways in which non-protein-coding RNA contributes to gene regulation and the maintenance of genomic integrity, including the molecular bases
for a variety of human pathologies such as cancer and aging. Through extensive reading of primary literature, students can expect to gain an in-
depth understanding of the properties, functions and evolution of noncoding RNAs in critical genomic regulatory processes and current
applications to human disease research.
Prerequisite: BIOL 010 or any Group I intermediate course, BIOL 024, or BIOL 025 with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Carone.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 113. Stem Cells in Development and Regeneration
Animals begin life as a naive set of cells capable of forming all the tissues of the body. During the journey to becoming multicellular, animals
establish stem cell populations that are used to maintain tissue homeostasis. Additionally, during the earliest stages of life, many animals set
aside germ cells (precursors of sperm or eggs) that they hide away in their body until adulthood. The mechanisms that govern these processes
are crucial for the continuity of life from generation to generation. In this seminar, we will explore the mechanisms that govern stem cell
populations during development. This seminar will cover the most recent advances in stem cell research, with a focus on new methodologies for
biomedical and basic scientific research. In addition, we will read and discuss primary literature on highly regenerative invertebrates and gain
a deeper appreciation for how our cells have evolved over millions of years.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and 002 and one of the following courses: BIOL 010, BIOL 013, BIOL 014, BIOL 019, BIOL 024, BIOL 029 or with
permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. DuBuc.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: Biology
BIOL 114. Symbiotic Interactions
Plant-microbe and animal-microbe symbioses play essential roles in the development, health and life of organisms and in ecosystem
function. Specific symbiotic partnerships and common themes (e.g., nutrient exchange, modulation of the imune response, specificity of host-
symbiont recognition) will be analyzed and discussed. Readings will be primarily from the research literature.
Prerequisite: One of the following courses: BIOL 010, BIOL 013, BIOL 014, BIOL 016, BIOL 019, BIOL 020, BIOL 024, BIOL 025, BIOL 027
or BIOL 034; or with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 115E. Plant Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
The course will investigate the technological approaches that plant scientists are using to address environmental, agricultural, and health issues.
Topics will include biofuels, nutritional engineering, engineering disease and stress resistance, bioremediation, and the production of
pharmaceuticals in plants.
Prerequisite: BIOL 025 or any Group I course with permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 116. Microbial Processes and Biotechnology
A study of microbial mechanisms regulating metabolism and gene expression in response to natural and experimental stressors with emphasis on
central and intermediary metabolism. Technical and ethical applications of these concepts in biotechnology will be addressed.
Prerequisite: BIOL 016 or CHEM 038; students planning to use BIOL 116 as an honors preparation must have BIOL 016 or permission of
instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Vollmer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 117. Trends in Pharmacology
Pharmacology investigates the mechanisms of drug effects from the molecular level to the whole animal. We will examine the mode of action of
drugs, learn about drug design and development, xenobiotic metabolism and the cellular and organismal responses to drug exposure. Students
will explore the field of pharmacology through student-driven discussion of primary leterature. Topics will encompass landmark pharmacology
papers as well as new approach methds.
Prerequisite: STAT 011, CHEM 010, and one of the following: CHEM 038, BIOL 014, BIOL 020, BIOL 022, BIOL 027, or with permission of
instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 119. Genomics and Systems Biology
Fundamental questions in biology are being answered using revolutionary new technologies including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics,
systems biology, modeling, and large-scale protein and genetic interaction screens. These approaches have changed how scientists investigate
biological problems and allow us to ask questions about cells, organisms and evolution that were impossible to address even five years ago.
Readings will include animal, plant, fungal, and bacterial literature.
Prerequisite: BIOL 019 or any Group I intermediate biology course with permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Kaplinsky.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 120. Physiological Ecology.
This seminar is focused on physiological responses to variable environmental conditions. Endocrine, reproductive, metabolic, renal, and other
physiological systems will be explored in this seminar, with a strong emphasis on maternal effects. We will use the primary literature as a guide
to discuss experimental design, trends in the field of physiological ecology, and science communication. Class time will be focused on discussion
and student presentations.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001, 002, and 020, or permission of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering.
1 Credit.
Spring 2022. Bauer.
Spring 2023. Bauer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 121. Neural Systems and Behavior.
This seminar will examine the genetic, molecular, and functional requirements of identified brain systems, neural circuits, and individual neurons
in the regulation of behavior. Discussion of primary literature will include the neural systems and behaviors of invertebrate and vertebrate
model organisms, including Drosophila, mice, and humans. Research projects will utilize Drosophila as a model system to investigate the genes,
neurons, and circuits involved in courtship, motor, and pain-sensing behaviors.
Prerequisite: BIOL 010, BIOL 014, BIOL 020, BIOL 022, BIOL 024, BIOL 029, OR BIOL 030 or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
2 credits.
BIOL 122. Reverse Engineering the Brain
How can we understand the nervous system? Using primary research articles as our guide, we will try to identify the principles behind
neuroscience experiments and their interpretation. Specific content areas will include memory and learning, visual perception, and motor system
control.
Prerequisite: BIOL. 022 or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Gauthier.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 125. The Cellular Basis of Embryonic Development and Cancer
Through discussion of the primary literature, students will investigate how precisely coordinated cellular processes promote the formation of
embryos. We will also explore how disruptions in these processes promote cancerous cell behaviors. Potential topics include - cell migration
and metastasis, the role of matrix adhesion in regulating embryonic and stem cell proliferation and the ability of cells to interpret their
environment using dynamic internal structures.
Prerequisite: Completion of one of the following: BIOL 010, 013, 014, 019, 024, or 025 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Davidson.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 126. Biomechanics in Development and Regeneration
Biomechanics investigates the interplay of mechanical forces and biological processes across scales, from nanomachines to whole
organisms. This interplay is an important mechanism influencing key processes in embryonic development, disease, and regeneration of
animals. Research in biomechanics also serves as inspiration for bioengineering and regenerative medicine. In this seminar, students will
explore the primary literature in biomechanics through student-led discussions. Focus areas may include development, regeneration, or animal
behavior.
Prerequisite: BIOL 027 or with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 127. Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
This seminar examines major themes in how hormone systems in the brain influence animal behavior. A weekly journal club format allows us to
understand and critique the primary literature in this field, and will include topics such as how sex steroids organize the developement of
behavioral differences, the hormonal basis of animal personality, how stress hormones impact decision making, the role of peptide hormones in
feeding and fasting, and other topical areas in the field. Students work in small groups to present primary articles each week and lead
discussions. Occasional field trips and guest researchers enrich the instructional experience. This course serves as a Group A Neuroscience
elective.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and 002, or their equivalents and the completion of one of the following courses: a) BIOL 030 Animal Behavior; b) BIOL
020 Animal Physiology; or c) BIOL 022 Neurobiology.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Baugh.
Spring 2024. Baugh.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 129. Developmental Neurotoxicology
In this seminar students will explore the field of developmental neurotoxicology, with an emphasis on alternative toxicology models and
computational approaches. The seminar will encompass student-driven discussion of primary literature, ranging from landmark toxicology
papers to new approach methods. Course content emphasizes statistical and quantitative methods.
Prerequisite:
At least one of: BIOL 027, BIOL 022, BIOL 029, or with permission of instructor.
Recommended: STAT 021
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Collins.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 131. Animal Communication
This seminar will examine animal communication from a cross-disciplinary perspective with a focus on the evolution and physiology of
communication systems and an emphasis on understanding the primary literature. Weekly readings and student-led discussion of the primary
literature are modeled after a journal club course in graduate school and allow students to develop an in-depth understanding of scientific
critique. Engaged participation in these "crit sessions" provides students with the skills and confidence to decompose complex scientific studies,
extract the relevant results, and evaluate the rigor of experimental design. This class takes an explicitly quantitative approach to understanding
animal behavior.
Prerequisite: Completion of BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, or their equivalents; BIOL 030; or with permission of instructor.
Recommended: A course in statistics (e.g. STAT 011).
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 128. Evolution and Development
In this course, we will explore how alterations in embryonic development contribute to evolution. We will cover a wide range of examples
spanning body plan diversification during the Cambrian explosion through the much more recent diversification of humans and other
primates. Through engagement with the primary literature, students will learn how comparative genomics, experimental analysis of gene
regulatory networks and in-depth dissection of cellular processes have revealed discrete genetic, molecular and cellular changes underlying the
evolutionary acquisition of novel traits.
Prerequisite: Completion of one of the following: BIOL 010, 013, 014, 019, 024, 025, 034, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 Credit.
Fall 2022. Davidson.
Fall 2023. Davidson.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 134. Evolution of Animal Societies
All animals interact with members of their own species as some point in their lives most animals live in groups and repeatedly interact with the
same individuals. The structure and
composition of these societies shapes and is shaped by evolutionary processes. This course will take an evolutionary perspective to tackle topics
such as why animals live in groups, what ecological forces shape the structure of societies, why have complex societies evolved, and how does
living in a society affect the evolution of animal bodies and behavior. As an honors seminar, the majority of the work will focus on reading and
discussing the primary literature with a special focus on social network analysis. Students in the course will practice
communicating complex ideas through a variety of means including scientific figures, posters, and outreach tools.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 and (1) Group III Biology course (BIOL 03X or BIOL 13X) or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 Credit.
Fall 2021. Formica.
Spring 2023. Formica.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 136. Molecular Ecology and Evolution
Understanding molecular techniques and analysis has become increasingly important to researchers in the fields of ecology and evolution.
Through discussion of the primary literature students will explore how molecular tools are being implemented in studies of biogeography,
dispersal, mating systems, biological diversity, and speciation. Depending on interest, topics such as wildlife forensics, conservations genetics,
human migration, molecular clocks, and bioinformatics will also be discussed.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 or BIOL 034; AND one Group I or Group III Biology course or BIOL 025.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 137. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Can the current decline in global biodiversity alter the functioning and stability of ecosystems? The answer to this question can be reached by
evaluating the ecological consequences of changing patterns in biodiversity, through either extinction or addition of species. We will review the
relative or specific role of extrinsic factors (climate, disturbance, soils, etc.), genetic, taxonomic, and functional diversity in ecosystem
functioning using both experimental and natural evidence.
Prerequisite: Any Group III intermediate biology course. Students who have taken a Group I or Group II intermediate course may register with
consent of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Machado.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 139. Global Ocean Change Biology
This seminar will examine the impact of anthropogenic activities on marine organisms across different levels of biological organization. Keeping
pace with this rapidly evolving field, we will discuss primary literature across disciplines, including epigenetic and genetic responses,
organismal performances, ecological interactions, ecosystem functions and services. Strong emphasis on quantitative understanding.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, and any Group II or III intermediate course with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Chan.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Black Studies
Coordinator:
JOSEPH DERRICK NELSON (Educational Studies), Program Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Timothy Burke (History)
Syd Carpenter (Art)
Désirée Díaz (Spanish)
Anthony Foy (English Literature)
Nina Johnson (Sociology and Anthropology)
Dean Dion Lewis (Assistant Dean/Junior Class and Director of the Black Cultural Center)
Joseph Derrick Nelson (Educational Studies and Black Studies)
Peter Schmidt (English Literature)
Christine Schuetze (Sociology and Anthropology)
Valerie Smith (English Literature and Black Studies)
Edlin Veras (Sociology and Anthropology)
Sarah Willie-LeBreton (Sociology and Anthropology and Black Studies)
Carina Yervasi (Modern Languages and Literatures, French and Global Studies)
The purpose of Black Studies is to introduce students to the history, culture, art, social relationships, and political, religious, and economic
experiences of Black people in Africa, the Americas, and elsewhere in the world, and to explore new approaches - in perspectives, analyses and
interdisciplinary techniques - appropriate to the study of the Black experience.
Black Studies has often stood in critical relation to the traditional disciplines. Its scholars have used traditional and nontraditional
methodological tools to pursue knowledge that assumes the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora are central to understanding
the world accurately. The courses in the Black Studies Program at Swarthmore enhance the liberal arts tradition of the College, acknowledging
positivist, comparative, progressive, modernist and postmodernist, postcolonial, and Afrocentric approaches.
First Course Recommendations
BLST 015. Introduction to Black Studies
This course introduces students to the breadth and depth of the discipline in the Black Studies Program, using primary sources. It begins with an
examination of current debates that define theory, method, and goals in Black Studies. It also examines the movement from the more object
centered Africana studies to subject- and agency oriented Black Studies that occurred as a result of civil rights and anti-colonialist movements in
the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. The course examines the challenges that were levied against traditional academic disciplines with
the rise of anti-racist scholarship. It briefly examines the conversation between American, Caribbean, and African postcolonialists, and it allows
students to delve into some of Black Studies' most current and exciting scholarship, with a focus on the U.S.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. Nelson.
Fall 2022. Veras.
Fall 2023. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
This course introduces students to the breadth and depth of the discipline in the Black Studies Program, using primary
sources. It begins with an examination of current debates that define theory, method, and goals in black studies. It also
examines the movement from the more object centered Africana studies to subject- and agentic oriented black studies
that occurred as a result of civil rights and anti-colonialist movements in the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe.
The course examines the challenges that were levied against traditional academic disciplines with the rise of anti-racist
scholarship. It briefly examines the conversation between American, Caribbean, and African postcolonialists, and it
allows students to delve into some of black studies' most current and exciting scholarship, with a focus on the U.S.
The Academic Program
Course Minor
All interdisciplinary minors in Black Studies are required to take BLST 015: Introduction to Black Studies, ordinarily during their first two years,
and four additional courses listed in the catalog that earn Black Studies credit. Of these four additional courses, at least one of them must be
outside of the departmental major, and no more than one course taken outside of Swarthmore may be counted toward the minor. To be accepted
into the minor a GPA of 3.0 in Black Studies related courses is recommended. We strongly advise students to take at least one course in African
or African diasporic history.
Honors Minor
Honors minors must meet all requirements of the course minor. Students participating in the Honors Program are invited to define a minor in the
Black Studies Program. Honors minors in Black Studies must complete a two-credit preparation for their honors portfolio to be submitted to
external examiners. The following options apply:
1) A two-credit honors thesis written under program supervision,
2) A one credit thesis paired with a BLST course,
3) A two-credit honors seminar that counts toward the BLST Program, or
4) The pairing of two one-credit courses that count toward the BLST Program.
BLST 015. Introduction to Black Studies
This course introduces students to the breadth and depth of the discipline in the Black Studies Program, using primary sources. It begins with an
examination of current debates that define theory, method, and goals in Black Studies. It also examines the movement from the more object
centered Africana studies to subject- and agency oriented Black Studies that occurred as a result of civil rights and anti-colonialist movements in
the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. The course examines the challenges that were levied against traditional academic disciplines with
the rise of anti-racist scholarship. It briefly examines the conversation between American, Caribbean, and African postcolonialists, and it allows
students to delve into some of Black Studies' most current and exciting scholarship, with a focus on the U.S.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. Nelson.
Fall 2022. Veras.
Fall 2023. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
Requirements and Preparation for Honors Minors
The two-credit honors thesis must include work done for the interdisciplinary minor and should entail some unifying or integrative principle of
coherence. The Black Studies Committee must approve the proposal for the 2-credit honors thesis, normally during the fall of the student's senior
year.
Work in the Black Studies Program may be represented in the honors portfolio sent to the external examiner by the inclusion of an essay designed
to enhance and/or integrate work done in two or more courses, a revised and enriched seminar paper or a term paper from a Black Studies
Program course, a video or audio tape of a creative performance activity in dance or music, or other approved creative work.
Special Major
Students preferring more intensive work in Black Studies are welcome to design a special major by consulting with the program's coordinator,
usually during sophomore year. The special major includes the requirements for the minor plus 5 additional credits, one of which usually
includes a capstone experience to be decided upon in consultation with the program's coordinator. Forms for the Special Major are available
from the Registrar's Office and should be filed with the program coordinator and the Registrar's Office.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
Students may complete a one-credit course thesis (BLST 091) as part of the Black Studies minor or special major. Permission will be granted
only after consultation with the Black Studies coordinator and committee, normally either during the spring of the junior year or in September of
the senior year. Students may also do a thesis/culminating exercise as part of another Black Studies course taken during their senior year, but
this arrangement must be approved by the Black Studies program beforehand.
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
Students in any department may add an interdisciplinary minor in Black Studies to their departmental major by fulfilling the requirements stated
above. Applications for admission to the Black Studies minor or major should be made in the spring semester of the sophomore year through
MYSwarthmore.
Life After Swarthmore
Students with a background in Black Studies have pursued many different professions after graduation. Some have worked in research, or social
service organizations, while others have gone directly to graduate school. Many eventually become teachers or professors. But many others work
in broadcasting, arts, journalism, law (including international law), business, finance, politics, or non-governmental organizations. All consider
Black Studies to have been an important part of their liberal arts
education. https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/black-studies-program/WhatCanIDoWithABlackStudiesMajor.pdf
Black Studies Courses
Courses in the Black Studies Program are listed below. Courses of independent study, special attachments on subjects relevant to black studies,
and courses offered by visiting faculty that are not regularly listed in the catalog may also qualify for credit in the program, subject to the
approval of the Black Studies Committee. Students who wish to pursue these possibilities should consult with the program coordinator.
The following courses may be counted for credit in the Black Studies Program. Descriptions of the courses can be found in each department's
course listings in this catalog.
BLST 008B. Music, Race and Class
(Cross-listed as MUSI 008B)
Non-distribution.
Eligible for BLST
BLST 015. Introduction to Black Studies
This course introduces students to the breadth and depth of the discipline in the Black Studies Program, using primary sources. It begins with an
examination of current debates that define theory, method, and goals in Black Studies. It also examines the movement from the more object
centered Africana studies to subject- and agency oriented Black Studies that occurred as a result of civil rights and anti-colonialist movements in
the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. The course examines the challenges that were levied against traditional academic disciplines with
the rise of anti-racist scholarship. It briefly examines the conversation between American, Caribbean, and African postcolonialists, and it allows
students to delve into some of Black Studies' most current and exciting scholarship, with a focus on the U.S.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. Nelson.
Fall 2022. Veras.
Fall 2023. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 028. Black Liberation 2020
(Cross-listed with SOCI 028)
2020 has been a tumultuous year. Economic, social, environmental and political events around the world have put global racial hierarchy in
stark relief. In the United States, the Coronavirus pandemic is revealing and exacerbating existing racial inequalities. The continued state
sponsored killing of Black people has sparked the latest iterations of the Black Liberation Movement within and across multiple boundaries. In
this interdisciplinary course, we will investigate and uncover the seeds of these movements in previous eras, the conditions of white supremacy
that continue to call forth resistance, and the manifestations of that constant resistance globally, nationally, and local to our city of Philadelphia.
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, students will work with preeminent journalists, local organizers and community members to create a
podcast that will serve as a digital archive to tell multifaceted stories of Black Liberation 2020.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 030C. The Black Atlantic: Diasporic Perspectives and Resistance
(Cross-listed as SOCI 030C)
Triumph, failure, defeat, and resistance vis a vis slavery, colonization, and emancipation, are central in shaping the vastness of Black
experiences. In this course we bridge individual and historical processes. Our engagement with Black authors' historical fiction and empirical
works invites us to consider the day-to-day negotiations of Black: struggles, joys, sorrows, and freedoms as both intimately personal and
ideological endeavors. Our focus spans slavery in the US and Caribbean and colonization of sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting important
connections and distinctions unique to locales and their relationality to white supremacy.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Veras.
Spring 2024. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 033. African Cinemas
This course is an introduction to the filmmakers and history of the cinemas (film, video, and new media) of the African continent, focusing
primarily on Francophone West Africa. Students will be introduced to key film concepts and will develop their ability to write critically on the
moving image. Discussion immediately follows each film. Readings and course discussion are in English. Films are subtitled in English.
0.5
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-Paired
BLST 040G. Between the "Is" and the "Ought" Black Social and Political Thought
(Cross-listed as SOCI 048G)
Our study of black social and political thought will include not only the pivotal scholarly texts, but also the social and political practice and
cultural production of abolitionists, maroons, Pan- Africanists, club women, freedom fighters, poets, and the vast array of "race men and
women" across the spectrum of crusades. We will explore the range of intellectual and cultural production and protest ideology/action of Blacks
through the politics and social observation of the pre-emancipation period, post-emancipation liberation struggles, and the post-colonial and
post-civil rights period.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 054. Toni Morrison
(Cross listed with ENGL 054. )
As the recipient of numerous literary prizes (Nobel, Pulitzer, and National Book Critics Circle Award, to name a few), Toni Morrison was an
author of international renown whose books routinely occupied a place on domestic and international best seller lists. Indeed, it is safe to say
that her work transcended what many readers ascertain as "black writing" in the 21st Century. Her works consistently engaged the role memory,
place, and community play in our lived experience. But how did Morrison understand her literary project in light of the fact that she eschewed
the white gaze as a controlling motif in her fictions? In a moment when discussions about how-and sometimes, whether-we value Black bodies
are happening all around us, this course offers us an opportunity to use the reading of Morrison's novels as a catalyst for new ways to think not
only about how we can occupy place, but happily cohabit with our neighbors whether they look like us, share our point of origin, or reflect our
values. In the process, we will endeavor to become a learning community in which critical thinking, analysis, dialogue, and debate are central to
developing inclusive methods of inquiry.
Humanities.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Beavers.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
BLST 059. The Black Freedom Struggle: From Civil Rights to Hip-Hop
This course is devoted to the study of the black efforts to achieve political, social and economic equality within the United States through protest.
Students will investigate the links between protest efforts in the era of World War II, the nonviolent and radical phases of the modern civil rights
movement and the development of a new culture of protest in the last quarter of the 20th century. In addition to studying historical texts, students
will analyze various forms of protest media such as Black Radio Days, cartoons, paintings and plays of 1960s Black Arts Movement and the
poems, lyrics, and graphic art of early hip-hop.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 060. Early Black Print Cultures
ENGL 060
This course introduces students to the wide variety of early Black print culture in the US, including newspapers, broadside poetry, political
pamphlets, and novels. We will attend closely to the materiality of these texts, reading not only for the work of authors but also that of
illustrators, editors, publishers, typesetters, and readers. What racial identities, aesthetic forms, and political possibilities did print afford? Our
investigations will be informed by readings in recent theory and criticism on Black Studies, print culture, and archives. In their final projects,
students will have the chance to pursue their own original research using the rich resources of Philadelphia-area libraries.
1
Eligible for BLST
BLST 090G. Black Liberation 1969: Black Studies in History Theory and Praxis
This research seminar on the civil rights movement and student activism will investigate the history of the black student movement on college
campuses in America circa 1968-1972 with an emphasis on unearthing the story of Swarthmore's own black student protest in 1969. Students will
write the first accurate history of the black protest as well as develop a creative project designed to educate the campus and broader community
about these events.
Non-distribution.
1.5 credits.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 091. Thesis
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 092. Seminar in Black Studies
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 094A. Student Run: Freedom Dreaming: Black Radical Insurgency and Abolitionist Imaginings
Students Fighting for Transformative Justice, Abolition, and Revolution (STAR) cultivates campus spaces that find ways in which we can join the
global fight to abolish the carceral state. The goal of this student-designed and student-run course is to provide members of STAR and the greater
Swarthmore College student sphere with foundational understandings of the carceral state, how it maintains hegemony, and its relationships to
racial capitalism, western imperialism, transformative justice, and abolition. Additionally, the course will seek to engage students with histories
of resistance and present-day movements for abolition, both inside and outside prison walls. This course will allow its participants to devise a
more fine-tuned vision for a world where power is reinstilled to the people- where justice is synonymous with accountability, restoration,
transformation- a world not only absent of the carceral state, but teeming with life-affirming institutions and freedom.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program/courses
BLST 099. Independent Study
BLST 116. Redefining US Southern Literature
(Cross-listed as ENGL 116)
Our focus this year will be on the long, grand, and problematic tradition of U.S. Southern literature especially fiction in both comic and tragic
modes as it developed after the Civil War to the present.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program/courses
BLST 133. Race, Boyhood, and Education
(Cross-listed as EDUC 133)
This seminar examines the lives of Black boys in U.S. schools and classrooms. Black boyhood and Black masculinity are utilized as frameworks
to interpret how aspects of school life influence their learning and identities, such as teacher expectations, school discipline policy, and special
education referral processes. Rooted in boys' agency and resistance, its goal is to inform a (re)imagining of educational spaces in ways that
cutivate the promise of Black boys, and other boys (and girls) of color.
Social Sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2023. Nelson.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
BLST 180. Honors Thesis
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies-program
Art History
ARTH 066. Race, Space, and Architecture
This colloquium considers how race and identity interact with architectural and urban spaces, especially in the United States in the twentieth
century. By studying the historical and theoretical dimensions of topics including the meanings attached to public and private housing, the
training and practice of designers, and the reconstruction and transformation of urban places, we will interpret how race has shaped buildings,
landscapes, and plans. In turn, we will also examine how the built environment has shaped the formation and interpretation of racial categories.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2023. Goldstein.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Dance
DANC 025A. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as ANTH 020J)
How do we locate competing claims of globalization, place-ness, and hybridization of cultural identity in a single frame? Dance offers an
unconventional but powerful frame for studying such competing claims of identity formation. This course will explore the interrelated themes of
performance, gender, personhood, and migration in the context of diasporic experiences. By focusing on specific dance forms from Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, we will examine the trajectories of the global and the local in constructing identity and difference. Students will engage with
theories on nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, as well as embodiment and experience. Broadly, the course will investigate the
interlocking structures of aesthetics and politics, economics and culture, and history and power, all of which inform and continue to reshape
these cultures and their dance forms.
The primary goal for this course is to develop an understanding of cross-cultural identity and difference through the study of dance in
contemporary society. The readings will introduce students to the constructed nature of cultural traditions and the contested nature of cultural
identities. The writing goals are to teach students how to read critically and write within the disciplines of Anthropology, Dance/Culture Studies,
Black Studies, and Global Studies. This course is eligible for credit towards a major or minor in Black Studies.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 043. Dance Technique: African Diasporic Traditions
This course is an exploration of Diasporic West African dance and drum traditions through kinesthetic engagement and selected philosophical
and aesthetic perspectives. This course will explore selected dance and drum traditions and their associated cultural functions as a way to enter
an embodied dialogue in African Diasporic dance traditions. Primary focus will be placed on dance and drum traditions from Mali, Senegal,
Guinea and Ghana as many of those dance and drum traditions have gained exposure in the West through National Dance Company tours.
Dancers and drummers from these companies have relocated to the States and teach the repertory of their national dances for the last 60 years.
The Philadelphia Diasporic dance and drum community is part of this rich legacy. The Swarthmore College Music and Dance Department
commemorates 25 years of Diasporic African dance and drum traditions. Be part of the legacy.
Students enrolled in DANC 043 for academic credit are required to write several detailed journals and a short final reflection paper.
Open to all students.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. Osayande.
Spring 2022. Osayande.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049C. Dance Performance Repertory: African Diasporic Traditions
Auditions for admission to this course will be held at the first class meeting. Additional information regarding the course is available from the
instructor. Resulting choreography will be performed in the spring student concert. Students will be expected to attend additional ensemble
rehearsals.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Osayande.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 053. Dance Technique: African Diasporic Traditions II
African dance II encourages experienced students to expand their understanding and technical execution of African dance forms. The course will
use the Umfundalai technique along with other neo-traditional African Dance vocabularies to enhance students' visceral and intellectual
understanding of African dance. Students who take African Dance II for academic credit should be prepared to explore and access their own
choreographic voice through movement studies.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 043 or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 078. Dance/Drum Ensemble
A repertory class in which students will learn, rehearse and perform traditional Ghanaian dances and drumming, and a contemporary
movement/rhythm piece consisting of both 'found' percussion 'discovered' movement. Participants will be encouraged to both play the rhythms
and learn the dance/movement. Students will be expected to attend additional ensemble rehearsals.
Performance: LPAC main stage, first week of December as part of the fall student dance concert.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Osayande. Rast.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Economics
ECON 073. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Economics
Does difference make a difference in economics? In this course, we use the theoretical and empirical tools of economics to recognize and analyze
the diverse economic experiences of individuals and groups and to explore sources of and solutions to persistent inequalities. We also examine
the roles of difference and diversity in the development of economic theory and policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 081. Economic Development
A survey covering the principal theories of economic development and the dominant issues of public policy in low-income countries. Topics
include the determinants of economic growth and income distribution, the role of the agricultural sector, the acquisition of technological
capability, the design of poverty-targeting programs, the choice of exchange rate regime, and the impacts of international trade and capital flows
(including foreign aid).
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. O'Connell.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 082. Political Economy of Africa
A survey of the post-independence development experience of Sub-Saharan Africa. We study policy choices in their political and institutional
context, using case-study evidence and the analytical tools of positive political economy. Topics include development from a natural resource
base, conflict and nation building, risk management by firms and households, poverty reduction policies, globalization and trade, and the
effectiveness of foreign aid.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 181. Economic Development
The economics of long-run development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We cover the leading theories of growth, structural change, income
distribution, and poverty, with particular attention to development strategies and experience since World War II. Topics include land tenure and
agricultural development, rural-urban migration, industrialization, human resource development, poverty targeting, trade and technology policy,
aid and capital flows, macroeconomic management, and the role of the state. Students write several short papers examining the literature and a
longer paper analyzing a particular country's experience.
Prerequisite: ECON 011, ECON 021, and either ECON 031, STAT 011, or STAT 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Educational Studies
EDUC 033. Black Education
This course examines the lives of Black children and youth in American education from a socio-historical perspective. A particular focus is
placed on the Black struggle for educational access and equality, and educational policies and programs designed to advance the education of
Black students. The goal is to reconsider how schools and classrooms can realize the promise and potential of Blacks in the United States.
Prerequisite: Either EDUC 014 or BLST 015.
1 credit.
EDUC 046. Race, Nation, Empire and Education
(Cross-listed as SOAN 040M)
Drawing on anthropology, history, and cultural studies, this course develops frameworks for understanding the historical and contemporary role
of education in race-making, nation-building, and empire-building projects. We focus on how educational processes shape the material, cultural,
psychological, socioeconomic, and political aspects of people's lives, and how these contend within a changing global landscape. Topics include:
education's dual role in settler colonialism and its potential for decolonization; scientific racism as it relates to discourses about intelligence;
institutions of higher education and their entanglements with slavery and imperialism; education in colonial and post-colonial settings;
legislating bodies and intimacies among young women of color; and education as a site for producing hegemonic notions of the ideal citizen-
subject. This course includes films, guest speakers, and field trips to enhance the learning process.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 068. Urban Education
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020B)
Drawing on anthropology, sociology, history, urban studies, and cultural studies, this course challenges popular notions of "urban education"
rooted in deficit thinking. We consider "urban" as a lens for conducting a spatial analysis of inequalities, and "education" as an expansive
concept that indexes the formal institution of schools, as well as informal youth culture. We also consider education's dual role in exacerbating
inequalities, and its potential as sites of resistance, refusal, and liberation. Course topics include: market-based school reform, pedagogies of
resistance, youth culture and the semiotics of language and fashion, school to prison pipeline, and segregation and integration. This course
focuses on Philadelphia as a case study, and includes fieldwork, films, guest speakers, and field trips to enhance the learning process.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, ESCH.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 133. Race, Boyhood, and Education
(Cross-listed as BLST 133)
This seminar examines the lives of Black boys in U.S. schools and classrooms. Black boyhood and Black masculinity are utilized as frameworks
to interpret how aspects of school life influence their learning and identities, such as teacher expectations, school discipline policy, and special
education referral processes. Rooted in boys' agency and resistance, its goal is to inform a (re)imagining of educational spaces in ways that
cultivate the promise of Black boys, and other boys (and girls) of color.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, GSST.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
English Literature
ENGL 009S. First-Year Seminar: Black Liberty/Black Literature
How have African American writers told stories of freedom, and how have they tried to tell them freely? How has the question of freedom shaped
the development of, and debates over, an African American literary tradition? Drawing upon fiction, poetry, personal narratives, and critical
essays, we will examine freedom as an ongoing problem of form, content, and context in black literature from antebellum slavery to the Harlem
Renaissance.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 054. Toni Morrison
(Cross-listed as BLST 054)
As the recipient of numerous literary prizes (Nobel, Pulitzer, and National Book Critics Circle Award, to name a few), Toni Morrison was an
author of international renown whose books routinely occupied a place on domestic and international best seller lists. Indeed, it is safe to say
that her work transcended what many readers ascertain as "black writing" in the 21st Century. Her works consistently engaged the role memory,
place, and community play in our lived experience. But how did Morrison understand her literary project in light of the fact that she eschewed
the white gaze as a controlling motif in her fictions? In a moment when discussions about how-and sometimes, whether-we value Black bodies
are happening all around us, this course offers us an opportunity to use the reading of Morrison's novels as a catalyst for new ways to think not
only about how we can occupy place, but happily cohabit with our neighbors whether they look like us, share our point of origin, or reflect our
values. In the process, we will endeavor to become a learning community in which critical thinking, analysis, dialogue, and debate are central to
developing inclusive methods of inquiry.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Beavers.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 060. Early Black Print Cultures
(Cross-listed as BLST 060)
This course introduces students to the wide variety of early Black print culture in the US, including newspapers, broadside poetry, political
pamphlets, and novels. We will attend closely to the materiality of these texts, reading not only for the work of authors but also that of
illustrators, editors, publishers, typesetters, and readers. What racial identities, aesthetic forms, and political possibilities did print afford? Our
investigations will be informed by readings in recent theory and criticism on Black Studies, print culture, and archives. In their final projects,
students will have the chance to pursue their own original research using the rich resources of Philadelphia-area libraries.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 061. The Literatures of Slavery
How did Black literary production emerge to resist the institution and ideology of slavery in the United States? While this course will focus
largely on antebellum slave narratives- powerful acts of self-presentation that challenged the racial logic of slavery and bore witness to its brutal
violence-we will also consider Black oratory, essays, poetry, and fiction of the late 18th and 19th centuries.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 062. Classic Black Autobiography
A survey of twentieth-century Black autobiography, emphasizing the significance of the autobiography as an act of representation, not simply a
document of experience. What strategies do Black narrators like Du Bois, Wright, Hurston, Dunham, Baldwin, Lorde, and Malcolm X employ to
represent themselves, and how? How do their textual strategies and contextual concerns change from the Jim Crow regime into the post-Civil
Rights era?
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2021. Foy.
Spring 2024. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 063. Contemporary Black Autobiography
How does the Black subject become the source and site of intersectional theory? This course examines the complexities of Black self-presentation
in relation to gender, sexuality, class, place, and history, with a particular focus on developments within the last decade, the era of Black Lives
Matter.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Spring 2022. Foy.
Spring 2023. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 064A. The New Negro Versus Jim Crow
The first in a sequence of courses on the post-Emancipation development of African American literature, this course focuses on the Black literary
florescence that began at the end of the 19th century even as the strictures and structures of the Jim Crow regime hardened. What, then, is the
relationship between the birth of Jim Crow and the birth of a "New Negro"?
18th/19th c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2021. Foy.
Fall 2023. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 068. Black Culture in a "Post-Soul" Era
Since the 1970s, younger generations of African American writers, artists, and intellectuals have struggled over the meaning of Blackness in the
wake of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements that preceded them. Supported by a handful of historical and critical studies, we will
examine how black novelists, playwrights, and poets in the 'post-soul' era have dealt with a complex of shifting and interconnected concerns,
including the imperatives of racial representation in a society increasingly driven by mass consumption and global media, the contentious
discourses of sexual politics, and the polarization of classes within Black America.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020M, ENVS 043)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offer students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GSST, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 116. Redefining US Southern Literature
(Cross-listed as BLST 116)
Our focus this year will be on the long, grand, and problematic tradition of U.S. Southern literature especially fiction in both comic and tragic
modes as it developed after the Civil War to the present.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Schmidt.
Fall 2023. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 119. Black Cultural Studies
How have black writers both represented and theorized a series of tensions characterizing African American culture since the end of slavery-
between past and present, roots and routes, folk and modern, sound and vision, city and country, nation and diaspora, culture and capital, people
and power? Motivated by such concerns, this seminar will examine approaches to African American literature that are historical, cultural, and
theoretical. Prior work in African American literature and/or Black Studies is recommended.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Environmental Studies
ENVS 043. Race, Gender, Class, and the Environment
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089, SOAN 020M)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Film and Media Studies
FMST 047. Race and Media Studies
This course interrogates the foundational role of race in the development of modern technologies and media theory. Moving across different
periods and media formations, we will address how race as a social category and cultural fantasy has been materialized through specific film
technologies, representational norms, and institutional networks. At the same time, we will also look at a range of films and television shows that
challenge protocols for constituting race as an object of knowledge and control.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
French
FREN 045D. Le monde francophone: Cinémas africains
This course is an introduction to the filmmakers and history of Francophone West African cinemas, including film, video, and new media.
Students will study the history and culture of this region, be introduced to key film concepts, and develop their ability to do in-depth film analysis.
Students must attend weekly screenings.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, FMST, GLBL-paired
Spring 2024. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 108. Littérature et cinéma moderne et contemporain: La question de représentation
Humanities.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 111. Désir (post)colonial
This course addresses how the colonial encounter has shaped modern perceptions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through the
production, circulation and consumption of deformed images of its colonial subjects. From noble savages and whimpering slaves to hideous
monsters and seductive harem girls, we will examine the dynamics of representation embedded in colonial narrations and visual constructions of
the "Other," focusing on conceptualizations of power as they relate to race, sexual politics and the gendering of the colonial subject. Primary
texts include literature of the slave trade, orientalist fictions and photographs, colonial films, museum exhibitions and world's fairs, and
contemporary works of fiction that deal with the legacy and sometimes continue the colonial desire.
Has a Francophone component. May be taken for 1 credit with permission from the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM, GSST, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
History
HIST 001W. First-Year Seminar: Promised Lands: European Settler Colonies 1830-1962
This course explores European settler colonialism in Africa (including Algeria, Angola, and South Africa), Southeast Asia (including Indonesia),
Oceania (Australia), and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries. Students will analyze the practices and lived experiences of the European
imperial project while considering topics such as intimate relationships; notions of self and identity; and economic, political, and physical
domination. We will examine settler reactions to decolonization and the legacies of settler colonialism in independent African and Asian states.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 007B. African American History, 1865 to Present
Students in History 7B investigate the history of African Americans from Reconstruction through the 21st century. Historical monographs,
autobiography, film, and literature reveal the story of emancipation, political activism, industrialization, and transformations in cultural identity
from Jim Crow to the election of the nation's first Black president.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 008A. West Africa in the Era of the Slave Trade, 1500 to 1850
This survey course focuses on the origins and impact of the slave trade on West African societies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Burke.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 008B. Mfecane, Mines, and Mandela: Southern Africa from 1650 to the Present
This course surveys southern African history from the establishment of Dutch rule at the Cape of Good Hope to the present day, focusing on the
19th and 20th centuries.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 031. France in Algeria, France and Algerians, 1830-present
What do the existentialist Albert Camus and the soccer star Zinédine Zidane have in common? The intertwined histories of Algeria (Camus'
birthplace) and France (Zidane's). This course examines that history, from the 1830 invasion to the War of Independence to today. We will ask
how the settler population, of whom Camus is just an example, emerged and analyze debates about citizenship represented by Zidane and other
children of Algerian migrants. Throughout, we will interrogate the history of French empire.
Prerequisite: Department prereq of a previous history course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM
Fall 2022. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 043. Antislavery in America
A research seminar in which students explore the history of antislavery, abolitionist, and emancipationist movements in North America.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 051. Black Reconstruction
This course recounts the struggle for freedom and national citizenship rights in the post-Civil War era. Black courage and determination secured
hard won successes despite "splendid failures." History, fiction, and film treatments will help students gain insights into "America's second
Revolution."
Prerequisite: A HIST or BLST course at Swarthmore or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 059. Motherhood in American History
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 089. The Environmental History of Africa
Cross-listed as ENVS 025
This course examines African history from an ecological and environmental perspective.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 090E. On the Other Side of the Tracks: Black Urban Community
The study of the black community in the United States, from the end of the American Revolution to the end of the 20th century. This course
investigates the link between racial identification and community formation, the strengths and weaknesses of the concept of community solidarity,
and the role class and gender play in challenging group cohesiveness.
Prerequisite: This course is not open to first-year students. A HIST or BLST course at Swarthmore.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 140. The Colonial Encounter in Africa
Students focus on the social, economic, and cultural dimensions of the colonial and postcolonial era in modern Africa.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, DGHU, INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Latin American and Latino Studies
SPAN 050. Afrocaribe: literatura y cultura visual
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination mainly through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts from the Hispanic Caribbean. We will analyze the political
and economical forces that have affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-
Caribbean philosophy, religion, music, and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will
pay special attention to ideas of colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation; myth and performativity; and transculturation,
syncretism and transvestism.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 052. Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 052S and LALS 052)
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts. We will analyze the political and economical forces that have
affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-Caribbean philosophy, religion, music,
and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will pay special attention to ideas of
colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation formation; transculturation and syncretism; and myth and performativity.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 053. Memorias a la deriva. El Caribe y sus diásporas
This course will focus on the study of the central role that notions of diaspora and insularity have played in the formation of Caribbean cultures
with emphasis in the symbolic representation of these issues during the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries. Particularly, we will pay attention to icons,
images, and metaphors that have become an essential part of Caribbean aesthetics and subjectivity like the island, the sea, the boat, the
hurricane, the bird, the cannibal, and the runaway. By tracing the representation of those emblems in a wide variety of texts and visual culture
works we will reflect on the intersections between history, politics, diaspora, ecology, and affects.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Linguistics
LING 025. Sociolinguistics: Language, Culture, and Society
(Cross-listed as SOAN 040B)
This course is an introduction to the connection between language and social and identity as it is studied from a variety of methodologies and
perspectives, including ethnography, variationist sociolinguistics, and experimental sociolinguistics in the lab. Topics to be examined include the
following: How do we create our intersecting identities when we use language? How do social factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and
socioeconomic class influence the way people use language? How do individual speakers use language differently in different situations? How do
social and regional dialects differ from each other, and why? How does language change spread within and between communities? Students will
collect and analyze data from real-life speech to explore the social correlates of linguistic behavior, using both qualitative and quantitative
methods to analyze their data.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Fall 2021. Fuller Medina.
Spring 2022. Conrod.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Modern Languages and Literature
LITR 078F. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with FMST 058 .
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Music
MUSI 003. Jazz History
In-depth insights into Jazz history from its African roots and early forms to its recent developments. Focusing on exemplary recordings and
musicians and including visiting Jazz musicians in class, the student will be able to get an overview as well as to make personal experiences and
to develop listening and analyzing abilities.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 003B. Listening to Jazz: Culture, Place, and Sound
In this introductory course, students will learn about the origins and development of Jazz music, starting from its beginnings in New Orleans, to
its growth as "America's music," and now as art form appreciated worldwide. We will engage with issues not only of history and location, but
also of sound and musical innovation, with a spotlight on improvisation as a hallmark practice of the genre. Students will develop engaged
music listening skills applicable to all musical genres as we learn more about Jazz music and the story that has been told about it. There are no
prerequisite courses necessary to enroll.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Klingenberg.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 005F. Black Popular Music: From "Race Music" to the Mainstream
Black popular music today sits at the center of the American mainstream, but it was not always so. In this course, we will chart the emergence
and development of Black popular music over the 20th and into the 21st century and examine the contexts that place it ever closer to the heart of
American music and as a continued reflection of Black life in America. Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Kendrick
Lamar, and Childish Gambino will all play a role as we listen to America through the soundscape of Black Pop. There are no prerequisites for
this course.
Prerequisite: None
1 credit
Eligible for BLST
MUSI 006D. Performing Resistance: Black Music and Protest in the African Diaspora
This course explores African diasporic music as it's been used in performative acts of resistance and protest in the United States, the Caribbean,
and South America. We will consider instances when music and movement have been deployed in response to political, economic, and social
tyranny in the past and in the present.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, PEAC, BLST
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Spring 2022. Stewart.
Catalog chapter: Music
MUSI 008B. Music, Race and Class
(Cross-listed as BLST 008B)
What is the power of music? How can music empower individuals and groups in the fight for justice? In this course we will investigate
contemporary case studies from around the world when groups have employed music to confront racism and classism in pursuit of social justice.
Case studies include Apartheid South Africa, Buraku Taiko drummers in Japan, and the Kamehameha Schools Songs Contest in Hawai'i.
Students will complete an original community project to share their course experience with other students on campus. Open to all students
without prerequisite.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, BLST, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 009B. Music as Oral Tradition
"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." This African proverb, popularized by Nigerian
novelist Chinua Achebe, reflects the absence of the voices of colonized subjects in recorded histories of colonial domination.
This course explores the music and oral traditions of African and African diasporic peoples as legible historical records that are valuable and
credible receptacles of, and sources for the dissemination and comprehensive production of world knowledge. As receptacles of knowledge, the
living archives of song, instrumental music, dance, storytelling, traditional foods, and spiritual practice offer communities a mode for
remembrance, and for teaching, learning, and preserving valuable social information. As sources of knowledge production, the records that
inhabit these living archives represent colonial histories from the perspective of the colonized, on their terms.
During this course, students will use selected case studies to examine how the living archives of colonized African and African diasporic people
in continental Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas have been influential in chronicling past and present struggles. They will consider how
these records remain vital to communities' ability not just to survive, but to thrive in the twenty-first century and beyond.
HU
1
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, Lang Engaged Scholarship, BLST
Spring 2022. Stewart.
MUSI 061. Jazz Improvisation
A systematic approach that develops the ability to improvise coherently, emphasizing the Bebop and Hard Bop styles exemplified in the music of
Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music and fluency on an instrument.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 071. Salsa Dance/Drumming
(Cross-listed as DANC 071)
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Philosophy
Political Science
POLS 028. The Urban Underclass and Public Policy (AP)
This course is a critical examination of some of the most pressing (and contentious) issues surrounding the nation's inner cities today and the
urban underclass: the nature, origins, and persistence of ghetto poverty; racial residential segregation and affordable public housing; social
organization, civic life, and political participation; crime and incarceration rates; family structure; adolescent street culture and its impact on
urban schooling and social mobility; and labor force participation and dislocation. We conclude by examining how these issues impact distressed
urban communities, such as the neighboring city of Chester.
Prerequisite: POLS 002
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Spring 2023. Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 063. African Politics (CP)
This course provides an introduction to contemporary African politics with a strong focus on political dynamics in particular African countries.
We begin with Africa's political history, examining pre-colonial structures, the impacts of colonialism, the post-colonial state and practices of
power. We then examine the social forces that shape contemporary politics (e.g., ethnicity, religion, gender, class) and the range of regime types
that have emerged in recent history. The final part of the course focuses on the economic dimensions of politics, conflict dynamics on the
continent and the role of local, regional and international actors in addressing development, peace and security issues. The core concepts and
theories explored in the course are brought to life through a semester-long reporting project in which students work closely over Skype with
experts in the region.
Note distributional change from IR
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST; GLBL-Paired; PEAC
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 064. African American Political Thought (TH)
This seminar is an engagement with African American political thought from approximately 1830 to the present. We will focus on issues such as
slavery, systemic racism, and segregation, as criticized by prominent African American philosophers, public intellectuals, and activists. However,
we will also use their texts to explore broader themes in political theory about the meaning of "freedom" and the burdens of democratic
citizenship. These include debates among African American intellectuals about coalition building, civil disobedience, violence, organized
religion, gender, social class, education, economic organization, and American foreign policy. We will think critically about how African
American political thinking both intersects with and challenges Eurocentric philosophical traditions, and how it intersects with intellectual and
political movements in the broader African diaspora community.
The syllabus may include thinkers such as David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Martin Delany, Harriet Jacobs, Booker T.
Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Harold Cruse, Malcolm X, Angela
Davis, Toni Morrison, Cornel West, Clarence Thomas, and Barack Obama.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, BLST
Spring 2023. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 070B. Politics of Punishment (AP)
The question of why the United States has become a vastly more punitive society-some 2.3 million Americans are held in jails and prisons
throughout this country, at last count-is the subject of this upper-level division seminar. The aim of the seminar is to provide both a critical and
in-depth exploration of the interplay among American electoral politics, public concerns regarding crime, and criminal justice policy. Among the
central questions we will examine are: How is it that so many Americans are either locked up behind bars or under the supervision of the
criminal justice system? And where did the idea of using "jails" and "prisons" as instruments of social and crime control come from? What
explains the racial and class differences in criminal behavior and incarceration rates? What does it mean to be poor, a person of color-and in
"jail" or "prison?" How and why does criminal justice policy in this country have its roots in both the media culture and political campaigns?
And how might "politics" underpin what is known as "felon disenfranchisement" or "prison-based gerrymandering?" What are the implications
of such political practices for broader questions of racial, economic, and social justice? And importantly, what are the prospects for reform of
America's incarceration complex?
Enrollment only by permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1.5 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Reeves.
Spring 2023. Reeves.
Spring 2024. Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Religion
RELG 003B. Varieties of Religious Experience in African Diaspora
This course explores varieties of Black Diaspora religion through the lens of religious experience -- or all those ways that Black ritual
foregrounds sensible encounters with Spirit as an aim of worship. Through reading discussions, lectures, multimedia sources, and social media
platform assignments, students will discover aspects of Black Spirit ritual through the domains of the five physical senses: touch, taste, sight,
smell, sound; choreography, kinaesthetics and embodied movement; and the Diasporic "sixth senses" of dreams, visions, divination, revelation,
spirit possession, trance, and ecstasy.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 007B. The Caribbean Carnival: Sacred Myth and Performance
From saint feast day processions and pilgrimages for Black Christ statues to Carnaval, Crop Over, and other Caribbean harvest festivals,
religious holidays in Latin America are occasions for celebration. This course focuses on religious festivals and ritual bodies to reveal the ways
these performances form mobile archives of history that yet testify both to the accumulated forces of colonialism, slavery, and capitalism that
shaped this region, as well as the power of choreography and other embodied movement as instruments and devices of popular insurgency.
Course materials include primary and secondary readings, multimedia sources such as ethnographic videos and audio recordings, material and
sartorial culture objects, and in-class lectures and discussions. Potential field trip to Philadelphia's El Carnaval de Puebla.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 010. African American Religions
What makes African American religion "African" and "American"? Using texts, films, and music, we will examine the sacred institutions of
Americans of African descent. Major themes will include Africanisms in American religion, slavery and religion, gospel music, African American
women and religion, black and womanist theology, the civil rights movement, and Islam and urban religions. Field trips include visits to Father
Divine's Peace Mission and the first independent black church in the United States, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Fall 2023. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 024. From Vodun to Voodoo: African Religions in the Old and New Worlds
Is there a kindred spirituality expressed within the ceremonies, beliefs, music and movement of African religions? This course explores the
dynamics of African religions throughout the diaspora and the Atlantic world. Using text, art, film, and music, we will look at the interaction of
society and religion in the black world, beginning with traditional religions in west and central Africa, examining the impact of slavery and
migration, and the dispersal of African religions throughout the Western Hemisphere. The course will focus on the varieties of religious
experiences in Africa and their transformations in the Caribbean, Brazil and North America in the religions of Candomblé, Santeria, Conjure,
and other New World traditions. At the end of the term, in consultation with the professor, students will create a web-based project in lieu of a
final paper.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 025. Black Women, Spirituality, Religion
This course is an exploration of the spiritual lives of African American women. We will hear black women's voices in history and in literature, in
film, in performance and music, and within diverse periods and contexts, and reflect upon the multidimensionality of religious experience in
African American women's lives. We will also examine the ways that religion has served to empower black women in their personal and
collective attempts at the realization of a sacred self. Topics include: African women's religious worlds; women in the black diaspora; African
American women in Islam, Christianity, and New World traditions; womanist and feminist thought; and sexuality and spirituality. Readings
include works by: Alice Walker; Audre Lorde; bell hooks; Zora Neale Hurston; Patricia Williams, and others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2022. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 043B. Decolonizing Afro/Latin American Religion
Is scientific knowledge superior to ancestral wisdom or spirit revelation in its ability to apprehend and describe reality? This course interrogates
the problem of coloniality as an imposition of power-knowledge that occurred as Iberians and their state-church institutions conquered
indigenous Americans and enslaved indigenous Africans. We will free the subjugated knowledges of "Latin" America by encountering alternative
narratives of history and sacred memory embedded within mythology and ritual. We will approach various streams of indigenous wisdom to
discover philosophical-ethical outlooks on justice, reciprocity, and right living. Students will develop an account of how Euro-America's
scientific-rational knowledge has appropriated the ethnobotanical and other ecological perspectives of Africans and Native Americans contained
within healing/wellness traditions.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 045. Bob Marley's Setlist: Vibrations of a Rastafari Worldview and Ethos
On July 21, 1979, Bob Marley & the Wailers performed at Boston's Harvard Stadium as part of the Amandla Festival of Unity held in support of
the liberation of South Africa. Their 90-minute reggae music concert featured a sonic-rhythmic-choreographic kaleidoscope looping the audience
through 400 years of Rastafari mythic history and prophetic visions: although Africans were taken captive to Babylon (the American wilderness
of racial capitalism), Jah Rasatafi had prepared a homeland in Ethiopia for the return of all Jah people, if only they chant down Babylon's
destruction by preaching one love, good vibrations, and unity in I-and-I.
This class holds reggae music as a preeminent liturgical corpus of the Rastafari tradition, and investigates the Rasta worldview as performed by
Bob Marley & the Wailers during their legendary Amandla set. Through a combination of concert video footage and a set of secondary source
materials, students will place each Marley & the Wailers reggae anthem within its mystic Rastafari theological, aesthetic, and historic contexts.
Topics include Diasporic Ethiopianism, Black Diaspora-Jewish Diaspora typology, Afro-Jamaican spirit-ecstatic musical traditions (myal,
obeah, kumina, and burru), Rasta womanhood/gender, Caribbean resistance to slavery via marronage and fugitivity (Tacky's Rebellion), pan-
Africanism (Marcus Garvey's UNIA "Back to Africa" Movement).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 047. Afro-Futurism: Astral Mythologies of Creation and the Afterlife
(Cross-listed as ENVS 057)
In his 1974 film Space is the Place, avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra announced his mission to rescue Black earthlings and shuttle them in his
spaceship to the safety of a newly-discovered planet: "I come to you as a myth. Because that's what black people are, myths. I come to you from a
dream that the black man dreamed long ago." In many ways, Sun Ra's prophecy parallels variants of the Dogon creation myth of Mali, West
Africa (recorded in the 1940s) that details the fateful voyage of the Nommos demiurge deities, who traveled to Earth in a sky vessel from a
planetary point of origin some observers speculate may orbit the Sirius star system.
Through primary and secondary readings, interactive classroom activities, and multimedia sources -- including a bevy of music and film
recordings -- this course investigates Afrofuturism as a radical imaginary within the broader corpus of Black Astral Mythologies. By tracing a
throughline between topics such as 16th-century astronomical observations at the University of Timbuktu, U.S. Underground Railroad fugitive
navigations according to the 'North Star,' and recent cosmogonic speculation by quantum physicists into the elusive nature of Dark Matter,
students will consider this premise: when the safe harbor of the earth no longer offers itself as habitation, Blackened celestial futures constellate
the cosmic horizons.
Possible field trip to the House of Future Sciences, headquarters of the Philadelphia collective AfroFuturist Affair.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 109. Afro-Atlantic Religions
This course investigates the Afro-Atlantic trope of spirit possession. The notion of "possession" contains a double meaning, referring in one
register to phenomena of trance, ecstasy, and other embodied engagements with Spirit(s), historically identified by religious studies scholars as
hallmarks of African Diasporic ritual traditions. In yet another register, the notion of "possession" chains Black religion to the history of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade and its logic of racial capital that sold Black bodies as commodities to be possessed by a master. By way of
ethnographic field reports, videos, films, and readings in critical race theory, kinesthetics, and phenomenology, students will untangle these
tropes of Black spirit and possession to discover what their alternative, Africanist perspectives might teach us about the nature of Being,
consciousness, materiality, and how to live well in ancestral community.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Spring 2022. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Sociology and Anthropology
ANTH 003G. First-Year Seminar: Development and its Discontents
In this course, our goal will be to gain a new perspective on an often-unquestioned social "good": that of international economic development,
including foreign aid to countries in the global south. This course will provide students with an introduction to the origin and evolution of ideas
about development, and will encourage them to examine major theories and approaches to development from classical modernization theories to
world-systems theories. Students will gain insight into how ideas of development fit into larger global dynamics of power and politics and how,
contrary to professed goals, the practices of international development have often perpetuated poverty and widened the gap between rich and
poor. During the course, we will investigate these issues through an array of texts that address different audiences including a novel, academic
books and journals, film, popular writings and ethnographic monographs.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, ESCH, GLBL - Core
Spring 2024. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 020J. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as DANC 025A)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 023C. Anthropological Perspectives on Conservation
Conservation of biodiversity through the creation of national parks is an idea and a practice that began in the U.S. with the creation of
Yellowstone in 1872. In this course, we will examine the ideas behind the initial creation of national parks and explore the global spread of these
ideas through the historical and contemporary creation of parks in other countries. As we examine the origin of the idea for parks, we will also
consider the human costs that have been associated with their creation. Ultimately, the class offers a critical exploration of theories and themes
related to nature, political economy, and culture-themes that fundamentally underlie the relationship between society and environment.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, GLBL- core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020B. Urban Education
(Cross-listed as EDUC 068)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, ESCH
Fall 2023. Liu.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020M. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as ENVS 043, ENGL 089)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GSST, BLST, GLBL-core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 007B. Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Today, most sociologists and anthropologists acknowledge that race is a social construct and not a biologically measurable and discrete
category. Although race does not exist in any consistent physiological way, it remains a central aspect of personal and cultural identity, often
standing in for the concept of culture or ethnicity and usually connoted by physically identifiable (or marked) difference. Race is also one of the
most significant predictors of quality of life for groups and individuals in the United States. With this in mind, we will examine the concepts of
race and its history in the United States. Paying particular attention to the legacy of white supremacy in the United States, we will explore the
multiple ways that race and ethnicity function in this country.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Spring 2022. Johnson, Veras.
Spring 2023. Veras.
Spring 2024. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 007C. Sociology Through African American Women's Writing
Interrogating the explicit and implicit claims that black women writers make in relation to work by social scientists, we will read texts closely for
literary appreciation, sociological significance, and personal relevance, examining especially issues that revolve around race, gender, and class.
Of special interest will be where authors position their characters vis-à-vis white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and the U.S.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 020D. Race in Latin America and the Caribbean
Is it the "one-drop rule," phenotype, or something else? Indeed, as a social construct, racial categories are created, codified, and contended
based on their unique sociopolitical histories. This course will introduce you to the sociological study of race and ethnicity throughout the
Americas-North, Central, and South. We will learn how white supremacy, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, and imperialism have shaped the
sociohistoric construction of race over time and space and its implications for racial inequality in respective societies. Central to this course, is
understanding comparative perspectives with how anti-Blackness and anti-indigeneity is constructed in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the
United States. The course invites us to consider how the legacies of European domination persist, and to think critically about how to move
forward.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Fall 2021. Veras.
Fall 2023. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 028. Black Liberation 2020
(Cross-listed as BLST 028)
2020 has been a tumultuous year. Economic, social, environmental and political events around the world have put global racial hierarchy in
stark relief. In the United States, the Coronavirus pandemic is revealing and exacerbating existing racial inequalities. The continued state
sponsored killing of Black people has sparked the latest iterations of the Black Liberation Movement within and across multiple boundaries. In
this interdisciplinary course, we will investigate and uncover the seeds of these movements in previous eras, the conditions of white supremacy
that continue to call forth resistance, and the manifestations of that constant resistance globally, nationally, and local to our city of Philadelphia.
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, students will work with preeminent journalists, local organizers and community members to create a
podcast that will serve as a digital archive to tell multifaceted stories of Black Liberation 2020.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 030C. The Black Atlantic: Diasporic Perspectives and Resistance
(Cross-listed as BLST 030C)
Triumph, failure, defeat, and resistance vis a vis slavery, colonization, and emancipation, are central in shaping the vastness of Black
experiences. In this course we bridge individual and historical processes. Our engagement with Black authors' historical fiction and empirical
works invites us to consider the day-to-day negotiations of Black: struggles, joys, sorrows, and freedoms as both intimately personal and
ideological endeavors. Our focus spans slavery in the US and Caribbean and colonization of sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting important
connections and distinctions unique to locales and their relationality to white supremacy.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Veras.
Spring 2024. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 037C. Racial Geographies
This course considers how racially oppressed peoples have imagined and interpreted place in ways that affirm life, foster belonging, expose
conflict, and create change. We will consider how the meaning and value of place is always being contested by differently situated social actors.
Moreover, we will consider how the loss of place can have destructive implications for collective identity and memory, but can also promote
collective action. Course readings will examine processes of forced migration, segregation, urban renewal, gentrification, displacement, and
community building.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048G. Between the "Is" and the "Ought" Black Social and Political Thought
(Cross-listed as BLST 040G)
Our study of black social and political thought will include not only the pivotal scholarly texts, but also the social and political practice and
cultural production of abolitionists, maroons, Pan-Africanists, club women, freedom fighters, poets, and the vast array of "race men and women"
across the spectrum of crusades. We will explore the range of intellectual and cultural production and protest ideology/action of Blacks through
the politics and social observation of the pre-emancipation period, post-emancipation liberation struggles, and the post-colonial and post-civil
rights period.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048I. Race and Place: A Philadelphia Story
Using Philadelphia neighborhoods as our site of study, this course will analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and spatial
inequality, emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of urban dwellers. We will survey major theoretical
approaches and empirical investigations of racial and ethnic stratification in cities, their concomitant policy considerations, and the impact at
the local level in Philadelphia. As part of The Tri-Co Philly Program, this course will engage scholars, practitioners, community members, and
leaders as teachers, learners, and researchers alongside students in the course.
Prerequisite: Requires permission of the Instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048L. Urban Crime and Punishment
This course takes a sociologically based yet interdisciplinary approach to the study of the politics of crime and the criminal justice system in U.S.
cities. We investigate the origins of the politics of law and order from the mid-twentieth century to today, against a broader backdrop of
macrostructural changes in the social, economic, and political landscape including but not limited to urban de-industrialization and
suburbanization. Using Philadelphia neighborhoods as our site of study, this course will analyze the relationship between urbanity, criminality
and spatial inequality, emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of urban dwellers. We will survey major
theoretical approaches and empirical investigations of politics, crime and stratification in cities, their concomitant policy considerations, and the
impact at the local level in Philadelphia. Readings and in-class discussions will be supplemented by experiences in the field and guest speakers
drawn from organizations involved in the crime/criminal justice system.
Requires permission of the Instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Fall 2021. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 058B. Black Feminisms
In this course, we will examine the contours of Black women's (womyn's/womxn's) ways of naming, being and knowing, their resistance to gender
and race hierarchies, violence, domination, and oppression, and their insistent love, joy, art, and creative practices. We will center black queer
feminisms, explore the intersections of race, gender and sexuality with class, region, religious and spiritual practices, generation, space and
place; explore black feminist thought and its relationship to womanism and other feminisms; explore the multitude of positionalities of black
women (womyn/womxn); examine mediated representations of black women; the commodification of black women's aesthetics, bodies and
sexualities, and the resistance to the same; and highlight black women (womyn/womxn) and femme centered spaces and collectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 127. Race Theories
Contemporary theories of race and racism by sociologists such as Winant, Gilroy, Williams, Gallagher, Ansell, Omi, and others will be explored.
Concepts and controversies explored will include racial identity and social status, the question of social engineering, the social construction of
justice, social stasis, and change. The U.S. is the focus, but other countries will be examined. Without exception, an introductory course on race
and/or racism is a prerequisite.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 138. DuBois and the 21st Century Color Line
(Cross-listed as BLST 138)
This course will generate an understanding of the sociology of W. E. B. DuBois and the role of insurgent theory. In it, we will uncover DuBois'
role as a founder of American sociology and analyze the social and political factors that relegated DuBois to the margins of the sociological
enterprise for over a century. Further, we will explore the significance of W.E.B. DuBois' contributions to projects of collective racial
advancement and the intellectual climate of twentieth-century America; identify critical junctures in the scholar's life related to his evolving and
some would argue increasingly radical worldview; highlight the importance of DuBois' sociological, philosophical, artistic, and educational
contributions to the transformation of 20th century American society; and ruminate on what lessons the life and work of DuBois offer us in this
contemporary moment.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Spanish
SPAN 050. Afrocaribe: literatura y cultura visual
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination mainly through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts from the Hispanic Caribbean. We will analyze the political
and economical forces that have affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-
Caribbean philosophy, religion, music, and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will
pay special attention to ideas of colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation; myth and performativity; and transculturation,
syncretism and transvestism.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 052. Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 052S and LALS 052)
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts. We will analyze the political and economical forces that have
affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-Caribbean philosophy, religion, music,
and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will pay special attention to ideas of
colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation formation; transculturation and syncretism; and myth and performativity.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 053. Memorias a la deriva. El Caribe y sus diásporas
This course will focus on the study of the central role that notions of diaspora and insularity have played in the formation of Caribbean cultures
with emphasis in the symbolic representation of these issues during the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries. Particularly, we will pay attention to icons,
images, and metaphors that have become an essential part of Caribbean aesthetics and subjectivity like the island, the sea, the boat, the
hurricane, the bird, the cannibal, and the runaway. By tracing the representation of those emblems in a wide variety of texts and visual culture
works we will reflect on the intersections between history, politics, diaspora, ecology, and affects.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Courses
Faculty
KATHLEEN P. HOWARD, Professor and Chair
STEPHEN T. MILLER, Professor
PAUL R. RABLEN, Professor 2
THOMAS A. STEPHENSON, Professor
LILIYA A. YATSUNYK, Professor 2
CHRISTOPHER R. GRAVES, Associate Professor
DANIELA FERA, Assistant Professor
KATHRYN R. RILEY, Assistant Professor 3
REMI BEAULAC, Visiting Assistant Professor
EMILY SAHADEO, Visiting Assistant Professor
MARIA E. GALLAGHER, Lecturer
DONNA T. HALLEY, Senior Laboratory Instructor
LORI P. SONNTAG, Senior Laboratory Instructor
KELLY N. AMBRUSO, Laboratory Instructor
THOMAS E. VAN AKEN, Laboratory Instructor
IAN MCGARVEY, Scientific Instrumentation Specialist
LAUREN NUTTLE, Administrative Coordinator
2 Absent on leave, Spring 2022.
3 Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
The objective of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department is to offer effective training in the fundamental principles and basic techniques of
the science and to provide interested students with the opportunity for advanced work in the main subdisciplines of modern chemistry.
The department offers a course major, honors major, course minor, and honors minor in chemistry. In addition, the department offers the
following special majors: in collaboration with the Biology Department, a course major and an honors major in biochemistry; and in
collaboration with the Physics and Astronomy Department, a course major and an honors major in chemical physics. We offer teacher
certification in chemistry through a program approved by the state of Pennsylvania. For further information about the relevant set of
requirements, please refer to the Educational Studies section.
The Academic Program
Course Sequence Recommendations
Students planning a major in chemistry or biochemistry should complete Chemistry 010/010 HN and 022 during their first year at Swarthmore.
During the sophomore year students can take 032 and 038 or 044 and 055 if the physics and mathematics requirements for physical chemistry
have been completed. In addition, students planning a major in Biochemistry should complete Biology 001 in their first two years at Swarthmore.
In the last two years, chemistry and biochemistry majors have some flexibility about the sequencing of the remaining requirements for the major.
However, students should note that completion of Chemistry 010/010 HN, 022 and one semester of a 40-level or 50-level course constitute a
minimum set of prerequisites for enrollment in any Chemistry and Biochemistry Department 100-level seminar. In addition, individual seminars
carry additional prerequisites so students should plan ahead accordingly.
Course Major in Chemistry
The course major in chemistry consists of the courses listed below as well as their mathematics and physics prerequisites.
Requirements
CHEM 010/010 HN
CHEM 022
CHEM 032
CHEM 038
CHEM 043
CHEM 044
CHEM 055
CHEM 056
CHEM 065
One 100-level seminar
Ancillary Requirements (prerequisites for physical chemistry):
PHYS 003/003L and PHYS 004/004L (or 007, 008)
MATH 034 (or equivalent)
Acceptance Criteria
All applications are reviewed by the entire department. We consider grades in all college-level courses in chemistry, biology, mathematics, and
physics. Decisions will not normally be made until two chemistry courses are completed and significant progress has been made towards meeting
the physics and mathematics prerequisite requirements for enrollment in physical chemistry. An element in a student's acceptance as a major
is the considered judgment of the faculty, that includes the student's potential for satisfactory performance in advanced course work and their
fulfillment of the comprehensive requirement.
Course Minor in Chemistry
Requirements
The course minor in chemistry has the following requirements:
1. The minor consists of five chemistry credits, plus any prerequisites necessary. Two courses must be numbered 040 or higher. Research
credits (094, 096, 180) may not be used to fulfill the requirements for the minor.
2. At least four of the five credits must be earned at Swarthmore College.
3. The minor will not be titled anything other than "chemistry." For example, there will be no minor in "organic chemistry" or "physical
chemistry," etc.
Acceptance Criteria
Applications are reviewed by the entire department, and decisions are made on the basis of the considered judgment of the faculty, that includes
the student's potential for satisfactory performance in advanced course work.
Honors Major in Chemistry
Requirements
An Honors preparation in Chemistry consists of three seminars - two in Chemistry (see item 1, below) and one in a minor - and a research thesis
(see item 2, below). If, after following the procedures for applying for research in the department, an on-campus research mentor cannot be
found, an Honors candidate should consult with the department's class adviser to explore alternate means of meeting the requirement.
1. Honors chemistry majors must take at least two seminars (instead of only one required for the course major). These seminars (and
their associated prerequisites) will serve as two of the honors preparations in the major.
2. Honors chemistry majors are expected to write a senior research thesis under the supervision of an on-campus research mentor. The
thesis represents the third honors preparation. Preparation for a Research Thesis within an Honors Program consists of enrollment in
two credits of Chemistry 180 during the senior year. Except under extraordinary circumstances, students presenting a thesis for
external examination will also spend the summer between their junior and senior years on campus initiating their research project.
The Honors Exams for Majors and Preparations
The fields offered by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department for examination by external examiners as part of the Honors Program are the
topics of the 100-level seminars. The department will offer at least two of these preparations (seminars) during each academic year.
All fields in chemistry (except the Research Thesis) will be examined in three hour written examinations prepared by External Examiners. The
Honors Research Thesis will be examined orally by the External Examiner chosen in that field. Honors oral exams for other preparations will be
conducted by individual Examiners as well.
Acceptance Criteria
Applications are reviewed by the entire department, and decisions are made on the basis of the considered judgment of the faculty, that includes
the student's potential for satisfactory performance in advanced course work. To be admitted as a major in the Honors Program, a student must
present a minimum of two courses in chemistry taken at Swarthmore College. In addition, the department looks for indications that the student
will participate actively in seminars and can successfully work in an independent manner. To be eligible, the GPA in chemistry courses required
for the major must be 3.0 or higher. A student previously accepted into the Honors Program but not maintaining this GPA in chemistry courses
will be asked to withdraw from the Honors Program.
Honors Minor in Chemistry
Requirements
The honors minor in chemistry parallels the course minor, except that the program for an honors minor must include a seminar. The seminar
serves as the basis of the honors preparation.
The Honors Exam for Minors and Preparations
All of the fields available to majors are available for students wishing to minor in chemistry, with the exception of the Research Thesis. All
minors must meet the same prerequisite requirements for seminars established by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department majors.
Acceptance Criteria
Applications are reviewed by the entire department, and decisions are made on the basis of the considered judgment of the faculty, that
includes the student's potential for satisfactory performance in advanced course work. To be admitted as a minor in the Honors Program in
chemistry, a student must present a minimum of two courses in chemistry taken at Swarthmore College. In addition, the department looks for
indications that the student will participate actively in seminars and can successfully work in an independent manner. To be eligible, the GPA in
chemistry courses required for the minor must be 3.0 or higher. A student previously accepted into the Honors Program but not maintaining this
GPA in chemistry courses will be asked to withdraw from the Honors Program.
Special Major in Biochemistry
The biochemistry major combines work in both the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department and the Biology Department.
Requirements
CHEM 010/010 HN
CHEM 022
CHEM 032
CHEM 038
CHEM 044 or 55
CHEM 048
CHEM 058
One biochemically related 100
-level seminar in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Dept. (CHEM 112, 118 and 120 or others with approval of
Department).
Biochemistry majors must also complete either (1) two intermediate-level biology courses (with labs) or (2) an intermediate-level Biology course
(with lab) and a 100-level Biology seminar.
The intermediate level Biology classes for Biochemistry majors can be any Biology course numbered 010-039. Please note the biology
prerequisites for these courses and plan accordingly.
100-level seminars in the Biology Department have at least one intermediate level course (numbered 10-39) as a prerequisite; the particular
prerequisites for seminars vary and should be considered during selection of intermediate level courses.
Ancillary Requirements (prerequisites for physical chemistry):
PHYS 003/003L and PHYS 004/004L (or 007,008);
MATH 25 or 26 (for CHEM 044) or MATH 034 or equivalent (for CHEM 055)
Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance criteria are the same as for chemistry majors.
Acceptance Criteria and Requirements for Honors Major in Biochemistry
Acceptance criteria for the honors major in biochemistry are the same as for the honors major in chemistry.
The honors biochemistry major has the same set of requirements as the course biochemistry major, plus the requirement of four honors
preparations in at least two departments must also be met, as follows:
1. CHEM 112, 118 or 120.
2. One biochemically oriented preparation from the Biology Department.
3. A two-credit biochemically oriented Research Thesis carried out under the supervision of faculty from the Chemistry and/or Biology
Departments.
4. One additional preparation chosen from the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department or from biochemically related preparations
offered by either the biology or psychology departments.
Special Major in Chemical Physics
The chemical physics major combines course work in chemistry and physics at the introductory and intermediate levels, along with some
advanced work in physical chemistry and physics, for a total of between 10 and 12 credits. Laboratory work at the advanced level in either
chemistry or physics is required; math courses in linear algebra and multivariable calculus are prerequisites for this work.
Requirements
In preparation for a major in chemical physics, students must complete by the end of the sophomore year: (1) CHEM 010/010 HN and 022; (2)
PHYS 005, 007, 008 (PHYS 003, 004 can substitute, but the 005, 007, 008 sequence is strongly recommended); (3) further work appropriate to
the major in either CHEM (044, 055, 056, and/or 065) or PHYS (013/015 and 017/018); (4) MATH 034. A chemical physics major will ordinarily
include both semesters of physical chemistry (CHEM 044 and 055). A student may satisfy the requirement for laboratory work at the advanced
level by completing a research thesis (CHEM 096 or 180), but in the absence of a research thesis, the major must include CHEM 065 or 066 or
PHYS 082 in order to satisfy the requirement.
Example of a special major in chemical physics: CHEM 022, 044, 055, 056, 065, 105; PHYS 007, 008, 013/015, 017/018 050, 111, 113.
Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance criteria are the same as for chemistry majors, except that the faculty of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department and Physics and
Astronomy are both actively involved in the decision.
Acceptance Criteria and Requirements for Honors Major in Chemical Physics
Acceptance criteria for the honors major in chemical physics are the same as for the honors major in chemistry, except that the faculty of the
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department and Physics and Astronomy are both actively involved in the decision.
The honors chemical physics major has the same set of requirements as the course chemical physics major, plus the requirement of four Honors
Preparations in at least two departments must also be met, as follows:
1. One preparation (seminar) chosen from the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.
2. One preparation (seminar) chosen from the Physics and Astronomy Department.
3. A two-credit Research Thesis carried out under the supervision of faculty from the Chemistry and/or Physics Departments. If, after
following the procedures for applying for research in the department, an on-campus research mentor cannot be found, an Honors
candidate should consult with the department's class adviser to explore alternate means of meeting the requirement.
4. One additional preparation chosen from the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department or from the Physics and Astronomy
Department.
Comprehensive Requirements
Chemistry
The senior comprehensive requirement consists of two components.
The first component revolves around the department's Colloquium Series. During the academic year, speakers from other institutions visit our
campus and present colloquia about their research. Each speaker recommends a small amount of published background material, which
students read in preparation for the visit. These materials also serve as the basis for journal club, during which student facilitators lead the
senior majors in a discussion of the background material and the relevant chemistry concepts. All senior majors are required to (1) attend
journal club meetings, (2) read the provided literature, (3) serve as a facilitator for at least one journal club meeting, and (4) attend the actual
colloquium presentations.
The department offers two routes for satisfying the second component of the comprehensive requirement:
a. Completion of a two-credit research thesis. In most cases, the thesis is based on research carried out on campus during the senior
year and the preceeding summer. Special cases will be reviewed and approved at the discretion of the Department. Both
course and honors theses fulfill this requirement.
b. Senior majors who do not write a research thesis must write a series of short reflections throughout the academic year. These
reflections are based on the presentations given by speakers in the department's Colloquium Series and the associated literature
readings. The following regulations will govern the reflections:
1. The department will provide a minimum of 6 opportunities to write reflections each academic year.
2. The department will provide guidelines on the reflection format and students will have one week to submit their reflection following the
colloquium presentation.
3. Satisfactory performance on 4 reflections constitutes completion of this component of the comprehensive requirement.
Finally, all students must complete at least one safety training session before the beginning of their senior year. Safety training will be organized
through the Department's Scientific Instrumentation Specialist.
Biochemistry
The comprehensive requirement for biochemistry majors is the same as for chemistry majors.
Chemical Physics
The comprehensive requirement for chemical physics majors is the same as for chemistry majors. Occasionally, however, and on a case-by-case
basis, the department is willing to negotiate a "hybrid" colloquium series for students completing a chemical physics special major. In
consultation with both departments (chemistry and biochemistry and physics and astronomy), the student may draw up a list of colloquia
pertinent to the special major and taken partly from the colloquium series of each department, and then participate in only these colloquia.
However, in no event will the total number of talks for the year amount to fewer than the number of colloquia scheduled for the Chemistry and
Biochemistry series.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Students with a score of 5 on the Chemistry AP exam (taken their junior year in high school or later) or a score of 6 or 7 on the Higher Chemistry
IB exam are eligible to take the Honors Placement exam. Satisfactory performance on the exam will qualify the student to take Foundations of
Chemical Principles - Honors (Chemistry 010 HN). In the absence of an AP/IB score students should take the Chemistry Readiness Exam for
access to the Honors Placement exam.
Transfer Credit
It is sometimes possible to receive Swarthmore credit for chemistry courses taken at other colleges and universities, provided that they were
taken after the student matriculated at Swarthmore. If you wish to take a chemistry course on another campus and to receive Swarthmore credit
for doing so, it is essential that you follow the proper procedure and that you plan in advance. It is also important to realize that not all courses
will be eligible for credit. See the department website for details.
Off-Campus Study
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department will offer advising to support the study abroad aspirations of chemistry and biochemistry majors.
However, substantial advance planning is required and interested students are encouraged to plan their Sophomore Plan carefully and consult
with their academic adviser.
Research
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department offers opportunities for students to engage in collaborative research with faculty members. Each
fall semester, the department hosts a series of short presentations by faculty members, outlining the research projects available. This meeting,
normally held in November, serves as the starting point for student participation in research during the following summer and/or academic year.
Academic Year Opportunities
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers three ways for students to engage in supervised research for academic credit, during the
academic year:
a. CHEM 094 (research project). Students may enroll in this course for either a half credit or a full credit. A half credit implies a time
commitment of 5-7 hours per week, while a full credit implies a time commitment of 10-15 hours per week.
b. CHEM 096 (research thesis). A full year (two credits) of CHEM 096 corresponds to a research thesis for course majors.
c. CHEM 180 (honors research thesis). A full year (two credits) of CHEM 180 corresponds to a research thesis for honors majors.
All students who enroll for at least one full credit of research during an academic year are required to participate in the department's
Colloquium Series and present a poster sometime during the academic year.
Research Conducted in Other Departments
Students writing a research thesis as part of their plan to satisfy the comprehensive requirement in a chemistry, biochemistry, or chemical
physics major (see above) sometimes elect to carry out their research with a faculty member in an allied department, such as biology, physics
and astronomy, or engineering. In general, such students have two options for how to register for courses corresponding to the thesis:
Option 1: Use the appropriate chemistry courses (two credits of CHEM 096 for a course thesis, or two credits of CHEM 180 for an honors
thesis).
Option 2: Use the course designations appropriate to the department in which the research is conducted. For research conducted with a biology
faculty member, for instance, a student might enroll in one credit of BIOL 180 and one credit of BIOL 199 over the course of the senior year. The
thesis must ultimately consist of at least two full credits.
American Chemical Society Certification
The Department offers a degree certified by the American Chemical Society. Interested students should consult with their Departmental Advisor
for more information concerning requirements for the certified degree.
Chemistry and Biochemistry Courses
CHEM 003B. Painting, Chemistry and Conservation.
(Cross-listed as ARTH 026 )
This interdisciplinary course explores the intersection of chemistry with the visual arts. During the course of the semester we will learn about the
materials available to artists, issues faced by museum curators and conservators, and some basic chemistry concepts related to these topics. Our
exploration of the chemistry, and history, of art media will include labs that extend and enhance the lecture topics. Does not fulfill NSEP
requirement.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Stephenson, Reilly
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 003C. Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Green chemistry underlies the sustainable use of our natural resources. Core principles will be presented on how to achieve sustainability. Atom
economy as driver to limit chemical waste and the conversion of this waste to reusable resources will be addressed. The course will focus on the
impact of catalysis, nutrients, fertilizers, biomass, solvents, and energy usage on our daily life, how to minimize waste, and how to make the
involved chemical processes green to enable the sustainable use of our natural resources.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2023. Lammertsma.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 010. Foundations of Chemical Principles
Building upon a student's high school introduction to chemistry, a study of the general concepts and basic principles of chemistry, including
atomic and molecular structure, bonding theory, molecular interactions, and the role of energy in chemical reactions. Applications will be drawn
from current issues in fields such as environmental, biological, polymer, and transition metal chemistry. CHEM 010 is the normal point of entry
for the chemistry and biochemistry curriculum.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stephenson, Sahadeo.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 010 HN. Foundations of Chemical Principles - Honors
Topics will be drawn from the CHEM 010 curriculum but discussed in greater detail and with a higher degree of mathematical rigor. Special
emphasis will be placed on the correlation of molecular structure and reactivity, with examples drawn from such fields as biological, transition
metal, organic, polymer, and environmental chemistry. Some familiarity with elementary calculus concepts will be assumed. Can only be taken as
either a first or second year student.
Prerequisite: Performance on the departmental placement examination taken the week prior to the start of classes of a student's first-year at
Swarthmore.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Miller.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 015. Environmental Chemistry
(Cross-listed as ENVS 060) The course covers selected aspects of atmospheric chemistry, aquatic chemistry, and soil chemistry. There will be a
specific focus on the environmentally important element cycles for C, N, O, P, and S in the absence and presence of current human activity. The
chemistry of organic pollutants across the three zones will also be examined. The course content will involve a discussion of relevant current
events.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010 or CHEM 010 HN ; or discretion of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Graves
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 022. Organic Chemistry I
An introduction to the chemistry of some of the more important classes of organic compounds; nomenclature, structure, physical and
spectroscopic properties; methods of preparation; and reactions of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, halides, and monofunctional oxygen
compounds, with an emphasis on ionic reaction mechanisms.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010 or CHEM 010 HN.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Beaulac.
Spring 2023. Rablen.
Spring 2024. Rablen.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 032. Organic Chemistry II
A continuation of CHEM 022 with emphasis on more advanced aspects of the chemistry of monofunctional and polyfunctional organic
compounds, multistep methods of synthesis, and an introduction to bio-organic chemistry.
Prerequisite: CHEM 022.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Paley.
Fall 2022. Yang.
Fall 2023. Yang.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 038. Biological Chemistry
An introduction to the chemistry of living systems: protein conformation, principles of biochemical preparation techniques, enzyme mechanisms
and kinetics, bioenergetics, intermediary metabolism, and molecular genetics.
Prerequisite: CHEM 032.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Miller.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 043. Analytical Methods and Instrumentation
An introduction to the techniques and instrumentation used for the separation, identification, and quantification of chemical species.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010/010HN, CHEM 022, PHYS 003/004 (or 003L/004L or 007/008), and MATH 025 (or 026).
Corequisite: PHYS 004/004L/008.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Sahadeo.
Spring 2023. Sahadeo.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 044. Physical Chemistry: Atoms, Molecules and Spectroscopy
A quantitative approach to the description of structure in chemical and biochemical systems. Topics will include introductory quantum
mechanics, atomic/molecular structure, a range of spectroscopic methods and statistical mechanics. Theory will be applied to a range of systems
including gas phase molecules critical to atmospheric environmental chemistry.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010/CHEM 010 HN; CHEM 022; MATH 025 (or MATH 026 ); and PHYS 003 and PHYS 004 (or PHYS 003L , PHYS
004L, or PHYS 007, PHYS 008).
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Howard.
Fall 2022. Howard.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 048. Biological Chemistry II
A continuation of CHEM 038. More advanced aspects of proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolism will be covered along with an introduction to
the structure, function and chemistry of carbohydrates and lipids. Additional topics include the transport of molecules and signals across and
within membranes.
Prerequisite: CHEM 038
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Fera.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 055. Physical Chemistry: Energy and Change
A quantitative approach to the role that energy and entropy play in chemical and biochemical systems. Topics include states of matter, the laws
of thermodynamics, chemical equilibria, electrochemistry, the thermodynamics of solutions and phases and chemical kinetics/dynamics.
Examples will be drawn from both real and ideal systems in chemistry and biochemistry.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010/CHEM 010 HN; PHYS 003, PHYS 004 (or PHYS 003L , PHYS 004L or PHYS 007, PHYS 008). In addition, prior or
concurrent registration in MATH 034 (or equivalent) is required.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Stephenson.
Spring 2023. Stephenson.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 056. Inorganic Chemistry
A study of the structure, bonding, and reactivity of inorganic compounds with emphasis on the transition metals. Included in the syllabus are
discussions of crystal and ligand field theories, organometallic chemistry, and bioinorganic chemistry.
Prerequisite: Four prior semesters of college chemistry or discretion of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Yatsunyk.
Fall 2022. Beaulac.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 058. Advanced Experimental Biological Chemistry
Experimental projects will build upon fundamental laboratory techniques acquired in earlier courses and focus on recombinant DNA technology,
biochemical and structural biology methods to obtain information about biological macromolecules. Students will gain experience in
experimental design and data analysis while exploring numerous classical and modern experimental techniques used in biochemistry research.
Enrollment limited; preference will be given to biochemistry majors.
Prerequisite: CHEM 038; CHEM 048 must have already been completed or taken as a co-requisite.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Fera.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 065. Advanced Integrated Experimental Chemistry
This course will consist of advanced experimental projects incorporating a range of chemistry subdisciplines.
Prerequisite: Five semesters of chemistry, two of which must be 40 or higher. At least four of the five chemistry courses must have had a lab.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Howard.
Spring 2023. Howard.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
Seminars
Students should note that completion of CHEM 010/010 HN, 022, and one semester of a 40-level or 50-level course constitute a minimum set of
prerequisites for enrollment in any Chemistry and Biochemistry Department seminar. In unusual circumstances, the department will consider
whether completion of work of comparable sophistication in another department can substitute for the requirement that a 40-level or 50-level
chemistry course be completed prior to enrollment in a seminar. Individual seminars carry additional prerequisites, as listed here.
CHEM 105. Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy
Advanced consideration of topics in quantum mechanics including the harmonic oscillator, angular momentum, perturbation theory, and electron
spin. These concepts, along with molecular symmetry and group theory, will be applied to the study of atomic and molecular spectroscopy.
Prerequisite: CHEM 044, MATH 034 (or equivalent). Some familiarity with linear algebra will be useful.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Stephenson.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 112. DNA Nanotechnology
This course will focus on supramolecular chemistry as related to nanotechnology, logic gates, drug delivery, and novel materials. We will start
with the principles of supramolecular chemistry covering the works of the Nobel Prize winner Jean-Marie Lehn considered by some to be the
"Father of Supramolecular Chemistry". Major part of the course will focus on unusual DNA structures, DNA assemblies, and DNA-based
nanomaterial (including DNA origami) as well as DNA nanomachines. The other part of the course will cover topics selected by students
according to their interests.
Prerequisite: CHEM 038, CHEM 044 or CHEM 055
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Yatsunyk.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 118. Special Topics in Biochemistry and Its Applications
This course will address selected topics of interest in the field of biochemistry, which may include protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid
recognition, viruses, immunoglobulins, signal transduction, and structure-based drug design. Different experimental approaches, as well as the
atomic and physical properties of different biological macromolecules and their complexes, will be analyzed and evaluated in the context of
human disease development and research. Material will largely be drawn from the primary literature and students will read, evaluate and
discuss scientific papers critically.
Prerequisite: CHEM 038 and either CHEM 044 , CHEM 048 or CHEM 055.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Fera.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 122. Physical Organic Chemistry
An in-depth exploration of major topics in organic chemistry, emphasizing physical principles over synthesis. Themes will include the detailed
consideration of molecular structure, including of unusual and theoretically important molecules; the interpretation and elucidation of reaction
mechanisms; thermodynamic and kinetic approaches to understanding reactivity; and quantitative approaches to all of the preceding. The course
will also examine qualitative molecular orbital theory, as well as provide a brief introduction to computational electronic structure methods. In
general, the goal will be to continue the study of organic chemistry from where the Chemistry 022/032 sequence ends.
Prerequisite: CHEM 022, CHEM 032 and either CHEM 044 or CHEM 055.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Lammertsma, Rablen.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 120. Topics in Environmental Nanotechnology
This course will address advanced topics of current interest in the field of environmental nanotechnology, including sustainable applications of
nanotechnology and its implications for human and environmental health. Material will largely be drawn from the primary literature and
students will read, evaluate, and discuss scientific papers critically.
Prerequisite: CHEM 038 and completion of a 40 or 50 level CHEM course.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Riley.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 104. Topics in Organic Chemistry
This course will address advanced topics of current interest in the field of organic chemistry.
Prerequisite: CHEM 032 and completion of a 40 or 50 level CHEM course.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Yang.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
Student Research
All students who enroll in one or more research courses during the academic year are required to participate in the department's colloquium
series and present the results of their work at a poster session during the academic year.
CHEM 094. Research Project
This course provides the opportunity for qualified students to participate in research with individual faculty members. Students who propose to
take this course should consult with the faculty during the preceding semester concerning areas under study. This course may be elected more
than once. Students may enroll in this course for either a half credit or a full credit. A half credit implies a time commitment of 5-7 hours per
week, while a full credit implies a time commitment of 10-15 hours per week.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 096. Research Thesis
Chemistry and biochemistry majors will be provided with an option of writing a senior research thesis as part of their comprehensive
requirement. Thesis students are strongly urged to participate in on-campus research during the summer between their junior and senior years. A
minimum of 2 credits of CHEM 096 must be taken during the last three semesters of the student's residence at Swarthmore. For Spring
enrollment in Chem 096, students must also be enrolled in CHEM 199 concurrently.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 180. Honors Thesis- Research
An opportunity for students in the External Examination Program to participate in research with individual faculty members. The thesis topic
must be chosen in consultation with a member of the faculty and approved early in the semester preceding the one in which the work is to be
done. A minimum of 2 credits of CHEM 180 must be taken during the last three semesters of the student's residence at Swarthmore. For Spring
enrollment in CHEM 180, students must also be enrolled in CHEM 199 concurrently.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 199. Senior Thesis Workshop
Interactive course where students completing a senior research thesis discuss their work. Strategies for effective writing and oral presentations
will be emphasized. Course is required of all students enrolled in Spring sections of CHEM 096 or 180. Enrollment is limited to those enrolled
in CHEM 096 or 180.
Natural sciences and engineering.
0 credit.
Fall 2021. Stephenson.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
Classics
Courses
Faculty
ROSARIA V. MUNSON, J. Archer and Helen C. Turner Professor
WILLIAM N. TURPIN, Professor, The Scheuer Family Chair of Humanities
GRACE LEDBETTER, Professor
3
JEREMY LEFKOWITZ, Associate Professor and Chair
VARUN KHANNA, Visiting Assistant Professor
KYLE MAHONEY, Visiting Assistant Professor
MARIA METZLER, Visiting Assistant Professor
DEBORAH SLOMAN, Administrative Assistant
3
Absent on leave 2021-2022
The field of Classics is devoted to the study of the cultures of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The curriculum includes training in the Greek and
Latin languages at the Elementary, Intermediate, and Seminar levels. In addition, the department offers courses in Classical Hebrew and
Sanskrit, and a range of courses on the history, literature, philosophy, religion, and cultural life of antiquity, including classes that explore the
reception of the Classical past in later periods up to the present day. The rigorous training in Greek and Latin that is the hallmark of
Swarthmore's Classics program has meant that the department enjoys remarkable success in producing students who go on to become leaders in
the field. But because it is a truly interdisciplinary field, Classics also appeals to students with a wide variety of interests and career goals.
The Academic Program
Greek, Latin, Ancient History, and Classical Studies may be a student's major or minor subject in either the Course or the Honors Program.
Three of these tracks (Greek, Latin, and ancient history) require advanced work in one of the original languages, while a major or minor in
Classical Studies does not require but may include language study. Acceptance into one of the majors is dependent on promising work in relevant
courses (normally indicated by A's and B's).
First course recommendations
The elementary Classics courses recommended are: GREK 001 Intensive First Year Greek and GREK 002 Intensive First Year Greek to be taken
after completion of GREK 001; LATN 001 Intensive First Year Latin and LATN 002 Intensive First Year Latin to be taken after completion of
LATN 001; all First Year Seminars (FYS) in ANCH, CLST, GREK and LATN; all ANCH courses and CLST 036 Mythology.
Course Major
Greek: 8.5 credits required, including .5-credit senior course study (see below). Two credits must come from an honors seminar in Greek.
Latin: 8.5 credits required, including .5-credit senior course study (see below). Two credits must come from an honors seminar in Latin.
Classical Studies: 8.5 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies or Ancient History including .5-credit senior course study (see below). Two
credits must come from a double-credit Classical Studies Capstone Seminar. Other disciplines on campus offer courses focused on aspects of
classical antiquity (e.g. Art History, Philosophy, Political Science), and usually these will count toward completion of the major; students are
advised to consult the chair for an accurate list of such courses.
Ancient History: A major in Ancient History consists of four Ancient History courses (ANCH 031, 032, 042, 044, 056, or 066), four credits in
Greek or Latin, two of which must be from an honors seminar, and .5-credit senior course study. A second seminar in Latin or Greek may be
substituted for two Ancient History courses.
Course Minor
Greek: 5 credits in Greek.
Latin: 5 credits in Latin.
Classical Studies: 5 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies or Ancient History.
Ancient History: A course minor in Ancient History will consist of four courses in Ancient History, and an attachment to one of them.
Culminating Exercise/Senior Course Study
The culminating experience for course majors in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies, and Ancient History is a .5-credit senior course study (GREK
098, LATN 098, CLST 098, ANCH 098). This independent study will be taken in the senior year to prepare for a graded oral exam taken in the
spring with the Classics faculty. The oral exam will be based on a 2-credit seminar the student has completed. The students will submit their final
exams and a paper from the seminars, which may be revised. The oral exams focus on the seminar as a whole as well as on the papers and
written exams submitted.
Honors Program in Classics
Greek and Latin: For an honors major in Greek or Latin, preparation for honors exams will normally consist of three seminars or course-plus-
options and a total of 10 credits are required. A student minoring in Greek or Latin will take one external examination based on one seminar.
Honors minors are, however, strongly encouraged to take more than one seminar, in order to be adequately prepared for the examination; 5
credits or more are recommended.
Classical Studies: Honors majors in Classical Studies will complete 8 credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies, or Ancient History. They must
complete three 2-credit units of study, of which at least one must a double-credit Classical Studies Capstone Seminar. Minors will complete 5
credits in Greek, Latin, Classical Studies, or Ancient History including a double-credit Classical Studies Capstone Seminar.
Ancient History: For an honors major in Ancient History, one preparation will be a seminar in either Latin or Greek. The other two preparations
can be another seminar in the same language and a course-plus-attachment, or two courses-plus-attachment options. Students minoring in
Ancient History will take four courses in Ancient History and add an attachment to one of them. That course-plus-attachment will be the
preparation for the external exam. No ancient language is required for this minor.
Senior Honors Study
All honors majors and minors will select one paper from each seminar to be sent to the external examiner for that seminar. The student is free to
submit the paper with minor or major revisions or no revisions at all. 4,000 words is the senior honors limit set by the college. Majors will,
therefore, submit three such papers, and minors will submit one. Senior Honors Study is not required for students whose Honors preparation is a
course with an attachment. The portfolio sent to external examiners will contain the seminar papers, together with syllabi and related materials,
if any, from the instructors. A combination of (three-hour) written and (one-hour) oral exams will be the mode of external assessment for
seminars. For course-plus-attachment, examiners will receive the course syllabus and the written product of the attachment. The exam will be
just an oral assessment.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
The department will grant one credit (only) for one or more grades of 5 on the Latin AP, or the IB equivalent. This credit may be counted toward
the major or minor in Latin or CLST.
Off-Campus Study
A semester of off-campus study is usually possible for majors in classics. The department is a member of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical
Studies in Rome, and encourages interested students to participate, preferably in the fall semester of their junior year. The ICCS program offers
traditional courses in Greek, Latin, Italian, Renaissance and Baroque art history, and a required two-credit course based on first-hand exposure
to the archaeological and artistic monuments of the ancient world to be found in Rome, the Bay of Naples, and Sicily.
Research and Summer Study
Students may apply to the department for summer funding to support intensive summer courses in Latin and Greek, participation in
archaeological field work abroad, internships connected with classics, or research projects undertaken with a member of the department.
Some summer programs recently attended by Swarthmore students include CUNY Summer Language Institute, Berkeley Summer Language
Programs, Unviersity College in Cork, Ireland, Via Consulare Project in Pompeii, Agora Project in Athens, American Academy in Rome Summer
Program, Gabii Project, Azoria Project, Morgantina, and Mt. Lykaion.
Life After Swarthmore
Many of our majors, and some minors, go on to pursue careers as professional classicists, at both the college and secondary levels. Swarthmore
students well prepared in both Latin and Greek are competitive candidates for excellent graduate programs in classics, and in related fields such
as medieval studies, English, history, and archaeology. In recent years Classics majors have been admitted to graduate programs at UNC-
Chapel Hill, Penn, CUNY Graduate Center, Yale, Harvard, Duke, Princeton, University of Chicago, and Stanford. Others have successfully
obtained teaching positions in secondary schools, both public and private; it is worth mentioning that there is a significant demand for teachers
of Latin, particularly at the secondary level, and some states, including Pennsylvania, make it possible to teach Latin in public schools before
obtaining professional certification. Most majors and minors have successfully pursued careers only tangentially related to classics, often after
attending professional school. There are Swarthmore classicists in law, medicine, business, art, and music, and many other walks of life.
Classics Department Courses
Greek
Each semester we offer Greek at the elementary level (Greek 001 and 001), at the intermediate level (Greek 011, 012, 014), and at the advanced
level. Teaching at the advanced level is typically an Honors seminar open to all qualified students.
GREK 001. Intensive First-Year Greek
Students learn the basics of the language and are introduced to the culture and thought of the Greeks. The course provides a selection of
readings from the most important Greek authors, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Sophocles, Euripides, and Plato. The course meets four times
a week.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Munson.
Fall 2022. Munson.
Fall 2023. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 002. Intensive First-Year Greek
Students learn the basics of the language and are introduced to the culture and thought of the Greeks. The course provides a selection of
readings from the most important Greek authors, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Sophocles, Euripides, and Plato. The course meets four times
a week.
Prerequisite: GREK 001 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2023. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 011. Plato and Socratic Irony
This course will focus on one or more of the Socratic dialogues of Plato in Greek. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills in reading and
composing Greek, and also on the analysis of Plato's characteristic literary techniques and philosophical thought. The course will include a
systematic review of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. GREK 011 is normally taken after GREK 002.
Prerequisite: GREK 001 GREK 002
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 012. Homer's Iliad
This course examines the literary, historical, and linguistic significance of Homer's Iliad. Selections from the poem are read in Greek and the
entire poem is read in translation.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT.
Spring 2022. Munson.
Spring 2023. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 013. Introduction to Plato's Republic
The main focus will be on reading Book I of the Republic in Greek, giving sustained attention to Greek grammar and vocabulary. We will also
read the rest of the Republic in English, and consider select problems of interpretation, such as the role of Plato's "guardians," the place of
poetry, and Plato's purpose in exploring an "ideal state." The course is intended for students who have completed a first year of classical Greek,
or the equivalent in High School or summer courses.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 014. Greek Prose Survey
Introduction to reading and analysis of Greek prose, including selections from Lysias, Xenophon, Lucian, and the fables of Aesop.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Munson.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 015. Sophocles
In Sophocles' Ajax, Achilles is dead and the prize of his arms has been awarded to Odysseus. Can the hero withstand being passed over as 'the
best of the Achaens'? Can he accept that in a political community everything is in flux and friends become enemies, and enemies friends? We
will be reading this tragedy in Greek, paying great attention to grammar and style.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 016. An Introduction to Linear B
This course will introduce students to the Linear B script, which was used to write the Mycenaean language during the Aegean Late Bronze Age.
We will begin with an overview of the Aegean scripts (Cretan Hieroglyphic, Linear A, Linear B, and the Cypro-Minoan Syllabary), exploring
how they relate to the earlier writing systems of the Eastern Mediterranean devised by the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Egyptians. A thorough
outline of the script's syllabary, spelling conventions, and system of ideograms will follow. Students will learn the dialectal features of the
Mycenaean language, for which a prior knowledge of ancient Greek will be beneficial but not strictly necessary. For the remainder of the course,
each week we will work through a selection of documents drawn from Michael Ventris and John Chadwick's Documents in Mycenaean
Greek
2
(1973) and the more recent anthology of Yves Duhoux in A Companion to Linear B: Mycenaean Greek Texts and Their World, Vol. 1
(2008).
Humanities.
.5 credit
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 017. Greek Lyric Poetry
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 091. Attachment: Classical Studies Capstone Seminar
Students read texts in Greek that complement a Classical Studies Capstone Seminar.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 093. Directed Reading
Independent work for advanced students under the supervision of an instructor. Interested students should contact the chair as soon as possible
concerning possible authors and topics.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 096. Aesop's Fables
This course will be organized as a research workshop for intermediate and upper-level students in Greek and/or Latin. For more information
please contact Professor Jeremy Lefkowitz (jlefkow1@swarthmore.edu).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 098. Senior Course Study
Independent study taken normally in the spring of senior year by course majors. Students will prepare for a graded oral exam held in the spring
with department faculty. The exam will be based on any two-credit unit of study within the major (Honors seminar or course plus attachment),
with students submitting their final exam and a paper, which can be revised.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2023. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2024. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Latin
Each semester we offer Latin at the elementary level (Latin 001 and 002), the intermediate level, and we offer an Honors seminar open to all
qualified students. We also offer intermediate Latin courses that can be taken with an attachment to create a two-credit unit for the Honors
Program or the course major.
LATN 001. Intensive First-Year Latin
Students learn the basics of the language, with readings drawn from Plautus, Cicero, Sallus, Martial, the emperor Augustus, and Catullus. The
course meets four times a week.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Turpin.
Fall 2022. Turpin.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 002. Intensive First-Year Latin
Students learn the basics of the language, with readings drawn from Plautus, Cicero, Sallus, Martial, the emperor Augustus, and Catullus. The
course meets four times a week.
Prerequisite: LATN 001 or by permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 011. Lyric, Pastoral, and Elegiac Poetry
This course is intended for students who have completed Intensive First Year Latin (Latin 001-002) or the equivalent in summer programs or
high school. Readings will be drawn from such authors as Catullus, Horace, Vergil, Propertius and Ovid. Students will read selected modern
criticism and will develop interpretative as well as linguistic skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT.
Fall 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 013. Tradition and Transformation in the Roman Empire
Selected readings by the poet Ovid. opics will include the range of poetic genres in which Ovid wrote, the characteristics of his writing that
remain stable across these different genres, and Ovid's relationship to the history and culture of the time in which he lived.
Prerequisite: LATN 011 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 014. Medieval Latin
Readings are chosen from the principal types of medieval Latin literature, including religious and secular poetry, history and chronicles, saints'
lives, satire, philosophy, and romances.
Prerequisite: LATN 011 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for Medieval Studies.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 015. Catullus and the Fall of the Roman Republic
This course will consider individual poems of Catullus and relevant selections from Cicero and Sallust. Our focus will be on the poems in their
literary context and also their connections with a Rome that was descending into civil war. The course is suitable for those with a year of college
Latin or 3-4 years in high school, and will include some review of basic grammar and vocabulary. Writing course status to be applied for.
Prerequisite: College level Latin and/or 3-4 years high school Latin.
Humanities
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 017. Latin Poetry and the Modernists
This course explores Latin poems influential in the creation of the modernist verse of, in particular, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot. The Latin texts
are read in the original, for their own sake and in their own context. But we also explore the readings given them by the modernists, in an attempt
to assess the uses and importance of their common literary tradition.
Prerequisite: LATN 011 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 019. Roman Imperial Literature
This is an intermediate Latin course that will focus on reading a few key texts in order to give us insight into everyday life and social history in
imperial Rome. The primary aim of the class is to improve students' skills of reading Latin. A secondary goal is to examine the lives of various
social groups in imperial Rome, including slaves, recently freed men and women, and freeborn citizens. We will consider their attitudes on a
number of issues still relevant today, including gender, grief, slavery, education, administration, love, justice and morality. The principal Latin
texts will be Petronius' Satyrica, the letters of Pliny the Younger, and seleted documents such as inscriptions and papyri. Students with no
previous Latin courses at the college level should consult the instructor before enrolling.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 021. Republican Literature
In this course, we will be reading Book 1 of the Ab Urbe Condita by Livy as an example of Roman historiography in the Late Republic and Early
Empire. The course will view the text both as a problematic document for Rome's earliest history but also as evidence for Livy's own age in the
early Augustan regime.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 023. The Roman Novel
This course focuses on Petronius' Satyricon and/or Apuleius' Golden Ass. Besides reading extensively from the works themselves, we will
consider what the genre "novel" means in Latin, what these works have to tell us about Roman society and language, and various other topics
arising from the novels and from contemporary scholarship about them.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 024. Latin Poetry and the Roman Revolution
The transformation of the Roman Republic into the monarchy of Augustus and the emperors was accompanied by a similar transformation in
Roman poetry. In place of the staunch independence of Lucretius and the outrageous irreverence of Catullus, the new poets Propertius, Horace,
and Vergil wrote poetry that responded directly or indirectly to the new political world. This course will explore one or more of these poets in
depth, both within their political context and within the broader literary tradition. Students will read modern scholarly criticism, and develop
their own critical approaches to writing about Latin poetry. They will also review basic Latin morphology and syntax, and build a stronger Latin
vocabulary. The course is suitable for those with 3-4 years of High School Latin, or 1-2 years of Latin in college.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 025. Latin Poetry and the English Renaissance
Ben Jonson said that Shakespeare had "small Latin and less Greek," but all products of the Elizabethan grammar schools were steeped in Latin
literature. This course will explore some of their seminal Latin texts, including Ovid's Amores; Horace's Odes, and Vergil's Eclogues. We will
also read some of the English poems most directly influenced by these Latin works, by poets such as Donne, Spenser, Marvell, Lovelace, Herrick,
Rochester, and Milton.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 026. Myth and Morality in Catullus
Catullus 64 is his famous mini epic ("epyllion"). It is framed as the story of Peleus and Thetis, but it also contains the story of Ariadne and
Theseus, and also offers critique of the moral degradation of Rome. For many critics this is one of the greatest poems in Latin, and it was one of
the most important influences on Vergil. The concentrated nature of the J-term will allow us to read the poem in depth, combining oral
performance, careful translation, and secondary criticism with extended online discussion in large or small groups. We will spend about one
week on some of the shorter poems of Catullus, to review or introduce some of the most important ones. The course is appropriate for advanced
Latin students, but also at the intermediate level, i.e., those with at least one semester of college or four years of Latin in high school; it will
include grammar review and vocabulary acquisition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 027. Gender and Sexuality in Rome
This course will focus on Latin texts that reflect the sexual attitudes and behaviors of the ancient Romans and the gender roles that both shaped
and were shaped by those attitudes. Among other topics, we will explore the roman institutions of marriage and the family. Conceptions of
femininity and masculinity, and attitudes toward homosexuality. We will also engage with recent scholarship on gender and sexuality in antiquity
from a wide range of critical perspectives. Our Latin texts will be drawn from several different genres, including graffiti, comedy, satire, love
poetry, epic, letters, history and inscriptions.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 028. Apuleius
Ready to be shocked, perplexed, and surprised at every turn? Try Apuleius' Metamorphoses (or Asinus Aureus), one of the earliest novels in
Western literature. We will read the whole of this unconventional and mysterious work in English and books I and III in Latin, paying close
attention to grammar, style, narratology, issues of genre and cultural context. Assignments will include articles dealing with literary criticism
and background of the work.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 029. Caligula and Claudius
This is an advanced Latin course, intended for students with one or more intermediate Latin courses at the college level, or c. 4 years of Latin in
high school. The emperor Gaius Caligula, famous for considering his favorite racehorse for the office of consul, raises urgent questions about
what we consider normal in our leaders. The emperor Claudius, made generally famous by the classic TV series "I Claudius," presents similar
questions. He was a transformative figure in Roman imperial history, responsible for the creation of a civil service, expansion of the Roman
citizenship, and the conquest of Britain. But he also had medical problems, and made some spectacularly inappropriate marriages. The principal
Latin texts will be Suetonius' Life of Gaius Caligula, Tacitus' bitter account of Claudius in his Annals, and selected documents (inscriptions and
Latin papyri). We will also read Seneca's exposition of Stoic ideals in his de Providentia, and Seneca's (?) Apocolocyntosis, a spoof account of
Claudius' posthumous journey to heaven.
Can serve as an honors preparation when combined with a one credit attachment.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 029A. Attachment: Caligula and Claudius
Attachment to LATN 029 Caligula and Claudius (see LATN 029 for course description).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 030. Advanced Survey of Latin Poetry
The poems in this course will be chosen in consultation with participants. Depending on interest, texts to be read in Latin may include Catullus,
"The Marriage of Peleus and Thetis" and "The Lock of Berenice"; Lucretius; Vergil, Eclogues or Georgics; Ovid, esp. Ars Amatoria; the
Pervigilum Veneris; selections from the Anthologia Latina; selections from the Carmina Burana or other medieval texts. Students will read
modern critical scholarship and write a number of critical essays. Students interested in this course should contact the instructor, preferably
before the start of classes. This course is intended for students who have completed Intensive First Year Latin (Latin 001-002) or the equivalent
in summer programs or high school.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT.
Fall 2021. Turpin.
Fall 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 031. Latin Rhetoric & History
This is an advanced intermediate course suitable for students with two or more courses of Latin at the intermediate level (or equivalent). Texts to
be read in Latin may include Tacitus, Agricola and Annals (selections), Suetonius, Sallust, or Cicero. In addition, we will read certain rhetorical
texts in translation, e.g. Cicero, Quintilian, or the Auctor and Herennium. This course is NOT a writing course.
Prerequisite: Two or more courses of Latin at the intermediate level (or equivalent)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 032. Latin Satire
This course will focus on the Latin satirical poetry of Horace and Juvenal. We will also read Greek and Latin texts in English (e.g. Aristophanes,
Plautus, Terence, Lucian), to explore ancient ideas about humor in general and literary characters in particular.
For students at the advanced intermediate level in Latin, e.g. a 5 on the Latin AP or one or two intermediate Latin courses at the college
level. For questions about placement contact the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 033. Horace, Lyric and Literary Criticism
In this course we will read selected Odes and Epodes of Horace. We will translate each poem and learn how to read it aloud, in the appropriate
meter. For most poems we will also read Greek and Latin predecessors (in English), and for many poems we will also read English poems (and
in one case a short story) influenced by Horace. For each poem of Horace we will also read at least three scholarly treatments, to stimulate our
own critical responses. In reading Odes and Epodes the central issue will be what makes Horatian lyric so successful, along with questions of
allegory and historical context. The course is intended for students at the advanced intermediate level in Latin, e.g. students who have received a
5 on the Latin AP or the equivalent, or who have taken at least intermediate Latin course at the college level. For questions about placement
contact the instructor. W status has been applied for.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 034. Apuleius and Augustine
This course will explore the two most important Latin authors from the Roman province of Africa (roughly modern Tunisia). We will read
selections in Latin from the Metamorphoses of Apuleius (also known as The Golden Ass) and from the Confessions of St. Augustine; we will read
the complete books in English, as well as Peter Brown's famous biography, Augustine of Hippo. General topics will include: the peculiar
qualities of "African Latin"; the place of Apuleius within the tradition of Greek and Roman novels; Platonism, the cult of Isis, and allegory in
Apuleius; Augustine's purposes as a writer of "autobiography"; the place of Latin literature, Platonism, Manichaeism, and orthodox Christianity
in Augustine's life and thought.
This is not an approved writing course, but students will work over the course of the semester on producing a formal research paper of about ten
pages.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 035. Rhetoric and Violence in Republican Rome
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 035A. Attachment: Rhetoric and Violence in Republican Rome
Attachment to LATN 035
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 036. Livy and Early Rome
In this course, we will read Livy's account of the origins of the city of Rome, from the Italic myth of the quarrel that pitted Romulus against
Remus to the foundation of the Roman Republic and the early years of its development. Along the way, students will familiarize themselves with
key works of Livian scholarship, as well as the fundamentals of the archaeology of early Latium. A primary focus of the course will be to assess
the historicity of Livy's version of early Roman history by comparing the written record with epigraphical, archaeological, and alternative
literary sources. This course may be taken with LATN 036A for a 2-credit preparation by permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 036A. Attachment to Livy and Early Rome
This attachment may be taken with LATN 036 for a 2-credit preparation with permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 037. Horace and the Elegiac Poets
This course will begin with selected poems of Horace, especially those in the broader tradition of Greek, Roman, and English love poetry. We
will continue with selections from Propertius, Horace's elegiac contemporary, from their younger contemporary Ovid, and from Sulpicia, whose
small corpus of elegiac poems is the most extensive body of Latin poetry by a woman writer. The main focus will be on the literary techniques
employed and generic conventions within which these poets were working. The course is suitable for those with at least one semester of college
Latin or advanced work in high school (e.g. a 5 on the AP or equivalent). Writing course status to be applied for.
Prerequisite: One semester of college level Latin or advanced work in high school (e.g. a 5 on the AP or equivalent).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 050. The Age of Nero
Students can sign up for 50 alone for one credit, or for 50 and 50A for two credits. The principal Latin text will be the Satyricon of Petronius, the
earliest novel to have survived (in fragments) from the ancient world. Students in 50 will read about half of the surviving fragments in Latin,
especially the famous "Dinner with Trimalchio". Those taking 50A will read the whole text. The text will be treated both as a literary creation
and as a document of social history. All students will work over the semester on various drafts of a single research paper. The course is
appropriate for advanced Latin students, but also at the intermediate level, i.e., those with at least one semester of college or four years of Latin
in high school; it will include grammar review and vocabulary acquisition.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 050A. The Age of Nero
Attachment to LATN 050 for 1 credit. Please see description for LATN 050 .
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 091. Attachment: Classical Studies Capstone Seminar
Students read texts in Latin that complement a Classical Studies Capstone Seminar.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 093. Directed Reading
Independent work for advanced students under the supervision of an instructor. Interested students should contact the chair as soon as possible
concerning possible authors and topics.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 096. Aesop's Fables
This course will be organized as a research workshop for intermediate and upper-level students in Greek and/or Latin. For more information
contact Professor Jeremy Lefkowitz (jlefkow1@swarthmore.edu).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 098. Senior Course Study
Independent study taken normally in the spring of senior year by course majors. Students will prepare for a graded oral exam held in the spring
with department faculty. The exam will be based on any two-credit unit of study within the major (Honors seminar or course plus attachment),
with students submitting their final exam and a paper, which can be revised.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2023. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2024. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Ancient History
Each semester we offer one course in Ancient History (typically Greek history in the Fall and Roman history in the Spring). Students may
combine any course with a research paper ("attachment") to create a 2-credit unit for the Honors program or the Course major.
ANCH 006B. The Talmud
(Cross-listed as RELG 006B )
This course introduces students to the academic study of the Babylonian Talmud (Bavli) - and through it, the academic study of Judaism.
Through close, critical, and engaged readings of both brief selections and more lengthy pasages, the course not only explores the vast seas of the
Bavli but also considers the Bavli's foundational place within Judaism and its importance to Jewish tradition. We begin by reading selections of
the Talmud that both seek to situate the material in its immediate historical-literary contexts and to explore current points of relevance. We
proceed to a close reading of one sugya (passage) and then spread out to examine some specific topics, focusing on rabbinic constructions of
gender and rabbinic theology. The close readings of texts are supplemented by contemporary scholarship on the Talmud and the rabbis of
antiquity. Finally, we read two contemporary mediations on Judaism that use the Talmud as their "anchor," their point of reference.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for RELG
Spring 2022. Kessler.
Spring 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 010. First-Year Seminar: Slavery in Ancient Greece and Rome
According to the ancient historian M. I. Finley, there have been only five genuine slave societies, and two of them were ancient: those of classical
Greece and Rome (the other three are the United States, the Caribbean and Brazil). Slavery was deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life in
both societies, since it functioned as the key principle of social organization and the dominant mode of production. This course will explore
slavery as a social, political, legal, economic and cultural institution in both the Greek and Roman worlds. In order to consider the impact of
slavery on state and society in ancient Greece and Rome we will reflect on a number of topics, including the origins of slavery; the sources,
number, legal status and treatment of slaves; ancient attitudes towards slaves and slavery; the family life of slaves; the many forms of slave
labor; slave revolts and resistance; and manumission and freedom. We will also consider slavery in the American south to help us situate ancient
slavery in a broader historical context.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 011. First Year Seminar: Rome: The Archaeology of Empire
This first year seminar explores the physical development of Rome as it progresssed from a tiny village of shepherds to become the metropolis of
the ancient Mediterranean. Through reading ancient sources and examining archaeological sites and monuments, we will investigate the
relationships linking politics, religion, art, and architecture in the ancient world.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 012. FYS: The World of the Pharaohs: An Introduction to Egyptology.
This first year seminar explores the culture of ancient Egypt, beginning with its foundations in the 4th millennium BC and culminating in the
internationally renowned pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC). Students will investigate the difficult relationship of Thutnose III and
his stepmother Hatspehsut, the only female pharaoh, the revolutionary but ultimately disastrous reforms of he heretical monotheist Akhematen,
and the imperialism of Ramses II, usually identified as the pharaoh of the Exodus. Through discussion of the literature, mythology, history and
archaeology, we will consider how the rulers of ancient Egypt utilized architecture, writing and religion in order to establish and grow the Nile
valley's earliest civilization. Students will leave the course with a deep appreciation for and understanding of the historical figures and
monuments of Egypt.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 013. First Year Seminar: In Search of Troy
Social Science.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 016. First-Year Seminar: Augustus and Rome
The great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar rose to sole power in Rome after a series of civil wars culminating in the defeat of Antony
and Cleopatra. He, along with his wife Livia, transformed Rome by creating a monarchical system that hid the real power behind the traditional
institutions of the Roman republic. The process was supported and explained by a unique program of literary, artistic, and architectural revival.
Ancient authors to be read (in English) may include Augustus himself, Livy, Vergil, Horace, Propertius and Ovid; we will also study the artistic
and architectural projects that helped to communicate the ideologies of the new regime.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 017. First-Year Seminar: Pompeii: In the Shadow of Vesuvius
Destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, Pompeii continues to captivate the Western imagination as the prototypic image of
apocalyptic disaster. In this course we will use Pompeii to explore how we think about the past. We will study the physical remains of the ancient
town in order to better understand social, political and commercial life in the Roman world. We will also consider the site's role in the
development of archaeology as a discipline, from its origins in the eighteenth century as a scientific form of treasure-hunting, up to the present
day, when scholars are questioning the ethics of excavating at all. Finally, we will consider how the last days of Pompeii have been imagined and
even romanticized in various forms of mass media, such as novels, films and television programs.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 022. Greek Art and Archaeology
In this course we will survey the art and archaeology of Ancient Greece from its origins through the Hellenistic period. We will investigate a
variety of topics, including the beginnings of human activity in the Aegean region during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the palace cultures of
Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece, the development of Panhellenic sanctuaries and Olympic-style athletic contests, the rise of the Greek city-
states, the material culture of Classical Athens, and the multicultural world of Alexander the Great and his successor. In these pursuits we will
examine a range of different artifact types, such as pottery, sculpture, painting, and architecture. We will also explore the different methods of
archaeology: excavation, survey, archaeometry, and conservation. By the end of the course, you will have a clear understanding of Greek
material culture as it developed from ca. 3000 BC until 31 BC, and you will have a deeper understanding of key works of ancient Greek art.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 023. Alexander and the Hellenistic World
The conquests of Alexander the Great (332-323 BCE) as far as Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush mark one of the great turning points of ancient
history. In his wake, what it meant to be Greek was radically changed, and a new world and culture emerged. In this course, we start with the life
and campaigns of the Macedonian King, before turning to the Hellenistic world of his successors, following events down to the rise of Rome.
Along with the political narrative, the course will consider Hellenistic poetry and historiography, archaeology and architecture, and the
documentary evidence for daily life.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 028. Ancient Egypt
This course explores the history, culture, and literature of ancient Egypt, beginning with its foundations in the 4
th
millennium BC and culminating
with the internationally renowned pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC). Students will investigate a wide variety of topics, such as the
following: Egyptian cosmology, mythology, and religion; the rise of the earliest pyramid builders and their accompanying ideology, which
claimed that the pharaoh was a living god; the development of Egyptian writing, bureaucracy, and militarism; issues of gender in ancient Egypt,
best exemplified by the difficult relationship of Thutmose III and his stepmother Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh; the revolutionary but
ultimately disastrous reforms of the heretic Akhenaten, who is widely recognized as the world's first monotheist; and the imperialism of Ramses
II, usually identified as the pharaoh of the Exodus. Through discussion of literature, mythology, history, and archaeology, we will consider how
the rulers of ancient Egypt utilized architecture, writing, and religion in order to establish and grow the Nile valley's earliest civilization.
Students will leave the course with a deep appreciation for and understanding of the historical figures and monuments of Egypt. Students will
learn how to read material culture and answer the following question: how does a state use symbols, monuments, and - more generally - material
things to express its power and ideals to itself, its neighbors, and its enemies?
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 030. History and Archaeology of the Early Roman Empire
This course is an introduction to the history and archaeology of the Roman Empire from the fall of the Republic through the Antonine Age (50
BCE-192 CE). Major themes include the political, economic, social and cultural impact of the Roman Empire; the material, visual and spatial
manifestations of power; the homogeneity and diversity of Roman imperial culture; and the changing relationship between the state and
society. We will draw on a wide range of evidence to explore these themes, focusing mainly on the close reading of works of ancient literature
and the study of ancient artifacts and monuments. Key authors include Petronius, Suetonius, Tacitus and Apuleius.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 031. The Greeks and the Persian Empire
This course studies the political and social history of Greece from the Trojan War to the Persian Wars. We will examine the connections between
Greeks and non-Greeks and their perceptions of mutual differences and similarities. Readings include Homer, Hesiod, the lyric poets (including
Sappho), and Herodotus and Near Eastern documents.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Fall 2021. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 032. The Roman Republic
This course studies Rome from its origins to the civil wars and the establishment of the principate of Augustus (753-27 B.C.E.). Topics include
the legends of Rome's foundation and of its republican constitution; the conquest of the Mediterranean world, with special attention to the causes
and pretexts for imperialism; the political system of the Late Republic, and its collapse into civil war.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 035. History and Archaeology of Republican Rome
This course is an introduction to the history and archaeology of Rome from its early beginnings in the 9th century BCE to the establishment of
the Roman Empire in the 1st century BCE. We begin with the pre-Roman inhabitants of central Italy who most influenced early Rome, continue
with the foundation of the city and its growth as the leader of peninsular Italy and Mediterranean world, and end with the social turmoil of the
late Republic and the establishment of the principate of Augustus. The course combines the study of Italy's rich archaeological record with a
close reading of ancient texts including Plautus, Polybius, Plutarch, Cicero and Livy.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
ANCH 039. Identities in the Ancient World: Race, Gender, and Ethnicity
In this course, we will survey a wide range of literary, art historical, anthropological, and archaeological evidence in order to investigate the
construction of identities in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond. Key issues to be discussed will include the ways in which ancient
ethnic identities were forged, sustained, and elaborated through time; the intersection of gender, power, and ritual; and the diverse manners in
which race was perceived and instrumentalized in different media across the cultures of the Grego-Roman, Egyptian, and ancient Near Eastern
worlds.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 040. The New Testament in the Greco-Roman World
This course will treat the New Testament as historical documents. We will consider the writings of Paul, the accounts of the life of Jesus, and
related texts. The texts of the New Testament, though written in Greek, invariably intersect with Jewish traditions and with Christian thought, but
this course will consider them above all as artifacts of the Roman empire in which they were produced, focusing particularly on the influence of
Greek thought (e.g. Platonism, Stoicism, Cynicism). We will also give some attention to some Jewish texts influenced by Greek thought (Philo,
Maccabees, The Wisdom of Solomon), and to the pagan response to both Judaism and to the early Christians.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 042. Democracy and Its Challenges: Athens in the Fifth Century
Using diverse primary sources (Thucydides' Histories, tragedy, comedy, and others), this course explores several aspects of classical Athenian
culture: democratic institutions and ideology, social structure, religion, intellectual trends, and the major historical events that affected all of
these and shaped the Greek world in the fifth and early fourth centuries B.C.E.
Social Sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 043. Thucydides on War, Plague, and Democracy
Thucydides' History is much more than a report on the causes and progress of the fifth-century BCE "Peloponnesian War' between Athens and
Sparta. It is a fundamental text that has been repeatedly debated, appropriated, and re-interpreted by different ideological camps, most recently
in times of turmoil caused in this country by the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Thucydides concretely addresses our present uncertainties about the
ideals of democracy, the nature of international justice, the value of public debate, the guilt (but also self-criticism) of imperialism, and the
vulnerability of a developed and self-confident super power in the face of unexpected natural disaster. This course will give you access to the
incredible intellectual value of Thucydides' analysis of issues that are crucially important for our own society.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http:www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 044. The Early Roman Empire
A detailed study of the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the Roman world from the fall of the Republic through the Antonine Age
(50 B.C.E.-C.E. 192). Ancient authors read include Petronius; Apuleius; Suetonius; and, above all, Tacitus.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 046. The History and Archaeology of the Late Roman Empire
This course will examine the history and archaeology of the late Roman Empire from its height under Septimius Severus (ca. 193-211 CE),
through the "conversion" of Constantine and the foundation of Constantinople, to the sack of Rome by Alaric the Visigoth (ca. 410 CE). The
course will involve an historical overview of this period, with a view to understanding the social, political and military aspects of the empire, as
well as the religious and cultural conflicts that emerged between pagans and Christians and within the Church itself. We will draw on a wide
range of evidence to explore these themes, focusing on the close reading of works of ancient literature. Principal texts include the accounts of
Christian martyrs, Eusebius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Augustine. In order to enhance and complicate these accounts, we will also examine
the archaeological remains of the empire, focusing on those recovered from the city of Rome, the important provincial centers of North Africa
and the eastern Mediterranean, and the frontiers of the empire. The class takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of history, and as such
its main goals are to learn the history of the late Roman Empire and to interpret material and visual culture within its historical context.
Social Sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 056. Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire
This course considers the rise of Christianity and its encounters with the religious and political institutions of the Roman Empire. It examines
Christianity in the second and third centuries of the Common Era and its relationship with Judaism, Hellenistic philosophies, state cults, and
mystery religions and concentrates on the various pagan responses to Christianity from conversion to persecution. Ancient texts may include
Apuleius, Lucian, Marcus Aurelius, Porphyry, Justin, Origen, Lactantius, Tertullian, and the Acts of the Christian Martyrs.
ANCH 044 (The Early Roman Empire) provides useful background.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2024. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 066. Rome and Late Antiquity
This course will consider the history of the Roman Empire from its near collapse in the third century C.E. through the "conversion" of
Constantine and the foundation of Constantinople to the sack of Rome by Alaric the Visigoth in 410 C.E. Topics will include the social, political,
and military aspects of this struggle for survival as well as the religious and cultural conflicts between pagans and the Christian church and
within the Church itself. Principal authors will include Eusebius, Athanasius, Julian the Apostate, Ammianus Marcellinus, Ambrose, and
Augustine.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 093. Directed Reading
Independent work for advanced students under the supervision of an instructor.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 098. Senior Course Study
Independent study taken normally in the spring of senior year by course majors. Students will prepare for a graded oral exam held in the spring
with department faculty. The exam will be based on any two-credit unit of study within the major (Honors seminar or course plus attachment),
with students submitting their final exam and a paper, which can be revised.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2023. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2024. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Classical Studies
Courses in Greek, Latin, and Ancient History can be part of any Classical Studies program. In addition, we offer at least one Classical Studies
course (in English translation) every Fall, and a Capstone Seminar (open to all students but with preference given to those with at least one
course in the field) in the Spring.
CLST 004. Radical Jesus
Cross listed with RELG 004
Discussion-and writing-intensive study of classical and contemporary understandings of the figure of Jesus through analytical reading,
classroom dialogue, expository writing, and community engagement. It asks the questions, Who was the real historical Jesus? and, What is the
relevance of Jesus for today? Introduction to wide understanding of Greco-Roman cultures and ancient texts, biblical and otherwise, including
many of the extracanonical scriptures that did not make the final cut for inclusion in the commonly received New Testament. Also introduction to
the Greek alphabet, lexicons, and research tools for New Testament study along with rudimentary Greek terms essential to biblical scholarship
and commentary. Instruction is intellectually rigorous and responsive both to skeptical and faith-based readings of Jesus' biography and the
Bible. The ground is level in this class: believers and unbelievers, evangelicals and atheists are welcome. No prior background in religious or
biblical studies is assumed or required. The class is divided into four three-week sessions with each session devoted to one of the Gospels, and a
final week-long session focusing on the Book of Acts. Each session will study the interplay between Christian scriptures along with writings and
images about Jesus drawn from the Hebrew Bible, extracanonical writings, film and video, history, theology and fiction. Images of Jesus through
time will be tackled: Jewish rabbi, political revolutionary, apocalyptic prophet, queer lover, desert shaman, African messiah, and Native
American trickster.
Humanities.
Writing.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, ENVS, RELG
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ANCH 006B. The Talmud
(Cross-listed as RELG 006B )
This course introduces students to the academic study of the Babylonian Talmud (Bavli) - and through it, the academic study of Judaism.
Through close, critical, and engaged readings of both brief selections and more lengthy pasages, the course not only explores the vast seas of the
Bavli but also considers the Bavli's foundational place within Judaism and its importance to Jewish tradition. We begin by reading selections of
the Talmud that both seek to situate the material in its immediate historical-literary contexts and to explore current points of relevance. We
proceed to a close reading of one sugya (passage) and then spread out to examine some specific topics, focusing on rabbinic constructions of
gender and rabbinic theology. The close readings of texts are supplemented by contemporary scholarship on the Talmud and the rabbis of
antiquity. Finally, we read two contemporary mediations on Judaism that use the Talmud as their "anchor," their point of reference.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for RELG
Spring 2022. Kessler.
Spring 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 010. First Year Seminar: Identities in the Ancient World: Race, Gender and Ethnicity
In this course, we will survey a wide range of literary, art historical, anthropoligical, and archeological evidence in order to investigate the
construction of identities in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond. Key issues to be discussed will include the ways in which ancient
ethnic identities were forged, sustained, and elaborated through time; the intersection of gender, power, and ritual; and the diverse manners in
which race was perceived and instrumentalized in different media across the cultures of the Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and ancient Near Eastern
worlds.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 011. First-Year Seminar: Talking Animals
Talking animals appear in diverse storytelling traditions in virtually all periods of recorded history. Often dismissed as nothing more than a
playful device of children's literature, the granting of speech to voiceless animals is in fact a complex and potentially transgressive modification
of the human-animal binary. What is it about talking animals that has proven so appealing to storytellers in such different cultural and historical
contexts? Does the overt anthropomorphism of such representations preclude the possibility of serious ethical concern for real animals? This
first-year seminar surveys the history and meanings of talking animals in ancient and modern storytelling traditions, from Aesop's fables to
Disney films, from the Panchatantra to the graphic novels of Art Spiegelman. And we will go to the zoo.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 014. First-Year Seminar: Mystery Religions and the Greek Philosophers
What do ancient mystery religions teach us about spiritual transformation and contact with the divine? What were the secret rites of these
religions? How do their mythological themes have universal value? Why are the language and themes of mystery traditions so central to the
philosophical thought of Parmenides, Empedocles, and Plato? This seminar will study texts associated with Orphism, Pythagoreanism, the
Eleusinian and Dionysian mystery cults, Isis and Osiris, and Presocratic and Platonic philosophy. Readings may include The Homeric Hymn to
Demeter; Euripides' Bacchae; fragments of Parmenides and Empedocles; the Derveni Papyrus; Plato's Phaedo, Symposium, and Phaedrus; and
Apuleius' Golden Ass. Topics discussed will include cosmology, mystical knowledge/ascent; philosophical method; allegorical interpretation;
immortality of the soul; archetypal figures of mother/daughter and rebirth.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 019. First-Year Seminar: The Birth of Comedy
This course investigates the origins of comedy and satire in classical antiquity. In addition to plays by Aristophanes, Plautus, and Terence, and
satirical poetry by Archilochus, Hipponax, Horace, and Juvenal, we will also explore the very idea of the "origins of comedy" from diverse
perspectives. Questions about what motivates satirists to attack the behavior of their contemporaries and speculation about the quasi-religious
roots of mockery have been fertile and contested areas of inquiry for centuries. We will read numerous thinkers (ancient and modern) who have
proposed theories of the origins of comedy, including Aristotle, Freud, Bakhtin, Bergson, and Francis Cornford. And we will also encounter more
recent comedians' reflections on their own birth and origins, including performers such as Richard Pryor, Howard Stern, Tina Fey, Louis CK,
Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, and Lenny Bruce.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 020. Plato and His Modern Readers
(Cross-listed as PHIL 020 )
Plato's dialogues are complex works that require literary as well as philosophical analysis. While our primary aim will be to develop
interpretations of the dialogues themselves, we will also view Plato through the lens of various modern and postmodern interpretations (e.g.,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Jung, Foucault, Irigaray, Rorty, Lacan, Nussbaum, Vlastos).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2023. Ledbetter.
Fall 2023. Ledbetter.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 022. Readings in Sanskrit
This is an intermediate level course for Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the transregional, transcultural language of erudition in Ancient and Premodern
South Asia. Its historical importance cannot be overstated in terms of both linguistic and cultural impact. Its systematic linguistic codification
gave birth to the field of linguistics today and its rich diversity of expression led to its use as the language par excellence for the development of a
wide range of fields including philosophy, grammar, art, ritual, mythology, statecraft, warfare, amorous play, prosody, aesthetics, drama, and
much more. This course will be an intensive reading course diving deeply into a variety of genres of Sanskrit to enable students to be able to read
different styles of Sanskrit more comfortably. It will also include a spoken component to engage with the language more naturally and to enhance
students' fluency and comfort with reading.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna.
Spring 2023. Khanna.
Spring 2024. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 022A. Readings in Sanskrit-Attachment
This attachment can be used as a second semester CLST 022 Sanskrit readings when content has been changed. Please see the instructor for
approval.
Instructor approval needed.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 023. Introduction to Sanskrit
A basic introduction to the pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of Sanskrit, in preparation for reading. No prerequisites. This course plus
either CLST 022 Readings in Sanskrit or CLST 024 Sanskrit Grammar fulfills the language requirement.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Khanna.
Fall 2022. Khanna.
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 024. Sanskrit Grammar
LING 024
This course is designed to help students appreciate the grammar system of Sanskrit as codified by the great grammarian Pânini (5th century
BCE), whose system has been called the "greatest monument to human intelligence" (G. Cardona). In this course, students will first be exposed to
basic features of the Sanskrit language, followed by a study of the grammar system of Pânini, and, by the end of the semester, readings in
Sanskrit. This course is open to all students interested in learning Sanskrit. No prior knowledge is necessary. It is also open to students who took
CLST 023 in Fall 2018, as a continuation of the first class, but following a different parallel stream of learning Sanskrit. This course, taken with
CLST 023 Introduction to Sanskrit, fulfills the language requirement.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 026. Athletics and the Competitive Spirit in Ancient Greece
Athletic competition was born in ancient Greece, where contests were held to honor the gods, such as Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo. This course
will explore the world behind these phenomena, focusing in particular upon the wider cultural context of the Archaic and Classical Greeks, for
whom athletics and an ethos of strife went hand in hand. By reading ancient sources - literary, artistic, and archaeological - students will have
the opportunity to understand ancient athletics from the ground up.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 027. Special Topics in Theater History, Dramaturgy, and Performance Theory
THEA 011B
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 028. Origins of Indic Thought
PHIL 038
Origins of Indic Thought is designed to give students a foundation in various
major philosophical schools that have emerged in the Indian subcontinent by
studying their origin stories. These schools include Buddhism, Jainism,
Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Sikhism. Students will learn
the fundamental arguments that each school makes and understand the
ongoing conversation between the various schools about the nature of and
relationship between the Self, the World, and God.
Prerequisite: See PHIL 038 description; prerequisite for PHIL credit only.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 029. Mythology of India
Stories are one of the foremost narrative tools in Indian society. Characters including gods, sages, kings, and the like are often used to present
morals, virtues, and a blueprint for living a civilized life. Stories from ancient Indian texts and oral culture find their way into modern Bollywood
dramas, soap operas, comic books, novels, music, and countless other Indian media. In modern Indian political discourse, these characters are
often used as examples for what should and should not be done. Beyond India, Hindu gods and goddesses can be seen in art, architecture,
Hollywood, TV shows, album covers, and more. At the same time, there are countless stories from the various cultures in India that are untold in
popular media, with differing perspectives, deviant morals, and contrary visions of the world.
This course will broadly sample mythological narratives in India from Vedic times until the present. This will include dominant Hindu cultural
stories, but also stories of minority cultures existing within India such as those of Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious traditions in oral, textual,
visual, and performative forms. Discussion about the stories we encounter will give students the opportunity to problematize and complexify their
understanding of terms like "myth," "religion," "culture," and "history."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 030. Caste and Power
In this course, we will critically analyze caste as a hierarchy of human beings through a study of theory, history, religion, and law in South Asia
and the South Asian diaspora. We will approach caste from an intersectional perspective, understanding its relationship with other modes of
oppression such as race, gender, color, and class. We will understand its religious underpinnings in Hinduism, but also how it permeates into
other religious traditions in the South Asian context, which is then translated to communities in the diaspora.
We will proceed to study the relationship between caste and race in America, challenging our own preconceived notions about racial injustice
and developing a lexicon for articulating its relationship to caste injustice, as well as engaging with the meaning of allyship.
Through this course students will learn to be more critical in their readings and articulations of their positions on power in general, particularly
in the context of caste. This course aims to foster an inclusive environment in which to discuss, in as open a way, crucial issues related to caste,
power, and justice.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 031. Consciousness: Sanskrit Perspectives
The study of "consciousness" has been of interest to scientists, philosophers, and laypeople alike for millennia. Its intangible nature, however,
has made consciousness difficult to define. How can we describe something that we cannot perceive with our senses? We can know what it is like
to perceive, and what it is like to have consciousness, but it has proven difficult to actually pinpoint with a measure of certainty what
consciousness actually is. Over time, thinkers from around the world have offered different theories of consciousness. This course will study
theories that arose from the intellectual milieu of the Indian subcontinent from Vedic times to the present. What is consciousness? How can we
study it? What is its relationship to our bodies? Is there a self? What is our relationship to the world? We will discuss these questions and more
by reading source texts in translation and secondary literature from different ancient, medieval, pre-modern, and modern South Asian
philosophical schools including Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Sufi philosophies.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 032. Classical Hebrew I
In Classical Hebrew I, students will master the Hebrew alphabet, build vocabulary, and acquire a working knowledge of Hebrew grammar and
syntax. By the end of the semester, students will be able to read select passages from the Hebrew Bible aloud and provide translations. No
previous knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Metzler.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 033. Classical Hebrew II
In Classical Hebrew II, students wiill advance in their knowledge of Hebrew grammar and continue to build essential vocabulary. A substantial
amount of class time will be spent reading directly from the Hebrew Bible, with a focus on narrative texts. Students will be able to translate
biblical Hebrew prose, parse verbs, and analyze syntax and orthography with the aid of lexicons, commentaries and reference grammars.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Metzler.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 034. Yoga Philosophy
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 035. Upanishads
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 036. Classical Mythology
What is a myth? How is myth different from fairy tale or fable? What is its connection to ritual and religion? What sets myth apart from history?
In this survey of the mythology of Greco-Roman antiquity, we will investigate the diverse meanings of 'myth', its social functions, its origins, its
history, and its contemporary relevance. Students will get a broad overview of Classical mythology through direct and close readings of primary
sources (all in English translation), including such texts as Homer's Odyssey, plays by all three of the major Greek tragedians (Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides), and Ovid's Metamorphoses. Our readings of ancient texts will be supplemented by study of ancient art and frequent
investigations of modern responses to and theorizing of myth in diverse fields and media, including sociological, psychological, and
philosophical treatises; modern poetry; visual arts; and film.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2024. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 040. Visions of Rome
This course provides an overview of cinematic responses to the idea of Rome, ancient and modern, city and empire, place and idea, from the
silent era to the present day. We will spend some time comparing films set in Rome to ancient and modern representations of the eternal city in
literary and other visual media. But our primary focus will be on the ways in which cinematic visions of Rome reflect evolving cultural, political,
and social conditions on both sides of the Atlantic. Specific topics to be explored include the popularity of classical themes in early silent films;
Rome on screen during the rise and fall of fascism; neorealism and the shifting landscape of the city; the politics of Hollywood epics; and the
dialectic between conceptions of antiquity and modernity as reflected in cinema. Screenings of films by major Italian and Anglophone
filmmakers, including Pastrone, DeMille, Rossellini, Visconti, Wyler, Pasolini, Fellini, Virzì, and other major directors. Readings of texts by
Petronius, Juvenal, Byron, Hawthorne, Dickens, Freud, Yourcenar, Rohmer, Calvino, and Barthes.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 057. Hebrew for Text Study I
What does the Bible really say? Have you ever noticed how radically different the Hebrew Bible seems in different translations? If you want to
understand the enigma of this text, if you want to experience it through your own eyes, if you want to plumb its depths, appreciate its beauty,
confront its challenges, and understand its influence, you must read it in Hebrew. In this course, you will learn the grammar and vocabulary
required to experience the Hebrew Bible and ancient Hebrew commentaries in the original language. You will learn to use dictionaries,
concordances, and translations to investigate word roots and to authenticate interpretations of the texts. In addition to teaching basic language
skills, this course offers students the opportunity for direct encounter with primary biblical, rabbinic, and Jewish liturgical sources. No
experience necessary. If you already have some Hebrew competence, contact the instructor for advice. This course plus CLST 059 Hebrew for
Text Study II fulfills the language requirement.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Plotkin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 059. Hebrew for Text Study II
LING 059
This course is a continuation of Hebrew for Text Study I. Students who have not completed that course will require the permission of the
instructor to enroll in this course. This set of courses teaches the grammar and vocabulary required to experience the Hebrew Bible and ancient
Hebrew commentaries in the original language. You will learn to use dictionaries, concordances, and translations to investigate word roots and
to authenticate interpretations of the texts. In addition to teaching basic language skills, this course offers students the opportunity for direct
encounter with primary biblical, rabbinic, and Jewish liturgical sources. This course plus CLST 057 Hebrew for Text Study I fulfills the language
requirement.
Prerequisite: Hebrew Text Study I
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 092. Directed Readings in Classical Hebrew
Humanities.
.5 credits.
Fall 2023. Plotkin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 093. Directed Reading
Independent work for advanced students under the supervision of an instructor.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 094. Capstone: Ancient Drama in Performance
What does it mean to study the performance of plays that were composed and staged more than two thousand years ago? How is this approach
different from simply reading the texts? Focusing on Greek and Roman tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays (all of which we will read in English
translation), we will examine approaches to ancient drama that emphasize its performance, including historical and cultural conditions; the
physical realities of ancient theaters; staging conventions; acting and actors; and the various ways in which Greek and Roman plays are
continually rediscovered and reinvented through modern performances on stage and screen.
May be taken with CLST 094A for a total of 2 credits.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 098. Senior Course Study
Independent study taken normally in the spring of senior year by course majors. Students will prepare for a graded oral exam held in the spring
with department faculty. The exam will be based on any two-credit unit of study within the major (Honors seminar or course plus attachment),
with students submitting their final exam and a paper, which can be revised.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2023. Lefkowitz.
Spring 2024. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 102. Capstone: Sanskrit and Greek Epic
Epic literature is integral to the cultures of ancient India and ancient Greece. This course will critically analyze selections of Sanskrit and Greek
epics, comparing the two using a variety of criteria, including but not limited to themes, character development, morality, language, aesthetics,
and ornamentation.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 104. Classical Studies Seminar: Ancient Storytelling and Fiction
This course will explore the origins, uses and genres of ancient Greek and Latin narratives in prose. We will be reading (in English translation)
different types of fables, specimens of anecdotes, novelle, and myths embedded in the works of Herodotus, Xenophon, Plato, Plutarch and others,
as well as the first representatives of the Westsern genre of the novel, such as the works of Petronius, Apuleius, Chariton, and Longus. With the
help of narratological theory and parallels with modern narratives, we will especially pay attention to the voice of the narrator, the character of
the narrate as inscribed in the text, and the different discourse techniques used for creating a narrative. We will also explore the ways in which a
narrative advertises itself as a fiction, a piece of history, or a parable, and learn to recognize a narrative's rhetorical purpose and the more or
less covert message it intends to convey.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 105. Classical Studies Capstone: The Classical in Art and Literature
Layers of representation, interpretation, and theoretical frameworks filter our view of Greco-Roman Antiquity, and continually reconfigure the
meaning of the "classical". This seminar will examine the histories, texts, theories, and works of art through which the classical tradition
continues to evolve. Topics and authors may include: Greek mythology in contemporary art and fiction, theories of mythology, adaptation
studies, the figure of Oedipus (Sophocles, Freud, Girard, Stravinsky, Pasolini), classicism in the history of art and architecture (Michelangelo,
Palladio, Jacques-Louis David, Thomas Jefferson, Picasso), antiquity in modernism.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 106. Classical Studies Capstone: Dante: Christianity and the Classical Tradition
CPLT 106
In the Divina Commedia, Dante adapts the Classical theme of the heroic journey to the Underworld to his task as a visionary poet and Christian
prophet. We will read the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso in English translation, exploring its different levels of meaning and Dante's
surprising reinterpretation of the ancient authors. We will reconstruct his world view in the broader context of Medieval culture: his thought on
life, death, love, language, the visual arts, politics and history.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 108. Capstone: Greek and Roman Religion: Text, Theory and Archaeology
This seminar focuses upon religion in the ancient Mediterranean world. Through a comprehensive approach that combines reading ancient texts,
the discussion of modern theories of religion, and a thorough investigation of archaeological sites and monuments, we will reconstruct the cult
practices, ideologies, and belief systems of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Particular emphasis will be placed upon how such systems changed
over time. This course will also introduce students to Greek and Latin epigraphy, or the study of ancient texts inscribed in stone, bronze, and
clay.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Mahoney.
Fall 2023. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Honors Seminars and Capstone Seminars
CLST 094. Capstone: Ancient Drama in Performance
What does it mean to study the performance of plays that were composed and staged more than two thousand years ago? How is this approach
different from simply reading the texts? Focusing on Greek and Roman tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays (all of which we will read in English
translation), we will examine approaches to ancient drama that emphasize its performance, including historical and cultural conditions; the
physical realities of ancient theaters; staging conventions; acting and actors; and the various ways in which Greek and Roman plays are
continually rediscovered and reinvented through modern performances on stage and screen.
May be taken with CLST 094A for a total of 2 credits.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 104. Classical Studies Seminar: Ancient Storytelling and Fiction
This course will explore the origins, uses and genres of ancient Greek and Latin narratives in prose. We will be reading (in English translation)
different types of fables, specimens of anecdotes, novelle, and myths embedded in the works of Herodotus, Xenophon, Plato, Plutarch and others,
as well as the first representatives of the Westsern genre of the novel, such as the works of Petronius, Apuleius, Chariton, and Longus. With the
help of narratological theory and parallels with modern narratives, we will especially pay attention to the voice of the narrator, the character of
the narrate as inscribed in the text, and the different discourse techniques used for creating a narrative. We will also explore the ways in which a
narrative advertises itself as a fiction, a piece of history, or a parable, and learn to recognize a narrative's rhetorical purpose and the more or
less covert message it intends to convey.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 105. Classical Studies Capstone: The Classical in Art and Literature
Layers of representation, interpretation, and theoretical frameworks filter our view of Greco-Roman Antiquity, and continually reconfigure the
meaning of the "classical". This seminar will examine the histories, texts, theories, and works of art through which the classical tradition
continues to evolve. Topics and authors may include: Greek mythology in contemporary art and fiction, theories of mythology, adaptation
studies, the figure of Oedipus (Sophocles, Freud, Girard, Stravinsky, Pasolini), classicism in the history of art and architecture (Michelangelo,
Palladio, Jacques-Louis David, Thomas Jefferson, Picasso), antiquity in modernism.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 106. Classical Studies Capstone: Dante: Christianity and the Classical Tradition
CPLT 106
In the Divina Commedia, Dante adapts the Classical theme of the heroic journey to the Underworld to his task as a visionary poet and Christian
prophet. We will read the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso in English translation, exploring its different levels of meaning and Dante's
surprising reinterpretation of the ancient authors. We will reconstruct his world view in the broader context of Medieval culture: his thought on
life, death, love, language, the visual arts, politics and history.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 108. Capstone: Greek and Roman Religion: Text, Theory and Archaeology
This seminar focuses upon religion in the ancient Mediterranean world. Through a comprehensive approach that combines reading ancient texts,
the discussion of modern theories of religion, and a thorough investigation of archaeological sites and monuments, we will reconstruct the cult
practices, ideologies, and belief systems of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Particular emphasis will be placed upon how such systems changed
over time. This course will also introduce students to Greek and Latin epigraphy, or the study of ancient texts inscribed in stone, bronze, and
clay.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Mahoney.
Fall 2023. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 110. Epigraphy
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2024. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 111. Greek Philosophers
This seminar usually focuses on selected literary and philosophical topics in the Presocratics and Plato.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 112. Greek Epic
This seminar studies either the entirety of Homer's Odyssey in Greek or most of the Iliad.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 113. Greek Historians
This seminar is devoted to a study of Herodotus and Thucydides, both as examples of Greek historiography and as sources for Greek history.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 114. Greek Drama
This seminar usually focuses on one play by each of the major tragedians-Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Other plays are read in
translation. The works are placed in their cultural setting and are discussed as both drama and poetry.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT.
Spring 2022. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 115. Greek Lyric Poetry
This seminar will focus on the development of archaic Greek elegy (Archilochus, Tyrtaeus, Solon, Xenophanes, Semonides, Theognis) monodic
lyric (Sappho, Alcaeus, Anacreaon, and Simonides) and choral lyric (Pindar and Bacchylides), paying particular attention to lyric's dialogue
with the epic tradition, the so-called rise of the individual, political and performative contexts, and modern interpretive approaches.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 116. Aristophanes and the Comic Tradition
This seminar focuses on selected plays of Aristophanes, which will be read in the context of the history of comedy and the place of dramatic
performance in Athenian society and politics.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 102. The Roman Emperors
This seminar explores Latin authors of the first and second centuries, with particular attention to their responses to the social and political
structures of the period. Expressed attitudes toward the emperors range from adulation to spite, but the seminar concentrates on authors who fall
somewhere in between, writing skeptically or subversively. Both prose writers (e.g., Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny) and poets (e.g., Lucan,
Seneca, and Juvenal) may be included.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 103. Latin Epic
This seminar usually focuses on Vergil's Aeneid, although it may include other major Latin epics.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 104. Ovid's Metamorphoses
This seminar is devoted to the Metamorphoses, which is read against the background of Ovid's Roman and Greek literary predecessors.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 105. The Fall of the Roman Republic
This seminar examines Latin texts from the traumatic period of the Late Republic (70-40 B.C.E.). It focuses on the social and political crisis of
the period as well as its connections with the artistic and philosophical achievements of the first great period of Latin literature. Authors may
include Lucretius, Catullus, Caesar, Cicero, and Sallust.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 106. Tacitus
The seminar will read extensive excerpts from the Annals of Tacitus, usually including at least one complete book. Additional readings from the
Histories and the Agricola may also be included. The principal questions addressed will include: Tacitus' accuracy and objectivity as a historian,
the importance of rhetorical techniques on Tacitus' language and narrative, and the question of his attitude to particular emperors (Augustus,
Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Domitian). Above all we will consider the question of Tacitus' ideas about the imperial system of
government: to what extent did he think Romans should resist monarchy or tyranny, and to what extent should they adjust their morality to
accommodate it?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 107. Horace
Students can sign up for 107A for one credit, or 107 A and B for two credits. Students taking the
course for one credit will read selected odes and epodes of Horace; these are short poems
amenable to secondary reading, extended discussion, and short interpretative essays. Students
taking the course for two credits will also read satires of Horace in Latin and the Ars Poetica,
Horace's influential work of literary criticism; one credit students will read these poems in
English. Latin 107A is appropriate for advanced Latin students, but also at the intermediate
level, i.e., those with at least one semester of college or four years of Latin in high school; it will
include grammar review and vocabulary acquisition.
Humanities.
Writing course (Section A)
1 or 2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 108. Roman Comedy
This seminar is devoted to Plautus and Terence, whose adaptations of Greek plays are among the oldest surviving works of Latin literature. The
primary focus will be on close study of the language and structure of the plays, but students will also become familiar with a range of critical and
theoretical approaches to comedy. Specific topics to be explored include the production and performance of ancient drama; the Roman
appropriation of Greek literary genres; representations of slaves, prostitutes, and other marginal figures on the comic stage; and the influence of
Roman Comedy on post-classical European drama.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 109. Aesop and the Ancient Fable Tradition
This seminar is devoted to study of the ancient fable tradition, from the earliest traces of animal fables in archaic Greek poetry to the Latin fable
books of the medieval period. The primary goal of the seminar will be to develop an appreciation of the style, form, content, and history of the
fable genre through close readings of original texts. In addition, we will also consider the question of the fable's status as "popular" or "low"
literature in antiquity; problems of authorship and the fable's links to the mysterious, legendary figure of Aesop; the role played by animals and
anthropomorphism in ancient storytelling; and the global spread of Aesop's fables in the post-Classical world. There will be opportunities to
contribute to original research, including participation in a collaborative workshop with students at the Universita di Trento, Italy, and working
with manuscripts of fable collections at the Walters Museum in Baltimore, MD, and the Morgan Library in New York, NY. Students can enroll for
either LATN or GREK credit, depending on their particular interests and language competencies.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 110. Cicero and Sallust
This seminar will focus on Roman rhetoric. We will read speeches delivered in the Roman Senate, before the popular assembly, or before juries.
The principal author will be Cicero, but we will also read discussions of rhetorical theory and practice, both ancient and modern. In addition,
students will have the opportunity to explore a number of topics related to ancient oratory and rhetoric, including (among others) public
performance; theories of persuasion; the relationship between rhetoric and Roman law; Roman (and Greek) education practices; and the
enduring influence of ancient rhetoric and oratory in the contemporary world.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 129. Caligula and Claudius
This is an advanced Latin course, intended for students with one or more intermediate Latin courses at the college level, or c. 4 years of Latin in
high school. The emperor Gaius Caligula, famous for considering his favorite racehorse for the office of consul, raises urgent questions about
what we consider normal in our leaders. The emperor Claudius, made generally famous by the classic TV series "I Claudius," presents similar
questions. He was a transformative figure in Roman imperial history, responsible for the creation of a civil service, expansion of the Roman
citizenship, and the conquest of Britain. But he also had medical problems, and made some spectacularly inappropriate marriages. The principal
Latin texts will be Suetonius' Life of Gaius Caligula, Tacitus' bitter account of Claudius in his Annals, and selected documents (inscriptions and
Latin papyri). We will also read Seneca's exposition of Stoic ideals in his de Providentia, and Seneca's (?) Apocolocyntosis, a spoof account of
Claudius' posthumous journey to heaven.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
PHIL 102. Ancient Philosophy
For the Greeks and Romans, philosophy was a way of life and not merely an academic discipline. With this perspective in mind, we will examine
topics in ethics, metaphysics, aesthetics, epistemology, and theology through close readings of Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nichomachean
Ethics. We will also look more briefly at the thought of the Presocratics and the Stoics.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CLST
Fall 2022. Ledbetter.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Cognitive Science
Coordinator:
K. DAVID HARRISON (Linguistics)
Cheryl Sharp, Adminsitrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Alan Baker (Philosophy)
Victor Barranca (Mathematics and Statistics)
Peter Baumann (Philosophy)
Joshua Goldwyn (Mathamatics and Statistics)
Lisa Meeden (Computer Science)
Daniel Grodner (Psychology and Cognitive Science)
Ameet Soni (Computer Science)
Jonathan Washington (Linguistics)
Matthew Zucker (Engineering)
Affiliated Faculty
Spencer Caplan (Computer Science)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__
The Cognitive Science Program has been developed to guide students who are interested in the interdisciplinary study of the mind, brain, and
language, with emphases on formal structure, biological information processing, and computation. The program is designed to emphasize guided
breadth across various disciplines that contribute to cognitive science as well as depth within a chosen discipline.
First Course Recommendations
COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science provides a multidisciplinary introduction to the field of cognitive science.It does this not only by
exposing students to fundamental ideas and findings, but also by incorporating a substantial guest-scholar component: Typically, as many as ten
different Swarthmore professors each conduct lecture/discussions during the semester. In this way, students get exposed to professors from many
different departments involved in cognitive science. Note that this course is only offered in the fall semester.
The Academic Program
We conceive of cognitive science as a loose federation of six specific disciplines. The disciplines included are: artificial intelligence (including
robotics), cognitive psychology, linguistics, mathematics and statistics, neuroscience, and philosophy. To demonstrate breadth, students majoring
or minoring in cognitive science are required to complete credits in at least three of these six disciplines.
Course Minor
Six credits are required for the minor. One of these is a required introductory course, COGS 001. The remaining 5 credits are to be distributed
across three different disciplines of cognitive science. That is, 2 credits of listed courses, from 3 of the 6 disciplines, must be completed with the
exception that in one-and only one-of the three disciplines, a single "focus course" may be used to meet the breadth requirement. Students who
wish to use 2 credits in mathematics and statistics as one of their disciplines for a cognitive science minor must choose 2 credits from a single
sub-area of mathematics and indicate its relevance to at least one of the two other disciplines chosen for the minor.
The list of courses currently approved as cognitive science courses is rather selective because it is intended to focus students on the most
essential cores of cognitive science within each discipline. Many more courses, taught on campus, are closely relevant to cognitive science. This
list is subject to periodic re-evaluation.
In addition to fulfilling the breadth requirements, students must indicate one cognitive science field in which they have substantial depth of
preparation. Such depth can be documented by completion of at least 4 courses from within a cognitive science discipline (even if some of those
courses are not directly related to cognitive science). Alternative curricular and extracurricular ways of fulfilling the depth requirement may be
discussed with the coordinator.
Honors Minor
To complete an honors minor in cognitive science, students must complete all requirements listed above. The honors preparation for the minor
will normally be a 2-credit unit approved by the relevant department from courses listed for the minor. The minor preparation must be within a
discipline that is not the student's honors major. Students are encouraged to develop an appropriate preparation in consultation with the
coordinator.
Special Major
Typically, the program for a special major in cognitive science involves fulfilling all requirements for the minor and then adding 4 or more
cognitive science related courses including a thesis, bringing the total number of credits up to 10-12. Note that these additional credits may
include courses not listed as eligible for the minor or major, subject to the approval of the program coordinator. Students who special major in
cognitive science are normally required to do a 1-credit senior thesis (COGS 090). though other formats for completing the thesis requirement
exist, and students may elect to complete a 2-credit thesis with the approval of a thesis advisor and the program coordinator.
Honors Special Major
An honors special major in cognitive science is possible. While fulfilling the requirements of the minor, students must take four 2-credit honors
preparations. One of these preparations is a Senior Honors Thesis (COGS 180). The other three preparations must be distributed across two or
more disciplines within cognitive science. The nature of these honors preparations will be determined by the standard practices of the relevant
departments.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
Minors who wish to get formal research experience may choose to complete a 1-credit thesis or a 2-credit honors thesis in cognitive science
during their senior year. Non-honors theses in cognitive science will normally be examined by Cognitive Science Committee members from
within at least two different departments.
Cognitive Science Courses
COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science
An introduction to the science of the mind from the perspective of cognitive psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, and artificial
intelligence. The course introduces students to the scientific investigation of such questions as the following: What does it mean to think or to
have consciousness? Can a computer have a mind? What does it mean to have a concept? What is language? What kinds of explanations are
necessary to explain cognition?
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, PSYC
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Durgin.
Fall 2023. Durgin.
Catalog chapter: Cognitive Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/cognitive-science
COGS 090. Senior Thesis
The one-credit thesis project can be supervised by any of a number of faculty members associated with the departments in the program but
should be approved in advance by the program coordinator. A thesis may be used to establish depth in an area and is normally a required
component of a special major in cognitive science.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Cognitive Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/cognitive-science
COGS 092. Independent Study
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Cognitive Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/cognitive-science
COGS 180. Senior Honors Thesis
1 or 2 credits
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Cognitive Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/cognitive-science
Artificial Intelligence (Computer Science and Engineering)
CPSC 063. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be defined as the branch of computer science that is concerned with the automation of intelligent behavior.
Intelligent behavior encompasses a wide range of abilities; as a result, AI has become a very broad field that includes game playing, automated
reasoning, expert systems, natural language processing, modeling human performance (cognitive science), planning, and robotics. This course
will focus on a subset of these topics and specifically on machine learning, which is concerned with the problem of how to create programs that
automatically improve with experience. Machine learning approaches studied typically include neural networks, decision trees, genetic
algorithms, and reinforcement techniques.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Meeden.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 065. Natural Language Processing
(Cross-listed as LING 020)
This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts in natural language processing, the study of human language from a computational
perspective. The focus will be on creating statistical algorithms used in the analysis and production of language. Topics to be covered include
parsing, morphological analysis, text classification, speech recognition, and machine translation. No prior linguistics experience is necessary.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Caplan.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 066. Machine Learning
This course will introduce algorithms and frameworks that train computers to learn from data in order to better complete specific tasks. The first
part of the course will focus on the task of making predictions (supervised learning). The course will then cover other areas of the field
including structured learning, unsupervised learning, and semi-supervised learning, among others. The course will also develop general
machine learning methodologies; frameworks for analyzing and validating algorithms and theoretical foundations.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Wehar, Michael
Fall 2023. Soni, Mitchell
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 068. Bioinformatics
(Cross-listed as BIOL 068)
This course is an introduction to the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology, with a central focus on algorithms and their application
to a diverse set of computational problems in molecular biology. Computational themes will include dynamic programming, greedy algorithms,
supervised learning and classification, data clustering, trees, graphical models, data management, and structured data representation.
Applications will include genetic sequence analysis, pair wise-sequence alignment, phylogenetic trees, motif finding, gene-expression analysis,
and protein-structure prediction. No prior biology experience is necessary.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 081. Adaptive Robotics
This seminar addresses the problem of controlling robots that will operate in dynamic, unpredictable environments. In laboratory sessions,
students will work in groups to program robots to perform a variety of tasks such as navigation to a goal, obstacle avoidance, and vision-based
tracking. In discussion sessions, students will examine the major paradigms of robot control through readings from the primary literature with an
emphasis on adaptive approaches.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035. Recommended: CPSC 063
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 082. Mobile Robotics
(Cross-listed as ENGR 028)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
ENGR 027. Computer Vision
(Cross-listed as CPSC 072)
Computer vision studies how computers can analyze and perceive the world using input from imaging devices. Topics include line and region
extraction, stereo vision, motion analysis, color and reflection models, and object representation and recognition. The course will focus on object
recognition and detection, introducing the tools of computer vision in support of building an automatic object recognition and classification
system. Labs will involve implementing both offline and real-time object recognition and classification systems.
Prerequisite: Either ENGR 019 or ENGR 056, or permission of the instructor. MATH 027 or MATH 028 is recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Spring 2022. Phillips.
Spring 2023. Phillips.
Fall 2023. Zucker.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 028. Mobile Robotics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 082)
This course addresses the problems of controlling and motivating robots to act intelligently in dynamic, unpredictable environments. Major
topics will include mechanical design, robot perception, kinematics and inverse kinematics, navigation and control, optimization and learning,
and robot simulation techniques. To demonstrate these concepts, we will be looking at mobile robots, robot arms and positioning devices, and
virtual agents. Labs will focus on programming robots to execute tasks and to explore and interact with their environment.
Prerequisite: Either ENGR 019 or ENGR 056, or permission of the instructor. MATH 027 or MATH 028 is recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Phillips.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
Cognitive Psychology
PSYC 007. First-Year Seminar: Early Social Cognition
Humans are helplessly social: we spend much of our lives interacting with others, continuously encoding and processing information about our
social world. What are the origins and developmental trajectory of our social cognition? Are we prejudiced from the start? How do we learn us
vs. them distinction? When and how do young children come to appreciate the content of others' minds? This course explores the underlying
cognitive processes that shape infants' and children's understanding of the social world.
PSYC 007 serves as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 033. Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is one of the intellectual foundations on which modern psychological science is built. This course has two principal goals.
On the one hand, it provides an integrated overview of a variety of subfields of cognitive psychology including perception, attention, memory,
language, concepts, imagery, thinking, decision-making, and problem solving. On the other hand, it develops a coherent conceptual framework
for understanding how behavioral experiments can illuminate the workings of the human mind.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or COGS 001 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2023. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 034. Psychology of Language
(Cross-listed as LING 034)
The capacity for language sets the human mind apart from all other minds, both natural and artificial, and so contributes critically to making us
who we are. In this course, we ask several fundamental questions about the psychology of language: How do children acquire it so quickly and
accurately? How do we understand and produce it, seemingly without effort? What are its biological underpinnings? What is the relationship
between language and thought? How did language evolve? And to what extent is the capacity for language "built in" (genetically) versus "built
up" (by experience)?
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, or COGS 001, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Grodner.
Fall 2023. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
(focus course)
PSYC 039. Developmental Psychology
Do infants have concepts? How do children learn language? These questions and others are addressed in this survey course of physical,
cognitive, social, and emotional development during infancy and early childhood. The course asks how and why human minds and behaviors
develop, examining the theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on the nature of developmental change.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 043. Computational Methods for Psychology and Neuroscience
This course will introduce students to computational approaches to understanding the brain and behavior, through the lens of human learning
and memory. We will cover a range of topics including: representation and similarity, correlation, convolution, cognitive models, human
electrophysiology, neural oscillations, and supervised/unsupervised learning. Students will gain experience with the methods and their
applications through Python-based programming projects.
Prerequisite: PSYC 027 or CPSC 021 and Instructor permission. Interested students with experience/coursework in other areas (e.g. psychology,
neuroscience, computer science, mathematics/statistics, engineering) are also encouraged to contact the Instructor.
Social sciences
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 133. Metaphor and Mind Seminar
Metaphor and other forms of figurative language use are fundamental to human thought. Can studying metaphor help us understand the
representation of meaning in the brain and the communication of meaning between minds? How do metaphors affect our conceptualization of the
world and of each other? This seminar examines scientific theories of metaphor use and understanding from psycholinguistics, cognitive science,
philosophy of language, and neuroscience.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 033. Cognitive Psychology, PSYC 034. Psychology of Language or COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science or
permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 134. Seminar in Psycholinguistics
(Cross-listed as LING 134)
An advanced study of special topics in the psychology of language. A research component is sometimes included.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 034. Psychology of Language, PSYC 033. Cognitive Psychology, or COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science , or
permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Spring 2022. Grodner.
Spring 2024. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 139. Seminar in Cognitive Development
This course will introduce students to the basic principles and theories of human cognitive development from infancy through early adolescence.
The areas and ideas that will be discussed in this seminar include, but are not limited to, causal learning, number development, memory, concept
formation, language development, spatial cognition, and computational modeling. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to think
not just about when key behaviors and abilities emerge, but how those abilities come to exist. Thus, a major focus of this course will be on
critically evaluating mechanisms of developmental change.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 039. Developmental Psychology or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, ESCH.
Spring 2022. Benton.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Linguistics
LING 040. Semantics
(Cross-listed as PHIL 040)
In this course, we look at a variety of ways in which linguists, philosophers, and psychologists have approached meaning in language. We
address truth-functional semantics, lexical semantics, speech act theory, pragmatics, and discourse structure. What this adds up to is an
examination of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in isolation and in context.
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the philosophy rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Irwin.
Spring 2022. Irwin.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 043. Morphology and the Lexicon
This course looks at word formation and the meaningful ways in which different words in the lexicon are related to one another in the world's
languages.
Prerequisite: LING 001 or LING 045.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 045. Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics explores the full range of sounds produced by humans for use in language and the gestural, acoustic, and auditory properties that
characterize those sounds. Phonology investigates the abstract cognitive system humans use for representing, organizing, and combining the
sounds of language as well as processes by which sounds can change into other sounds. This course covers a wide spectrum of data from
languages around the world and focuses on developing analyses to account for the data. Argumentation skills are also developed to help
determine the underlying cognitive mechanisms that are needed to support proposed analyses.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Washington.
Spring 2022. Dockum.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 050. Syntax
The main objective of this course is to familiarize students with the scientific study of syntactic structure in human language as part of the
broader enterprise of the study of the human language faculty. Students learn the rudiments of syntactic analysis and argumentation within the
Principles & Parameters/Minimalist framework in generative syntactic theory. The course gives attention to the relevance of syntax to other
fields of study, including psychology (language acquisition, language processing), computer science, language reclamation and revitalization,
stigmatized dialects, and more.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Conrod.
Spring 2022. Irwin.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 073. Computational Linguistics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 013 )
This course explores the possibilities for creating computational resources for languages for which vast collections of text don't exist. Students
will choose a language lacking in computational resources and develop tools for it. The focus will be on creating nuanced symbolic
representations of the language that can be employed by computers, to the benefit of both language researchers who wish to test grammatical
models, and language communities which lack the social capital to benefit from corporately developed resources. Topics covered include input
methods and spell-checking, morphological analysis and disambiguation, syntactic parsing, building corpora, and rule-based machine
translation, with an emphasis on anti-colonial methodologies and free/open-source technologies.
Prerequisite: LING 001 (or equivalent) or CPSC 021 (or equivalent), or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Washington.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 081. Semantics II
This course begins with the formal foundations of semantics and then switches to a seminar style of instruction for an examination of classical
and recent articles in the field.
Prerequisite: LING 040
Social Sciences
1 credit
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Neuroscience (Biology and Psychology)
BIOL 022. Neurobiology
An in-depth study of modern neuroscience, examined through the lens of primary literature. After covering the foundations of nervous system
organization and function, we will perform critical reading of several significant papers, including meeting with authors to better understand the
process of research and publication. Laboratories will explore neurophysiology and behavior in a range of organisms - crayfish, leech, and
Homo sapiens.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Gauthier.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Gauthier.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 131. Animal Communication
This seminar will examine animal communication from a cross-disciplinary perspective with a focus on the evolution and physiology of
communication systems and an emphasis on understanding the primary literature. Weekly readings and student-led discussion of the primary
literature are modeled after a journal club course in graduate school and allow students to develop an in-depth understanding of scientific
critique. Engaged participation in these "crit sessions" provides students with the skills and confidence to decompose complex scientific studies,
extract the relevant results, and evaluate the rigor of experimental design. This class takes an explicitly quantitative approach to understanding
animal behavior.
Prerequisite: Completion of BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, or their equivalents; BIOL 030; or with permission of instructor.
Recommended: A course in statistics (e.g. STAT 011).
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
PSYC 030. Behavioral Neuroscience
A survey of the neural and biochemical bases of behavior with special emphasis on sensory processing, motivation, emotion, learning, and
memory. Both experimental analyses and clinical implications are considered.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Schneider.
Spring 2023. Fobbs.
Spring 2024. Fobbs.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 031. Cognitive Neuroscience
What neural systems underlie human perception, memory and language? What deficits arise from damage to these systems? This course covers
a variety of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychological methods and what they tell us about human cognition.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Zinszer.
Spring 2023. Zinszer.
Spring 2024. Zinszer.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 031A. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
This course focuses on the neural underpinnings of cognitive (memory, attention), social (theory of mind, empathy), and affective (emotion,
evaluation) processes, as well as how they interact with and contribute to each other. We consider how such processes are implemented at the
neural level, but also how neural mechanisms help give rise to social and emotional phenomena. Many believe that the expansion of the human
brain evolved due to the complex demands of dealing with others - competing or cooperating with them, deceiving or empathizing with them,
understanding or misjudging them. In this course, we review current theories and methods guiding social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience,
taking a multi-level approach to understanding the brain in its social context.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Norris.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 130. Seminar in Behavioral Neuroscience
Course previously titled Seminar in Physiological Psychology
An analysis of the neural bases of motivation, emotion, learning, memory, and language. Generalizations derived from neurobehavioral relations
are brought to bear on clinical issues.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 030. Behavioral Neuroscience or BIOL 022 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Zinszer.
Fall 2022. Fobbs.
Fall 2023. Fobbs.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 131. Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience
In this course, we'll examine how the processes for learning, comprehending, and producing language are implemented in the human brain.
Drawing on evidence from neuropsychological and brain imaging studies, we'll critically evaluate research on questions like: What brain areas
serve in language processing? What are the cognitive functions of these areas, and how do these functions coordinate to make language? How is
language affected when the brain is damaged? What are the cognitive and neural consequences of different language learning experiences? In
addition to exploring the unfolding answers to these questions, we will develop a familiarity with academic literature in this field and practice the
skills of reading, criticizing, and synthesizing primary research to answer scientific questions.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 031, or permission of the instructor.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Zinszer.
Fall 2022. Zinszer.
Fall 2023. Zinszer.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 131A. Seminar in Social Neuroscience: The Social Brain
This seminar focuses on a critical analysis of current social neuroscience literature, covering topics such as person perception, empathy,
perspective taking, emotion, attitudes, relationships, stereotypes and prejudice. Students consider evidence from studies using a broad spectrum
of methods, including behavioral measures, functional neuroimaging, neurophysiological recordings, neuropsychology and computational
modeling.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001. Introduction to Psychology and PSYC 031A. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience or PSYC 031. Cognitive
Neuroscience or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Norris.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Statistics and Mathematics
Two credits are required from a single statistics or mathematics sub-area. The sub-areas of mathematics and their eligible seminars and courses
are as follows:
Continuous and Applied Mathematics
MATH 034. Several-Variable Calculus
Same topics as MATH 033 except in more depth using the concepts of linear algebra. The department strongly recommends that students take
linear algebra first so that they are eligible for this course. Students may take only one of MATH 033, MATH 034, and MATH 035 for credit.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 025 or Math 026 and also MATH 027 or MATH 028, along with a grade of C or better in at
least one of the two previously mentioned math courses.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Hunter.
Spring 2022. Reinhart.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 043. Basic Differential Equations
This course emphasizes the standard techniques used to solve differential equations, covering the basic theory of the field with an eye toward
practical applications. Topics may include first-order equations, linear differential equations, series solutions, first-order systems of equations,
Laplace transforms, approximation methods, and some partial differential equations. Compare with MATH 044. Students may not take both
MATH 043 and MATH 044 for credit. The department prefers majors to take MATH 044.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 033, MATH 034 or MATH 035; or a grade of B or better in MATH 025 and currently enrolled in
one of MATH 034 or MATH 035; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Goldwyn.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 044. Differential Equations
An introduction to differential equations that has a more theoretical and rigorous flavor than MATH 043 and is intended for students who enjoy
delving into the mathematics behind the techniques. It introduces the key ideas of ordinary differential equations in a more conceptual, dynamical
as well as computational framework. Topics include existence and non-existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence of solutions on
data, qualitative behavior of solutions such as asymptotic behavior and stability, as well as boundary value problems and bifurcation. Numerical
and computational methods will be used throughout as appropriate. Linear and nonlinear systems will be considered. Additional topics
depend on the interests of the instructor and students. The department recommends that majors take MATH 044.
Prerequisite: Either credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028 and a grade of C or better in one of MATH 033, MATH 034, or
MATH 035; or a grade of B or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028 and concurrent enrolledment in one MATH 034 or MATH 035; or
permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Barranca.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 053. Topics in Analysis
Course content varies from year to year depending on student and faculty interest. Recent topics have included dynamical systems, Fourier
analysis, and analytic number theory. See also MATH 073.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in one of and MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035; placement by examination; or permission of the
instructor. Some experience reading and writing mathematical proofs is strongly recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 054. Partial Differential Equations
An introduction to linear partial differential equations. Topics include first-order linear equations and second-order equations of elliptic,
parabolic, and hyperbolic type via the Laplace equation, the heat equation, and the wave equation. Solutions to these equations are studied from
analytical, qualitative, and numerical viewpoints. Additional topics depend on the interests of the students and instructor.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028; a grade of C or better in one of MATH 043, MATH 044; or permission
of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 056. Modeling
(Cross-listed as ENVS 079)
An introduction to the formulation and analysis of mathematical models. This course will present a general framework for the development of
discrete and continuous models of diverse phenomena. Principles of modeling will be drawn from multiple areas, such as kinetics, population
dynamics, disease spread, traffic flow, particle mechanics, and network science. Mathematical techniques and theory useful for understanding
models will be emphasized, such as dimensional analysis, phase plane diagrams, stability analysis, bifurcation theory, conservation laws,
random walks, constitutive relations, chaos theory, and computer simulation. A primary goal of this course is to give insights into the connections
between mathematics and real-world problems, allowing students to apply the course concepts to applications that excite them.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028, and a grade of C or better in one of MATH 043 or MATH
044; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Crawford.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 063. Introduction to Real Analysis
This course concentrates on the careful study of the principles underlying the calculus of real valued functions of real variables. Topics include
continuity, compactness, connectedness, uniform convergence, differentiation, and integration. There is a strong emphasis on good mathematical
writing, especially on mathematical proofs. This course includes a required additional weekly problem session.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028 and also a grade of C or better in one of MATH 033, MATH 034, or
MATH 035.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Viator. Mavinga.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 066. Stochastic and Numerical Methods
In mathematical problems that arise from real-world applications, exact solutions often cannot be obtained due to complicating characteristics,
such as nonlinearity, uncertainty, and randomness. This course will introduce theory and techniques to numerically approximate solutions to
these types of mathematical problems. This course will also survey the mathematical theory of stochastic processes. Additional topics may be
included, depending on the instructor.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028 and a grade of C or better in MATH 043 or MATH 044.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Barranca.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 067. Introduction to Modern Algebra
This course is an introduction to abstract algebra and will survey basic algebraic systems-groups, rings, and fields. Although these concepts will
be illustrated by concrete examples, the emphasis will be on abstract theorems, proofs, and rigorous mathematical reasoning. There is a strong
emphasis on good mathematical writing, especially on mathematical proofs. This course includes a required additional weekly problem session.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Dougherty. Hsu.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Discrete Mathematics
MATH 039. Discrete Mathematics with an Introduction to Proof
An introduction to noncontinuous mathematics. Topics will include mathematical induction and other methods of proof, basic set theory,
bijections, counting, and graph theory. Additional topics may include algorithms, recurrence relations, probability, voting methods, and other
topics at the discretion of the instructor. While it does not use any calculus, MATH 039 is a more sophisticated course than MATH 015 or MATH
025; thus success in a calculus course demonstrates the mathematical maturity needed for MATH 039. Previously called Math 029.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in Math 15, placement into or credit for Math 25, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Crawford.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 046. Theory of Computation
(Cross-listed as CPSC 046)
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 057. Topics in Algebra
Course content varies each year, depending on student and faculty interest. Recent offerings have included coding theory, groups and
representations, finite reflection groups, and advanced matrix theory. See also MATH 077.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 058. Number Theory
This course covers the fundamentals of elementary number theory, including divisibility, congruences, and prime numbers. Topics may include
Gaussian integers, sums of squares representations, and quadratic reciprocity.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in one of MATH 027 or MATH 028 .
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Hsu.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 067. Introduction to Modern Algebra
This course is an introduction to abstract algebra and will survey basic algebraic systems-groups, rings, and fields. Although these concepts will
be illustrated by concrete examples, the emphasis will be on abstract theorems, proofs, and rigorous mathematical reasoning. There is a strong
emphasis on good mathematical writing, especially on mathematical proofs. This course includes a required additional weekly problem session.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Dougherty. Hsu.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 069. Combinatorics
This course continues the study of material begun in MATH 039. The primary topics are enumeration and graph theory. The first area includes,
among other things, a study of generating functions and Polya counting. The second area is concerned with relations between certain graphical
invariants. Additional topics may include one or more of the following: design theory, extremal graph theory, Ramsey theory, matroids,
matchings, codes, and Latin squares.
Prerequisite: Grades of C or better in MATH 039 and at least one other course in mathematics numbered 27 or higher; or permission of the
instructor. Students who have taken two or more mathematics courses numbered 50 or higher have taken this course without Math 39: please
discuss with the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Statistics
STAT 021. Statistical Methods II
This is a second course in applied statistics that extends methods taught in STAT 011. Topics include multiple linear regression, analysis of
variance, and logistic regression.
Prerequisite: Credit for AP Statistics; a grade of C or better in STAT 011 or ECON 031; or a grade of B or better in STAT 001 with permission
of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Luby.
Spring 2022. Thornton.
Fall 2022. staff.
Spring 2023. staff.
Fall 2023. staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 041. Topics in Applied Statistics: Statistical Graphics & Data Visualization
Graphical displays of information can improve our understanding of both data and statistical models. Data Visualization has become a key
component in decision-making about everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to sports analytics to climate change. While these visualizations
can help synthesize complex phenomena into a single graph, we have also been inundated with maps, charts, and diagrams that often present
conflicting conclusions. Drawing heavily from contemporary examples including the COVID-19 pandemic and recent election results, this course
will cover common forms of data visualization and their uses and misuses.
In this course, you will learn how to create, critique, and present graphics in a concise and statistically sound way. Topics include: common data
types and visualizations in R; incorporating statistical concepts such as transformations, smoothing, and uncertainty into visualizations;
interactive graphics; and non-traditional types of data, which may include time series, maps, networks, or text.
You will leave the course having built a portfolio of static and interactive visualizations, statistical writing, and presentations. This is a project-
based course, and you are encouraged to bring additional ideas for datasets and research questions.
Prerequisite: STAT 021 or permission of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
*Students who took STAT 041: Topics in Statistics can receive COGS Credit depending on the course topic.
Quantitative Paleontology is not eligible. Please check with the Program Coordiator for eligibility.
STAT 051. Probability
Introduction to the mathematical theory of probability. Topics include sample spaces and events, conditional probability and Bayes' theorem,
univariate probability and density functions, expectation and variance, moment generating functions, Binomial, Negative Binomial, Poisson,
Normal, t, Gamma and Beta distributions, joint, marginal and conditional distributions, independence, transformations, the multivariate Normal
distribution, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035; a grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028 and currently
enrolled in one of MATH 034 or MATH 035 ; or permission of the instructor.
Natural Science and Engineering
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Whitehead.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 061. Mathematical Statistics I
Introduction to the mathematical theory of frequentist and Bayesian statistical inference. Topics include parameter estimation, confidence
intervals and hypothesis testing, linear regression methods and Bayesian inference. Students needing to learn applied statistics and data analysis
should consider Stat 021 in addition to or instead of this course.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in both STAT 051 and MATH 027 or MATH 028 ; or permission of the instructor. STAT 011 or the
equivalent and some experience with computing are strongly recommended.
Natural Science and Engineering
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Everson.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 111. Mathematical Statistics II
This seminar is a continuation of STAT 051 and STAT 061. It deals mainly with statistical models for the relationships among variables. The
theory of linear regression models is examined in detail. Other topics may include theory for generalized linear models (including logisitic
regression), Bayesian inference, and nonparametric statistics.
Prerequisite: A grade of B- or better in STAT 061; credit or placement out of CPSC 021.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Everson.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Philosophy
PHIL 012A. Logic
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. The place of
logic in different areas of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, will also be examined.
Recommended for students with a strong mathematics or computer science background, and for non-freshmen who have taken no prior
philosophy courses.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Baker.
Fall 2023. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 012B. Logic
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. This course will
cover the same amount of formal logic as PHIL 012A, but with less additional philosophical material, so that more time can be devoted to
mastering the technical and formal apparatus.
Prerequisite: Recommended for students who are intending to major or minor in Philosophy, and for non-freshmen who have taken at least one
prior Philosophy course. Required of all philosophy majors, unless they have taken PHIL 012A previously.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Baker.
Fall 2023. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 024. Theory of Knowledge
This course selects key texts in the theory of knowledge by epistemologists such as Socrates, Plato, Sextus Empircus, Hume, Moore, and
Wittgenstein on topics that include that nature and extent of human knowledge, disagreement, faith, and self-knowledge, among others.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2023. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 031. Advanced Logic
A survey of various technical and philosophical issues arising from the study of deductive logical systems. Topics are likely to include extensions
of classical logic (e.g., the logic of necessity and possibility [modal logic], the logic of time [tense logic], etc.); alternatives to classical logic
(e.g., intuitionistic logic, paraconsistent logic); metatheory (e.g., soundness, compactness, Gödel's incompleteness theorem); philosophical
questions (e.g., What distinguishes logic from non-logic? Could logical principles ever be revised in the light of empirical evidence?).
Prerequisite: PHIL 012A or PHIL 012B
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2024. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 040. Semantics
(Cross-listed as LING 040)
Note: This is not a writing course for PHIL.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 086. Philosophy of Mind
Main issues in current philosophical theories of mind and consciousness include varieties of Dualism (Chalmers, Jackson), Behaviorism (Ryle),
Identity theories (Smart, Block), Functionalism (Putnam, Dennett), Theories of Representation (Harman '60, Rosenthal), and others.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 113. Topics in Epistemology
What is knowledge? Can we have it? If not, why not? If yes, how? What does it mean to have evidence, justification or reasons for ones beliefs?
How rational or irrational are we? Can we have a priori, "armchair" knowledge? Is cognition essentially social? We will discuss classic and
contemporary answers to such questions.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 116. Language and Meaning
(Cross-listed as LING 116 )
Language is an excellent tool for expressing and communicating thoughts. You can let your friend know that there will probably be fewer than 25
trains from Elwyn to Gladstone next Wednesday - but could you do this without using language (have you tried?)? Even more interesting is the
question how you can do this using language. How can the sounds I produce or the marks that I leave on this sheet of paper be about the dog
outside chasing the squirrel? How can words refer to things and how can sentences be true or false? Where does meaning come from?
Philosophy has dealt with such questions for a long time but it was only a bit more than 100 years ago that these questions have taken center
stage in philosophy. We will read and discuss such more recent authors, starting with the „classics" Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein and leading
up to authors like Austin, Carnap, Grice, Kripke, Putnam, Quine and Strawson.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 118. Philosophy of Mind
The course is divided into three principal sections, focusing on philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Section 1 covers
four core positions in the philosophy of mind "dualism, behaviorism, materialism, and functionalism," and it serves as an overview of traditional
philosophy of mind. Section 2 explores how the philosophical ideas developed above connect to ongoing research in artificial intelligence.
Section 3 concerns the philosophy of cognitive science, a field that investigates the biological and neurophysiological underpinnings of human
mentality. Part of the aim is to clarify the goals and methods of cognitive science and to investigate ways in which advances in cognitive science
may yield philosophical insights into the nature of mind.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Comparative Literature
Courses
Coordinator:
ALEXANDRA GUEYDAN-TUREK (French), Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Khaled Al-Masri (Modern Languages and Literatures, Arabic)
Jean-Vincent Blanchard (Modern Languages and Literatures, French)
Rachel Buurma (English Literature)
Désirée Díaz (Spanish)
Sibelan Forrester (Modern Languages and Literatures, Russian)
4
William O. Gardner (Modern Languages and Literatures, Japanese)
María Luisa Guardiola (Spanish)
Alexandra Gueydan-Turek (Modern Languages and Literatures, French)
Haili Kong (Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Allen Kuharski (Theater)
Jeremy Lefkowitz (Classics)
Rosaria V. Munson (Classics)
Bob Rehak (Film and Media Studies)
Benjamin Ridgway (Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Hansjakob Werlen (Modern Languages and Literatures, German)
4
Absent on leave 2021-2022, Academic Year
The comparative literature major is administered by a Comparative Literature Committee, made up of the coordinator and faculty representing
the Classics, English Literature, Modern Languages and Lteratures, Film and Media Studies, Spanish, and Theater departments. The basic
requirement for the major is work in two literatures in the original language.
The major in comparative literature is designed for those students who have a love for literature and a strong desire to write, and who are
interested in literary critical research. This major is not for everyone: it assumes a fair degree of discipline, independence, and self-motivation
on the part of the student, especially in the development and writing of the thesis.
The Academic Program
In planning a comparative literature major, students should look at course listings in the Classics, English, Film and Media Studies, Modern
Languages and Literatures, Spanish and Theater departments. In Classics and Modern Languages and Literatures departments, only courses
numbered 011 or above may count as constituents of the comparative literature major. Of English courses numbered 009, only one may be
counted for the major. Of courses in the Spanish department, only courses numbered 022 and above may be counted for the major.
Major in Course
Ten credits in two or more literatures in the original languages, including a substantial concentration of work---normally four or five courses---
in each of the literatures of specialization. The Senior thesis (described in the section on "Thesis/Culminating Exercise" section, below) does not
count toward these 10 credits.
Students working in French, German, or Spanish may propose one course in translation as part of their program, as long as it is deeply relevant
to their plan of study. Because of the greater time required to gain proficiency in languages less similar to English, students working in Arabic,
Chinese, Japanese or Russian may propose a program partly based on courses in translation and attachments (in the original language) to
literature courses taught in translation, if courses taught in the original language are not available.
A 1- or 2-credit thesis of 35 to 40 pages for one credit, 50-60 pages for two credits, covering work in at least two languages (see
"Thesis/Culminating Exercise," below).
An oral comprehensive examination, of 1 hour, during the final exam period of the senior year, based on the thesis and courses and seminars that
the major comprises.
Honors Major
Four 2-credit preparations---3 seminars and a 2-credit thesis of 50 to 60 pages---in at least two literatures in the original language. One of the
preparations may be used as an independent minor (in Russian or Theater, for instance) if the minor's departmental requirements have been met.
Minors requiring unrelated preparations such as biology or psychology are not allowed. All four honors preparations are necessary components
of the comparative literature honors major.
A 3-hour written examination for each preparation, prepared by the external examiner, and a 30-minute oral based on the contents of the written
examination, as well as an oral thesis examination with two Honors examiners
Honors Minor
Five credits in two literatures in the original languages, with a minimum of 2 courses in each of the literatures.
A 2-credit thesis of 50 to 60 pages, integrating preparations that have been done in two literatures in the original language.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
All majors and minors will meet with the Coordinator of the Comparative Literature Program before the end of the junior year to review and
assess the student's program.
At this time, the student will submit a general thesis outline, and will propose two faculty advisers from appropriate departments. In some cases,
the committee may ask that the thesis be written in whole or in part in the language of a literature studied other than English.
The final draft of the thesis will be submitted no later than April 30 of the senior year, and it may be due earlier for Honors Majors.
Application Process for the Major and the Minor
Successful completion of an advanced literature course in each of the literatures of the student's program of study is a prerequisite for admission
into the Honors Program. A minimum grade of B is required.
Students applying for the (Honors) major will submit to the comparative literature coordinator a proposal of integrated study that sets forth the
courses and/or seminars to be taken and the principle of coherence on which the program of study is based. The student will also submit a 6- to
10-page writing sample from a previously completed course. The committee will then review the proposal and the essay to advise the student.
In lieu of a traditional course, the Comparative Literature Committee will consider proposals for one or more research papers written as course
attachments.
Sample: Comparative Literature Course Major
The courses and seminars that compose the comparative literature major's formal field of study will naturally differ with each major. To give
some sense of the range of possibilities available, a series of sample programs is offered.
Focus: The Black Atlantic (English and French)
1-credit thesis
ENGL 009S. First-Year Seminar: Black Liberty/Black Literature
How have African American writers told stories of freedom, and how have they tried to tell them freely? How has the question of freedom shaped
the development of, and debates over, an African American literary tradition? Drawing upon fiction, poetry, personal narratives, and critical
essays, we will examine freedom as an ongoing problem of form, content, and context in black literature from antebellum slavery to the Harlem
Renaissance.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
FREN 045C. Etonnante Haïti: littérature et cultures.
Studying the literary and cultural traditions of Haiti is the point of departure to examine the historical place of the first independent black
Republic and its successful slave revolt, with particular attention to its impact on the French Antilles and the world. Parallel readings of works
by CLR James, Césaire, Fanon, Glissant among others.
Has a Francophone component.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
SPAN 050. Afrocaribe: literatura y cultura visual
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination mainly through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts from the Hispanic Caribbean. We will analyze the political
and economical forces that have affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-
Caribbean philosophy, religion, music, and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will
pay special attention to ideas of colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation; myth and performativity; and transculturation,
syncretism and transvestism.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
ENGL 060. Early Black Print Cultures
(Cross-listed as BLST 060)
This course introduces students to the wide variety of early Black print culture in the US, including newspapers, broadside poetry, political
pamphlets, and novels. We will attend closely to the materiality of these texts, reading not only for the work of authors but also that of
illustrators, editors, publishers, typesetters, and readers. What racial identities, aesthetic forms, and political possibilities did print afford? Our
investigations will be informed by readings in recent theory and criticism on Black Studies, print culture, and archives. In their final projects,
students will have the chance to pursue their own original research using the rich resources of Philadelphia-area libraries.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 061. The Literatures of Slavery
How did Black literary production emerge to resist the institution and ideology of slavery in the United States? While this course will focus
largely on antebellum slave narratives- powerful acts of self-presentation that challenged the racial logic of slavery and bore witness to its brutal
violence-we will also consider Black oratory, essays, poetry, and fiction of the late 18th and 19th centuries.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
FREN 110. Histoires d'îles
Has a Francophone component.
Humanities.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
ENGL 119. Black Cultural Studies
How have black writers both represented and theorized a series of tensions characterizing African American culture since the end of slavery-
between past and present, roots and routes, folk and modern, sound and vision, city and country, nation and diaspora, culture and capital, people
and power? Motivated by such concerns, this seminar will examine approaches to African American literature that are historical, cultural, and
theoretical. Prior work in African American literature and/or Black Studies is recommended.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Sample: Comparative Literature Honors Major
Focus: Myth in Fim and Literature (Classics and Japanese)
2-credit thesis
CLST 025. Greek Myth in Opera and Ballet
Greek myths have provided the subject matter for some of the most important and pivotal works in the history of opera and ballet. Just as Greek
myth informs these arts, so too, opera and ballet transform these myths and the way they are viewed by modern audiences. New and daring
productions of classical operas continue to transform both Greek mythology and its operatic incarnations. George Balanchine's Neoclassicism
modernized ballet radically in the 20th century by drawing largely on Greek myth and classical aesthetic structures. In this course, we will study
the relevant primary classical sources for operas and ballets such as Handel's Xerxes, Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, Berlioz's Les Troyens, Strauss's
Electra, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, Balanchine's Apollo, Agon, and Orpheus. At the same time, we will study the operas and ballets themselves in
their cultural context, and in the course of their performance history, paying special attention to recent productions.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 036. Classical Mythology
What is a myth? How is myth different from fairy tale or fable? What is its connection to ritual and religion? What sets myth apart from history?
In this survey of the mythology of Greco-Roman antiquity, we will investigate the diverse meanings of 'myth', its social functions, its origins, its
history, and its contemporary relevance. Students will get a broad overview of Classical mythology through direct and close readings of primary
sources (all in English translation), including such texts as Homer's Odyssey, plays by all three of the major Greek tragedians (Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides), and Ovid's Metamorphoses. Our readings of ancient texts will be supplemented by study of ancient art and frequent
investigations of modern responses to and theorizing of myth in diverse fields and media, including sociological, psychological, and
philosophical treatises; modern poetry; visual arts; and film.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2024. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ENGL 009E. First-Year Seminar: Narcissus and the History of Reflection
Narcissism seems at once reprehensible and an unavoidable part of personhood. This course investigates how, over the course of many centuries,
the story of Narcissus has been reworked as a way to think about process of creative reflection and how we see ourselves in relation to others. At
stake are questions of desire, gender, racial identities, and language. Authors include Ovid, Milton, Wilde, Freud, and Fanon; also visual art and
film.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Song.
Fall 2023. Song.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 046. Tolkien and Pullman and Their Literary Roots
A study of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Pullman's His Dark Materials in the context of their early English sources. For Tolkien, this will
include Beowulf, Old English riddles and elegies, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For Pullman, this will include Biblical stories of the
Creation and Fall, Milton's Paradise Lost, and selected Blake poems. Some film versions will be included.
Med/Ren or 20th/21st.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, CPLT
Spring 2022. Williamson.
Spring 2023. Williamson.
Spring 2024. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071K. Lesbian Novels Since World War II
This course will examine a wide range of novels by and about lesbians since World War II. Of particular concern will be the representation of
recent lesbian history. How, for instance, do current developments in cultural studies influence our understanding of the lesbian cultures of the
'50s, '60s, and '70s? What is at stake in the description of the recent lesbian past?
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
FMST 020. Critical Theories of Film and Media
Film critic André Bazin's famous question, "What is cinema?," gained new relevance with the advent of digital media. This course introduces
classical film theory (theories of modernity and perception, montage, realism), contemporary film theory (theories of film language, ideology, the
cinematic apparatus, and spectatorship), approaches that cut across media (authorship, genre, stardom, semiotics, narratology, feminism,
production and reception studies, cognitivism), and theorizations of new media. Through readings and weekly screenings, we explore the
significance of film and other media in shaping and expressing our identities and cultural experiences. Strongly recommended for FMST majors
and minors.
Prerequisite: FMST 001.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, FMST, DGHU
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. White.
Spring 2024. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 090. Film and Media Studies Capstone
This course begins by exploring a major paradigm or debate in the field and reviewing research methodology and production techniques.
Students then undertake an individual or collaborative research or creative project (in some cases building upon work started in another class or
independent study), meeting to workshop ideas and present works-in-progress. Research projects will incorporate multimedia presentation, and
creative projects will be accompanied by written materials. The semester culminates in a panel/film exhibition.
Required for FMST senior majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. Rehak.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
JPNS 024. Japanese Film and Animation
(Cross-listed as LITR 024J, FMST 057)
This course offers a historical and thematic introduction to Japanese cinema, one of the world's great film traditions. Our discussions will center
on the historical context of Japanese film, including how films address issues of modernity, gender, and national identity. Through our readings,
discussion, and writing, we will explore various approaches to film analysis, with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of formal and
thematic issues. A separate unit will consider the postwar development of Japanese animation (anime) and its special characteristics. Screenings
will include films by Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Imamura, Kitano, and Miyazaki.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 074. Japanese Popular Culture and Contemporary Media
(Cross-listed as LITR 074J)
Japanese popular culture products such as manga (comics), anime (animation), television, film, and popular music are an increasingly vital
element of 21st-century global culture, attracting ardent fans around the world. In this course, we will critically examine the postwar
development of Japanese popular culture, together with the proliferation of new media that have accelerated the global diffusion of popular
cultural forms. Engaging with theoretical ideas and debates regarding popular culture and media, we will discuss the significance of fan
cultures, including the "otaku" phenomenon in Japan and the United States, and consider how national identity and ethnicity impact the
production and consumption of popular cultural products. We will also explore representations of technology in creative works, and consider the
global and the local aspects of technological innovations, including the internet, mobile phones, and other portable technology. Readings and
discussion will be in English. The course will be conducted in a seminar format with student research and presentations comprising an important
element of the class. Previous coursework in Japanese studies or media studies is recommended but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
RUSS 047. Russian Fairy Tales
(Cross-listed as LITR 047R)
Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their aesthetic,
historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts,
and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales
against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, though
students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Sample: Comparative Literature Honors Minor
Focus: Modernism (English and Spanish)
2-credit thesis
SPAN 023. Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana
This course introduces students to the richness of Latin American literature through the critical analysis of texts that represent many different
moments in the complex history of an extraordinary region.
Special emphasis will be placed on the shifting relationships between aesthetics, politics, and social change.
Students will be able to compare and contrast how major writers (Quiroga, Borges, Rulfo, García Márquez, Fuentes, Neruda) as well as
emerging ones confront one key question: "Who are we?" Students will analyze individual texts using appropriate literary terminology; and
engage critically in questions about Latin America's colonial legacy, nation-building; revolutionary processes; race and ethnicity; gender and
sexuality.
This is an ideal course for those students who want to strengthen their oral and writing proficiency in Spanish. Especially recommended for those
planning to study abroad.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, ESCH, CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
ENGL 045. Modern British Poetry
Steven Spender called Modern poets "recognizers," creating a complex, fractured art out of circumstances they experienced as extraordinary,
unprecedented. This course examines the responses of British male and female poets (and some American expatriates) to the wars, shifting
beliefs, complicated gender roles, and other dislocations of early 20th century life.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 078. Modernism
This course introduces students to high modernism, a period of literary experimentation that spanned the first half of the twentieth century. We
will be interested in innovative forms, failed experiments, inner lives, social movements, and the looming shadow of history. Expect to encounter
authors such as Conrad, Forster, Woolf, Joyce, Barnes, and Faulkner.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Patnaik.
Spring 2024. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
GMST 091. Topics in German Studies II
Topic for Fall 2022: German Voices: Identity and Multilingualism in German Culture
In this advanced sixth semester course we will read contemporary literature and autobiographical prose from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
in order to learn about authors' relationship with language in general, and with the German language in particular. We will look at identity
construction for bilingual and multilingual authors, as well as the ways in which writers grapple with finding language to express ideas of gender
and dis/ability as they contest cultural barriers.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or GMST 020.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Meirosu.
Fall 2022. Meirosu.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Comparative Literature Courses
CPLT 014. Intro to Comparative Literature
How do we read comparatively across national literatures, languages, genres and media? This course will introduce major models of
comparative analysis through a wide range of literary and cultural productions from diverse periods and regions of the world. This survey will
enable us to highlight and assess various conceptions of the cultural functions of literature and of literary critical knowledge. This is an
introductory level theory and analysis course, and all texts will be in English, though working with a few short originals in other languages will
be possible and encouraged.
Pre-requisite: one course in literature (any language).
Humanities
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 021. Performance in Early Modern Europe
(Cross-listed as DANC 021)
How do we define performance in early modern Europe? This course explores multi-genre traditions through forms including court ballet,
comedy-ballet, opera, bourgeois drama, and ballet d'action in order to raise questions that are equally relevant for us today: How do we study
something that is fleeting? What is the relationship between "text" and performance? This course explores the hybrid genres of dance, mime,
music, and drama from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in order to analyze their present relevance as "art." Artists and theorists studied
will include Diderot, Noverre, Molière, Garrick, Goldoni, Sulzer, and others.
Taught in English. There is a .5 credit attachment for students reading in French.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, Dance 002, but this new version is open to any student, without any
prerequisite. If you have taken Dance 002, you are not able to enroll in CPLT 021.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired
Fall 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 021A. Performance in Early Modern Europe-Attachment
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 029. Sign Language Literature
(Cross-listed as LING 029)
We look at literature presented/performed in a sign language, comparing to spoken language literature with respect to: storytelling methods,
definitions of rhyme, notions of closure, role of paralinguistic features, relationship of storyteller to audience, and role of stories in their
communities. We examine linguistic creativity in storytelling, humor, poetry, and taboo language across modalities.
Prerequisite: No prerequisites.
Social sciences.
Writing.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 050. Literature and Music
(Cross-listed as LITR 020)
Literature and music have at some times been viewed as natural allies, and at others - in philosopher Peter Kivy's phrase - as "antithetical arts."
This course approaches the rich relationship between music and literature from a variety of angles, including aesthetics, form, style and genre,
reception, and adaptation. Case studies toward the end of the semester will explore the literary legacy of Richard Wagner's provocative music
drama Tristan and Isolde as well as two very different adaptations of Tolstoy's War and Peace: an opera by Sergei Prokofiev and an electropop
musical by Dave Molloy. No prior musical training is required, though students with score-reading ability may be given alternate assignments.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 096. Senior Thesis
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 106. Classical Studies Capstone: Dante: Christianity and the Classical Tradition
(Cross-listed as CLST 106)
In the Divina Commedia, Dante adapts the Classical theme of the heroic journey to the Underworld to his task as a visionary poet and Christian
prophet. We will read the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso in English translation, exploring its different levels of meaning and Dante's
surprising reinterpretation of the ancient authors. We will reconstruct his world view in the broader context of Medieval culture: his thought on
life, death, love, language, the visual arts, politics and history.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for MDST.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
CPLT 180. Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
DANC 021. Performance in Early Modern Europe
( Cross-listed as CPLT 021 )
How do we define performance in early modern Europe? This course explores multi-
genre traditions through forms including court ballet, comedy-ballet, opera, bourgeois
drama, and ballet d'action in order to raise questions that are equally relevant for us
today: How do we study something that is fleeting? What is the relationship between
"text" and performance? This course explores the hybrid genres of dance, mime, music,
and drama from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in order to analyze their
present relevance as "art." Artists and theorists studied will include Diderot, Noverre,
Molière, Garrick, Goldoni, Sulzer, and others.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, Dance
002. If you have taken Dance 002, you are not able to enroll in DANC 021.
This course fulfills a requirement for Music or Dance majors and minors.
Open to all students.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, CPLT, FRST
Fall 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: Music and Dance: Dance
Arabic
ARAB 095. Arabic Literature: Society and Scandal
Cross-listed as LITR 095A
Societal scandals and controversies surrounding Arabic literary works have arisen across the Middle East and North Africa throughout the 20th
and 21st centuries. The free expression fostered in the literary field frequently confronts the realities of state censors and other forces in society,
such as political ideologies or religious orthodoxies. In this course we aim to contextualize and study these scandals and controversies by closely
analyzing the literary works at their source, as well as the debates and transgressive acts they elicited. From intentional omissions in translation,
to debates surrounding the portrayal of homosexual characters, to assassination attempts on authors lives, this course will focus on a number of
important inflection points across the Middle East and North Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will study works by authors from Morocco
to Saudi Arabia, including Taha Hussein, Naguib Mahfouz, Mohamed Choukri, Nawal El Saadawi, Saud Alsanousi, Alaa Al Aswani, Rashid al-
Daif, Rajaa al-Sanea, amongst others. This course will be conducted in English, using texts translated from Arabic.
Prerequisite: This course is open to all students, no prerequisites are required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Smith.
Fall 2023. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Chinese
CHIN 020. Readings in Modern Chinese
This course aims to perfect the student's Mandarin Chinese skills and at the same time to introduce a few major topics concerning Chinese
literature and other types of writing since the May Fourth Movement. All readings, writing, and discussion are in Chinese.
Prerequisite: Three years of Chinese or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Fall 2022. Kong.
Fall 2023. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 027. Nature and the Non-Human in Classical Chinese Tales of the Strange
(Cross-listed as LITR 027CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 055. Contemporary Chinese Cinema: The New Waves (1984-2005)
(Cross-listed as LITR 055CH, FMST 055)
Cinema has become a special form of cultural mirror representing social dynamics and drastic changes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan since the mid-1980s. The course will develop a better understanding of changing Chinese culture by analyzing cinematic texts and the
new wave in the era of globalization. All films are English subtitled, and the class is conducted in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 091. Special Topics in English
(Cross-listed as LITR 091CH)
Special Topics
Fall 2022 Topic: Representing Colonial Taiwan: Public Space in Print
Fall 2023 Topic: Movement and Migration
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT, PEAC
Fall 2021. Li.
Fall 2022. Li.
Fall 2023. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Classics
CLST 022. Readings in Sanskrit
This is an intermediate level course for Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the transregional, transcultural language of erudition in Ancient and Premodern
South Asia. Its historical importance cannot be overstated in terms of both linguistic and cultural impact. Its systematic linguistic codification
gave birth to the field of linguistics today and its rich diversity of expression led to its use as the language par excellence for the development of a
wide range of fields including philosophy, grammar, art, ritual, mythology, statecraft, warfare, amorous play, prosody, aesthetics, drama, and
much more. This course will be an intensive reading course diving deeply into a variety of genres of Sanskrit to enable students to be able to read
different styles of Sanskrit more comfortably. It will also include a spoken component to engage with the language more naturally and to enhance
students' fluency and comfort with reading.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna.
Spring 2023. Khanna.
Spring 2024. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 102. Capstone: Sanskrit and Greek Epic
Epic literature is integral to the cultures of ancient India and ancient Greece. This course will critically analyze selections of Sanskrit and Greek
epics, comparing the two using a variety of criteria, including but not limited to themes, character development, morality, language, aesthetics,
and ornamentation.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Khanna. Lefkowitz.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 012. Homer's Iliad
This course examines the literary, historical, and linguistic significance of Homer's Iliad. Selections from the poem are read in Greek and the
entire poem is read in translation.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT.
Spring 2022. Munson.
Spring 2023. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
GREK 114. Greek Drama
This seminar usually focuses on one play by each of the major tragedians-Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Other plays are read in
translation. The works are placed in their cultural setting and are discussed as both drama and poetry.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT.
Spring 2022. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 011. Lyric, Pastoral, and Elegiac Poetry
This course is intended for students who have completed Intensive First Year Latin (Latin 001-002) or the equivalent in summer programs or
high school. Readings will be drawn from such authors as Catullus, Horace, Vergil, Propertius and Ovid. Students will read selected modern
criticism and will develop interpretative as well as linguistic skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT.
Fall 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LATN 030. Advanced Survey of Latin Poetry
The poems in this course will be chosen in consultation with participants. Depending on interest, texts to be read in Latin may include Catullus,
"The Marriage of Peleus and Thetis" and "The Lock of Berenice"; Lucretius; Vergil, Eclogues or Georgics; Ovid, esp. Ars Amatoria; the
Pervigilum Veneris; selections from the Anthologia Latina; selections from the Carmina Burana or other medieval texts. Students will read
modern critical scholarship and write a number of critical essays. Students interested in this course should contact the instructor, preferably
before the start of classes. This course is intended for students who have completed Intensive First Year Latin (Latin 001-002) or the equivalent
in summer programs or high school.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT.
Fall 2021. Turpin.
Fall 2023. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Dance
DANC 021. Performance in Early Modern Europe
( Cross-listed as CPLT 021 )
How do we define performance in early modern Europe? This course explores multi-
genre traditions through forms including court ballet, comedy-ballet, opera, bourgeois
drama, and ballet d'action in order to raise questions that are equally relevant for us
today: How do we study something that is fleeting? What is the relationship between
"text" and performance? This course explores the hybrid genres of dance, mime, music,
and drama from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in order to analyze their
present relevance as "art." Artists and theorists studied will include Diderot, Noverre,
Molière, Garrick, Goldoni, Sulzer, and others.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, Dance
002. If you have taken Dance 002, you are not able to enroll in DANC 021.
This course fulfills a requirement for Music or Dance majors and minors.
Open to all students.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, CPLT, FRST
Fall 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: Music and Dance: Dance
Film and Media Studies
FMST 020. Critical Theories of Film and Media
Film critic André Bazin's famous question, "What is cinema?," gained new relevance with the advent of digital media. This course introduces
classical film theory (theories of modernity and perception, montage, realism), contemporary film theory (theories of film language, ideology, the
cinematic apparatus, and spectatorship), approaches that cut across media (authorship, genre, stardom, semiotics, narratology, feminism,
production and reception studies, cognitivism), and theorizations of new media. Through readings and weekly screenings, we explore the
significance of film and other media in shaping and expressing our identities and cultural experiences. Strongly recommended for FMST majors
and minors.
Prerequisite: FMST 001.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, FMST, DGHU
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. White.
Spring 2024. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 052. Postwar France: French New Wave
(Cross-listed as FREN 073 & LITR 073F)
This course is an in-depth exploration of the development and evolution of the French New Wave in postwar France. We will concentrate on the
history of the New Wave in France from the 1950s through the late 1960s by the close study of the styles of individual filmmakers, the "film
movement" as perceived by critics, and the New Wave's contribution to modernizing France. The primary emphasis will be on the stylistic, socio-
political, and cultural dimensions of the New Wave, and the filmmakers and critics most closely associated with the movement. Directors, who
were once all film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, will be studied along side other important filmmakers of the era.
Fulfills national cinema requirement for FMST.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2022. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 058. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with LITR 078F.
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 090. Film and Media Studies Capstone
This course begins by exploring a major paradigm or debate in the field and reviewing research methodology and production techniques.
Students then undertake an individual or collaborative research or creative project (in some cases building upon work started in another class or
independent study), meeting to workshop ideas and present works-in-progress. Research projects will incorporate multimedia presentation, and
creative projects will be accompanied by written materials. The semester culminates in a panel/film exhibition.
Required for FMST senior majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. Rehak.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
French and Francophone Studies
FREN 015. Advanced French II: La France et le monde francophone contemporain (W course)
This course gives students the opportunity to further develop French language skills through the study of articles, essays, and images. Engage in
reading, discussing, and writing about cultural and visual texts selected from ads, newspapers, literature, television shows, comic strips, videos,
and film from France and the Francophone World. Controverses (textbook) will be used for learning in-depth the art of writing in French.
Particular attention will be paid to oral and written communication and cultural analysis. FREN 014 or placement required.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Spring 2022. Robison.
Fall 2022. Robison.
Spring 2023. Yervasi.
Fall 2023. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 018. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as LITR 018FJ, JPNS 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original. There is a
0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 018A).
Humanities
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 050. Nature/Culture
This course will examine a collection of literary and cinematic works that explore the idea of a nature/culture dichotomy, calling into question
both what it means to be human and what it means to be natural. Topics include: the interplay between human beings and their environment;
animal studies/animal ethics; the idea of human nature (and its critics). Authors and directors include: Rousseau, Hugo, Zola, Maupassant,
Vivien, Huysmans, Colette, Truffaut, Bresson, among others. Taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Robison.
Spring 2024. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
FREN 045B. La France et le Maghreb
This course examines the relationship between France and the Maghreb, two cultural spaces that are simultaneously united and divided by their
common violent colonial history. Through the study of novels, films, art work and theoretical texts, we will trace the evolution of this conflicted
relationship from the 1950's to present times. We will focus, in particular, on the following topics: (post) colonialism and nationalism, diglossia
and Francophonie, gendered representation, immigration and exile, transculturation and globalization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
German Studies
GMST 091. Topics in German Studies II
Topic for Fall 2022: German Voices: Identity and Multilingualism in German Culture
In this advanced sixth semester course we will read contemporary literature and autobiographical prose from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
in order to learn about authors' relationship with language in general, and with the German language in particular. We will look at identity
construction for bilingual and multilingual authors, as well as the ways in which writers grapple with finding language to express ideas of gender
and dis/ability as they contest cultural barriers.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or GMST 020.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Meirosu.
Fall 2022. Meirosu.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 100. Topics in German Studies III
The GMST senior seminar focuses on interdisciplinary research done within German Studies and between German Studies and its adjacent
disciplines (e.g. Art, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology). Since
all work is done in German, GMST 90: Topics in GMST II or an equivalent course taken abroad is a requirement for the seminar. Topics change
annually. Past topics have included: The Age of Goethe, German Romanticism, Wien und Berlin 1900, Uncomfortable Classics, German Media
Culture.
Spring '22 Topic: Uncomfortable Classics - from Goethe to Grass
When reading texts long established in literary canons, whether national or "World Literature," the inherent conservativism of the
selections often occludes their revolutionary socio-historical and aesthetic nature. In the context of their problematic content and
reception, we will read texts from the late 18th century to the present. Authors include Goethe, Büchner, Hauptmann, Wedekind, Brecht,
Grass, Keun, Özdamar.
Spring '23 Topic: Time and Narrating the Self
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2022. Werlen.
Spring 2023. Meirosu.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Japanese
JPNS 018. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as LITR 018FJ, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 024. Japanese Film and Animation
(Cross-listed as LITR 024J, FMST 057)
This course offers a historical and thematic introduction to Japanese cinema, one of the world's great film traditions. Our discussions will center
on the historical context of Japanese film, including how films address issues of modernity, gender, and national identity. Through our readings,
discussion, and writing, we will explore various approaches to film analysis, with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of formal and
thematic issues. A separate unit will consider the postwar development of Japanese animation (anime) and its special characteristics. Screenings
will include films by Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Imamura, Kitano, and Miyazaki.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 073. Transnational Japanese Literature: Diversity and Diaspora in Modern Japanese Literature
Cross-listed with LITR 073J
This seminar-style course will challenge the myths of Japanese ethnic homogeny and cultural isolation and will explore how modern "Japanese"
literature crosses national and cultural borders. Topics to be examined include Japanese authors writing from abroad, colonial and postcolonial
literatures, migration and writing in the Japanese diaspora, and the writings of ethnic minorities in Japan, including writers from Okinawa and
Japan's resident Korean community. Readings and discussion will be in English but students with reading knowledge of Japanese will be
encouraged to read works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, ASIA, INTP, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Modern Languages and Literature
LITR 015R. First Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation
(Cross-listed as RUSS 015)
Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers
with the purpose of appreciating the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent,
and outstanding cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing and discussion in English; qualified students may do some
readings in the original language(s).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 017F. First-Year Seminar: Francophone Bande Dessinée and Graphic Novels
Francophone Bande Dessinée and Graphic Novels
Bande dessinée and Graphic Novels of the Francophone World* The bande dessinée, the Francophone analog to comics, has evolved alongside
art and youth culture to become a locus for expressions of sociocultural and aesthetic changes, as well as antiestablishment discourses. In the
context of political and societal issues at stake in the francophone world such as social class, cultural diversity, and gender representation, this
course will connect canonical comics (such as Topffer, Asterix and Tintin) with more current cutting-edge art forms including la nouvelle Manga
and experimental graphic novels from Rwanda, Lebanon and Iran. Conducted in English. Texts in Translation.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Spring 2023. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 018FJ. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as JPNS 018, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
There is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 018A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 026R. Russian and East European Science Fiction
(Cross-listed as RUSS 026)
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and Eastern Europe, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Karel Čapek,
Mikhail Bulgakov, and Evgenii Zamiatin. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction provided a refuge from stultifying official
Socialist Realism for authors like Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers. This course will concentrate on 20th-century science fiction
(translated from Czech, Polish, Russian and Serbian) with a glance at earlier influences and attention to more recent works, as well as to
Western parallels and contrasts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 070F. Literature and Science in the 18th-19th centuries
Humanities.
1 Credit.
Spring 2023. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
LITR 078F. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with FMST 058 .
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Music
Russian
RUSS 015. First-Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation
(Cross-listed as LITR 015R)
Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers
to appreciate the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent, and outstanding
cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing, and discussion in English; students who are able may do some readings in the
original languages.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 026. Russian and East European Science Fiction
(Cross-listed as LITR 026R)
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and Eastern Europe, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Karel Čapek,
Mikhail Bulgakov, and Evgenii Zamiatin. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction provided a refuge from stultifying official
Socialist Realism for authors like Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers. This course will concentrate on 20th-century science fiction
(translated from Czech, Polish, Russian and Serbian) with a glance at earlier influences and attention to more recent works, as well as to
Western parallels and contrasts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Spanish
SPAN 015. First Year Seminar: Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 015S, ENGL 009F, LALS 015)
This course is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S. with emphasis on the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the
experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latino/a communities. We will focus particularly in works produced by the three major
groups of U.S. Latino/as (Mexican Americans or Chicanos, Puerto Ricans or Nuyoricans, and Cuban Americans). By analyzing works from a
range of genres including poetry, fiction, film, and performance, along with literary and cultural theory, the course will explore some of the
major themes in the cultural production of these groups. Topics to be discussed include identity formation in terms of language, race, gender,
sexuality, and class; diaspora and emigration; the marketing of the Latino/a identity; and activism through art.
Offered each fall. Taught in English.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, CPLT
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 022. Introducción a la literatura española
This course covers representative Spanish works from medieval times to the present. Works in all literary genres will be read to observe times of
political and civic upheaval, of soaring ideologies and crushing defeats that depict the changing social, economic, and political conditions in
Spain throughout the centuries. Each reading represents a particular literary period: middle ages, renaissance, baroque, neo-classicism,
romanticism, realism, naturalism, surrealism, postmodernism, etc. Emphasis on literary analysis to introduce students to further work in Spanish
literature.
This course has 2 sections: Section 1 on T/TH 8:30-9:45 and Section 2 on T/TH 9:55-11:10
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2022. Hernández.
Fall 2022. Hernández.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 023. Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana
This course introduces students to the richness of Latin American literature through the critical analysis of texts that represent many different
moments in the complex history of an extraordinary region.
Special emphasis will be placed on the shifting relationships between aesthetics, politics, and social change.
Students will be able to compare and contrast how major writers (Quiroga, Borges, Rulfo, García Márquez, Fuentes, Neruda) as well as
emerging ones confront one key question: "Who are we?" Students will analyze individual texts using appropriate literary terminology; and
engage critically in questions about Latin America's colonial legacy, nation-building; revolutionary processes; race and ethnicity; gender and
sexuality.
This is an ideal course for those students who want to strengthen their oral and writing proficiency in Spanish. Especially recommended for those
planning to study abroad.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, ESCH, CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 042. Borges: Aesthetics & Theory
(Cross-listed as LITR 042S)
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent reader. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly quoted. In his texts Borges not only anticipated but also discussed the major topics of
contemporary literary theory: the theory of intertextuality, the limits of the referential illusion, the relationship between knowledge and language,
and the dilemmas of representation and of narration. We will explore how Borges fictionalized these theoretical problems without ever allowing
the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance. We will also read Borges as a universal writer working inside all the cultural
traditions, and also as a writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, INTP, CPLT
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 056. Don Quijote
Ciencia y tecnología en Don Quijote
Don Quijote states, "Chivalry is a science that comprehends in itself all or most of the sciences in the world." Elaborating on this idea, this
course studies Cervantes' masterpiece through the lenses of science and technology. This approach explores the roles of multiple disciplines of
knowledge in the creation of this novel as well as their influence on early modern thought. Our readings and writings will include disciplines
such as medicine, physiology, botany, zoology, mathematics, astronomy, geography, printing, and robotics, among others. Through these areas
of expertise, students will see the contemporaneity of the book and will take a look inside Cervantes' thinking when he wrote Don Quijote.
Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 088. Pasados desgarradores: revolución y trauma en la literatura centroamericana
This course focuses on contemporary Central American literature. It begins with the revolutionary poetry, narrative of resistance, and testimonio
that emerged out of the sociopolitical turmoil of the isthmus during the decades of war, revolutions, and genocide. We will then study the
atmosphere of disenchantment during the postwar period and the aesthetic shift in representations of trauma, violence, and disaffection. We will
study novels, short stories, poems, films, music, and read scholarly articles to understand the sociohistorical and literary context of the war and
the postwar periods in Central America.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 103. Trauma y derechos humanos en la literatura centroamericana
This seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations
of human suffering, empathy, and pain.
The seminar explores the social disintegration and legacy of violence left by decades of civil wars, genocide, and revolution in the region, as well
as theories of trauma, memory, affect, aesthetics, philosophical cynicism, and human rights. These theoretical approaches will help us reflect on
the relation between literature and human rights; the sociopolitical upheavals and their cultural representations; and how cultural production
engages with issues of peace and conflict in the neoliberal era. We will pay special attention to representations of social disaffection, political
disillusionment, and survival in a postwar context shaped by socio-economic precarity. In addition to reading literary works by some of the main
authors in the region-such as Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, and Claudia Hernández-we will analyze scholarly debates
surrounding Central American literature, as well as watch films and performances that probe into the issues of ethics, historical truth, social
justice, reconciliation, and the human predicament in a postwar society.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Spring 2022. Buiza.
Spring 2024. Buiza.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 105. Federico García Lorca
We will examine the masterful literary production of this internationally known Spanish writer who speaks to the "outcasts." Lorca's work
synthesizes traditional Spanish themes and values with contemporary European trends. The readings will cover different periods and genres of
Lorca's literary production in works of poetry such as Romancero Gitano and Poeta en Nueva York, and dramatic works, including Doña Rosita
la soltera, Yerma, La casa de Bernarda Alba, Bodas de sangre, and others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2023. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Computer Science
Faculty
LISA MEEDEN, Professor
TIA NEWHALL, Professor
RICHARD WICENTOWSKI, Professor
JOSHUA BRODY, Associate Professor
2
ANDREW DANNER, Associate Professor and Chair
AMEET SONI, Associate Professor and Associate Provost
4
KEVIN WEBB, Associate Professor
VASANTA CHAGANTI, Assistant Professor
3
LILA FONTES, Assistant Professor
ZACHARY PALMER, Assistant Professor
NEIL LUTZ, Visiting Assistant Professor
BENJAMIN R. MITCHELL, Visiting Assistant Professor
XIAODONG QU, Visiting Assistant Professor
MICHAEL WEHAR, Visiting Assistant Professor
SPENCER CAPLAN, Visiting Assistant Professor
CHARLES KAZER, Lecturer
LAURI COURTENAY, Academic Support Coordinator
JEFFREY KNERR, System Administrator and Visiting Instructor
KATHY REINERSMANN, Administrative Assistant
2
Absent on leave, Spring 2021.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
4
Absent on administrative leave, 2021-2022.
Computer science is the study of algorithms and their implementation. This includes the study of computer systems; methods to specify algorithms
(for people and computer systems); and the formulation of theories and models to aid in the understanding and analysis of the properties of
algorithms, computing systems, and their interrelationship.
The computer science curriculum is designed to provide students with a flexible set of computing choices that can be tailored to satisfy various
interests and depths of study. All courses emphasize the fundamental concepts of computer science, treating today's languages and systems as
current examples of the underlying concepts. The computer science laboratory provides up-to-date software and hardware facilities.
The Academic Program
The Computer Science Department offers course majors and minors and honors majors and minors. Students interested in any of these options
are encouraged to meet with the chair of the Computer Science Department as early as possible in their college career. Students who are
interested in a computer science major or minor are encouraged to take CPSC 021, CPSC 031 and CPSC 035 sometime in their first four
semesters at Swarthmore. The minor in computer science is designed for students who desire a coherent introduction to the core topics in the
field. Students completing the minor will possess intellectual skills that are useful in many disciplines.
First course recommendations
CPSC 021. Introduction to Computer Science presents fundamental ideas in computer science while building skill in software development. No
previous experience with computers is necessary. This course is appropriate for all students who want to write programs. It is the usual first
course for computer science majors and minors. It is common for students with Advanced Placement credit or extensive programming experience
to place out of this course.
CPSC 031. Introduction to Computer Systems assumes that the student has completed CPSC 021 or its equivalent. It is the best entry point for
students intending to be Computer Science majors or minors who already have extensive computing experience.
CPSC 035. Data Structures and Algorithms assumes that the student has completed CPSC 021 or its equivalent. It is an appropriate entry point
for students with extensive computing experience.
Students who think they may qualify for CPSC 031 or CPSC 035 and have not taken CPSC 021 should take the placement exam and also contact
the department placement coordinator about placement. Students or advisers who want more advice on placement in computer science courses
should feel free to contact any computer science faculty.
Interdisciplinary recommendations
The department recommends that students with an interest in computer science should consider using MATH 027. Linear Algebra and/or MATH
039. Discrete Mathematics with an Introduction to Proof to satisfy the math requirement for the major and minor. Statistics courses at the level
of STAT 021 Statistical Methods II or above can also be used to satisfy the math requirement.
The Computer Science department offers five courses approved as cognitive science courses: CPSC 063. Artificial Intelligence, CPSC 065.
Natural Language Processing, CPSC 066. Machine Learning , CPSC 068. Bioinformatics and CPSC 081. Adaptive Robotics. Students with an
interest in Cognitive Science are encouraged to consider COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science.
In addition to courses offered by computer science faculty, the department recommends that students with an interest in computer engineering
consider courses offered by the Engineering department, including three courses that are cross-listed by the Computer Science department:
CPSC 052. Principles of Computer Architecture, CPSC 072. Computer Vision and CPSC 082. Mobile Robotics.
Course Major
The following are the requirements for a major in computer science:
1. Eight credits in computer science:
a. CPSC 021. (If exempted from CPSC 021 without AP credit, substitute one course from any Group listed below.)
b. CPSC 031 and CPSC 035.
c. One course from each of the following three groups:
i. Group 1: CPSC 041, CPSC 046 or CPSC 049.
ii. Group 2: CPSC 043, CPSC 044, CPSC 045, CPSC 075 , CPSC 087, CPSC 088 or CPSC 089 .
iii. Group 3: CPSC 040, CPSC 056, CPSC 063, CPSC 065, CPSC 066, CPSC 068, CPSC 071, CPSC 073 or CPSC
081.
d. Two CPSC courses numbered above CPSC 035 that are different than the choices in part (c) above. Excludes CPSC 181
and courses that earn less than 1 credit.
2. The senior comprehensive, CPSC 099.
3. Two credits in MATH at the level of MATH/STAT 027 or above. Discrete Math and Linear Algebra are recommended. Students may
satisfy one of these requirements with STAT 021. Students who place out of one or both of these two credits should contact the
Computer Science department chair. Note that CPSC 046 /MATH 046 may not be used to satisfy the Math requirement.
Acceptance Criteria
To be eligible for a computer science major, a student must have at least a C+ average in the intermediate courses (CPSC 031 and CPSC 035).
In addition, students must have at least a C in CPSC 031 and CPSC 035. Students who have not met this criterion may re-take CPSC
031 or CPSC 035 to obtain the necessary foundation for success in upper-level courses.
Credit/No Credit Policy
Of the Computer Science credits required for the major, students may elect to take at most one (1) as credit/no credit. Required credit/no credit
courses, such as those taken during your first semester, do not count towards the limit.
Course Minor
The minor in computer science provides students with a well-rounded background in computer science sufficient to develop significant, creative
applications and to keep up with the rapid changes in the field.
The following are the requirements for a minor in computer science:
1. Six credits in computer science:
a. CPSC 021. (If exempted from CPSC 021 without AP credit, substitute one course from any Group listed below.)
b. CPSC 031 and CPSC 035.
c. Two upper-level courses drawn from two of the three groups (Group 1, Group 2, Group3). See the Course Major for the
courses that qualify for each Group requirement.
d. One CPSC course numbered above CPSC 035 that is different from the choices in part (c) above. Excludes CPSC 181
courses that earn less than 1 credit.
2. One MATH course at the level of MATH/STAT 027 or above. Discrete Math is recommended. Students may satisfy this
requirement with STAT 021. Students who place out of this credit should contact the Computer Science department chair. CPSC
046/MATH 046 may not be used to satisfy the Math requirement.
Acceptance Criteria
The requirements for acceptance into the minor are the same as for acceptance into the major.
Credit/No Credit Policy
Of the Computer Science credits required for the minor, students may elect to take at most one (1) as credit/no credit. Required credit/no credit
courses, such as those taken during your first semester, do not count towards this limit.
Honors Major
An honors major in computer science must complete the regular course major requirements. The honors major includes three honors
preparations: an honors thesis and two separate 2-credit honors preparations.
The following will be submitted to external examiners for evaluation:
1. Two 2-credit preparations selected from combinations of upper-level courses listed under Approved Preparations. Each preparation
will be examined by a 3-hour written examination and an oral examination. The exams will focus on a single course in each
preparation (the focus course), with the second course (the breadth course) providing additional background in the general area of
the focus course.
The two 2-credit preparations must include at least 3 distinct courses. In certain circumstances, the Computer Science Department may
be willing to consider other groupings of courses, seminars, or the inclusion of a specific Special Topics course (CPSC 091 ). These are
approved on a case-by-case basis by the chair. Students are required to petition for approval by September 15 of their senior year.
If the required courses and preparations would not satisfy a course major, additional computer science courses must be taken to meet
course major requirements. In all cases, the Computer Science Department must approve the student's plan of study.
2. An honors thesis to be read by an external examiner and examined in an oral examination. The thesis will report on a research
experience involving the student under the supervision of a faculty member (at Swarthmore or elsewhere). It is expected that most of
the research or scholarly groundwork will be completed before the fall semester of the senior year, either by one credit of work in the
spring semester of the junior year or full-time summer work. Students will register for at least one credit of thesis work (CPSC 180) to
complete the research and write the thesis in the fall of their senior year. The thesis must be paired with a one (1) credit upper level
course related to the thesis topic. The course needs to be paired with the thesis for the purpose of meeting the two (2) credit honors
requirement. It is recommended that the thesis be completed by the end of the fall semester. Credits earned in CPSC 180 do not count
towards completion of the course major.
Acceptance Criteria
To be eligible for an Honors major in Computer Science, a student must meet the course major acceptance requirements. In addition, students
must earn a B average in all courses that could be used to complete the course major, including cross-listed electives. In addition, students must
earn a B average in the courses used to satisfy the Mathematics and Statistics requirements for the course major. A student previously accepted
into the Honors Program but not maintaining this GPA in CPSC courses might be, by department decision, asked to withdraw from the Honors
Program. Students not meeting the above criteria may appeal to the Department Chair for an exception.
Honors Minor
An honors minor in computer science will consist of completion of the course minor and one 2-credit preparation.
The following will be submitted to external examiners for evaluation:
One 2-credit preparation to be selected from the combinations of courses listed under Approved Preparations. This 2-credit preparation will be
examined by a 3-hour written examination and an oral examination. The exams will focus on a single course in each preparation (the
focus
course), with the second course (the
breadth course) providing additional background in the general area of the focus course. In certain
circumstances, the Computer Science Department may be willing to consider other groupings of courses, seminars, or the inclusion of a specific
Special Topics course (CS91). These are approved on a case-by-case basis by the chair. Students are required to petition for approval by
September 15 of their senior year.
If the required courses and preparations would not satisfy a course minor, additional computer science courses must be taken to meet course
minor requirements. In all cases, the Computer Science Department must approve the student's plan of study.
Acceptance Criteria
To be eligible for an Honors minor in Computer Science, a student must meet the course minor (or course major) acceptance requirements. In
addition, students must earn a B average in all courses that could be used to complete the course minor/major, including cross-listed electives. In
addition, students must earn a B average in the courses used to satisfy the Mathematics and Statistics requirements for the course minor/major. A
student previously accepted into the Honors Program but not maintaining this GPA in CPSC courses might be, by department decision, asked to
withdraw from the Honors Program. Students not meeting the above criteria may appeal to the Department Chair for an exception.
Approved Preparations for the Honors Major and Minor
Honors majors must complete two 2-credit honors preparations and honors minors must complete one 2-credit honors preparation. Each
preparation will contain one Focus course and one Breadth course selected the same set. For example, CPSC 043 and CPSC 044 is a valid
course preparation pairing since both courses are in Set 2, but CPSC 041 and CPSC 044 is not a valid pairing. The Focus course for each
preparation must be different, and the two preparations must be comprised of at least three distinct courses. Honors majors may choose both of
their 2-credit preparations from the same set, or may choose one 2-credit preparation from one set and the other from a different set.
The following are the approved sets of course groupings. All courses may not be available to all students and will depend on the schedule of
course offerings.
Set 0:
o CPSC 041. Algorithms
o CPSC 046. Theory of Computation
o CPSC 049. The Probabilistic Method
Set 1:
o CPSC 063. Artificial Intelligence
o CPSC 065. Natural Language Processing
o CPSC 066. Machine Learning
o CPSC 068. Bioinformatics
o CPSC 081. Adaptive Robotics
Set 2:
o CPSC 043. Computer Networks
o CPSC 044. Database Systems
o CPSC 045. Operating Systems
o CPSC 087. Parallel and Distributed Computing
o CPSC 088. Security and Privacy
o CPSC 089. Cloud Systems and Data Center Networks
Set 3:
o CPSC 073. Programming Languages
o CPSC 075. Compilers
Set 4:
o CPSC 040. Computer Graphics
o CPSC 087. Parallel and Distributed Computing
Senior Comprehensive
CPSC 099. Senior Comprehensive is the comprehensive requirement for Computer Science course and honors majors. It provides an opportunity
to delve more deeply into a particular topic in computer science, synthesizing material from previous courses. Information specific to each
graduating class can be found on the department website.
Application Process and Acceptance Criteria for Majors/Minors
In addition to the process described by the Dean's Office and the Registrar's Office for how to apply for a major, students should complete a
departmental form, found on the departmental website, outlining how they intend to fulfill the requirements for their intended major, minor,
honors major or honors minor. Successful completion of at least two Computer Science courses, including CPSC 031 or CPSC 035, is ordinarily
required to be admitted as a Computer Science major or minor. Students who are deferred from the major or minor will be re-evaluated upon
completion of additional Computer Science courses.
Advanced Placement
Students who receive a 4 or 5 on the Computer Science Advanced Placement exam will be awarded one (1) credit upon successful completion of
a Computer Science course taken at Swarthmore. Upon completion of a CS course at Swarthmore, students must notify the department in order to
receive AP credit. Students who are placed out of CPSC 021 with AP credit need to take only seven (7) additional courses in computer science to
complete the major, and five (5) additional courses in computer science to complete the minor.
Students should consult with any Computer Science faculty member about placement out of courses in the introductory sequence.
Computer Science Placement
The computer science placement exam is required for all students who think that they may place out of the introductory computer science course
(CPSC 021). Students who want to start with CPSC 021 do not need to take the placement exam. Students who think they may place out of both
CPSC 021 and CPSC 035 should take the placement exam and also contact the department placement coordinator about their placement.
Incoming first year students should take the placement exam during fall orientation week. Students who do not take it during orientation can
contact the CS departmental office to schedule a time to take the exam. Students who do not take CPSC 021 must take the placement exam before
registering for CPSC 031 or CPSC 035. For more information see: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science/computer-science-placement-
exam
Off-Campus Study
Students planning to major or minor in computer science may opt to study abroad for one semester or a whole year. Because some advanced
courses in computer science are offered in only alternate years, some selections will be unavailable to some students. The Computer Science
Department should preapprove all courses of study abroad in advance of the student's departure. The department will credit appropriate courses
based on sufficient evidence of work completed presented by the student upon returning to Swarthmore.
Life After Swarthmore
Graduate School
Students interested in graduate study in computer science will be well prepared with a computer science major. Some graduate programs will
also accept students who have majored in mathematics or engineering and completed a sufficient number and selection of computer science
courses. The choice of the appropriate major and computing courses will depend on the student's interests and should be made in consultation
with the chair of the Computer Science Department. Other majors are also reasonable for students with special interests. For example, a major
in linguistics or psychology might be appropriate for a student interested in artificial intelligence or cognitive science. In such cases, students
should consult with the chair of the department as early as possible to ensure that they take the necessary mathematics and computing courses
for graduate work in computer science.
Computer Science Courses
A grade of C or better is required in order to fulfill any CPSC prerequisite listed below.
CPSC 015. First-Year Seminar: Ethics and Technology
(Cross-listed as PHIL 007 )
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 021. Introduction to Computer Science
This course presents fundamental ideas in computer science while building skills in software development. Students implement algorithms as
programs in a high-level programming language. Introducing object-oriented programming and data structures allows students to construct
correct, understandable, and efficient algorithms. CPSC 031 and CPSC 035 present a deeper coverage of these topics. CPSC 021 is appropriate
for all students who want to be able to write programs. It is the usual first course for computer science majors and minors. Students with
Advanced Placement credit or extensive programming experience may be able to place out of this course. Students who think that they may fall
into this latter category should consult with any computer science faculty member.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required, programming intensive.
1 credit.
Eligible for DGHU
Fall 2021. Webb, Brody, Qu
Spring 2022. Danner, Newhall, Mitchell
Fall 2022. Staff
Spring 2023. Staff
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 031. Introduction to Computer Systems
This course is a broad introduction to computer science that focuses on how a computer works and how programs run on computers. We examine
the hardware and software components required to go from a program expressed in a high-level programming language like C or Python to the
computer actually running the program. This course takes a bottom-up approach to discovering how a computer works. Topics include
theoretical models of computation, data representation, machine organization, assembly and machine code, memory, I/O, the stack, the operating
system, compilers and interpreters, processes and threads, and synchronization. This course also introduces parallel and distributed computing
with a specific focus on shared memory parallelism for multicore and SMP systems.
Prerequisite: CPSC 021 or equivalent.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Danner, Wicentowski
Spring 2022. Wicentowski
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 035. Data Structures and Algorithms
This course completes the broad introduction to computer science begun in CPSC 021. It provides a general background for further study in the
field. Topics to be covered include object-oriented programming in C++, advanced data structures (trees, priority queues, hash tables, graphs,
etc.) and algorithms, and software design and verification. Students will be expected to complete several programming projects illustrating the
concepts presented.
Prerequisite: CPSC 021 or equivalent. Discrete Mathematics is recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Meeden, Caplan.
Spring 2022. Wehar.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 040. Computer Graphics
(Cross-listed as ENGR 026)
Computer graphics focuses on the creation and manipulation of digital imagery. We cover the modeling, rendering, and animating of geometric
object in two (2D) and three (3D) dimensions. Topics include drawing algorithms for 2D geometric primitives (points, lines, polygons),
geometric matrix transformations, projective geometry, geometric object representations, hidden surface removal, hierarchical modeling,
shading, lighting, shadows, ray-tracing, procedural (non-geometric) modeling, texture mapping, and animation. Labs will explore various tools
for rendering graphics, including pixel buffers, OpenGL, shading languages, and general purpose GPU computing.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031, CPSC 035 and Linear Algebra required or permission of the instructor.
Corequisite: (Linear Algebra may be taken concurrently.)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for DGHU
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 041. Algorithms
The study of algorithms is useful in many diverse areas. As algorithms are studied, considerable attention is devoted to analyzing formally their
time and space requirements and proving their correctness. Topics covered include abstract data types, trees (including balanced trees), graphs,
searching, sorting, NP complete optimization problems, and the impact of several models of parallel computation on the design of algorithms and
data structures.
Group 1 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035 required. Mathematics background at the level of Linear Algebra or higher is required (may be taken concurrently).
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for DGHU
Fall 2021. Fontes.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 043. Computer Networks
This course covers the design, implementation and applications of computer networks, primarily focused on the protocols that enable the Internet
and network applications. Additionally, this course will cover network security, such as viruses, worms, and botnets. Topics will include: data
communication theory; packet-switched routing; the Internet and its protocols; socket and network application programming; overlays and P2P
networks; and network security.
Group 2 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Webb.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 044. Database Systems
This course provides an introduction to relational database management systems. Topics covered include data models (ER and relational
model); data storage and access methods (files, indices); query languages (SQL, relational algebra, relational calculus, QBE); query evaluation;
query optimization; transaction management; concurrency control; crash recovery; and some advanced topics (distributed databases, object
relational databases). A project that involves implementing and testing components of a relational database management system is a large
component of the course.
Group 2 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 045. Operating Systems
(Cross-listed as ENGR 022)
This course is an introduction to the theory, design, and implementation of operating systems. An operating system is the software layer between
user programs and the computer hardware. It provides abstractions of the underlying hardware that are easier to program, and it manages the
machine's resources. The following topics will be covered: processes (including synchronization, communication, and scheduling); memory
(main memory allocation strategies, virtual memory, and page replacement policies); file systems (including naming and implementation issues);
I/O (including devices, drivers, disks, and disk scheduling); and security.
Group 2 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC 035
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 046. Theory of Computation
(Cross-listed as MATH 046)
This study of various models of computation leads to a characterization of the kinds of problems that can and cannot be solved by a computer.
Solvable problems will be classified with respect to their degree of difficulty. Topics to be covered include formal languages and finite state
devices; Turing machines; and other models of computation, computability, and complexity.
Group 1 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035 and Mathematics background at the level of Linear Algebra or higher (may be taken concurrently)
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Fontes.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Brody.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 049. The Probabilistic Method
(Cross-listed as MATH 059 )
In mathematics and theoretical computer science, we often consider classes of objects (say graphs, circuits or matrices) and we'd like to know if
there are objects that have certain nice properties. One way to show these nice objects exist is to look at a random object, and show it has the
nice property with nonzero probability. If this is true, there must be some object with this nice property. This is the Probabilistic Method in a
nutshell. It has become an essential tool for understanding structure of lots and lots of things in theoretical computer science and combinatorics,
even in problems and applications which involve no randomness at all.
This class will start from the ground up, first introducing discrete probability theory, then covering the probabilistic method in detail: how it
works, extensions, and most of all lots of applications. We'll also spend a few weeks discussing NP-Completeness and randomized algorithms.
Group 1 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035 and MATH 039, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Lab work required
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 052. Principles of Computer Architecture
(Cross-listed as ENGR 025)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 056. Computer Animation
The goal of this course is to give students a foundation for programming animated and interactive graphics. In particular, we will "look under the
hood" at the algorithms used by game engines and modeling tools to create authorable, interactive characters and special effects. Labs will give
students hands on experience implementing algorithms in C++ as well as opportunities to derive their own unique animations. Topics will
include mathematical foundations (coordinate systems, transformations, quaternions), interpolation techniques, keyframing, motion capture and
procedural animation, and physically-based systems.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 , CPSC 035 , MATH 015 (or have placed into MATH 025)
Lab work required.
1 credit
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 063. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be defined as the branch of computer science that is concerned with the automation of intelligent behavior.
Intelligent behavior encompasses a wide range of abilities; as a result, AI has become a very broad field that includes game playing, automated
reasoning, expert systems, natural language processing, modeling human performance (cognitive science), planning, and robotics. This course
will focus on a subset of these topics and specifically on machine learning, which is concerned with the problem of how to create programs that
automatically improve with experience. Machine learning approaches studied typically include neural networks, decision trees, genetic
algorithms, and reinforcement techniques.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Meeden.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 065. Natural Language Processing
(Cross-listed as LING 020)
This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts in natural language processing, the study of human language from a computational
perspective. The focus will be on creating statistical algorithms used in the analysis and production of language. Topics to be covered include
parsing, morphological analysis, text classification, speech recognition, and machine translation. No prior linguistics experience is necessary.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Caplan.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 066. Machine Learning
This course will introduce algorithms and frameworks that train computers to learn from data in order to better complete specific tasks. The first
part of the course will focus on the task of making predictions (supervised learning). The course will then cover other areas of the field
including structured learning, unsupervised learning, and semi-supervised learning, among others. The course will also develop general
machine learning methodologies; frameworks for analyzing and validating algorithms and theoretical foundations.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Wehar, Michael
Fall 2023. Soni, Mitchell
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 068. Bioinformatics
(Cross-listed as BIOL 068)
This course is an introduction to the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology, with a central focus on algorithms and their application
to a diverse set of computational problems in molecular biology. Computational themes will include dynamic programming, greedy algorithms,
supervised learning and classification, data clustering, trees, graphical models, data management, and structured data representation.
Applications will include genetic sequence analysis, pair wise-sequence alignment, phylogenetic trees, motif finding, gene-expression analysis,
and protein-structure prediction. No prior biology experience is necessary.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 071. Software Engineering
Software engineering is the application of systematic, measurable, and disciplined approach to the creation of computer programs. In this
course, students will learn how to plan, organize, and maintain large software projects. Topics include software development methodologies,
design principles, collaboration techniques, the use of modern libraries and frameworks, quality assurance, and timeline management.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Natural science and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Wehar
Fall 2023. Wehar.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 072. Computer Vision
(Cross-listed as ENGR 027)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 073. Programming Languages
This course presents a collection of features central to programming languages' design and implementation. Core topics include identifiers and
scope, higher-order functions, types and type checking, state and mutation, objects, and memory management. The course explores these
concepts through the implementation of interpreters and other programs that manipulate programs, and through exercises that explore choices in
the space of programming language design.
Group 3 Course
Prerequisite: CPSC 035
Group 3 course.
Lab work required, programming intensive
Fall 2021. Palmer.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 075. Compilers
(Cross-listed as ENGR 023)
This course explores the conversion of programs from source code to executable forms. Topics covered include lexical analysis, formal
grammars and parsing, runtime representation decisions, code transformation and generation, and static optimization techniques.
Group 2 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC 035
Natural sciences and engineering.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Palmer.
Fall 2023. Palmer.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 081. Adaptive Robotics
This seminar addresses the problem of controlling robots that will operate in dynamic, unpredictable environments. In laboratory sessions,
students will work in groups to program robots to perform a variety of tasks such as navigation to a goal, obstacle avoidance, and vision-based
tracking. In discussion sessions, students will examine the major paradigms of robot control through readings from the primary literature with an
emphasis on adaptive approaches.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035. Recommended: CPSC 063
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 082. Mobile Robotics
(Cross-listed as ENGR 028)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 087. Parallel and Distributed Computing
This course covers a broad range of topics related to parallel and distributed computing, including parallel and distributed architectures and
systems, parallel and distributed programming paradigms, parallel algorithms, and scientific and other applications of parallel and distributed
computing. In lecture/discussion sections, students examine both classic results as well as recent research in the field. The lab portion of the
course includes programming projects using different programming paradigms, and students will have the opportunity to examine one course
topic in depth through an open-ended project of their own choosing. Course topics may include: multi-core, SMP, MPP, client-server, clusters,
clouds, grids, peer-to-peer systems, GPU computing, scheduling, scalability, resource discovery and allocation, fault tolerance, security, parallel
I/0, sockets, threads, message passing, MPI, RPC, distributed shared memory, data parallel languages, MapReduce, parallel debugging, and
parallel and distributed applications.
Group 2 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC 035, and at least one course numbered above CPSC35 (or premission of the instructor) are required.
Natural science and engineering.
Writing course.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Newhall.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 088. Security and Privacy
This course will cover the breadth of security and privacy topics in Computer Systems including software system security, applied cryptography,
denial-of-service, and privacy-preserving mechanisms. This course will also include applied aspects of security and privacy including public
policy and legal frameworks of censorship and anonymity. Course topics may include: Buffer overflows and defences, cryptography, symmetric
encryption, hash functions, web security, certificates, authentication, denial of service attacks, internet crime - ransomware, botnets, and spam,
privacy preserving mechanisms, and internet censorship.
Group 2 Course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC035.
At least one upper-level course is recommended.
Natural Science and Engineering
Laboratory work required.
1 credit
Fall 2022. Chaganti.
CPSC 089. Cloud Systems and Data Center Networks
On the Internet today, popular services like Google, Facebook, and many others are too large to be hosted by just a few servers. Instead, service
providers "scale out" across a coordinated set of hundreds to thousands of machines. Such clusters yield an interesting operating environment,
the data center, in which a single administrative entity owns a network at the scale that resembles the Internet. To meet customer demands,
administrators often face stringent inter-machine coordination constraints. In this course, we'll examine the current state of the art in providing
cloud-based services, including many interesting problems in distributed systems, networking, failure recovery, and OS virtualization.
Group 2 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 031 and CPSC 035
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 091.1. Special Topics: Algorithmic Game Theory
How much of traffic congestion is due to drivers behaving selfishly? How can an auction be set up to allocate goods most efficiently? This course
will take an algorithmic approach to designing and analyzing strategic environments, where autonomous and self-interested people (or
computers) interact. Topics will include best-response dynamics, routing games, the price of anarchy, regret-minimizing algorithms, truthful
mechanisms, and combinatorial auctions.
Prerequisite: CPSC035 required. Mathematics background at the level of Linear Alegebra or higher is required.
Natural science.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lutz.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 091.3. Special Topics: Machine Learning and Brain-Computer Interfaces
This course will introduce machine learning and deep learning algorithms and their implementation in Brain-Computer Interfaces research. This
course will focus on a subset of topics including: classification, clustering, dimensionalityreduction, transfer learning, regression, and time
series analysis.This is a project-oriented course intended to walk through the stepsneeded to conduct publishable research as an undergraduate
researcher.
The related research methods and frameworks will be demonstrated as aresearch project targeting CS conferences.
Prerequisite: CPSC035
Natural Sciences.
Lab work required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Qu.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 093. Directed Reading and/or Research Project
A qualified student may undertake a program of extra reading and/or a project in an area of computer science with the permission of a staff
member who is willing to supervise.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 099. Senior Comprehensive
For the culminating senior capstone experience, students will create a poster based on a project from either a course taken in the
Computer Science Department at Swarthmore or from a summer research project with a Swarthmore CS faculty member. Seniors will present
their work at a poster session to be held late in the Fall semester of their senior year. The Chair will send out information at the start of the Fall
semester detailing the scheduling of the poster session and other relevant dates.
This course must be satisfactorily completed in order to complete the major.
0 credit.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 180. Senior Honor Thesis
For Computer Science Honors Majors only.
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
CPSC 199. Senior Thesis
Catalog chapter: Computer Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/computer-science
Economics
Faculty
AMANDA BAYER, Professor and Chair
SYON BHANOT, Associate Professor
ERIN TODD BRONCHETTI, Associate Professor
JOHN P. CASKEY, Professor
3
DAIFENG HE, Associate Professor
PHILIP N. JEFFERSON, Professor
3
MARK KUPERBERG, Professor
ELLEN B. MAGENHEIM, Professor
2
STEPHEN A. O'CONNELL, Professor
JENNIFER PECK, Assistant Professor
MARC REMER, Associate Professor
TAO WANG, Assistant Professor
2
KARA DIMITRUK, Visiting Assistant Professor
JOSEPH HARGADON, Visiting Professor (part-time)
MARIA OLIVERO, Visiting Associate Professor
MEGAN SALLADINO, Administrative Assistant
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
The Academic Program
The economics curriculum is structured so that students achieve the following goals:
1. Learn and apply models and tools for analyzing economic processes, decisions, and institutions;
2. Analyze and evaluate public policy; and
3. Think critically about the outcomes of public and private economic institutions and systems domestically and globally.
The Economics Department offers a course major, honors major, and honors minor. A course minor is not offered.
Major
Requirements
ECON 001 or its equivalent is a prerequisite for all other work in the department, with the exception of first-year seminars and ECON 003. In
addition, all majors in economics must satisfy a theory requirement by taking ECON 011 (Intermediate Microeconomics) and ECON 021
(Intermediate Macroeconomics). They must also satisfy a statistics requirement. The statistics requirement is typically satisfied by taking ECON
031. It can alternatively be satisfied, however, by taking ECON 035 (which accepts STAT 021 as an alternative prerequisite to ECON 031), by
taking STAT 111, or by taking STAT 061in combination with either STAT 011 or STAT 021. STAT 011 and STAT 021 alone are not sufficient.
In order to read the literature in economics critically, a knowledge of elementary calculus is extremely useful. Students need to take MATH 015
(or receive MATH 015 credit or placement out of MATH 015 from the Mathematics Department) prior to taking ECON 011 or ECON 021. Since
ECON 011 and ECON 021 are required for the economics major, MATH 015 is a requirement for the major. Students can take ECON 001,
ECON 031, and other courses that do not have ECON 011 or ECON 021 as a prerequisite before they meet the MATH 015 requirement. Students
can find further information regarding math placement and credit at: https://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics.
In addition, the department very strongly recommends that students take either MATH 025 or 026 (Basic Calculus). MATH 027 (Linear Algebra),
MATH 034 (Several Variable Calculus), and MATH 044 (Differential Equations) are valuable for those intending to focus on the more technical
aspects of economics. Students planning to attend graduate school in economics should give serious thought to taking additional mathematics
courses, including MATH 063 (Introduction to Real Analysis). The Economics major carries the US Department of Education Classification of
Instructional Programs (CIP) code 45.0601 and is not STEM-OPT eligible.
Course Major
To graduate as a course major, a student must:
1. Have at least eight credits in economics.
2. Meet the theory, math, and statistics requirements.
Note: Course students should take these courses before the second semester of their senior year to be prepared for the comprehensive
examination. Note also that some seminars and courses have ECON 011, 021, and/or 031 as prerequisites.
3. In the senior year, pass the comprehensive examination given early in the spring semester.
Comprehensive Examination
Course majors must pass the Comprehensive Examination which is given in January or February of each year and covers the theory and
statistics requirements. Students must take the comprehensive exam at Swarthmore College. All students are required to will take the examination
in their senior year with the only exception of, students who are graduating early; those students can take the comprehensive exam in the spring
semester prior to their final semester at Swarthmore.
Acceptance Criteria: The Course Program
Except for students who have been granted advanced standing, applicants should have:
1. Completed at least two economics courses at Swarthmore.
2. Have an overall grade average of C or better.
3. Have a grade of B or better in at least one economics course taken at Swarthmore.
4. Should not have any D's or NC's in any economics course. These conditions include the grade equivalent(s) for any course(s) taken
Credit/No Credit. [Note: Regarding the "grade of B or better" requirement, a B in a course taken elsewhere may not suffice. Students
who expect to satisfy the requirement with course work done at other schools should consult the chair about grade equivalencies
ahead of time. For example, an A- is typically required in the case of a course taken in summer school.]
Students have one year from the date of their application to satisfy these requirements. Failure to do so within one year will mean rejection.
Students who wish to apply for a double major must submit a copy of their Sophomore Plan to both departments.
Honors Major
Typically, a student who wants to major in the Honors Program first applies for the program through the Sophomore Plan. In the Sophomore
Plan, the student should indicate the intention to apply for the Honors Program and should list all preparations that the student plans to take as
part of that program. The student would usually take at least one preparation in the junior year. Approval of a student's Honors Program must be
granted by the department.
The Honors Exam for Majors and Preparations
Honors majors in economics must complete 3 preparations. All preparations in economics consist of 2 credits. Most preparations involve taking
a 2 credit seminar, but some preparations may combine a course and a 1 credit seminar. A complete list of preparations, with their prerequisites,
appears below.
Culminating Exercise
External examiners will determine a student's Honors performance in an individual preparation based on a 3 hour written exam, an oral exam,
and if applicable, a seminar paper. (Honors majors do not take the comprehensive exam given to course majors.)
Acceptance Criteria: The Honors Program
Applicants for an honors major should have satisfied all of the requirements for acceptance as an economics course major and, in addition,
should have a straight B or better grade average in economics courses. This condition includes the grade equivalent(s) for any course(s) taken
Credit/No Credit.
Honors Minor
Requirements
Honors minors in Economics take one two-credit preparation and are required to complete at least four total credits in Economics at
Swarthmore.
Culminating Exercise
External examiners will determine a student's honors performance in an individual preparation based on a 3 hour written exam, an oral exam,
and if applicable, a seminar paper. (Honors minors do not take the comprehensive exam given to course majors.)
Acceptance Criteria: The Honors Minor
Applicants for an honors minor should have satisfied all of the requirements for acceptance as an economics course major and, in addition,
should have a straight B or better grade average in economics courses. This condition includes the grade equivalent(s) for any course(s) taken
Credit/No Credit.
Application Process Notes for the Major
Normally, any student planning to major in economics, whether in the Course or Honors Program, applies for the major by submitting a
Sophomore Plan in the spring of the Sophomore year. (Except for students who have been granted advanced standing, applicants should have
completed at least two economics courses at Swarthmore.) A student who will be away that semester should submit the paper before leaving at
the end of the fall semester. In the Sophomore Plan, students should state their reasons for wanting to major in economics along with any
associated considerations, and they should indicate the courses and seminars essential to their plan of study. Through the paper, students are
preregistered for seminars offered over the following two years; thus, students are strongly urged to select their seminars carefully. Moreover, if
a student decides to change seminars, the department's program coordinator should be informed as soon as possible, since entry into
oversubscribed seminars is first-come, first-served, with students in the Honors Program having absolute priority.
Honors Preparations
ECON 101: Advanced Microeconomics (2 credits)
ECON 102: Advanced Macroeconomics (2 credits)
ECON 122: Financial Economics (2 credits)
ECON 135: Advanced Econometrics (1 credit) and ECON 035: Econometrics (1 credit)
ECON 141: Public Economics (2 credits)
ECON 151: International Economics (2 credits)
ECON 155: Behavioral and Experimental Economics (2 credits)
ECON 162: Antitrust and Market Regulation (2 credits)
ECON 175: Health Economics (2 credits)
ECON 176: Environmental Economics (2 credits)
ECON 181: Economic Development (2 credits)
Interdisciplinary Majors and Minors including Economics
Certain economics courses can be counted toward programs in Black Studies, Asian Studies, Environmental studies, Latin American and Latino
Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Economics before Swarthmore: The Economics Department offers a one-semester Introduction to Economics course (ECON 001) that is the
prerequisite for all further study in economics.
The department does not give credit for work done in economics in secondary schools and it does not give credit for Advanced Placement exams.
All students planning to study economics are required to begin with ECON 001 unless granted a waiver by the department. To receive a waiver,
students must have a score of 5 on both the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics AP exams (or a 6 or 7 on the Economics Higher Level Exam
of the International Baccalaureate, or an A on the British A Levels). This waiver does not count as a course credit. Students who receive the
waiver cannot enroll in ECON 011 or 021 before taking at least one other economics course.
Work done at a college or university while attending secondary school is eligible for credit subject to the chairperson's normal discretion in
giving credit for such work, but only if the work is credited on an official college or university transcript. With respect to satisfying the
prerequisite requirements for other economics courses: either semester of a two-semester introductory course alone counts as the equivalent of
ECON 001 but if only one of two introductory semesters is taken, the material covered in the other half must be accessed by auditing (subject to
the instructor's approval) the relevant parts of ECON 001 or by taking the appropriate intermediate theory course (ECON 011 or ECON 021).
Transfer Credit
Transferring economics credits: Students must receive pre-approval from the department chair for any economics or business course taken for
Swarthmore credit outside of the Tri-Co system. The theory and statistics requirements for the economics major may be satisfied by equivalent
off-campus courses if those courses deliver a full Swarthmore credit. The department does not top off credits earned off campus. Problems
transferring credit typically arise in connection with off-campus courses that are labeled as economics though they are in fact courses in law,
history, or political science; the department does not accept such courses for economics credit. It is usually sufficient for partial credit transfer
that the course be taught by a qualified economist and be largely analytical in content, as are nearly all courses in economics departments in
American colleges and universities.
Once an off-campus course has been completed, students must formally request the chair's approval of transfer credit, unless the course was
designated for auto-credit at the pre-approval stage. For foreign-study and other off-campus semester programs, requests for pre-approval and
transfer credit are submitted to the chair via the Off-Campus Study office's online portal. For term-time and summer courses, such requests
should be submitted by email directly to the department chair. Pre-approval requires a full course description, including information on the
institution and the number of transfer credits. Except when auto-credit has been designated, approval of transfer credit requires extensive
evidence - a syllabus, exams, papers - on the content of the course. Requests for transfer credit outside of the off-campus study system should be
accompanied by a completed economics department Validation of Transfer Credit form
Transferring credit for introductory economics: Subject to the chair's approval, students may transfer credit for introductory economics taken at
other colleges or universities whether as a one- or a two-semester introductory course. A student may be granted credit for taking a one-semester
introductory course in either microeconomics or macroeconomics, but will be advised in such cases to audit the other part of the introductory
material at Swarthmore before taking higher-level economics courses. To transfer credit for introductory economics, students should submit all
relevant course materials to the chair along with a completed copy of the economics department's Validation of Transfer Credit form.
Transferring credits for business courses: Students are advised to consult the department chair before taking a course in business outside of the
Tri-Co system. Such courses require pre-approval and, unless designated for auto-credit at the pre-approval stage, they require final transfer
credit approval as well. One course in financial accounting may be transferred for credit towards the economics major, if the student has not
taken Financial Accounting in the Tri-Co system. All other business courses are designated as business electives. Business-elective credits may
be counted towards the 32 credits required for graduation, but they do not count towards an economics major. A student can receive no more
than two business-elective credits in total. No credit is given for night school classes at Wharton. Students can receive business-elective credit,
but not economics credit, for courses in finance taken outside of the Tri-Co system. No credit will be granted for courses whose content
substantially reproduces the content of finance courses the student has taken in the Tri-Co system.
Teacher Certification
Please refer to the Educational Studies section of the Bulletin.
Additional Matters
Recommended course sequence: Take ECON 001 in the first year. Take ECON 011, 021, and 031 in the sophomore and junior years and
certainly before the beginning of the senior year. For students contemplating graduate study in economics, take one or more of: ECON 101,
ECON 102, and ECON 135, as well as the Mathematics and Statistics courses discussed at the beginning of this document.
Ranking for entry into seminars: Entry into oversubscribed seminars is first-come, first-served for students in the Honors Program, with priority
given to seniors, then to juniors. Any places remaining are allocated on the basis of first-come, first-served for students in the Course Program.
Double major in Economics and Engineering: Double majors may count Operations Research (cross-listed as ECON 032 and ENGR 057) for
both majors. It will appear as ENGR 057 on the student's transcript if it is taken to satisfy engineering or both requirements.
Semester or year away: The Economics Department will facilitate study abroad or elsewhere in the United States. Correspondingly, it has
designed a major that can, without difficulty, be completed in no more than four semesters. Moreover, the department is quite liberal in
approving transfer credits for courses offered by economics departments elsewhere. Students should, however, be aware of the following
considerations: to graduate with an economics major from Swarthmore, a student must have taken at least two economics courses at Swarthmore
and must pass the department's comprehensive exam.
Economics Courses
ECON 001. Introduction to Economics
Covers the fundamentals of microeconomics and macroeconomics: supply and demand, market structures, income distribution, fiscal and
monetary policy in relation to unemployment and inflation, economic growth, and international economic relations. Focuses on the functioning
of markets as well as on the rationale for and the design of public policy.
* Ec 1 Enrollment Policy
ECON 001 sections are capped at 30 and enrollment takes place in two stages. In the first stage, online enrollment is capped at 25, and these
spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. In the second stage, all Add/Drop requests are handled by the department's
Administrative Assistant, Megan Salladino. During Add/Drop, students can enroll in the least enrolled section that fits their academic schedule,
up to the cap of 30 students per section.
Prerequisite for all further work in economics, with the exception of first-year seminars and ECON 003.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 002. First-Year Seminar: Greed
In 1776, Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations:
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own
interest...Every individual... neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much is is promoting it...he intends only his own gain,
and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always worse for
the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really
intends to promote it."
This seminar investigates the degree to which self-interest should be the organizing principle of economic and social organization.
This course counts as 1 of the 8 economics credits needed to fulfill an economics major, but it does not take the place of ECON 001. It, therefore,
cannot be used to fulfill the ECON 001 prerequisite for further work in the Economics Department.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 002A. First-Year Seminar: Emerging Market Economies: The BRICS 1900-2020
Will Brazil, Russia, India, and China be the most dominant economies in the world by 2050? Why is South Africa (S) in the group? We study the
economic trajectories of these countries from roughly 1900, emphasizing the roles of domestic reforms and global markets in spurring human
capital accumulation, industrial development, and economic growth. We ask how international organizations like the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) are accommodating the emergence of these countries, and what influence the BRICS are
likely to exert on the global governance of trade, aid, finance, and the environment.
This course counts as 1 of the 8 economics credits needed to fulfill an economics major, but it does not take the place of ECON 001. It, therefore,
cannot be used to fulfill the ECON 001 prerequisite for further work in the Economics Department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 003. Behavioral Public Policy in the City
Recent years have seen growth in the policy influence of behavioral science, a term covering behavioral economics, social psychology, and
related fields. In this course, students will be exposed to both the core concepts underlying behavioral science, and to the nuts and bolts of one
high-level policy effort to integrate behavioral science into city government - The Philadelphia Behavioral Science Initiative, or PBSI, an
academia-policy collaboration under the umbrella of GovLabPHL, a multi-agency team led by the Mayor's Policy Office. The course will be a
mix of lectures, guest lectures from city and agency officials, field visits, and group exercises.
Taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly program.
Cannot receive credit for both ECON 003 and ECON 055.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Tri-Co Philly Program or permission of instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 008. Topics in Economic History
This course offers a survey of topics in economic history, with an emphasis on institutions and economic activity in different historical contexts.
We use economic tools and models to study topics such as institutions and long-run economic growth, labor coercion and markets, infrastructure
and public health, other public goods like education, and finance. We may cover classic topics like the Industrial Revolution. We will also discuss
data and methods used by economic historians. To introduce students to research in economic history, a small class project, in partnership with
the Friends Historical Library, will collect and digitize parts of historical datasets (two censuses of Philadelphia, which have residential and
demographic information).
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Dimitruk.
Spring 2023. Dimitruk.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 009. Creativity and Economics
The creation of new products, from movies and paintings to computers and the human genome has become increasingly central to the US
economy. In this course, we seek to deepen our understanding of the creative act, its economic causes and consequences, and of economic theory
as it has changed in reaction to the increased economic importance of creativity. Students write a short paper about a specific new product or
line of products, using the economic ideas developed in the class.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 011. Intermediate Microeconomics
Provides a thorough grounding in intermediate-level microeconomics. The standard topics are covered: behavior of consumers and firms,
structure and performance of markets, income distribution, general equilibrium, and welfare analysis. Students do extensive problem solving
both to facilitate learning microeconomic theory and its applications.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and MATH 015.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Remer.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 012. Game Theory and Strategic Behavior
How should one bargain for a used car or mediate a contentious dispute? This course is an introduction to the study of strategic behavior and the
field of game theory. We analyze situations of interactive decision making in which the participants attempt to predict and to influence the actions
of others. We use examples from economics, business, biology, politics, sports, and everyday life.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 013. Economic Efficiency, Markets and Distributive Justice
This course investigates how we should organize economic activity in a free society. First, we will study different concepts of freedom. What is
the relationship between these different concepts of freedom and organizing economic activity through markets? Do these differing concepts
imply that some things should not be for sale? Second, how should we judge social outcomes? What place does cost-benefit analysis have? What
concepts of distributive justice should we use? What place does economic efficiency have in all these considerations? Finally, if you believe that
the market outcome is not just, how should you change it? What kinds of tax and transfer systems should you use? What are their tradeoffs in
terms of economic efficiency and distributive justice?"
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Kuperberg.
Fall 2022. Kuperberg.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 021. Intermediate Macroeconomics
The goal of this course is to give the student a thorough understanding of the actual behavior of the macroeconomy and the likely effects of
government stabilization policy. Models are developed of the determination of output, interest rates, prices, inflation, and other aggregate
variables such as fiscal and trade surpluses and deficits. Students analyze conflicting views of business cycles, stabilization policy, and
inflation/unemployment trade-offs.
Freshmen may not enroll.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and MATH 015.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Olivero.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 022. Financial Economics
This course analyzes the ways that firms finance their operations. It discusses the organization and regulation of financial markets and
institutions. It examines theories explaining asset prices and returns, and it discusses the function and pricing of options and futures contracts.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and ECON 031 or its equivalent.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 031. Introduction to Econometrics
This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of applied quantitative analysis in economics. Following a brief discussion of
probability, statistics, and hypothesis testing, this course emphasizes using regression analysis to understand economic relationships and to test
their statistical significance. Computer exercises provide practical experience in using these quantitative methods.
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 032. Operations Research
(Cross-listed as ENGR 057)
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 033. Financial Accounting
This course is designed to provide students with an intermediate level study of corporate accounting theory and practice as it falls within the
framework of United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A major focus of the course is how accounting provides
information to various user groups so that they can make more informed decisions. In particular, students will learn the steps in the accounting
cycle leading up to the preparation and analysis of corporate financial statements. Students are also exposed to some of the fundamental
differences between federal tax rules and external financial reporting requirements and are made aware of the organizations that influence and
contribute to the body of knowledge in financial accounting. Finally, ethical issues that may be confronted by the accountant are also discussed
throughout the course.
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Hargadon.
Spring 2022. Hargadon.
Fall 2022. Hargadon.
Spring 2023. Hargadon.
Fall 2023. Hargadon.
Spring 2024. Hargadon.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 035. Econometrics
Economists increasingly rely on empirical data and statistical techniques to study important questions in the field. In this course, we study the
quantitative methods used to assess causal linkages between variables and put economic theories to the test, including simple and multiple
regression, difference-in-differences techniques, logit/probit models, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, randomized
experiments, and others. In doing so, we explore the theory behind the statistical techniques economists lean on, but also focus on practical
applications and examples using real data. In the course, students will also gain experience in the use of Stata, the primary statistical package
used by economists. The aim of the course is therefore not only to inform students about the theory behind the techniques used by economists to
explore data, but also to empower students with the skills needed to analyze data on their own
.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and ECON 031 or STAT 021
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Bhanot.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 041. Public Economics
This course focuses on government expenditure, tax, and debt policy. A major part of the course is devoted to an analysis of current policy issues
in their institutional and theoretical contexts. The course will be of most interest to students having a concern for economic policy and its
interaction with politics.
Prerequisite: ECON 001. Recommended: ECON 011.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Bronchetti.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 042. Law and Economics
The purpose of this course is to explore the premises behind the use of utilitarian constructs in the analysis of public policy issues. In particular,
the appropriateness of the growing use of economic methodology will be examined through an intensive study of issues in property, tort, contract,
and criminal law.
Prerequisite: ECON 001. Recommended: ECON 011.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kuperberg.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 043. Markets and Morality
(Cross-listec as POLS 044)
The course will investigate the place that markets and market outcomes should have in a free society. Topics covered will include: competing
concepts of freedom; the proper sphere of market activity (what should and should not be for sale); theories of fairness and distributive justice;
and what should be done to balance freedom and equality in the economic sphere. Co-taught with Jonathan Thakkar under POLS 44.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and ONE of the following POLS 11, 12, 34, 47, 100, 101 PHIL 11, 21, 41, 101, or 121.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 044. The American City
*Formerly known as "Urban Economics"
The topics covered in this course include the economic decline of central cities, transportation policies, local taxation, theories of urban growth
patterns, local economic development initiatives, and the economics of land use and housing.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and ECON 031 or its equivalent.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 045. Labor Economics
This course offers an introduction to labor economics. Students will learn to apply microeconomic principles to topics such as labor supply and
demand, unemployment, determinants of earnings, minimum wages, taxes and transfers, immigration, discrimination, education, and labor
unions. Students will investigate these topics by evaluating recent economic research and analyzing labor market data.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 046. The Facts and Economics of Education in America
(Cross-listed as EDUC 069)
This course investigates the relationship between issues of resource allocation and educational attainment. It examines the facts about student
achievement, educational expenditure in the United States, and the relationship between them. It studies such questions as: Does reducing class
size improve student achievement? Does paying teachers more improve teacher quality and student outcomes? The course also investigates the
relationship between educational attainment and wages in the labor market. Finally, it analyzes the effects of various market-oriented education
reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and any statistics course (or the consent of the instructor). EDUC 014 is strongly recommended.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kuperberg.
Spring 2023. Kuperberg.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 051. International Trade and Finance
This course surveys the theory of trade (microeconomics) and of the balance of payments and exchange rates (macroeconomics). The theories
are used to analyze topics such as trade patterns, trade barriers, flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international
monetary system, and macroeconomic interdependence.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ,PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 054. Global Capitalism Since 1920
This course will study global capitalism over the last century, focusing on the interplay between events, economic theories and policies. The
issues to be examined include: financial market booms and busts; business cycles; inequality; the social welfare state; technological change and
economic growth; and international trade and financial arrangements. The time period covers: the Roaring Twenties; the Great Depression, the
post war Golden Age (1945-1973); the stagflation of the 1970s; the Thatcher-Reagan-Greenspan-Bush era of market liberalization (1980-2007);
and the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2007-2010. Economic theories include: the classical laissez-faire view; Schumpeter's theory of
"creative destruction"; Keynes and the "neo-classical synthesis" advocating a mixed economy; Minsky's theory of financial instability; Friedman,
the efficient-markets hypothesis, and the "new classical" critiques of government interventions; and emerging ideas in response to the present
crisis. The course will chronicle and compare economic policy and performance of the United States, Europe, Japan, and the developing world
(Asia, Latin America, Africa).
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 055. Behavioral Economics
In the past 50 years, economists have increasingly used insights from psychology to explore the limitations of the standard economic model of
rational decision making - a field now known as "behavioral economics." This course is an introduction to the central concepts of behavioral
economics, touching on related research in psychology and experimental economics. We will also discuss the public policy implications of this
work, and current policy applications of behavioral research around the world. Topics covered include: self-control, procrastination, fairness,
cooperation and reciprocity, reference dependence, and choice under uncertainty.
Cannot receive credit for both ECON 055 and ECON 003.
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Bhanot.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 061. Industrial Organization
Industrial organization studies how competition between firms affects prices, profits, and consumer welfare. This course moves beyond basic
models of perfect competition and monopoly, and analyzes markets where businesses make strategic choices and anticipate responses from
competitors. We will explore how businesses set prices, choose product attributes, and make entry decisions. Other topics include antitrust
policy, collusion, advertising, and network competition.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 073. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Economics
Does difference make a difference in economics? In this course, we use the theoretical and empirical tools of economics to recognize and analyze
the diverse economic experiences of individuals and groups and to explore sources of and solutions to persistent inequalities. We also examine
the roles of difference and diversity in the development of economic theory and policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 074. Economics of the Family
The family plays a key role in economic systems, as a consumer of goods and services
and as a supplier of inputs, particularly labor. Microeconomics can help us understand
a range of topics about the family and household including decisions about fertility, child
rearing, household management, marriage and divorce, immigration, and labor
supply. Our focus will be on the contemporary American family, but we will also
consider international and historical perspectives and the influence of public policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Fall 2021. Magenheim.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 075. Health Economics
This course applies microeconomic theory, including models from behavioral economics, to analyze consumers', producers', and the
government's behavior with respect to health and health care. Special attention will be paid to the role of socioeconomic and demographic
factors in explaining patterns of health and access to health care. Other topics include environmental health, international comparisons of health
and health care systems, and ongoing state and federal health care policy reform.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Magenheim.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Magenheim.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 076. Environmental Economics
Cross-listed with ENVS 020
Introduction to the microeconomics of environmental issues with applications to the design of environmental policy. The course will cover the
concepts and methods used in the valuation of environmental goods as well as the design of policy instruments and regulations to improve
environmental quality. Specific topics include pollution and environmental degradation, the use of renewable and non-renewable resources, and
climate change.
Prerequisite: ECON 001. Recommended: ECON 011.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Peck.
Fall 2023. Peck.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 079. The Health of Nations
The United States spends far more per person on health care than comparable countries, but many other countries enjoy better health and longer
life expectancy. This is partly explained by differences in health care systems, but there are other factors that influence population health,
including income, education, employment, housing, environmental conditions, emotional stress, social support, and access to health care. We
will look at how these factors-coupled with decision making by individuals, firms, and governments-influence population health across countries,
in aggregate and by race, ethnicity, gender, and age.
Prerequisite: EC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core.
ECON 081. Economic Development
A survey covering the principal theories of economic development and the dominant issues of public policy in low-income countries. Topics
include the determinants of economic growth and income distribution, the role of the agricultural sector, the acquisition of technological
capability, the design of poverty-targeting programs, the choice of exchange rate regime, and the impacts of international trade and capital flows
(including foreign aid).
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. O'Connell.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 082. Political Economy of Africa
A survey of the post-independence development experience of Sub-Saharan Africa. We study policy choices in their political and institutional
context, using case-study evidence and the analytical tools of positive political economy. Topics include development from a natural resource
base, conflict and nation building, risk management by firms and households, poverty reduction policies, globalization and trade, and the
effectiveness of foreign aid.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 083. East Asian Economies
This course will provide an overview of the East Asian economy and the economic inter-dependencies that characterize the region. After
providing an understanding of the factors that have made East Asia the most dynamic in the world economy, current challenges of the region will
be given particular attention. Topics that will be addressed include: economic growth in East Asia; trade and economic growth; the East Asian
trade-production network; East Asia's role in global imbalances; the Asian financial crisis; financial cooperation in East Asia; monetary
cooperation in East Asia; East Asia's role in global economic governance; inequality in East Asia; demographic challenges of East Asian
countries; environmental challenges and the move to sustainable economics.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 084. Latin American Economies
A survey of the development experience of Latin American countries. We study policy choices in their political and institutional context.
Topics include Latin American economic history, informality in labor markets, pension reform, antitrust policy, regional economic integration
and trade, debt and currency crises, and the effectiveness of foreign aid.
Guest speakers from universities across Latin America will present on topics pertinent to their own countries. We plan to visit the World Bank
and the Interamerican Development Bank (most likely virtually due to COVID restrictions) to learn about their projects and lending in the LA
region.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Olivero.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 099. Directed Reading
With consent of a supervising instructor, individual, or group study in fields of interest not covered by regular course offerings.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 091C. Research Seminar in Economics: Public Policy
Students in this seminar will write a public policy research paper. The course will guide students through the elements of conducting public
policy research, including identification of a policy-relevant problem, research design, data collection and analysis, policy analysis, and
recommendations. Student projects can analyze existing policy or focus on problems for which policy approaches can be proposed. As
background for conducting their own projects, students will read and discuss examples of public policy research across a range of
fields. Students will also present their own work in class throughout the semester, culminating in a presentation of the finished project at the end
of the semester. Student research projects can be in any policy-relevant field, subject to data availability. The projects can employ existing data
sets (e.g., administrative, survey, or experimental data) or students can collect their own data (e.g., through surveys and interviews).
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent)
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Magenheim.
Seminars
ECON 091B. Research Seminar in Economics: Development Economics
This course provides each student with an opportunity to write an original empirical research paper in development economics. The course
emphasizes key steps in the research process, including motivating and posing a research question, adopting a theoretical framework, designing
and implementing an empirical strategy, presenting data and findings, and developing policy implications. Students study the research process
through the lens of prominent recent papers in development economics, while developing and reporting on their own projects from initiation to
conclusion. Student-identified projects may focus on aspects of household or firm behavior; poverty, inequality, and/or economic growth; public
service delivery; impact assessment; or economic policy, along with other potential topics in a developing-country context. Student projects will
employ observational or experimental data as appropriate, with an emphasis (not exclusive) on publicly available data.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent)
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 101. Advanced Microeconomics
Subjects covered include consumer and producer theory, optimization and duality, general equilibrium, risk and uncertainty, asymmetric
information, and game theory.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and multivariable calculus (MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035). Enrollment is restricted to juniors and seniors.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Bayer.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Bayer.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 102. Advanced Macroeconomics
Subjects covered include microfoundations of macroeconomics, growth theory, rational expectations, and New Classical and New Keynesian
macroeconomics. Extensive problem solving, with an emphasis on the qualitative analysis of dynamic systems.
Prerequisite: ECON 011, ECON 021, and multivariable caalculus (MATH 025, MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035 or with permission of the
instructor).
Recommended: MATH 043 or MATH 044.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Kuperberg.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 122. Financial Economics
This seminar analyzes the ways that firms finance their operations. It discusses the organization and regulation of financial markets and
institutions. It examines theories explaining asset prices and returns, and it discusses the function and pricing of options and futures contracts.
Prerequisite: ECON 011, ECON 031 or ECON 035, and MATH 025 or higher calculus.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 135. Advanced Econometrics
Quantitative methods used in estimating economic models and testing economic theories are studied. Students learn to use statistical packages to
apply these methods to problems in business, economics, and public policy. Students will also evaluate studies applying econometric methods to
major economic issues. An individual empirical research project is required.
Prerequisite: ECON 035 and linear algebra (MATH 027 or MATH 028).
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. He.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. He.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 141. Public Economics
This seminar focuses on the analysis of government expenditure, tax, and debt policy. A major part of the seminar is devoted to an analysis of
current policy issues in their institutional and theoretical contexts. The seminar will be of most interest to students having a concern for economic
policy and its interaction with politics.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent)
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Bronchetti.
Spring 2024. Bronchetti.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 151. International Economics
Both microeconomics and macroeconomics are applied to an in-depth analysis of the world economy. Topics include trade patterns, trade
barriers, international flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international monetary system, financial crises, macroeconomic
interdependence, the roles of organizations such as the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, and case studies of selected
industrialized, developing, and transition countries.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC, GLBL Core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 155. Behavioral and Experimental Economics
The standard model of economic behavior is based on a set of assumptions about individual rationality, willpower, and preferences. Increasingly,
researchers are finding that these assumptions can be inconsistent with observed behavior. This seminar focuses on behavioral and experimental
economics, subfields of economics that draw from the broader social science literature to explore how individuals actually behave and make
decisions, with the goal of improving both economic theory and public policy. The seminar will cover behavioral economics concepts and their
applications in the real-world (in both high-income and low-income contexts worldwide), as well as experimental economics research and
methods. Students in the seminar will read, critique, and present on the latest and most influential academic papers in behavioral and
experimental economics. Topics include: self-control problems in financial behavior, preferences regarding inequality and fairness, cooperative
behavior, social preferences, and consumer decision making.
A student will receive 1 credit for ECON 155 if they've received credit for either ECON 055 or ECON 056.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Bhanot.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 162. Antitrust and Market Regulation
This seminar studies the regulation of firms operating in imperfectly competitive markets. The course will have a strong focus on antitrust topics,
such as collusion, mergers, and exclusive dealing. Other forms of regulation, such as net neutrality, FCC wireless spectrum auctions, and energy
price controls, will also be studied. Students will learn to apply economic models and use data to understand the impact of government
intervention on the strategic actions of businesses and consumer welfare. There will be a strong emphasis on learning the realities of policy
implementation, the tools government economists use to evaluate regulations, and real-world case studies.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent).
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Remer.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 175. Health Economics
This seminar applies microeconomic theory, including models from behavioral economics, to analyze consumers', producers', and the
government's behavior with respect to health and health care. Special attention will be paid to the role of socioeconomic and demographic
factors in explaining patterns of health and access to health care. Other topics include environmental health, international comparisons of
health and health care systems, and ongoing state and federal health care policy reform.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 176. Environmental Economics
Cross-listed with ENVS 120
This seminar examines the microeconomics of environmental issues with applications to the design of environmental policy. The seminar will
cover the concepts and methods used in the valuation of environmental goods as well as the design of policy instruments and regulations to
improve environmental quality. Specific topics include pollution and environmental degradation, the use of renewable and non-renewable
resources, and climate change.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent), and single-variable calculus (MATH 025 or higher).
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ENVS 120
Fall 2021. Peck.
Fall 2023. Peck.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 181. Economic Development
The economics of long-run development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We cover the leading theories of growth, structural change, income
distribution, and poverty, with particular attention to development strategies and experience since World War II. Topics include land tenure and
agricultural development, rural-urban migration, industrialization, human resource development, poverty targeting, trade and technology policy,
aid and capital flows, macroeconomic management, and the role of the state. Students write several short papers examining the literature and a
longer paper analyzing a particular country's experience.
Prerequisite: ECON 011, ECON 021, and either ECON 031, STAT 011, or STAT 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 198. Thesis
With consent of a supervising instructor, honors majors may undertake a senior thesis for double credit.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Educational Studies
Faculty
K. ANN RENNINGER, Professor
LISA SMULYAN, Professor and Co-chair
DIANE DOWNER ANDERSON, Associate Professor
1
ELAINE ALLARD, Associate Professor
1
EDWIN MAYORGA, Associate Professor and Co-chair
JOSEPH NELSON, Associate Professor
JENNIFER BRADLEY, Visiting Assistant Professor
RUTHANNE KRAUSS, Administrative Assistant
CATHERINE DUNN, School Liaison
1
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
The Educational Studies Department at Swarthmore engages students in the investigation of educational theory, policy, research, and practice
from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. We prepare students to work in educational research or policy, to enter the teaching profession,
and/or to pursue graduate study in educational studies or a related field. The department encourages undergraduates to think critically and
creatively about the processes of teaching and learning and about the place of education in society. The department is also committed to
preparing students to address education-related needs in an era of rapidly increasing racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity and technological
change and to develop students' abilities to participate fully in civic, cultural, and economic arenas. Both introductory and upper level courses in
the department draw on theory and research in anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.
The Academic Program
Students interested in Educational Studies at Swarthmore may design an honors or course major in Educational Studies; a special major in
Educational Studies and another discipline; or an honors or course minor in Educational Studies. Students also have the option to pursue teacher
certification.
First course recommendation
EDUC 014F: First-year seminar: Pedagogy and Power: An Introduction to Education - Schools are complex institutions, central to any society.
Schools are sites of teaching and learning, places where inequalities are maintained or challenged, and institutions within which children and
their teachers live out the daily realities of national political agendas. This course explores major questions in educational policy, theory, and
practice. Students read original source materials from multiple disciplines, write, discuss, and complete fieldwork in area schools as an
introduction to the interdisciplinary and expansive field of educational studies. EDUC14 or the first-year seminar EDUC 014F, is required for
students pursuing teacher certification.
Course Major
An Educational Studies major includes at least 8 credits in Educational Studies. In their sophomore plan, we recommend that prospective majors
clarify a focus within the department. Foci might include policy, social and cultural foundations of education, or the study of learning. All majors
must include a methods course in their program as preparation for their senior thesis. Methods courses can include any of the following three
courses:
EDUC 65 Qualitative Methods for Educational Change
SOCI 16B Research Methods in Social Science
EDUC 21 Educational Psychology
The culminating exercise for the major is normally a 1-2 credit senior thesis, completed in the senior year.
Prerequisites for entry into the major include EDUC 014, Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education and one additional course in the
department. EDUC 092: Practice Teaching and EDUC 093: Curriculum and Methods Seminar are not counted as part of the major.
All majors must take a methods course. The culminating exercise for a major is normally a 1-2 credit thesis.
Course Special Major
In special majors involving Educational Studies, the student combines work in Educational Studies with work in another academic department or
interdisciplinary program. Pre-established programs have been created with the following disciplines: biology, chemistry, computer science,
English literature, French, German, history, Latin American and Latino studies, linguistics, mathematics/statistics, music, peace and conflict
studies, physics, political science, psychology, Russian, sociology/anthropology, and Spanish. Special majors with other disciplines can be
pursued with the approval of both the Educational Studies Department and the second department or program. In the case of all special majors
involving Educational Studies, both departments collaborate in advising the student.
The special major usually requires 10 to 12 credits, at least 5 of which must be in Educational Studies. All special majors are required to
complete a thesis or a comprehensive examination integrating work in their two fields of study. Special majors are encouraged to take EDUC
065 Educational Research for Social Change in the spring of their sophomore or junior year. This course, which can be taken for 0.5 or 1 credit,
prepares students to write a special major thesis in their senior year. Each partnering department or program provides specific course
requirements for the completion of a special major and for the thesis/comprehensive exam, details of which may be found on the departmental
website.
If special majors pursue teaching certification, EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods Seminar and EDUC 093: Practice Teaching are not
counted as part of the special major requirements. The prerequisite for acceptance to the special major program is successful completion of
EDUC 014: Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education and one other course in the department.
Course Minor
The Educational Studies minor provides students with the opportunity to choose from a variety of Educational Studies courses and prompts
students to reflect on the overarching theme of their experience in the department. The Educational Studies minor requires at least 5 credits in
Educational Studies. Students identify a focus when they apply for the minor and then explain how their coursework supports this focus. Possible
foci include but are not limited to Teaching and Practice, Educational Policy, Educational Psychology, School and Society, Special Education,
Urban Education, Environmental Education, and Literacy. The prerequisite for acceptance to the Educational Studies minor program is EDUC
014. Minors may also pursue teacher certification.
Honors Program
The department supports the Honors Program for majors, special majors, and minors.
Honors Major
Students may complete an Honors major in Educational Studies. The Honors major requires at least 9 credits in the department, including 3
honors preparations and one methods class from the courses listed in the course major. One preparation must be a 2-credit honors thesis,
normally completed over both semesters of the senior year. The other two preparations will normally consist of 2-credit seminars, although a
course and attachment may be possible as an alternative.
Prerequisites for admissions to the Honors major include EDUC 014, Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education, one additional course in
the department, and an average of B+ in their courses in the department. EDUC 092: Practice Teaching and EDUC 093: Curriculum and
Methods Seminar are not counted as part of the major.
Honors Special Majors
Students may opt to pursue an Honors Special major in Educational Studies and another department or interdisciplinary program. Pre-
established special majors have been created with the following disciplines: English, linguistics, political science, psychology, and
sociology/anthropology. Honors special majors with other disciplines can be pursued with the approval of both Educational Studies and the
partnering department or program. The Honors special major, like the Course special major, requires a total of 10 to 12 credits, at least 5 of
which must be in Educational Studies. However, Honors special majors must also include 4 Honors preparations in their program. These must be
distributed as follows:
3 (2-credit) Honors preparations, at least 1 or 2 of which must be in Educational Studies and 1 or 2 in the other discipline.
o Most honors preparations in Educational Studies consist of a 2-credit honors seminar.
o It is possible to complete a 1-credit Educational Studies course with a 1-credit attachment as an honors preparation.
Availability of this option is limited and designed with a supervising faculty member from the Educational Studies
Department.
1 Honors preparation through the completion of a double-credit thesis. This thesis normally serves to integrate the fields of the
special major and is supervised by faculty members in both departments of the special major. Honors special majors are encouraged
to take EDUC 065 Qualitative Research Methods: Educational Research for Social Change in the spring of their sophomore or junior
year. This course, which can be taken for 0.5 or 1 credit, prepares students to write the special major thesis in their senior year.
Each partnering department or program also provides specific requirements for the completion of an Honors special major, which may be found
on the departmental website. Students are expected to have a B+ average in their Educational Studies courses to complete an Honors special
major. Additionally, students must complete external examinations upon completion of the program. The prerequisite for acceptance to the
Honors Educational Studies Major Program is EDUC 014, 2 additional Educational Studies courses of the student's choice, and an average
grade of B+ in all Educational Studies courses at the time of application. Honors majors may also pursue teacher certification.
Honors Minors
Students may opt to pursue an Honors minor in educational studies. The Honors minor requires five credits in educational studies, including
EDUC 014 (1 credit), one Honors seminar (2 credits), and two additional credits of the student's choice. Students are expected to have a B+
average in their educational studies courses and to complete the external Honors examination. The prerequisite for acceptance to the Honors
educational studies minor program is EDUC 014. Honors minors may also pursue teacher certification.
Additional Honors Program Details
External Examinations
As part of the Honors Program, students complete an examination for each completed preparation. The thesis preparation for Honors major and
special major students involves a 45-60-minute individual oral exam on their work with an outside examiner. Examination for Honors
preparations other than the thesis includes a written and an oral component. An external examiner sets the written portion of the exam. Exam
questions are based on the seminar syllabus. The exam may include a problem set, a case, and/or additional readings relevant to the work
students have undertaken in that preparation. These materials may be sent to the student in advance of the written exam. All Educational Studies
Honors exams are written in the Educational Materials Center. A maximum of 5 hours is allowed for completion of each exam.
Intellectual Autobiography
All Honors students (majors, special majors, and minors) in Educational Studies write a short intellectual autobiography that is sent to the
Honors examiner. Students may also choose to send to the examiner a paper from an Honors seminar. The autobiography and the paper are not
formally evaluated by the examiner; they are intended to familiarize the examiner with the student's experience and background in Educational
Studies, since each student in each seminar brings different disciplinary content to his/her understanding of the material. The autobiography is
written in the spring of the senior year under the supervision of the department chair in Educational Studies.
Research Opportunities and Experiences
Engaging in research is integral to students' work in Educational Studies. Participation in research supports students to understand the
importance of research to theory, policy-making, and practice.
In each course and seminar in the department, students are introduced to qualitative and/or quantitative methods of research, which they use to
work directly with questions addressed in coursework. Students not only read original research, but they also collect and analyze data using
appropriate methods in each course.
Students are strongly encouraged to take EDUC 065: Qualitative Research Methods: Educational Research for Social Change in the spring of
their sophomore or junior year. This course, which can be taken for 0.5 or 1 credit, prepares students to write a thesis in their senior year. It can
be used as the required methods course for special majors with Sociology and Anthropology, and as the required methods course for Educational
Studies majors.
As a culminating activity in the department, all majors and most special majors write a thesis. Students select the focus of their thesis work;
theses typically build on students' course work and methods training in Educational Studies and the other department comprising their special
major.
Some students conduct independent research or serve as research assistants on faculty members' projects. Students may begin working as
research assistants as early as the summer following their first year. Many such collaborations have led to student-faculty co-authored
conference presentations, articles, and chapters.
Fieldwork and Service-Learning Opportunities
Bridging research and practice is a goal for courses and seminars in the department. Many courses and seminars have a distinctive fieldwork
component. Course descriptions indicate if a course involves a field placement.
Depending on transportation options, students can request fieldwork placements in urban, suburban, or rural communities and choose from
public, charter, or private school settings. Students are encouraged to use the field placements as an opportunity to explore a range of school and
population types. A list of school sites may be found on the department's website.
Study Abroad
Students requesting credit in Educational Studies for course or fieldwork done abroad (or at another institution in the U.S.) must take EDUC
014: Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education. This course may be taken before or after the study abroad credit is completed, but the
credit will only be accepted after EDUC 014 has been completed.
The Cloud Forest School Program, Costa Rica
The Cloud Forest School Program, Costa Rica is a Swarthmore study abroad program with a developed education component. Through this
program, students complete a school-based internship (3 Educational Studies credits) and receive an intercultural credit for Spanish language
learning. For more information see http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies/cloud-forest-program-requirements.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credit is accepted once a student has completed EDUC 014. To request transfer credit, the student must present a syllabus and all
course work for the department to review. Some additional work may be required.
Pathways to Teaching
Swarthmore students come to an interest in teaching at many points during their own educational careers - some before they enter college, others
during their four undergraduate years, and some as they investigate possible careers after Swarthmore. Students are encouraged to explore the
many opportunities available to them in the field of education. Pathways to Teaching, on the department's website, offers students more
information on the options available to them:
Mentoring and tutoring opportunities offered through Swarthmore.
Summer opportunities to work in classrooms or enrichment programs or complete an education-related internship.
Teacher certification at Swarthmore.
Graduate study in education, including teaching programs and other programs in educational studies.
Post-graduation teaching/education job opportunities and resources (for all students - with or without certification)
Teacher Certification
Swarthmore offers a state-accredited teacher preparation program for both special majors and minors (Honors or Course). Certification for
elementary, middle, and/or high school teaching is transferable to all 50 states; after PA certification, some states may require additional exams
or content. A guide to certification reciprocity is available through Certification Map at http://certificationmap.com/states/reciprocity-
disclaimer/.
Swarthmore's programs for secondary certification are designed with guidance from faculty members in the discipline in which the student is
being certified as well as members of the Educational Studies Department. Students preparing for elementary certification design their course of
study with advising from the Swarthmore Educational Studies Department and Eastern University.
Formal admission to the teacher certification program occurs at the start of EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods and EDUC 093: Practice
Teaching after students have successfully completed their core Educational Studies and discipline major requirements. Students must have
completed 12 Swarthmore College credits (48 credit hours) to enroll in the program.
State Requirements for Certification
In order to be certified, students must attain either an overall grade point average of 3.0 or an overall grade point average of 2.8 GPA and a
qualifying score on the appropriate PRAXIS exams. More information about the exams required for certification can be found on the Educational
Studies Department website under "Teacher Certification > Student Teaching > Exam Information."
Students seeking certification must meet 1) all Swarthmore's general requirements for graduation with a Bachelor's degree, 2) Educational
Studies requirements for certification, and 3) state teaching certification distribution requirements in mathematics, English literature, and
English composition. The following outline presents the ways in which students might meet these state distribution requirements:
Mathematics: 6 credit hours. This may be fulfilled by any sufficient combination of the following options:
Activity
Credit Hour Value
Swarthmore 1-credit Math/Statistics or Natural Science course
4
Score of 4 or 5 on AP Calculus AB
4
Score of 4 or 5 on AP Calculus AB/BC
4
Score of 4 or 5 on AP Statistics
4
Score of 6 or 7 on the Higher Level IB Exam
4
Scores of 560 or higher on the SAT level I or II math level IC or IIC
3
CLEP math test (http://clep.collegeboard.org/exam)
4
Combination should total
6
English Literature: 3 credit hours. This may be fulfilled by any of the following options:
Activity
Credit Hour Value
Swarthmore 1-credit English Department course
4
Score of 4 or 5 on AP English Literature
4
Score of 6 or 7 on the Higher Level IB Exam
4
CLEP literature test (http://clep.collegeboard.org/exam)
4
Combination should total
3
English Composition: 3 credit hours, met by the College's general distribution requirement of Writing courses.
Certification Options
Elementary Certification (Grades PreK-4)
Certification in elementary education is granted to Swarthmore students through Eastern University. Students complete the majority of their
coursework at Swarthmore, including student teaching, but must also complete 2 Eastern University summer courses (offered at Swarthmore)
in order to receive elementary certification. Eastern University will award the Pennsylvania PreK-4 certification; students who want to complete
the 4-8 elementary/middle school certification may add this certification through testing. The department recommends that students complete
both PreK-4 and 4-8 certifications.
Students must fulfill all of the state general distribution requirements listed above. Additionally, required Swarthmore coursework includes:
EDUC 014: Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education
EDUC/PSYC 021: Educational Psychology
EDUC/PSYC 026: Special Education
EDUC 042: Teaching Diverse Young Learners
EDUC 053: Educating Emergent Bilinguals
Recommended EDUC 023: Adolescence
The Eastern University summer school program consists of two elementary methods courses in Language Arts and Reading. The hybrid online
and face-to-face course work begins in mid-May and ends in early June for a total cost of approximately $4,466 (cost as of spring 2019; students
on financial aid can apply for support). Students can receive 1 Swarthmore College credit for these courses.
Students must consult with the chair of Swarthmore's Educational Studies Department regarding their program of study to ensure that it includes
a representative distribution of English, social studies, math, and science coursework required for 4-8 certification.
Elementary Certification candidates complete one semester of student teaching through Swarthmore, which consists of EDUC 092: Curriculum
and Methods (2 credits) and EDUC 093: Practice Teaching (2 credits).
Secondary Certification (Grades 7-12)
The department offers secondary (7-12) teacher certification in biology, chemistry, citizenship, English, mathematics, physics, and social studies.
The department also offers K-12 certification in French, German, Russian, or Spanish. Students must complete a major or special major in their
area of certification. Majors/special majors in history, economics, or political science receive secondary certification in either citizenship or
social studies, and majors/special majors in psychology or sociology/anthropology receive secondary certification in social studies.
In order to be certified, students should fulfill all of the state general distribution requirements. Additionally, students must complete a major or a
special major in their area of certification and take a total of five and a half core courses in Educational Studies:
EDUC 014: Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education
EDUC/PSYC 021. Educational Psychology
EDUC/PSYC 023. Adolescence
EDUC 023A. Adolescents and Special Education (0.5 credit)
EDUC/PSYC 026. Special Education
EDUC 053: Educating Emergent Bilinguals
Students must complete subject-specific requirements that may or may not differ from the special major or major requirements already
established. For the special major discipline's course obligations with teacher certification, students should refer to the subject-specific
requirement charts on the Educational Studies Department website (http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies/secondary-certification).
Students must complete one semester of student teaching, which consists of EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods (2 credits) and EDUC 093:
Practice Teaching (2 credits).
World Language Teaching Certification (Grades K through 12)
Students who wish to teach a world language (Spanish, French, German, or Russian) will receive K-12 teaching certification in their specific
language area upon completion of the program. This will allow them to teach elementary, middle, and high school. All students seeking world
language certification should follow the pathway for secondary teacher certification to attain the K-12 certification. Refer to the Secondary
Certification section for details.
Student Teaching
EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods (2 credits) and EDUC 093: Practice Teaching (2 credits) are completed during the first semester of the
senior year or in a ninth semester after graduation. Placement for practice teaching is available in a range of public and private schools.
Ninth Semester
Students who have completed all of the requirements for certification (in their discipline and in Educational Studies) except for student teaching
may return following graduation to complete the teacher certification program during a ninth semester. During this semester, students can only
take EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods (2 credits) and EDUC 093: Practice Teaching (2 credits). Students in the ninth semester program
have full access to computing and other campus facilities but are not eligible for campus housing. Students obtaining education certification in
the Ninth Semester program will be charged the unit charge for 1 course. Some tuition reimbursement will be available for ninth semester
students.
Educational Studies Courses
EDUC 001C. The Writing Process: Pedagogy and Practice
(Cross-listed as ENGL 001C)
Open only to those selected as WAs. Meets distribution requirements but does not count toward the major.
Graded CR/NC.
Social sciences.
Writing.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 004. First Year Seminar: Psychology in Schools
(cross-listed with PSYC 004)
Schools are excellent settings in which to understand human thinking and behavior. Educational psychology, or the study of human teaching and
learning, provides a great applied introduction to psychological concepts. This area of psychology also draws upon different areas of the
discipline, including cognitive and developmental psychology.
In this seminar, we will consider and explore psychology in school settings. To do so, we will rely primarily on academic texts, in addition to
essays, film, and personal narratives to support our learning and exploration. In many ways, we will build on our own schooling experiences
(what has worked and what hasn't) to think globally about school learning, teaching, and belonging.
PSYC 004 does not serve as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 014. Pedagogy and Power: An Introduction to Education
Schools are complex social institutions. Within schools, inequalities can be maintained or challenged as children and educators negotiate the
historical, political, social, and economic realities of the nation. This course explores major questions in educational policy, theory, and practice.
Students read material from multiple disciplines, write, discuss, and complete fieldwork in area schools as an introduction to the interdisciplinary
field of educational studies. EDUC 014 or the first-year seminar EDUC 014F, is required for students pursuing teacher certification.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Fall 2021. Mayorga.
Spring 2022. Smulyan.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 014F. First-Year Seminar: Pedagogy and Power: An Introduction to Education
Schools are complex social institutions. Within schools, inequalities can be maintained or challenged as children and educators negotiate the
historical, political, social, and economic realities of the nation. This course explores major questions in educational policy, theory, and practice.
Students read material from multiple disciplines, write, discuss, and complete fieldwork in area schools as an introduction to the interdisciplinary
field of educational studies. EDUC 014 or the first-year seminar EDUC 014F, is required for students pursuing teacher certification.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 018. Critical Perspectives
This course engages with disability justice and how its principles can mediate more equitable and anti-ableist educational spaces, communities,
and practices. This will include a historical and contemporary exploration of conceptualizations of disability, histories and ongoing forms of
resistance, and core values and tensions embedded in disability justice. In doing so, we will co-create a learning community in which we unpack
and consider disability justice and combatting ableism within different realms of education. As this term's Educational Studies' "Critical
Perspectives" course, we will also reflect on criticality and its role in our identities and practices as readers, writers, and people through the lens
of disability justice. In other words, we will spend the semester learning about and reflecting on what it might mean to practice disability justice
in our lives.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014: Pedagogy and Power, or permission from the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Spring 2022. Phuong.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
EDUC 021. Educational Psychology
This course provides students with a representative sampling of work in learning and motivation that has particular relevance to asset-based
pedagogical practices. It is discussion-based, has a workshop-like format. and is designed to accommodate differences in students' interests and
purpose. Students read with original source materials (research articles and chapters), tutor, and in collaboration with local middle school
teachers, participate in a field-based, laboratory research project. This course is required for students pursuing special majors in psychology and
educational studies, and for all students pursuing teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Fall 2021. Renninger.
Fall 2022. Renninger.
Fall 2023. Renninger.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 022. Peace Education
Cross-listed as PEAC 022.
In this introductory course, students will explore the historical, ethical, and theoretical foundations of peace education, a subfield of peace and
conflict studies. Students will consider different approaches towards peace education: should peace education be oriented towards eliminating
physical violence? Facilitating co-existence and understanding? Teaching human rights or citizenship? Empowering the dispossessed and
eliminating inequality and injustice? Is peace education best integrated in the existing schooling system, an extracurricular activity, or should it
be distinct from schooling? Using case studies, students will critically examine different types of peace education and explore existing research
on how they do-or do not-work.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies.
EDUC 023. Adolescence
In this course, students examine adolescent development from psychological, sociological, and life-span perspectives, reading both traditional
theory and challenges to that theory that consider issues of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. During the first part of the term,
students explore various aspects of individual development (e.g., cognitive, affective, physiological, etc.). The second part focuses on the
adolescent's experience in a range of social contexts (e.g., family, peer group, school, etc.). Required for students pursuing secondary teacher
certification. Not recommended for first-year students.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Spring 2022. Nelson.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 023A. Special Education: Adolescents with Special Needs
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the educational and emotional issues faced by adolescents with disabilities.
We will explore aspects of identity development and experiences of adolescents with disabilities, as well as frameworks used to understand
disability and special education. We will also begin to practice strategies useful for supporting students with disabilities and creating accessible
classrooms. Students will complete a 15-hour practicum in a setting for adolescents with special needs. This course is a complement to EDUC23,
Adolescence and EDUC026, Special Education.
Prerequisite: (or concurrently) EDUC 026 or permission of the instructor.
Corequisite: EDUC 023 can be taken concurrently
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Phuong.
Spring 2023. Phuong.
Spring 2024. Phuong.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 026. Special Education: Issues and Practice
This course is designed to provide students with a critical overview of special education, including its history, the classification and description
of exceptionalities, and its legal regulation. Major issues related to identification, assessment, educational and therapeutic interventions,
psychosocial aspects, and inclusion are examined. Course includes a field placement. Required for students pursuing teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Bradley.
Spring 2023. Phuong.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 033. Black Education
This course examines the lives of Black children and youth in American education from a socio-historical perspective. A particular focus is
placed on the Black struggle for educational access and equality, and educational policies and programs designed to advance the education of
Black students. The goal is to reconsider how schools and classrooms can realize the promise and potential of Blacks in the United States.
Prerequisite: Either EDUC 014 or BLST 015.
1 credit.
EDUC 041. A Site of Struggle: Educational Policy
This course examines preK-Higher Education policy as a site of struggle. Students will develop a working knowledge of the policy landscape on
the federal, state, and local levels and use this knowledge to examine the relationship between policy, power, and practice. The course will
examine a range of current policy topics, potentially including school finance, issues of adequacy and equity, based reform, assessment and
accountability, bilingual education, school choice, early childhood education, special education, desegregation, and teacher quality and
compensation. Drawing primarily from a critical policy studies framework, students will examine education policies and develop strategies and
projects that would support, critique, and transform extant policies. There will be an 8 hour field requirement for the course.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Mayorga.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 042. Teaching Diverse Young Learners
Why do children play? What is the role of culture in child development? What does it mean to learn?
This course explores the ways in which children play, develop, and construct meaning in their personal, communal, and academic lives. Students
will survey learning theories and optimal learning environments for diverse young learners, including: English Language Learners; racially,
ethnically and socioeconomically diverse populations; culturally non-mainstream students; gender expansive students; students with learning
differences and disabilities; and students with socioemotional classifications. Students in this course engage in weekly hands-on fieldwork,
supporting and leading lessons in preschool, primary, and middle grade classrooms. This course is required for elementary certification.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Bradley.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 043. Teacher Narratives, Policy and Power
This course is an exploration of the lives of teachers: how they are framed within popular culture and policy, and how they frame themselves
within the politics of the classroom, schools and broader society. Students will work with various critical social theories and analytical tools to
think through teacher narratives, historical and sociological texts, film, policy debates, guest presentations, and other sources. Assignments will
include conducting interviews with educators and producing mixed media projects that reframe educator identities.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 045. Literacies and Social Identities
This course explores the intersections of literacy practices and identities of gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation within
communities of practice. It includes but is not limited to school settings. Students will work with diverse theory and analytical tools that draw on
educational, anthropological, historical, sociological, linguistic, fictional, visual, popular readings and "scenes of literacy" from everyday
practice. Fieldwork may be required and includes a Learning for Life partnership, tutoring, or community service in a literacy program.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, LALS.
Fall 2022. Anderson.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 046. Race, Nation, Empire and Education
(Cross-listed as SOAN 040M)
Drawing on anthropology, history, and cultural studies, this course develops frameworks for understanding the historical and contemporary role
of education in race-making, nation-building, and empire-building projects. We focus on how educational processes shape the material, cultural,
psychological, socioeconomic, and political aspects of people's lives, and how these contend within a changing global landscape. Topics include:
education's dual role in settler colonialism and its potential for decolonization; scientific racism as it relates to discourses about intelligence;
institutions of higher education and their entanglements with slavery and imperialism; education in colonial and post-colonial settings;
legislating bodies and intimacies among young women of color; and education as a site for producing hegemonic notions of the ideal citizen-
subject. This course includes films, guest speakers, and field trips to enhance the learning process.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 048. From the Undercommons: Ethnic Studies and Education
What is ethnic studies? How can ethnic studies be part of efforts to transform educational and social conditions today from the position of the
undercommons? This course is an examination of the origins, theories, pedagogies, politics, and policies that have come to define ethnic studies
in US education. What key historical events and struggles in U.S. society and education have contributed to ethnic studies as an"undiscipline,"
and as curriculum? Colonialism, race, ethnicity, nationalism, diversity, inclusion, segregation, community control, resistance and survivance, are
among the potential topics to be examined in relation to ethnic studies pedagogies, policies, and social movements in formal (N-Higher Ed) and
informal (afterschools, CBOs, museums, social movements, etc) settings. Coupled to this inquiry will be a weekly field assignment where students
will be collaborating with educators (N-Higher Ed) in crafting or further developing curricular projects that apply an ethnic studies lens.
Social science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Fall 2022. Mayorga.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 053. Educating Emergent Bilinguals
(Cross-listed as LING 053)
Emergent bilingual youth-- those students who speak another language at home and are in the process of learning English at school-- are one of
the fastest growing and most underserved populations in U.S. schools today. This course examines their experiences through multiple lenses,
exploring the impact of immigration policy on schools, linguistic discrimination and English-only ideologies, theories of bilingualism and
language development, policies and practices for teaching multilingual students, and asset-based approaches to curriculum, instruction, and
parent engagement. Students in the course complete weekly fieldwork in area classrooms serving emergent bilinguals and a small-group study of
the neighborhood and school context. Required for students pursuing teacher certification and an essential first course for the ESL Program
Specialist certificate.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH.
Fall 2021. Weinberg.
Fall 2022. Allard.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 054. How children talk to each other: Oral and written language
(Cross-listed as LING 054)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 056. TESOL Methods: Theory in Practice
This hands-on course in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) provides students with experience designing and delivering
content, and theme-based instruction for emergent bilinguals. Through readings in applied linguistics and language pedagogy, collaborative
group work, and weekly apprenticeship in an ESOL classroom, students explore current issues and approaches to ESOL curriculum
development, pedagogy, and assessment while developing the skills they need to support emergent bilinguals in ESOL and content classrooms, K-
12. Required for the ESL Program Specialist Certificate.
Prerequisite: EDUC 053
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Allard.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 061. Gender and Education
This course examines how gender relations shape everyday life in schools. The course begins with the history and theory of gender and education
in the United States, and then explores popular discourse and key debates in the field, with a focus on the core themes of access and equity in
urban schools; the intersections of race, class, and sexuality; and the implications of gender issues for school policy and classroom practice. The
goal is a reconsideration of what constitutes effective schooling for all students
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Fall 2021. Nelson.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 062. Sociology of Education
(Cross-listed as SOCI 062B)
This course will examine urban schools and classrooms in the United States from a sociological perspective. Students are introduced to the
theory and method of the sociological study of education, and the core issues taken up in the field, such as social stratification and mobility, and
educational equity and opportunity. Emphasis will be placed on the influence of local, state, and federal policies on the social organization of
schools, relationships among social actors within these institutions, and patterns of inequality in what students learn. Variation among these
issues will be primarily explored through race and ethnicity, citizenship status and native language, gender and sexual orientation, and
disability/ability. The course will conclude with applying knowledge in the field to policy and practice at the PreK-12 and postsecondary level.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 064. Comparative Education
This course examines key issues and themes in education as they play out in local and global contexts around the world. We use case studies to
explore the roles of local, national, and international actors and organizations in the construction of educational policy and practice. Topics will
include immigration and schooling, equity, curriculum goals and constructs, and education in areas of conflict.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- Core
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 065. Educational Research for Social Changes: Qualitative Methods
How can educational research change policy and practice? How can educational research be anti-racist, anti-colonialist, and useful in both
theory and practice? Students learn the basics of qualitative research methodology as they participate in a research. Topics include developing a
question, reviewing literature, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating findings for various audiences. This course is essential for
students planning to write 1- or 2-credit theses in Educational Studies.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 and an intermediate level educational studies course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Spring 2022. Smulyan.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 066. College for All? Critical Issues in Higher Education
In this course, students will examine institutions of higher education as spaces within which individuals and social structures are both
reproduced and recreated. Questions to be explored include: How has the history of US postsecondary education shaped the present? What are
the goals of the many different forms of postsecondary institutions? Who has access - and who controls that access? How do institutional
structures and cultures impact student learning, student identity, and student experience? The course will focus explicitly on how institutions and
student experiences are shaped by the intersections of race, class, gender, sexual orientation.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 067. Fight for #PhlEd: Urban Educational and Environmental Justice
This course examines urbanism and environmental justice as seen through the lens of urban education politics. Course readings, discussions and
related field experiences will focus on key issues and debates confronting urban education as it relates to urban development and environmental
sustainability and justice. We will draw on theories and approaches from critical geography and critical theories of race and political economy
to examine research, policy, pedagogy and social movements as vehicles for addressing the challenges that shape the conditions of teaching,
learning and community development. We will focus on - and try to build alongside - the city of Philadelphia, its racially and ethnically diverse
communities, and its public schools.
Taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Tri-Co Philly Program, or permission of instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 068. Urban Education
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020B)
Drawing on anthropology, sociology, history, urban studies, and cultural studies, this course challenges popular notions of "urban education"
rooted in deficit thinking. We consider "urban" as a lens for conducting a spatial analysis of inequalities, and "education" as an expansive
concept that indexes the formal institution of schools, as well as informal youth culture. We also consider education's dual role in exacerbating
inequalities, and its potential as sites of resistance, refusal, and liberation. Course topics include: market-based school reform, pedagogies of
resistance, youth culture and the semiotics of language and fashion, school to prison pipeline, and segregation and integration. This course
focuses on Philadelphia as a case study, and includes fieldwork, films, guest speakers, and field trips to enhance the learning process.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, ESCH.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 069. The Facts and Economics of Education in America
(Cross-listed as ECON 046)
EDUC 014 is required to receive Educational Studies Department credit for this course.
Prerequisite: ECON 001 and any statistics course (or the consent of the instructor). EDUC 014 is strongly recommended.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kuperberg.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 070. Outreach Practicum
This course is offered in conjunction with the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. It is designed to support students involved in
educational and community-based outreach in urban settings. Students' volunteer experiences will provide text and case material for course
work. Historical grounding in the construction of cities in general, and Chester, PA, in particular, will be provided. Criteria for effective
practices will be identified for the range of volunteer roles in community service projects.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 072. Humanitarianism: Educ & Conflict
Cross-listed as PEAC 072.
This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of humanitarianism and, specifically, the provision of education as a humanitarian
intervention-what practitioners call "education in emergencies." The course will delve into the foundations and history of humanitarianism and
track how humanitarian intervention evolved over the course of the 20th century, broadening and deepening in scope. It will explore continuing
debates over the appropriateness of education as a humanitarian intervention and examine what types of educational interventions are
prioritized by humanitarian agencies, as well as the goals that those interventions are trying to achieve. For example, what is the relationship
between education and conflict and how do education in emergencies providers intervene to alter that relationship? Students will have the
opportunity to study specific examples of education in emergencies programming in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, Sierra
Leone, and Syria, and to hear from guest speakers working in the field of education in emergencies. The course will encourage students to apply
what they have learned to policy-oriented exercises.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Fall 2021. Kapit.
Fall 2023. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 073. Creative Writing Outreach Course
(Cross-listed as ENGL 070L)
Where do arts, education and activism meet? In this course students will explore artistic affinities through creative writing activities and consider
arts education and advocacy through diverse texts. Students will cultivate skills necessary to becoming Teaching Artists in imaginative writing at
the elementary level through coursework as well as through volunteer placement in local schools. Topics covered include: creative curriculum
development and presentation, educational climate for grades K-5 and teaching pedagogy.
Graded CR/NC.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 075. Introduction to Science Pedagogy: Theory and Practice
(Cross-listed as PHYS 095)
This course is designed for students who are interested in learning about issues surrounding science education, particularly at the high school
and college level. How do students most effectively learn science? How can we facilitate this learning process as instructors and educators? How
do we best assess whether such learning is happening? Since the course will integrate educational theory with concrete, practical strategies for
becoming better teachers, it will be particularly relevant for students currently serving as Science Associates (or those who are interested in
being Science Associates.) We will touch on issues related to students' conceptual development and conceptual change, collaborative learning, as
well as practical issues encountered when engaging in responsive, interactive teaching. This is a seminar course where students are responsible
for weekly readings (1-2 papers per week from the education research literature), in class discussions, and brief written reflections. Students will
be encouraged to bring to the discussion their own unique experiences as both science students and science teachers.
Instructor approval required for enrollment.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 076. Pre Student Teaching Practicum
In this field-based practicum for students pursuing teacher certification, students will progress from observing, to working with individuals and
small groups, to planning and teaching a full class lesson. Students will be placed in a classroom for 4-5 hours/week at the same grade level
and/or subject level at which they will student teach. Supervision will be provided. Open to sophomores and juniors (and seniors pursuing the
9th semester) who plan to student teach.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 077SR. Food, Land and Healing
(Cross-listed with ENVS 077SR).
Grounded in place, this course will explore the relationship between food, land, and healing by making connections with urban farmers in
Philadelphia and caring for the Good Food Garden on campus. Centering the work of Black, Brown, and Indigenous thinkers and practitioners,
topics may include the intersection of food and identity, food sovereignty and agroecology, commoning and land justice, land-based pedagogy,
and healing praxis. Coursework will include readings, journaling, and an "action" project of the student's choosing. Field trips may include visits
to the North Philly Peace Park, Soil Generation, and Urban Creators.
Social science.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies/courses.
EDUC 078SR. Schooling to Education: How Restorative Practices Can Transform Public Schools
This course will examine the ways Restorative and Transformative Justice approaches are, or could be, applied within under-resourced
American public schools. Students will engage with both philosophical and practical considerations around justice and punishment within the
context of public education. Through a combination of theoretical readings, case studies, and field placement within a public school, students will
deepen their understanding of how practices underlying Restorative and Transformative Justice could work within the context of public
education.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 091A. Special Topics
With permission of the instructor, qualified students may choose to pursue a topic of special interest in education through a field project
involving classroom or school practice.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 091B. Special Topics
With permission of the instructor, students may choose to pursue a topic of special interest by designing an independent reading or project that
usually requires a comprehensive literature review, laboratory work, and/or field-based research.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 092. Curriculum and Methods
This seminar is taken concurrently with EDUC 093 by students pursuing teacher certification. The goal of this course is to explore praxis: the
application of educational research and theory to the classroom practices of student teachers. Course content covers: lesson planning; classroom
management; inquiry-oriented teaching strategies; questioning and discussion methods; literacy; the integration of technology and media;
classroom-based and standardized assessments; instruction of special needs populations; multicultural, nonracist, and nonsexist education; and
the legal rights of students and teachers. As part of the seminar, students take a series of special methods workshops, tailored to their content
area. Required for students pursuing teacher certification
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Bradley.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 093. Practice Teaching
This course involves supervised full-time teaching in either secondary or elementary schools for students pursuing teacher certification. Students
pursuing certification must take EDUC 092 concurrently. (Single-credit practice teaching may be arranged for individuals not seeking
certification.)
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 096. Thesis
Normally in conjunction with a special major.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 - 2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 097. Thesis
Normally in conjunction with a special major.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 - 2 credits.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 098. Psychology and Educational Studies Thesis
Normally in conjunction with a special major.
Social sciences.
1 - 2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
Seminars
Honors seminars are open to all students. Priority is given to Honors majors and minors.
EDUC 121. Motivation and Learning
This seminar focuses on general developmental principles specific to understanding motivation and its relation to learning. Seminar foci include:
(1) use of the literatures in cognitive, developmental, educational, and social psychology, the learning sciences, neuroscience to identify key
indicators of motivation and learning; (2) preparation of a literature review on a topic of the student's choice related to motivation and learning;
and (3) collaborative work on an evaluation research project addressing a "live" issue or problem identified by a stakeholder (e.g., teacher,
school, or community organization).
Honors candidates must take the seminar for two credits, course students may opt to take it as a 2- or a 1- credit seminar.
Prerequisite: EDUC 021 Educational Psychology, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Renninger.
Spring 2024. Renninger.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 131. Social and Cultural Perspectives on Education
In this seminar, students examine schools as institutions that both reflect and challenge existing social and cultural patterns of thought, behavior,
and knowledge production. Seminar participants study and use qualitative methods of research and examine topics including the aims of
schooling, parent/school/community interaction, schooling and identity development, and classroom and school restructuring.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 and an additional course in the 060s.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Eligible for ESCH.
Fall 2021. Smulyan.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 133. Race, Boyhood, and Education
(Cross-listed as BLST 133)
This seminar examines the lives of Black boys in U.S. schools and classrooms. Black boyhood and Black masculinity are utilized as frameworks
to interpret how aspects of school life influence their learning and identities, such as teacher expectations, school discipline policy, and special
education referral processes. Rooted in boys' agency and resistance, its goal is to inform a (re)imagining of educational spaces in ways that
cultivate the promise of Black boys, and other boys (and girls) of color.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, GSST.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 151. Read, Make, and Mend the World: Anti-racism through books, materials, and literacy practices
While delving deeply into literacies and curriculum theories, and recent research, such as that which recognizes that prior knowledge is more
predictive of reading success than other factors (Korbey, 2020), we will build a humanistic, book-centered, anti-racist, interdisciplinary
elementary curriculum. We will use the many beautiful, diverse, celebratory, children's books published in the last decade about Black Americans
who work with their hands and minds -- quilters, painters, reclamation artists, puppet-makers, basketmakers. We will create an engaged set of
experiences for teachers and children that celebrate and honor the accomplishments of Black and other underrepresented Americans, to work for
an anti-oppressive state of literacy curricula that honors people's spoken and visual languages, and choose books intentionally to develops spirit-
serving, uplifting, empathetic, honoring, engaging, and critical spaces for young readers. We will focus on creating mirrors, windows, and doors
for children's expanding identities through literature, diverse role models, community exploration and celebration, artifact finding and making,
and honoring the essential, hope-engendering, and artful work that people do in their everyday lives. In doing so we will use Gholdy
Muhammad's Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL) model.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 and an additional course in the 040-060s. Either EDUC 042 or EDUC 045 is highly recommended.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Eligible for ESCH.
Spring 2023. Anderson.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 152. Immigration and Education
In this research seminar, students will study intersections between immigration and education policy and practice in the United States. Through
readings on historical and contemporary immigration and schooling, students will consider the shifting goals and approaches to educating
immigrant youth in the U.S. and the ways in which immigration policies impact the everyday experiences and future prospects of immigrant youth
at different ages and educational stages. Students will conduct a literature review on an immigrant population of their choice and will develop
qualitative research skills through a group research project on current immigration and education policy. Students' research will culminate in a
short film, piece of public scholarship, or journal article, depending on students' interests and strengths.
Prerequisite: 2 Courses in Educational Studies or permission of the instructor. Eligible for LALS credit.
1 or 2 credits.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Allard.
EDUC 153. Latinos and Education
Amidst talk of a border wall and "bad hombres", ramped up deportations, and rising unease about immigration and educational policy shifts to
come, what can schools and teachers do to support Latino students and families? This Honors research seminar will explore the schooling
experiences of Latinos in the U.S. with a special focus on confronting the challenges undocumented students face in the current era. Participants
will examine questions around educational quality and access, language and culture, immigration and demographic change, curriculum and
pedagogy, and community activism in relation to Latino education.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 and one additional course in Educational Studies or Latin American and Latino Studies.
Social sciences.
1 or 2 credits.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 161. Politics, Policy and Education
Policy, Politics & Education is an honors seminar that explores the intersections of social policy, urban politics, and urban schooling. Drawing
on a racial-economic analytic framework we will study the geo-political formation of U.S. cities (Philadelphia serves as our primary case study),
policy and social movement. We will also look at urban education policy and pedagogical practices. With this literature as a foundation, students
will receive training in the theories and methods of critical, participatory action research (CPAR). Over the course of the semester students work
in small groups with a Philadelphia school or an education-focused based organization (CBO). In consultation with their partnering
organization, student groups will develop and implement a CPAR project.
Honors candidates and students using this seminar as the capstone must take the seminar for two credits, course students may opt to take it as a
2- or a 1- credit seminar.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014.
Recommended: EDUC 068 and EDUC 041
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Mayorga.
Spring 2024. Mayorga.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 166. College for All? Challenges in Higher Education.
In this seminar, students will examine institutions of higher education as spaces within which individuals and social structures are both
reproduced and recreated. Questions to be explored include: How has the history of US postsecondary education shaped the present? What are
the goals of the many different forms of postsecondary institutions? Who has access - and who controls that access? How do institutional
structures and cultures impact student learning, student identity, and student experience? The seminar will focus explicitly on how institutions
and student experiences are shaped by the intersections of race, class, gender, sexual orientation.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 Pedagogy and Power: Introduction to Education
Prerequisite: EDUC 014
Social science.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Smulyan.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 167. Education, Race, and the Law
This course explores the struggle for racial equality in education through examining federal and state lawsuits. We will look at changing
ideologies about race and inequality, moving from the notion of "separate but equal" in Plessy v. Ferguson, to "separate as inherently unequal"
in Brown v. Board of Education, to today's school funding lawsuits which strategically sidestep the use of race as a legal argument. Students will
develop theoretical frameworks, drawn from the fields of legal anthropology and critical race theory. Since this is a community-based learning
(ESCH) course, fieldwork and research is a major component of the course. In addition to readings, assignments, and class time, students will
conduct interviews with lawyers and judges from past school funding lawsuits. Students will also partner with local groups that are active in the
campaign for school funding to learn about and contribute to advancing racial equality in education.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 and one other educational studies course.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ESCH, BLST.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies.
EDUC 180. Honors Thesis
A 2-credit thesis is required for students completing special honors majors including educational studies. The thesis may be counted for 2 credits
in educational studies or for 1 credit in educational studies and 1 credit in the other discipline in the student's Honors Program.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
Engineering
Faculty
ERIK CHEEVER, Professor
MAGGIE DELANO, Assistant Professor
3
ERICH CARR EVERBACH, Professor
VIDYA GANAPATI, Assistant Professor
1
NELSON A. MACKEN, Professor
2
LYNNE ANN MOLTER, Professor and Interim Chair
ALLAN MOSER, Visiting Professor
FIONA O'DONNELL, Visiting Assistant Professor
STEPHEN PHILLIPS, Visiting Assistant Professor
MICHAEL PIOVOSO, Visiting Professor
SOPHIA PLATA, Visiting Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow
MATTHEW A. ZUCKER, Associate Professor
and Chair
3
ANN RUETHER, Academic Support Coordinator
EDMOND JAOUDI, Electronics, Instrumentation, and Computer Specialist
J. JOHNSON, Machine Shop Supervisor
CASSY BURNETT, Administrative Coordinator
1 Absent on leave, Fall 2021
2 Absent on leave, Spring 2022
3 Absent on leave, 2021-2022
The professional practice of engineering requires creativity and confidence in applying scientific knowledge and mathematical methods to solve
technical problems of ever-growing complexity. The pervasiveness of advanced technology within our economic and social infrastructures
demands that engineers more fully recognize and take into account the potential economic and social consequences that may occur when
significant and analytically well-defined technical issues are resolved. A responsibly educated engineer must not only be in confident command of
current analytic and design techniques but also have a thorough understanding of social and economic influences and an abiding appreciation
for cultural and humanistic traditions. Our program supports these needs by offering each engineering student the opportunity to acquire a
broad yet individualized technical and liberal education.
The Academic Program
As stated in the introduction of this catalog, Swarthmore seeks to help its students realize their full intellectual and personal potential, combined
with a deep sense of ethical and social concern.
Within this context, the Engineering Department seeks to graduate students with a broad, rigorous education, emphasizing strong analysis and
synthesis skills. Our graduates will be well rounded and understand the broader impacts of engineering. They will have the skills to adapt to new
technical challenges, communicate effectively, and collaborate well with others.
The Engineering Department and its students provide to the College community a unique perspective that integrates technical and nontechnical
factors in the design of solutions to multifaceted problems.
Objectives
Graduates of our program will be able to demonstrate the ability to:
Be flexible and resourceful, able to learn and apply new knowledge, and to adapt successfully to novel circumstances and challenges.
Communicate and work effectively with people with a broad variety of backgrounds at both a technical and nontechnical level.
Apply engineering principles and methodology to the design and analysis of systems and to the solution of a wide variety of problems.
Consider scientific, technologic, ethical, societal, economic, political and/or environmental issues in a local or global context, as
appropriate.
Course Major
Engineering majors must complete requirements from two categories: (1) 12 engineering credits and (2) 8 credits in math and science, at least 3
in math and 3 in science. No courses taken at Swarthmore and intended to satisfy these departmental requirements may be taken credit/no credit,
except those taken fall semester in the first year. The requirements are detailed below, with math and science discussed separately.
Math and Science Requirement
To fulfill the math and science requirement for the engineering major, students must receive at least eight credits in math and science (for this
purpose science is defined as biological, chemical, and physical sciences). All of the courses used to fulfill the requirement must be acceptable
for the minimal major in the offering department. The science courses must include two credits of college level physics, and one credit of either
biology or chemistry. All but one of the science courses must include a substantial laboratory component. Students must have either placement or
credit for: Elementary Single Variable Calculus (MATH 015); Further Topics in Single Variable Calculus (MATH 025); Several-Variable
Calculus (MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035); and Differential Equations (MATH 043 or MATH 044). The minimal requirement is three
credits in Mathematics. Students are recommended to take Linear Algebra (MATH 027 or MATH 028), which can count as a fifth math credit of
the eight required math and science credits.
Engineering Requirement
Students majoring in engineering are required to take seven credits from the engineering core courses: Mechanics (ENGR 006), Electric Circuit
Analysis (ENGR 011), Linear Physical Systems Analysis (ENGR 012), Experimentation for Engineering Design (ENGR 014), Fundamentals of
Digital and Embedded Systems (ENGR 015) or Numerical Methods for Engineering Applications (ENGR 019), Thermofluid Mechanics (ENGR
041) and Engineering Design (ENGR 090). ENGR 019 may count as an engineering elective if taken after ENGR 015 (and vice versa).
In their first semester students typically will take 1.0 credit of engineering, choosing between Electric Circuit Analysis (ENGR 011) and
Fundamentals of Digital and Embedded Systems (ENGR 015) in accordance with their interests and high school preparation. A student with a
very full schedule in the first semester can also opt to take no engineering courses until the spring without falling behind in degree requirements.
Mechanics (ENGR 006) is usually taken in the spring of the first year. Linear Physical Systems Analysis (ENGR 012) and Experimentation for
Engineering Design (ENGR 014) are usually taken in the spring of the sophomore year. Numerical Methods for Engineering Applications (ENGR
019) can be taken in the spring of the sophomore, junior or senior year. Thermofluid Mechanics (ENGR 041) can be taken in the fall of the junior
or senior year. Engineering Design (ENGR 090) is the culminating experience for engineering majors and must be taken by all majors in spring
of senior year. Submission and oral presentation of the final project report in Engineering Design constitutes the comprehensive examination for
engineering majors.
Elective Program for Course Majors
Each student devises a program of advanced work in the department in consultation with his or her adviser. The choice of electives is submitted
for departmental approval as part of the formal application for a major in engineering during the spring semester of the sophomore year.
A student's elective program may or may not conform to some traditional or conventional area of engineering specialization (e.g., computer,
electrical, mechanical, or civil). The department therefore requires each plan of advanced work to have a coherent, well-justified program that
meets the student's stated educational objectives.
At most one credit of directed reading (ENGR 093) may be counted for the major.
At most one Swarthmore course taught by a faculty member outside the Engineering Department can count as one of the 12 engineering credits
required for the major.
Normally a maximum of 2.5 transfer credits that are preapproved by the Engineering Department will be accepted as partial fulfillment of the 12
engineering credits required for the major. Exceptions to this rule include students who transfer to Swarthmore and others with special
circumstances; the amount of credit accepted in their cases will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the department chair.
Students should be aware that most lecture courses at other institutions carry only 0.75 Swarthmore credits, unless they include a full lab
sequence. Students who wish to receive credit for courses taken at other institutions, including those taken abroad, as partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the major should consult their academic advisers and the chair of the Engineering Department as early as possible to ensure
that all requirements are met.
The courses available for traditional elective programs include the following:
Electrical engineering group. Electronic Circuit Analysis, Physical Electronics, Electromagnetism, Communication Systems, Digital
Signal Processing, and Control Theory and Design. Students having an interest in digital systems might replace one or more of these
courses with Embedded Systems, Principles of Computer Architecture, Mobile Robotics or Computer Vision.
Computer engineering group. Principles of Computer Architecture, Embedded Systems, Computer Graphics, Computer Vision,
Computational Optics, Mobile Robotics, Operating Systems, and Compilers. Students with an interest in computer hardware may
include Electronic Circuit Analysis, Physical Electronics, Digital Signal Processing, and Control Theory and Design.
Mechanical engineering group. Mechanics of Solids, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Thermal Energy Conversion, Solar Energy
Systems, and Control Theory and Design.
Civil and environmental engineering group. Mechanics of Solids, Structural Analysis, Geotechnical Engineering: Theory and Design,
and Water Quality and Pollution Control. Additional courses include Operations Research and Environmental Systems for those
interested in the environment or urban planning; or Structural Design for those interested in architecture and construction. Other
recommended courses include Solar Energy Systems and Fluid Mechanics.
Course Minor
Academic Advising
Students interested in pursuing a minor must have a faculty member within the Engineering Department to advise them. If possible, this faculty
member should have interests that overlap the area of the minor. Students who encounter difficulties in identifying an adviser should seek the
assistance of the chair of the Engineering Department. Students who plan to minor in engineering should regularly consult their engineering
advisers. The sophomore papers of engineering minors should indicate the plan to minor and the courses chosen to fulfill the minor.
Requirements
A minimum of 5 credits in engineering is required, of which at least 2 but not more than 3 must be core courses (ENGR 006, ENGR 011, ENGR
012, ENGR 014, ENGR 015, ENGR 019 or ENGR 041, but not ENGR 090). The remainder will be selected from elective course offerings within
the department. Only those electives that count toward an engineering major can be counted toward a minor. No courses taken at Swarthmore
and intended to satisfy these departmental requirements, except those taken fall semester in the first year, may be taken credit/no credit.
At most one Swarthmore course taught by a faculty member outside the Engineering Department can count as one of the 5 engineering credits
required for the minor.
Supporting work in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science is necessary only when designated as a prerequisite to an individual
engineering course.
No directed readings (ENGR 093) may be used as one of the 5 credits for the minor.
A maximum of 1 transfer credit that is preapproved by the Engineering Department will be accepted as partial fulfillment of the minor
requirements. Transfer credits will not count for any of the three courses used to fulfill the core course requirement of the minor. No culminating
experience will be required. Only students pursuing the major in engineering may enroll in ENGR 090.
Areas of Study
Although packaged selections of courses will be suggested as options for those interested in an engineering minor, students may tailor their
programs to meet individual needs and interests in consultation with their advisers.
Honors Major
Students with a B+ average among courses in the Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering may apply for an honors major in engineering.
This B+ average must be maintained through the end of the junior year to remain in the Honors Program. A listing of preparations supported by
existing engineering courses is appended. Credits from approved attachments or special topics courses may substitute for not more than 1 credit
within any preparation.
Honors majors must complete the same requirements as course majors in engineering.
The honors major in engineering is a four-examination program that includes three preparations in engineering (the major) and one minor
preparation. Each area comprises 2 credits of work. The preparations may include ENGR 090 and/or one other core course.
The minor preparation must comprise at least 2 credits of work approved by any department or program outside engineering.
Each major candidate must accumulate 12 credits in engineering, including ENGR 090, and the same number of science and math credits as
required of course majors.
If one of the major preparations includes ENGR 090, it must be paired with an appropriately related upper-level engineering elective or a 1-
credit honors thesis to be completed in the fall semester of senior year. Honors thesis credit may not substitute for any of the 12 engineering
credits required for the bachelor of science. Candidates who choose an honors thesis will complete at least 13 credits in engineering and 33
across the College. The two additional major preparations must each comprise two related, upper-level engineering electives. A précis of not
more than 12 pages (including tables and figures) of each candidate's ENGR 090 project must be submitted by the end of the 10th week of the
spring semester for mailing to the relevant honors examiner. The final ENGR 090 report will not be mailed to any examiner but may be brought
to the oral examinations.
Honors Minor
Every engineering honors minor preparation must include two related upper-level engineering electives for which all prerequisites must be
satisfied. Credits from official attachments or special topics courses in engineering may substitute for not more than one of the two upper-level
courses within an engineering minor preparation.
Prerequisites to upper-level engineering electives may be waived by the department, depending on the student's documentation of equivalent
work in another department at the time of application.
Prospective engineering majors and minors receive more specific information about Course and Honors Programs from the department each
December. Additional information is also available on the Engineering Department website.
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
A form to aid in planning a proposed program of study is available on the department website. This form must be completed and submitted as
part of the Sophomore Plan. All engineering courses are to be listed on this form in the appropriate semesters. Check prerequisites carefully
when completing the program planning form. Courses, prerequisites and their availability are listed in the College Catalog. Note that many
courses are offered yearly, others in alternate years, and some only when demand and staffing permit. An updated prospective two-year schedule
is also available on the website.
Courses Readily Available to Students Not Majoring or Minoring in Engineering
Problems in Technology (ENGR 003), Art and Engineering of Structures (ENGR 007) and Fundamentals of Food Engineering (ENGR 010) are
designed for students contemplating only an introduction to engineering. Mechanics (ENGR 006) is primarily for prospective majors, but other
interested students, particularly those preparing for careers in architecture or biomechanics, are encouraged to enroll. Environmental Protection
(ENGR 004A), Operations Research (ENGR 057), Solar Energy Systems (ENGR 035), Water Quality and Pollution Control (ENGR 063) and
Environmental Systems (ENGR 066) appeal to many students majoring in other departments, particularly those pursuing an environmental
studies major or minor. Students interested in computers, including computer science majors or minors, may wish to consider Fundamentals of
Digital and Embedded Systems (ENGR 015), Principles of Computer Architecture (ENGR 025), Computer Vision (ENGR 027), and Mobile
Robotics (ENGR 028) and Computational Optics (ENGR 030). Students majoring in the physical sciences or mathematics may enroll routinely in
advanced engineering courses.
Note that Problems in Technology, Environmental Protection, Art and Engineering of Structures, and Fundamentals of Food Engineering are not
admissible as technical electives within an engineering major or minor but may be taken as free electives subject to the 20-course rule.
Off-Campus Study
Engineering majors or minors considering off-campus study should consult their academic advisors as early as possible to ensure that all
requirements are met.
Students should obtain advance approval from the department before taking any course off-campus (including courses at the University of
Pennsylvania) intended to count towards the major or minor. The faculty member in the department whose teaching/research area overlaps most
closely with the course will review the course syllabus and other available information in consultation with the department chair.
Most Engineering courses at other institutions carry only 0.75 Swarthmore credits unless they include a full lab sequence.
Engineering Courses
ENGR 003. Problems in Technology
For students not majoring in science or engineering, this course will concentrate on the automobile and its impact on society. Class time will
cover the principles of operation of vehicles and student lead discussions on related technical, political, social, and economic issues. Possible
laboratory topics include evaluating alternative power systems (e.g., solar, hydrogen, and electric); investigating alternative fuels; and
understanding existing automotive components. Enrollment is limited. Usually offered in alternate years.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Macken.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 004A. Environmental Protection
This course covers fundamentals of analysis for environmental problems in the areas of water pollution, air pollution, solid and hazardous
wastes, water and energy supply, and resource depletion, with an emphasis on technological solutions. Topics include scientific concepts
necessary to understand local and global pollution problems, pollution control and renewable energy technologies, public policy developments
related to regulation of pollutants, and methods of computer-based systems analysis for developing economically effective environmental
protection policies. ENGR 004A may not be used to fulfill the requirements for the engineering major or minor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH and GLBL - Core.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 006. Mechanics
This course covers fundamental areas of statics and dynamics. Elementary concepts of deformable bodies are explored, including stress-strain
relations, flexure, torsion, and internal pressure. Laboratory work includes a MATLAB workshop, experiments on deformable bodies, and a
truss-bridge team design competition.
Prerequisite: MATH 015 is required. PHYS 003 is strongly recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. O'Donnell, Moser.
Spring 2023. Everbach, O'Donnell.
Fall 2023. Everbach, Moser.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 007. Art and Engineering of Structures
This introduction to the basic principles of structural analysis and design includes an emphasis on the historical development of modern
structural engineering. It is suitable for students planning to study architecture or architectural history, or who have an interest in structures.
This course includes a laboratory and is designed for students not majoring in engineering. Usually offered in alternate years.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 009. Engineering and Scientific Applications of Calculus
This half-credit course will focus on mathematical applications of single variable calculus, mainly from engineering and physics; it may also
include some examples from other sciences if there is student interest. In addition, ENGR 009 will include a review of relevant pre-calculus
topics. It is designed to give capable and hard-working students the best chance to excel in calculus, and is recommended for students who are
interested in real-world contexts where calculus is used, including (but not limited to) potential science and engineering majors.
The course will meet twice weekly for a total of 2.5 hours, and have little outside work associated with it. Most of the time in class will be spent
solving problems and doing group work. ENGR 009 may not be used to fulfill the requirements for the engineering major or minor, and is
available only to students taking MATH 015 concurrently.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 010. Fundamentals of Food Engineering
In this course, we will study the scientific principles that will enable students to understand why a variety of ingredients, recipes, and cooking
processes function the way they do, and why they sometimes don't work as well as expected. The course will include lectures, demonstrations, and
laboratory exercises. There are no prerequisites for this course, and it is open to all students, but it cannot be used to fulfill the requirements for
a major or a minor in engineering.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core.
Spring 2022. Molter.
Spring 2023. Molter.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 011. Electrical Circuit Analysis
The analysis of electrical circuits is introduced, including resistors, capacitors, inductors, op-amps, and diodes. The student will learn to develop
linear differential equations to model electrical circuits, and to solve them for voltages and currents. Solutions will be formulated both in the time
domain and in the frequency domain.
Prerequisite:
Corequisite: MATH 025 or its equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
This course includes a laboratory.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Molter, Piovoso.
Fall 2022. Molter, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 012. Linear Physical Systems Analysis
Engineering phenomena that may be represented by linear, lumped-parameter models are studied. This course builds on the mathematical
techniques learned in ENGR 011 and applies them to a broad range of linear systems, such as those in the mechanical, thermal, fluid, and
electromechanical domains. Techniques used include Laplace Transforms, Fourier analysis, and Eigenvalue/Eigenvector methods. Both transfer
function and state-space representations of systems are studied.
Prerequisite: ENGR 011 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Cheever, Ganapati.
Spring 2023. Molter, Ganapati.
Fall 2023. Cheever.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 014. Experimentation for Engineering Design
Students are introduced to measurement systems, instruments, probability, statistical analysis, measurement errors, and their use in experimental
design, planning, execution, data reduction, and analysis. Techniques of hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and single and multivariable
linear regression are covered.
Prerequisite: MATH 025 or equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course
Lab required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Piovoso, Plata.
Spring 2023. Piovoso, Plata.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 015. Fundamentals of Digital and Embedded Systems
This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of digital and embedded systems. Digital topics covered will include Boolean algebra,
binary arithmetic, digital representation of data, gates, and truth tables. Students will also learn basic programming skills, and apply those skills
to build embedded systems. Embedded topics include the link between hardware and software, analog to digital and digital to analog systems,
and an introduction to actuators (LED's, speakers, servo motors, etc.) and sensors (buttons, accelerometers, microphones, etc.). In the laboratory
students will implement a variety of systems with physical inputs and outputs. The course concludes with a self-chosen project.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
This course includes a laboratory.
1 credit.
Eligible for DGHU
Fall 2021. Cheever, Phillips.
Fall 2022. Delano, Phillips.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 019. Numerical Methods for Engineering Applications
(Cross-listed as MATH 024)
This course is geared towards students who want to know how to transform a set of equations on a page into a working computer program.
Potential topics include root finding, discrete and continuous optimization, gradient descent, solution of linear systems, finite element methods,
and machine learning. We will also discuss how real numbers are represented by computers, especially insofar as they affect precision and
accuracy of calculations. Techniques will be applied in a series of projects focused on engineering applications.
Prerequisite: MATH 025 or its equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Phillips.
Fall 2022. Ganapati.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 022. Operating Systems
(Cross-listed as CPSC 045)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 023. Compilers
(Cross-listed as CPSC 075)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Spring 2022. Palmer.
Fall 2023. Palmer.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 025. Principles of Computer Architecture
(Cross-listed as CPSC 052)
This course covers the physical and logical design of a computer. Topics include current microprocessors, CPU design, RISC and CISC,
pipelining, superscalar processing, caching, virtual memory, assembly and machine language, and multiprocessors. Labs cover performance
analysis via simulation and microprocessor design using CAD tools.
Prerequisite: ENGR 015, CPSC 031, or CPSC 035
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Delano.
Fall 2023. Delano.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 026. Computer Graphics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 040)
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 027. Computer Vision
(Cross-listed as CPSC 072)
Computer vision studies how computers can analyze and perceive the world using input from imaging devices. Topics include line and region
extraction, stereo vision, motion analysis, color and reflection models, and object representation and recognition. The course will focus on object
recognition and detection, introducing the tools of computer vision in support of building an automatic object recognition and classification
system. Labs will involve implementing both offline and real-time object recognition and classification systems.
Prerequisite: Either ENGR 019 or ENGR 056, or permission of the instructor. MATH 027 or MATH 028 is recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Spring 2022. Phillips.
Spring 2023. Phillips.
Fall 2023. Zucker.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 028. Mobile Robotics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 082)
This course addresses the problems of controlling and motivating robots to act intelligently in dynamic, unpredictable environments. Major
topics will include mechanical design, robot perception, kinematics and inverse kinematics, navigation and control, optimization and learning,
and robot simulation techniques. To demonstrate these concepts, we will be looking at mobile robots, robot arms and positioning devices, and
virtual agents. Labs will focus on programming robots to execute tasks and to explore and interact with their environment.
Prerequisite: Either ENGR 019 or ENGR 056, or permission of the instructor. MATH 027 or MATH 028 is recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Phillips.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 029. Embedded Systems
Connected systems that used embedded microcontrollers are becoming more and more pervasive, with applications in the car, home, and body.
This course will explore how to design embedded systems using a reconfigurable microcontroller system. Topics will include biomedical signal
acquisition and processing, numerical computation, and audio/video signal processing. This course includes a laboratory.
Prerequisite: ENGR 015 or permission of the instructor.
Natural Science and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Delano.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 030. Computational Optics
This course provides an introduction to computational optics and imaging, where camera hardware is co-designed with processing algorithms.
Topics may include: geometrical and wave optics, PSF engineering, light field imaging, compressed sensing, time-of-flight imaging, Fourier
optics, super-resolution, medical imaging, and virtual and augmented reality.
Prerequisite: ENGR 019 highly recommended.
Natural Science and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 035. Solar Energy Systems
Fundamental physical concepts and system design techniques of solar energy systems are covered. Topics include solar geometry, components of
solar radiation, analysis of thermal and photovoltaic solar collectors, energy storage, computer simulation of system performance, computer-
aided design optimization, and economic feasibility assessment. This course includes a laboratory. Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: PHYS 004, MATH 025, some coding experience in a procedural computer language such as Matlab, Python, or C, or the
permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Everbach.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 041. Thermofluid Mechanics
This course introduces macroscopic thermodynamics: first and second laws, properties of pure substances, and applications using system and
control volume formulation. Also introduced is fluid mechanics: development of conservation theorems, hydrostatics, and the dynamics of one-
dimensional fluid motion with and without friction.
Prerequisite: ENGR 006, ENGR 012, and MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab and Problem session required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Macken, Moser.
Fall 2022. Macken, Everbach.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 051. Biomedical Signals
This course explores methods for the analysis of biomedical signals. The types of signals discussed in this course include those that emanate from
electrical activity in the body, such as electrocardiograms (ECG), electroencephalograms (EEG), and electromyograms (EMG). In addition, this
course will examine signals generated from external sources such as image data from x-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance
images (MRI), and ultrasound. Methods of analysis for biomedical signals and images studied in this course include standard digital signal
processing techniques as well as newer time-frequency domain methods such as the wavelet transform. Applications of these methods include
filtering, denoising, spectral estimation, and classification. Topics such as the Radon transform, used in tomographic reconstruction of image
data, will also be covered.
Prerequisite: ENGR 012 or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab and project included.
1.0 credit.
Fall 2023. Moser.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 052. Computer-Aided Manufacturing and Procedural Design
Topics include computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and digital fabrication technologies such as computer numerical controlled (CNC)
machining and laser cutting. The course will provide a grounding in basic computational geometry relevant to CAM and CNC, focusing on the
connections between tool paths, cutting tool types, and the shapes of the parts to be fabricated. Other areas of study include the effects of tool
shape (e.g. rake angle), number of cutting surfaces, and feeds & speeds on machining quality and surface finish. Students will write programs
implementing generative design techniques to directly emit sculptures and models in industry-standard file formats such as SVG, STL, and G-
code that can be fabricated on equipment at Swarthmore.
Prerequisite: Either ENGR 015 or ENGR 019, or permission of the instructor. MATH 027 or MATH 028 is recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Zucker.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 053. Inclusive Engineering Design
Technology created by humans reflects our biases and priorities. Engineering a better world requires an interrogation of how we design. This
course will combine critical works in technology studies with hands-on, student directed design projects. The course will be divided into three
modules that will investigate the relationship between design and bodies, identities, and society. Readings will draw from fields such as disability
studies and science and technology studies. Students will apply design methods such as universal design, human centered design, and critical
design. This course is open to both Engineering students and non-majors with some previous design experience, such as Computer Science or Art
majors.
Prerequisite: Any course involving design of physical objects or software, for example: ENGR 015, ENGR 006, CPSC 071, ARTT 050 , THEA
004A, THEA 004B, THEA 004C, or permission of the instructor.
Natural Sciences and engineering practicum.
1.0 credit
Fall 2022. Delano.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 055. Statistical Signal Processing
A first-course on the theory and applications of statistical signal processing. Topic will benefit students interested in the design and analysis
of signal processing systems, i.e., to extract information from noisy signals - radar engineer, sonar engineer, geophysicist, oceanographer,
biomedical engineer, communications engineer, economist, statistician, physicist, etc. The course provides numerous examples, which illustrate
both theory and applications for problems such as high-resolution spectral analysis, system identification, digital filter design, adaptive
beamforming and noise cancellation, and tracking and localization.
Prerequisite: ENGR 014 and MATH 027
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 056. Modeling and Optimization for Engineering
What is the optimal way to direct light into the body to destroy a tumor? What is the lightest bridge we can construct without the beams
breaking? To answer such questions, students will learn how to generate a computer-based model of the physics, and then use optimization to
make design decisions. The majority of the course will focus on optimization, and topics may include: constrained least-squares, linear
programming, convex optimization, data-driven optimization, non-convex optimization, and deep learning.
Prerequisite: MATH 027 or MATH 028, MATH 043 or MATH 044, ENGR 012, ENGR 014, and ENGR 019 are required.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Spring 2022. Ganapati.
Spring 2023. Phillips.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 057. Operations Research
(Cross-listed as ECON 032)
This course introduces students to mathematical modeling and optimization to solve complex, multivariable problems such as those relating to
efficient business and government operations, environmental pollution control, urban planning, and water, energy, and food resources.
Introduction to the AMPL computer modeling language is included. A case study project is required for students taking the course as a natural
sciences and engineering practicum (ENGR 057). The project is optional for students taking the course as ECON 032.
Prerequisite: familiarity with matrix methods, especially solution of simultaneous linear equations, i.e., elementary linear algebra; but a full
course in linear algebra is not required.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum only if taken as ENGR 057
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 058. Control Theory and Design
This introduction to the control of engineering systems includes analysis and design of linear control systems using root locus, frequency
response, and state space techniques. It also provides an introduction to digital control techniques, including analysis of A/D and D/A converters,
digital controllers, and numerical control algorithms.
Prerequisite: ENGR 012 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Piovoso.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 059. Mechanics of Solids
Internal stresses and changes of form that occur when forces act on solid bodies or when internal temperature varies are covered as well as state
of stress and strain, strength theories, stability, deflections, photo elasticity, and elastic and plastic theories.
Students are required to attend at the most four full labs the first half of the semester and the second half of the semester is self-scheduled.
Prerequisite: ENGR 006 or the equivalent.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. O'Donnell.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 060. Structural Analysis
This course covers fundamental principles of structural mechanics including statically determinate and intermediate analysis of frames and
trusses, approximate analysis of indeterminate structures, virtual work principles, and elements of matrix methods of analysis and digital
computer applications.
Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 006, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. O'Donnell.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 061. Geotechnical Engineering: Theory and Design
Soil and rock mechanics are explored, including soil and rock formation, soil mineralogy, soil types, compaction, soil hydraulics, consolidation,
stresses in soil masses, slope stability, and bearing capacity as well as their application to engineering design problems.
Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in ENGR 006 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. O'Donnell.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 062. Structural Design
This course covers the behavior and design of steel and concrete structural members. Topics will include a discussion of the applicable design
codes and their applications to structural design.
Normally offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 006 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. O'Donnell.
Fall 2023. Siddiqui.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 063. Water Quality and Pollution Control
Students will study elements of water quality management and treatment of wastewaters through laboratory and field measurements of water
quality indicators, analysis of wastewater treatment processes, sewage treatment plant design, computer modeling of the effects of waste
discharge, storm water, and nonpoint pollution on natural waters, and environmental impact assessment.
Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010, MATH 025, or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Plata.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 066. Environmental Systems
Students will explore mathematical modeling and systems analysis of problems in the fields of water resources, water quality, air pollution, urban
planning, and public health. Techniques of optimization including linear and integer programming are used as frameworks for modeling such
problems. Dynamic systems simulation methods and a laboratory are included.
Offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: Recommended: ENGR 057 or the equivalent, or the permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 071. Digital Signal Processing
Students will be introduced to difference equations and discrete-time transform theory, the Z-transform and Fourier representation of sequences,
and fast Fourier transform algorithms. Discrete time transfer functions and filter design techniques are also introduced. This course introduces
the architecture and programming of digital signal processors.
Prerequisite: ENGR 012 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Phillips.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 072. Electronic Circuit Applications
The student will design electronic circuits that sense the surroundings (light, temperature, sound...), process the signal, and respond via an
actuator (motor, light...) or communication to a computer. Students will design and debug circuits, lay out printed circuit boards using CAD
software, and solder the components onto the board. Electronic designs include those with diodes, op-amps for amplification and filtering of
electronic signals, and power MOSFET transistors used as switching devices for actuators. Students will program microcontrollers, including
on-chip peripherals, and write code to process interrupts. Mixed signal devices (A/D and D/A converters) are introduced and used throughout
the course.
Prerequisite: ENGR 012 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Cheever.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 073. Physical Electronics
Topics include the physical properties of semiconductor materials and semiconductor devices; the physics of electron/hole dynamics; band and
transport theory; and electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of semiconductor crystals. Devices examined include diodes, transistors,
FETs, LEDs, lasers, and pin photo-detectors. Modeling and fabrication processes are covered.
Offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 011 or PHYS 008 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Molter.
Fall 2023. Molter.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 074. Semiconductor Devices and Circuits
This course explores the operation and application of semiconductor devices, including diodes, transistors (bipolar and field effect) and other
devices. This includes terminal characteristics of semiconductor devices and circuits, including small signal models of single and multi-transistor
amplifiers, and transistor-level modeling of operational amplifiers. The course also examines the speed and input-output characteristics of logic
devices, the design of power circuits and problems of stability and oscillation in electronic circuits.
Prerequisite: ENGR 011 or permission of the instructor.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 075. Electromagnetic Theory I
The static and dynamic treatment of engineering applications of Maxwell's equations will be explored. Topics include macroscopic field
treatment of interactions with dielectric, conducting, and magnetic materials; analysis of forces and energy storage as the basis of circuit theory;
electromagnetic waves in free space and guidance within media; plane waves and modal propagation; and polarization, reflection, refraction,
diffraction, and interference. The lab will include optical applications using lasers, fiber and integrated optical devices, modulators, nonlinear
materials, and solid-state detectors.
Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 012, or PHYS 008, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Molter.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 076. Electromagnetic Theory II
Advanced topics in optics and microwaves, such as laser operation, resonators, Gaussian beams, interferometry, anisotropy, nonlinear optics,
modulation and detection. Laboratories for both courses will be oriented toward optical applications using lasers, fiber and integrated optical
devices, modulators, nonlinear materials, and solid-state detectors. The lab will include optical applications using lasers, fiber and integrated
optical devices, modulators, nonlinear materials, and solid-state detectors.
Offered as demand and staffing permits.
Prerequisite: ENGR 075 or a physics equivalent.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 078. Communication Systems
Theory and design principles of analog and digital communication systems are explored. Topics include frequency domain analysis of signals;
signal transmission and filtering; random signals and noise; AM, PM, and FM signals; sampling and pulse modulation; digital signal
transmission; PCM; coding; and information theory. Applications to practical systems such as television and data communications are covered.
Offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 012 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Moser.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 081. Thermal Energy Conversion
This course covers the development and application of the principles of thermal energy analysis to energy conversion systems. The concepts of
availability, ideal and real mixtures, and chemical and nuclear reactions are explored.
Offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 041 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Macken.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 083. Fluid Mechanics
Fluid mechanics is treated as a special case of continuum mechanics in the analysis of fluid flow systems. Conservation of mass, momentum, and
energy are covered along with applications to the study of inviscid and viscous, incompressible, and compressible fluids.
Offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 041 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 084. Heat Transfer
Students are introduced to the physical phenomena involved in heat transfer. Analytical techniques are presented together with empirical results
to develop tools for solving problems in heat transfer by conduction, forced and free convection, and radiation. Numerical techniques are
discussed for the solution of conduction problems.
Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENGR 041 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Macken.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 086. Dynamics of Mechanical Systems
Rigid-body kinematics and kinetics in plane and three-dimensional motion; dynamics using energy, momentum, and variational methods of
analysis. Application to electrodynamic systems and transducers. Matlab is used as a modeling tool for describing the linear and nonlinear
behavior of the systems considered.
Prerequisite: ENGR 006, ENGR 011 and ENGR 012; MATH 034/MATH 035 and MATH 043/MATH 044; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab included.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Everbach.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 087. Aerodynamics
The course will cover the fundamentals of subsonic aerodynamics, focusing on the characteristics of airfoils and wings and the history of human
flight. Labs will include wind tunnel tests of different designs and the opportunity for students to research and present a topic of personal
interest.
Prerequisite: ENGR 006 or ENGR 059 and MATH 033 MATH 034 or MATH 035
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 090. Engineering Design
Students work on a design project that is the culminating exercise for all senior engineering majors. Students investigate a problem of their
choice in an area of interest to them under the guidance of a faculty member. A comprehensive written report and an oral presentation are
required.
This class is available only to engineering majors.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course Spring only.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 091. Special Topics
Special topics courses will be offered infrequently, subject to faculty interest and availability.
Special topics courses will normally include a lab, substantial project, or the equivalent.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 093. Directed Reading or Project
Qualified students may do special work with theoretical, experimental, or design emphasis in an area not covered by regular courses with the
permission of a willing faculty supervisor in the department.
The student and faculty member will agree on a plan and scope of work at the beginning of the term. The student will typically meet weekly with
the advisor and will produce written documentation of their work. Directed readings that count for the major are normally expected to include a
lab, substantial project, or the equivalent.
.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 096. Honors Thesis
In addition to ENGR 090, an honors major may undertake an honors thesis in the fall semester of the senior year with approval of the department
and a faculty adviser. A prospectus of the thesis problem must be submitted and approved not later than the end of junior year.
Offered only with departmental approval and faculty supervision.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
Preparation for Honors Examinations
The department will arrange honors examinations in the following areas to be prepared for by the combinations of courses indicated. Other
preparations are possible by mutual agreement.
Communications and Signal Processing
ENGR 078 Communication Systems
ENGR 071 Digital Signal Processing
Computer Architecture
ENGR 025/CPSC 052 Principles of Computer Architecture
ENGR 029 Embedded Systems
Electromagnetic Theory
ENGR 075 Electromagnetic Theory I
ENGR 076 Electromagnetic Theory II
Electronics
ENGR 072 Electronic Circuit Applications
ENGR 073 Physical Electronics
Environmental Systems
ENGR 057/ECON 032 Operations Research
ENGR 066 Environmental Systems
Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics
ENGR 084 Heat Transfer
ENGR 041 Thermofluid Mechanics
Integrated Electronics
ENGR 072 Electronic Circuit Applications
ENGR 029 Embedded Systems
Mobile Robotics and Machine Vision
ENGR 027/CPSC 072 Computer Vision
ENGR 028/CPSC 082 Mobile Robotics
Signals and Systems
ENGR 058 Control Theory and Design
ENGR 071 Digital Signal Processing or ENGR 055 Statistical Signal Processing
Solar Thermal Systems
ENGR 035 Solar Energy Systems
ENGR 081 Thermal Energy Conversion or ENGR 084 Heat Transfer
Structural Analysis and Design
ENGR 060 Structural Analysis
ENGR 062 Structural Design
Structural Mechanics
ENGR 059 Mechanics of Solids
ENGR 060 Structural Analysis
Structures and Soil
ENGR 060 Structural Anaylsis
ENGR 061 Geotechnical Engineering: Theory and Design
Thermal Energy Conversion and Heat Transfer
ENGR 081 Thermal Energy Conversion
ENGR 084 Heat Transfer
Image Information and Processing
ENGR 027/CPSC 072 Computer Vision
ENGR 030 Computational Optics
Water Quality and Fluid Mechanics
ENGR 063 Water Quality and Pollution Control
ENGR 041 Thermofluid Mechanics
Water Quality and Supply Systems
ENGR 063 Water Quality and Pollution Control
ENGR 066 Environmental Systems
English Literature
Faculty
ELIZABETH BOLTON, Professor
3
NORA JOHNSON, Professor
BAKIRATHI MANI, Professor
2
PETER J. SCHMIDT, Professor
VALERIE SMITH, Professor and President of Swarthmore College
CRAIG WILLIAMSON, Professor
RACHEL BUURMA, Associate Professor
LARA COHEN, Associate Professor
ANTHONY S. FOY, Associate Professor
CHINELO OKPARANTA, Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Creative Writing
ERIC SONG, Associate Professor and Chair
SANGINA PATNAIK, Assistant Professor
RYAN KU, Visiting Assistant Professor
ANDREA LEE, Distinguished Visiting Instructor of Creative Writing
GREGORY FROST, Visiting Instructor (part time)
DALE MEZZACAPPA, Visiting Instructor (part time)
NATALIE MERA FORD, Visiting Assistant Professor, Multilingual Writing Specialist, Writing
Associates Program
SHAILEN MISHRA, Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing Associates Program
ALBA NEWMANN HOLMES, Assistant Professor and Interim Director of the Writing Associates
Program
DONNA MCKEEVER, Administrative Assistant
JOANNE MULLIN, Administrative Assistant, Writing Associates Program
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-22.
In the Department of English Literature, we study how literature shapes experience. Students learn how to read closely, think inventively, and
write creatively and analytically. We offer classes on a wide range of topics, from novels to new media, from critical theory to popular culture,
from poetry to digital humanities. In these classes, students explore how the form of a text illuminates its meaning; how literature both reflects
and challenges structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class; how historical circumstances enable imaginative expression and how imaginative
expression changes history. Our curriculum emphasizes writing in English from the US, the UK, South Asia, the Caribbean, Ireland, and South
Africa, and educates students in methods including critical race and ethnic studies, feminist studies, environmental studies, and queer studies. We
teach students how to analyze a world of texts and to use their voices in it.
Students are eligible for paid internships during the summer to produce original creative writing projects and pursue guided research in literary
study. In collaboration with faculty, students also work on a variety of digital humanities projects based at Swarthmore and at archives and
universities nationwide. Along with a vibrant public culture of lectures and events featuring prominent novelists, poets, and cultural theorists, the
department creates opportunities for students to present their research to peers and faculty on campus, as well as at regional and national
academic conferences. Majors and minors in English Literature succeed in careers as diverse as law, education, medicine, finance, journalism,
publishing, academia, and community organizing.
First course recommendations
We recommend that students begin their study of English Literature at Swarthmore by taking a First-Year Seminar or a course labeled
"Gateway." Unless noted, other courses in our department assume some familiarity with the discipline without requiring a formal prerequisite.
Courses at the 100 level and some creative writing courses require departmental permission for enrollment.
Applying for the Major or the Minor
The minimum requirement for consideration for the major or minor is the completion of at least two graded courses in English Literature at
Swarthmore, other than Composition, Journalism, or Creative Writing credits. Decisions regarding applications will be deferred until two
graded literature courses are completed.
Applications are considered in the spring of the sophomore year. Each student will, under the guidance of a faculty advisor, present a reasoned
plan of study for the last two years. This plan will be submitted to the department and will be the basis of the departmental discussion of the
student's application. The plan will include a list of proposed courses and seminars that will satisfy the requirements for either the Course or
Honors Program and a rationale for the program of study.
Applications for the major or minor are normally considered at a meeting of all department members. Each student is discussed individually. The
department has never established a minimum grade point average, nor are certain courses weighted in this discussion more heavily than others.
A record of less than satisfactory work in English would certainly give us pause, however, unless it were attributable to circumstances other than
academic ability. Students who want to include the English major as part of a double major must have a record of strong work in both majors as
well as in other courses.
Course Major
All English Literature majors must complete a minimum of 9 credits in the department, including
at least one credit in each of the following historical periods:
o Medieval and Renaissance literature (Med/Ren)
o 18th and 19th century literature (18th/19th c.)
o 20th and 21st century literature (20th/21st c.)
English 080 Introduction to Literary Theory
English 099 Senior Course Majors' Colloquium
As a culmination of the course major, all seniors take English 099, which offers a structured and supportive environment for students
writing their senior essays. The course features a mix of literature, criticism, theory, and methodology, plus guest visits and
opportunities for students to discuss central issues in the field of literary and cultural history in preparation for their research and
writing. Successful completion of ENGL 096 or ENGL 080 is a prerequisite to this course.
Under special circumstances, a course major may elect to write a longer research thesis. Thesis projects do not take the place of ENGL 099,
which is required of all course major seniors. For more information, see the description for ENGL 098.
Based on their own interests and goals, all course majors are expected to identify a concentration of at least three English literature credits
within the major. Students define this concentration, but are encouraged to discuss their course choices with a faculty member in the department.
Sample concentration topics: one of the three historical periods; American, African-American, or Asian-American literature; theory; digital
humanities; creative writing; or a particular genre, such as fiction or poetry. Students define their potential concentration within the major as
part of their sophomore plan, but may modify their plan as needed during junior or senior year.
Course Minor
All English Literature minors must complete a minimum of 5 credits in the department, including at least one credit in two of the following
historical periods:
Medieval and Renaissance literature (Med/Ren)
18th and 19th century literature (18th/19th c.)
20th and 21st century literature (20th/21st c.)
Honors Major
English Literature majors who seek a degree with Honors will, in the spring of their sophomore year, propose for external examination a
program consisting of four preparations: three in English and one in a minor.
Honors majors must complete all general requirements for the
English course major, a total of 9 credits in English Literature, with the exception of ENGL 099, the Senior Course Majors' Colloquium.
Students interested in pursuing honors within a faculty-approved interdisciplinary major, program, or concentration that draws on advanced
English courses or seminars should consult with the department chair for early help in planning their program.
The three Honors preparations in the English Literature major (constituting six credit units) must include preparations from at least two of the
following historical periods:
Medieval and Renaissance literature (Med/Ren)
18th and 19th century literature (18th/19th c.)
20th and 21st century literature (20th/21st c.)
The three preparations will normally be done through seminars, though if approved by the Department, one preparation may be a thesis or
creative writing project. Students who wish either to write a thesis or pursue a creative writing project under faculty supervision as part of the
Honors Program must submit proposals to the department; the number of these ventures the department can sponsor each year is limited.
Students who propose creative writing projects will normally be expected to have completed at least one writing workshop as part of, or as a
prelude to, the project; the Honors preparation presented for examination will thus normally consist of a 1-credit workshop plus a 1-credit
directed creative writing project. For further information, consult with the department chair or the Director of the Program in Creative Writing.
As with course majors, Honors majors are expected to identify a concentration of at least three English literature credits within the major based
on their own interests and goals. Students define this concentration, but are encouraged to discuss their course choices with a member of the
department. Sample concentration topics: one of the three historical periods; American, African-American, or Asian-American literature; theory;
digital humanities; creative writing; or a particular genre, such as fiction or poetry. Students define their potential concentration within the
major as part of their sophomore plan, but may modify their plan as needed during junior or senior year.
Honors Minor
Students seeking an English Literature Honors minor must do a single, two-credit preparation in the department, normally by means of a seminar
(or under special circumstances, a creative writing project); the thesis option is available only to majors.
Honors minors must complete all general requirements for the English course minor, a total of 5 credits in English Literature.
Important things to know regarding credits toward an English Literature major or minor
First Year Seminars (English 008 and 009A - 009Z) and Creative Writing courses count toward the major or minor but do not fulfill
historical requirements.
Creative Writing workshops are graded CR/NC; many students take a number of creative writing workshops toward the major.
Academic Writing courses (ENGL 1F, G, etc. or C, Writing Pedagogy) and Journalism classes do not count toward the major or
minor.
If awarded, AP/IB credit can be used toward the major or minor, but it does not satisfy a historical requirement.
Honors Examinations and Senior Honors Study (SHS)
English Honors preparations consisting of seminars or course combinations will be assessed by a 3-hour written examination set by an external
examiner. Written examinations will be followed by oral examinations of 30-45 minutes. Honors preparations fulfilled through seminars or
courses also require an SHS submission to be reviewed by the Honors examiner.
A 2-credit thesis or a creative writing portfolio will be examined in a 45-60 minute oral examination. A thesis or creative writing project does
not require an additional SHS submission or a written exam.
For the SHS requirement, Honors Majors and Minors will revise one paper per seminar for their portfolio, and that portfolio will be submitted to
their external examiners. In the case of course combinations used as Honors preparations, students can either present two shorter revised essays
(one from each class) or synthesize materials from earlier essays to create a new essay bridging the two classes. In either case, SHS submissions
can be a maximum of 4,000 words.
Double Majors
Students may, with the department's permission, pursue a double major either as part of the Course or Honors Program. Double majors must
fulfill all the major requirements in both departments.
For a double major in honors, one of the majors is used as the honors major and the other is often used as the honors minor. See the department
chair for further details.
Special Major
Designed by the student in consultation with faculty advisers. If English is the central department, students must fulfill most of the regular
requirements and have a minimum of 5 English Department credits as part of the special major. Students must take at least one course each in
two of the three historical periods listed above. Students must consult with the various departments or programs involved in the special major
and have all approve the plan of study. Only one integrative comprehensive exercise is required. Students may also do a special honors major
with four related preparations in different departments.
Major or Minor with a Creative Writing Emphasis
With the range of writing courses open to them, it is possible for students at Swarthmore to pursue a Major or Minor in English Literature with
an Emphasis in Creative Writing, by completing three units of creative writing in addition to the usual departmental requirements. One workshop
taken outside our English Department may be counted towards the Emphasis.
Student writers may also pursue a Directed Creative Writing Project (070K), completing a portfolio of independent work under the guidance of a
faculty member. Some students have used the Directed Creative Writing Project as an opportunity to extend and polish a project begun in
workshops - a novel, a linked collection of short stories, a sequence of poems responding to photographs, for example - while others have worked
intensively and rigorously to master the sonnet form, or explored through their own work the implications of a theoretical premise - the blurred
distinction between dramatic monologue and poetic confession, for example. Because our writing faculty is small, the Department sponsors only
a limited number of writing projects each year. Students interested in pursuing independent work in creative writing normally declare their
intention in the sophomore plan, and submit a prospectus to the Department in the semester before they hope to begin their project, after
consulting with the chair of the Department and with members of the writing faculty.
Students in the Honors Program may present work in creative writing as a field for either a Major or a Minor in English Literature. Normally the
two-credit field is defined as a one-credit workshop (most typically 070A, 070B, 070C, or 070H) paired with a one-credit Directed Creative
Writing Project (070K), but it is also possible in unusual circumstances for a student to develop a portfolio through writing done entirely within
workshops.
For additional information about the Creative Writing program, including more details about the courses mentioned here, visit the English
Literature department web site. Printed information about the program is also available in the department office.
Teacher Certification
English majors may complete the requirements for English certification through a program approved by the State of Pennsylvania. For further
information about the relevant set of English and Educational Studies requirements, please refer to the Educational Studies section of the
Bulletin.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Students matriculating in 2019 who receive a 5 on the AP test for English Literature and Composition or a Higher IB 6 or 7 will be eligible for
one Swarthmore credit, awarded after completion of one English course (ENGL 009 or higher course number). This AP/IB credit can be used
toward the English major but it does not fulfill any of the required courses of the major.
Off-Campus Study and Transfer Credit
Students who plan to study away from Swarthmore should consult with the department far enough in advance of such study to effect proper
planning of a major or minor. Honors majors in particular should discuss the impact of study abroad on their honors program with the chair and
departmental honors advisor.
In determining which courses of study will meet department criteria for requirements or credit toward a major or minor, the department will rely
both on its experience in evaluating the work of students returning from these programs and on careful examination of course descriptions,
syllabi, and schedules. In general, to earn one Swarthmore College credit, we expect a course elsewhere to provide 30 contact hours and to
require roughly 20 pages of writing, as well as a reading list roughly comparable to a Swarthmore English course's reading list.
Course credits for literature in English should be approved before you leave, but no course credits are finally awarded until you present your
completed work upon your return to Swarthmore. Beginning with the Fall 2019 semester, you will need to take one English course at Swarthmore
to gain credit for an English course taken during study abroad.
Students planning study abroad from Swarthmore should contact the Off-Campus Study Office for additional information and resources,
including important information about the credit pre-estimation and approval processes.
Students seeking credit for domestic (USA) off-campus study will need to work with the registrar, the English course credit consultant, and
possibly the deans. To find out who the current course credit consultant is for English Literature, contact the department chair or administrative
assistant.
Life After Swarthmore
After graduation, our majors find jobs in the ever-expanding range of industries that prize reading, writing, interpretive skills, teamwork, and
creative thinking. We count among our English alums poets and novelists, social workers and scholars, news writers, teachers, broadcast
journalists, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, financial analysts, grant writers, publishers and editors, natural or social science writers, doctors, and
lawyers. About a third of our graduates head to premiere graduate schools, including Harvard, Oxford, Berkeley, Yale, the University of
Pennsylvania, and NYU.
Swarthmore English literature majors are represented in any field in which analysis, communication, and empathy are integral. Grounded in the
mission of Swarthmore, our students leave as well-rounded citizens of the world.
English Literature Courses
First-Year Seminars and Writing Courses
First-Year Seminars are limited to 12 first-year students only. No student may take more than one within the department. Writing courses are
limited to 15, and are open to all first-year students without prerequisite. All First-Year Seminars and Writing courses count towards the college
writing requirement.
ENGL 009A. First-Year Seminar: Literature and Law
In this course we will explore the forms law and literature take as they work through similar concerns, determining how social systems should
function and puzzling over the moments when they don't. When does fiction appropriate the law's penchant for articulating rights and defining
relationships? And when does the legal imagination draw from literature? We will read works of tragedy, detection, confession and evasion as
we sort through these questions, supplementing our conversation with critical legal theory, trauma studies, and case law.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Patnaik.
Spring 2023. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009C. First-Year Seminar: Why College? The Past and Future of Liberal Arts
Look past the brochures and the info sessions and ask: what is college in the early 21st Century, how did it get that way? Why do people go to
college? Should they? Students in this course will examine the history of higher education, and study controversies over the economics, mission,
and values of colleges and universities as they appear in curricula, admissions and financial aid policies, student life, and more. Students will
develop an understanding of the behind-the-scenes operations of higher education institutions like Swarthmore through reading, seminar
discussion, visits from experts, and independent research.
Humanities
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Buurma and Hines.
Spring 2023. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009D. First-Year Seminar: Nation and Migration
Drawing on novels, short stories and film produced by immigrant writers from South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, this course explores the
ways in which identity and community is shaped in the modern world. How does the migrant/diasporic writer rewrite the English language to
reflect questions of race and power, nationhood and citizenship, and histories of the past and present? Authors include Salman Rushdie, Edwidge
Danticat, Chimamanda Adichie, and Mohsin Hamid.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Mani.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009E. First-Year Seminar: Narcissus and the History of Reflection
Narcissism seems at once reprehensible and an unavoidable part of personhood. This course investigates how, over the course of many centuries,
the story of Narcissus has been reworked as a way to think about process of creative reflection and how we see ourselves in relation to others. At
stake are questions of desire, gender, racial identities, and language. Authors include Ovid, Milton, Wilde, Freud, and Fanon; also visual art and
film.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Song.
Fall 2023. Song.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009F. First Year Seminar: Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as SPAN 015, LITR 015S, LALS 015)
This course is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S. with emphasis on the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the
experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latino/a communities. We will focus particularly in works produced by the three major
groups of U.S. Latino/as (Mexican Americans or Chicanos, Puerto Ricans or Nuyoricans, and Cuban Americans). By analyzing works from a
range of genres including poetry, fiction, film, and performance, along with literary and cultural theory, the course will explore some of the
major themes in the cultural production of these groups. Topics to be discussed include identity formation in terms of language, race, gender,
sexuality, and class; diaspora and emigration; the marketing of the Latino/a identity; and activism through art.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2021. Díaz
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009H. First-Year Seminar: Portraits of the Artist
We will study works portraying artists in a variety of media, seeking a critical understanding of the ways in which artists in different times and
places have interacted with their societies. We'll also seek to tackle answers to broader questions: What is cultural studies? How can we ask
better questions about how a particular story-world creates meaning? In what ways are artists part of their place & time, yet also able to
imagine worlds that may resonate with audiences in very different eras? How does literature inspire critical thinking and imagining a different
future? Here are some of the materials being considered for the Fall 2020 syllabus: "How 17 Outsize Portraits Rattled a Small Southern
Town/ Newnan, Ga., decided to use art to help the community celebrate diversity and embrace change. Not everyone was ready for what they
saw."/ Artist featured: Mary Beth Meehan NYTimes, Jan. 20, 2020; Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, NBC TV series pilot (episode 1) (2020); Lin-
Manuel Miranda, "Breathe" from In the Heights (2008) and "My Shot" from Hamilton (2015); Hope Boykin, choreographer: "It's OK too. Feel"
(dance during 2020 quarantine); Plato (Parable of the Cave, from The Republic); Ted Chiang, "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate"
(2019); Ghost in the Shell (film, 1995). Based on the manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow. Screenplay by Kazunori Itō; directed by
Mamoru Oshii; A short story/portrait of the artist as a young woman by Sandra Cisneros, from Woman Hollering Creek (1991); Philip
Pullman, The Golden Compass (first novel in the His Dark Materials trilogy, 1995, also made into an HBO series); Akwaete Emezi, Pet (YA
fiction, 2019); Louis Armstrong, West End Blues (jazz; 1928); Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer 2019 "emotion picture"/music video. Also to be
assigned are selected background and critical materials, including the Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat's essay "Create Dangerously:
The Immigrant Artist at Work," and Karl Ove Knausgaard's "The Slowness of Literature and the Shadow of Knowledge."
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Schmidt.
Fall 2022. Schmidt.
Fall 2023. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009J. First-Year Seminar: Revolution and Revolt
What makes a revolution? This course investigates the literature of rebellion from the late 18th century's "Age of Revolution" to the George
Floyd rebellions. We will read the works of not only famous revolutionary leaders, but also infamous and obscure ones, including radical
abolitionists, communists, anarchists, feminists, student activists, and more, asking how their writing interprets the memory of previous
revolutions and imagines possibilities beyond them.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH
Spring 2022. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009R. First-Year Seminar: Grendel's Workshop
This course will be a study of several traditional literary texts and of modern reshapings of these old stories into new artistic forms. Pairings of
old and new will include various versions of Cinderella/Ashputtle, Little Red Riding Hood, Beowulf and Gardner's Grendel, and Shakespeare's
Hamlet and Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. There will be both critical and creative writing assignments in the class.
John Gardner rewrote the ancient epic Beowulf in modern idiom from the monster's viewpoint. Tom Stoppard showed us what Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern were up to offstage in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Angela Carter's Red Riding Hood was fascinated by the company of wolves. Students
will study old texts and their modern revisions and then write both critical papers about the them and also, using the re-telling models as starting
points, reshape their own beautiful or beastly visions in creative writing forms. Here are some retelling slants: What is the story of the rat in
Cinderella who is turned into a coachman? What is Ophelia dreaming in Hamlet as she slides into the netherworld of drowning and
death? What is the mute lullaby which Grendel's mother uses to sing him (or herself) to sleep in her underwater cave each night? What might
the wolf in LRRH and Grendel have to say to one another over cappuccino in Kohlberg?
This First-year Seminar counts as both a Writing Class (W) and an English Dept. Creative Writing workshop.
Humanities
Writing course.
Fall 2021. Williamson.
Fall 2022. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 009Z. First-Year Seminar: Close Reading and Its Discontents
What is close reading? How do we do it? What is its (unexpectedly complex) history? And what might it mean for us to reject it? We will study
close readings of all kinds of text (from John Donne poems and Jane Austen novels to car advertisements and Tweets), practice traditional and
experimental forms of close and distant reading, and write in several genres.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 011. Comedy
The course covers a range of comic dramas and comic performances. It will introduce key theories about comedy as a genre and comic
performance as a cultural practice. We will also work intensively on expository writing and revision. Likely texts include plays by Plautus,
Shakespeare, Wilde, and Churchill, Hollywood romantic comedies, television comedy, and materials on minstrelsy, genre theory and
performance studies.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, English 009G, but this new version is open to any student, without
any prerequisite. If you have taken English 009G, you are not able to enroll in English 011.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Johnson.
Spring 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Medieval and Renaissance Courses
ENGL 010. Monsters, Marvels, and Mysteries: Beowulf to Paradise Lost
The first thousand years of English Literature with an emphasis on monsters like Grendel and Satan, marvels like a talking tree and a boy actor
playing a woman pretending to be a man, and mysteries like the moth that devours words and a green knight who offers a hero the chance to
chop off his head. Some modern retellings such as Gardner's Grendel and Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be included.
Major authors include Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.
Med/Ren
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Fall 2021. Williamson.
Fall 2022. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 014. Old English/History of the Language
(Cross-listed as LING 014)
A study of the origins and development of English-sound, syntax, and meaning-with an initial emphasis on learning Old English. Topics may
include writing and speech, changing phonology and morphology, wordplay in Chaucer and Shakespeare, pidgins and creoles, and global
English.
Med/Ren.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Prerequisite: This course may be taken without the usual Prerequisite course in English; however, it may not serve in the place of a Prerequisite
for other advanced courses.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Spring 2023. Williamson.
Spring 2024. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 016. Chaucer
Readings in Middle English of most of Chaucer's poetry with emphasis on The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde. The course attempts
to place the poetry in a variety of critical and cultural contexts which help to illuminate Chaucer's art. Medieval cultural readings include
Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, and Andreas Capellanus' The Art of Courtly Love.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 020. Shakespeare
Topics in this survey of Shakespeare's plays, include kingship, comedy and tragedy, family, sexuality, race, performance, language, and the
rewriting of history. We will frequently return to the question of theater's place in early modern England, while also examining the place
Shakespeare holds in the cultures we inhabit. The list of plays may include Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth
Night, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, Othello, Lear, and The Tempest.
Med/Ren
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Johnson.
Fall 2022. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 021. Shakespeare and Race
This course pursues a particular line of thinking about race and Shakespearean drama. In previous decades, scholarship emphasized how
modern categories of race had not yet taken root in Shakespearean England. More recently, scholars have discerned the relevance of race and
racism in Shakespeare's plays. This course considers how the meaning of blackness and anti-black racism on stage develops alongside the
shifting relationship between religious belief and dramatic entertainment. Titus Andronicus, The Merchant of Venice, and Othello will be our
main primary texts; supplemental readings from The Tempest and the Sonnets possible as time permits. Attention to criticism and performance &
film history.
Med/Ren.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 022. Literature of the English Renaissance
This course will begin with More's Utopia and end with selections from Paradise Lost, paying particular attention to literature's political
contexts, gender, genre, and the relation of women's writing to the male canon. Among the other writers included will be Wyatt, Surrey, Philip
Sidney, Mary Herbert, Mary Wroth, Spenser, Elizabeth Cary, Jonson, Bacon, Donne, Herrick, George Herbert, and Marvell.
Med/Ren.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 023. Renaissance Sexualities
The study of sexuality allows us to pose some of the richest historical questions we can ask about subjectivity, the natural, the public, and the
private. This course will explore such questions in early modern England, examining several sexual categories (the homoerotic, chastity and
friendship, marriage, adultery, and incest) in a range of literary and secondary texts.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 024. The Revolutionary Seventeenth Century
This course traces how English writers anticipated, participated in, and made sense of the civil wars that led to the execution of Charles I (1649)
and a failed attempt at non-monarchical government (1649-1660). Authors include William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Milton, and Aphra
Behn, as well as less familiar but important writers of both imaginative texts and polemics.
Med/Ren.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Song.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 025. Christopher Marlowe: Works, Life, and Afterlives
Marlowe's writing career was brief (cut short by his murder at the age of twenty nine) but made a lasting impression on English poetry and
drama. This course offers a comprehensive overview of Marlowe's literary output and samples some contemporaneous writings influenced by his
work. This semester-long study will be enhanced by attention to Marlowe's mysterious biography, which has generated questions about his
religious belief (or putative atheism), political allegiances (and activity as a spy), and sexuality.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 026. Allegory and Allegoresis in the English Renaissance
Allegory designates a mode of writing and of interpreting narratives. The decline of allegory marks a shift from medieval to modern culture,
eventually giving way to realism. Yet allegory has never left us, as we continue to read allegorically to some degree. This course turns to the
English Renaissance as a literary turning point. Readings from The Faerie Queene, Paradise Lost, and Pilgrim's Progress; theoretical work by
Walter Benjamin, Paul de Man, and others.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 027. Queen Elizabeth: Power, Gender, and Art
The memory of Elizabeth I still looms large on both sides of the Atlantic. We continue to generate and circulate depictions of the Queen who
remained unmarried, ruled England during a decisive and turbulent time of national development, and died heirless. In this course, we revisit
sixteenth-century England to examine the interlace between Elizabeth's private life and the political mythology built around her during her long
rule. Although we will attempt to be as historically accurate as possible, the basic premise of this course is that political realities, artistic
representations, and intimate concerns are so intertwined around Elizabeth as to be inseparable. We will study a wide range of texts and
materials, including Elizabeth's own writings, drama, poetry, paintings, and clothing. Key topics include early modern (and modern) theories of
political sovereignty, religious conflict at home and abroad, Petrarchism, early exploits in the New World, and gender.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 027B. Performing Justice on the Renaissance Stage
Courtroom spectacles-tragic injustices or the satisfying punishment of villains-have become familiar sources of entertainment. This course will
examine how Shakespeare, Jonson, and their contemporaries turn repeatedly to the law for dramatic energy. Their plays compel a number of
questions: what does it mean to take pleasure in injustice? What is the relationship between human and divine justice? These questions often
demand historical answers, and our class will examine how dramatic works think through specific developments in legal thinking and practice.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 028. Milton
Intensive study of one of the most influential writers in English literary history. Units on: Milton's early poetry; political writings during the Civil
Wars and the experiment in non-monarchical government; and major later works, with special emphasis on the epic Paradise Lost. Overarching
topics include the relationship between Christian belief and classical mythology, contested gender norms, and liberty as a religious and political
concept.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Song.
Spring 2023. Song.
Fall 2023. Song.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 046. Tolkien and Pullman and Their Literary Roots
A study of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Pullman's His Dark Materials in the context of their early English sources. For Tolkien, this will
include Beowulf, Old English riddles and elegies, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For Pullman, this will include Biblical stories of the
Creation and Fall, Milton's Paradise Lost, and selected Blake poems. Some film versions will be included.
Med/Ren or 20th/21st.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, CPLT
Spring 2022. Williamson.
Spring 2023. Williamson.
Spring 2024. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071B. The Lyric Poem in English
English 071B is a survey of the lyric poetry in English from the Middle Ages up to the present, along with a few works read in translation.
Students will learn the basics in understanding and enjoying the music of poetry, including scansion and prosody (beats and sounds). They will
also learn to appreciate the basic forms of lyric poetry, including ballads and sonnets and many other forms, as well as "free" verse; they will
also receive instruction on how to appreciate metaphors, irony, and the many other figures of speech and rhetorical techniques poems employ.
They will also gain appreciation of poetic history and the many ways in which poets and their work have historically interacted with their eras,
while also creating work that can powerfully speak to us in our present moment.
We'll use The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (Ed. Mark Strand and Eavon Boland) and Camille Paglia's Break, Blow,
Burn, a collection of essays on some of the most famous poems in English. Other course materials will be posted as needed on the English 71B
Moodle site.
This course is focused on great poems from the past (from the medieval era to the twentieth century), but both Making of a Poem and Paglia treat
us to some very contemporary poems and poets as well.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as a Med/Ren, 18th/19th, or 20th/21st century course, depending on the topics of the
majority of the student's written work. Discuss your options with the professor.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
18th and 19th Century Courses
ENGL 033. The Romantic Sublime
"The essential claim of sublime is that man[sic] can, in speech and feeling, transcend the human" (Weiskel). What does this transcendence look
like? How is it achieved? What resources does it offer us, and at what cost? Authors include Burke, Blake, the Wordsworths, Coleridge, Byron,
the Shelleys, and Keats.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2023. Bolton.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 035. The Rise of the Novel
Why do we read novels? How has the history of novel-reading shaped the way we think about ourselves, about other people, and about the
world? In answering these questions, we will study the long history of the novel in English considered as an aesthetic and material form, as a
record of social life, and as a way of imagining other possible worlds. We will begin in the eighteenth century, travelling through the novel's
Victorian and Modernist incarnations and its post-colonial and post-modernist reconfigurations to end in the present. Includes close attention to
major canonical novels and authors, a survey of the main critical and theoretical approaches to the novel, strategies for close reading and
interpretation, introductory text-mining techniques, and investigation of how novels were printed and circulated. Recommended for anyone
interested in reading, writing, or reviewing novels.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Fall 2021. Buurma.
Fall 2022. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 036. Jane Austen
Mingling stylistic precision with an uncanny eye for social foibles, Austen's novels off a useful entry point into the study of literature and the ways
literature reflects and refracts social conditions. We'll read Austen's major novels along with the 18th-century fiction, politics, and philosophy
to which she was responding; we'll also consider recent critical views on Austen and the ways films of the1990s through the present engaged
Austen's style and social critique. At the same time, students will engage the genre of the academic essay by writing and revising several kinds of
literary essays: close readings; analysis of a novel's use of source material or a film's use of addressing one or more of the novels in a broader
historical or stylistic context.
18th/19th c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 038. Regency Skepticism, 1812-1832
Skepticism and critique, rather than prophecy and transformation, are the common threads linking the "second-generation Romantics": writers
like Jane Austen, Byron, and the Shelleys. Indeed, Regency writers, pursuing formal and psychological integrity within a period of complex
social changes, transform a certain wry cynicism into both an art form and a tool of inquiry. We'll explore the different visions of power at work
in such diverse texts as Austen's Emma, Percy Shelley's "Mont Blanc" as well as parts of Prometheus Unbound and The Cenci, Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein, and Byron's Don Juan. To see the relevance of regency skepticism today, we'll close the semester with a reading of the
Romanticist anti-hero of J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace. At the same time as we dwell on the textual choices of these fabulous writers, students will
explore their own writing process, developing strategies to help them create more nuanced, unified, and sophisticated written arguments.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 040. Victorian Literature and Victorian Informatics
A broad survey of canonical Victorian literature, including Charlotte Brontë, John Stuart Mill, Charles Darwin, George Eliot, Christina Rossetti,
Alfred Tennyson, Oscar Wilde, and others. This class focuses on developing techniques of close, middle-distance, and distant reading, with an
emphasis on exploring digital tools for organizing, curating, decompasing, and remaking literary texts, including some treatment of theories of
knowledge organization and literary histories of information.
Pre-1830 or 18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 050R. 19th Century Radicalisms
What can the radical thinking and practice of the past teach us about the political possibilities of today? This course explores the explosion of
anti-slavery, anti-racist, socialist, free love, anarchist, and anti-imperialist writing in and around the nineteenth-century US. It looks to these past
radicalisms not only as forerunners of present ones, but also for models of revolutionary world-making that may appear strange, irrational, or
incomprehensible from the point of view of the present. We will read primary texts across a range of genres, placing a particular emphasis on the
early Black radical tradition, as well as a selection of secondary texts to help us theorize and historicize this work.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
ENGL 051. Mariners, Renegades, and Castaways: Early American Literature
This course examines American literature from its earliest recorded oral traditions to the Civil War by focusing on outsiders, or what
Trinidadian critic C.L.R. James, writing about Moby-Dick, called "mariners, renegades, and castaways." Our readings will include not only
Melville's once neglected, now famous novel, but also a wide range of less familiar texts, including origin stories, captivity narratives, poetry,
and manifestoes.
18th/19th c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 051F. Moby-Dick
Hailed as a masterpiece of U.S. fiction, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) is a genre-defying work that pulls epic, romantic,
dramatic, scientific, and historiographic forms into its literary vortex. The cosmic scope and metaphysical complexity of this text have enthralled,
and sometimes left stranded, many an intrepid reader. Members of this course will embark on a semester-long study of a text that has become a
key touchstone for writers, artists, philosophers, and political thinkers alike. Guided by their own close-readings of Moby-Dick and selected
contemporaneous texts drawn from their own archival research, students will engage with the historical and cultural contexts in which the novel
was written, including the proliferation of new forms of print media, the rise of industrial capitalism, continuing processes of enslavement and
indigenous dispossession, and U.S. expansionist efforts across the hemisphere and the globe. At once a rigorous and irreverent meditation on
literary form and knowledge-production, Moby-Dick will serve as a crucial point of departure for students' own critical explorations in and
beyond the major.
Students should have completed strong work in prior classes in cultural studies, U.S. literature, history, and/or theory (including
colonial/postcolonial studies), preferably including both at least one mid-level English literature course and an advanced course in other
humanities or social sciences departments or interdisciplinary programs.
Limited to 15 students. For English Literature majors and minors, this course will count as an 18th/19th century course towards the historical
distribution requirements.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 055. Apocalypse Then
Many of us feel like we are living on the edge of apocalypse. In this class we will address our imminent future by looking to the apocalyptic
literature of the past. We will begin with N. K. Jemison's 2015 novel The Fifth Season and then move back in time to consider earlier visions of
the end of the world, focusing on the nineteenth-century US. Some of the texts we'll read describe apocalypses as they were unfolding, like Sarah
Winnemucca's narrative of the annihilation of indigenous lives and lifeways by settler-colonialism, Life among the Paiutes. Others visualize
apocalypses that had yet to take place, like the prophecies of earthly destruction that inspired Nat Turner's and John Brown's revolts against
slavery. Our task will be to explore how these works confront the end of the world-and what new ideas and relations they forge by living with the
end in sight.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Cohen.
Spring 2024. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 060. Early Black Print Cultures
(Cross-listed as BLST 060)
This course introduces students to the wide variety of early Black print culture in the US, including newspapers, broadside poetry, political
pamphlets, and novels. We will attend closely to the materiality of these texts, reading not only for the work of authors but also that of
illustrators, editors, publishers, typesetters, and readers. What racial identities, aesthetic forms, and political possibilities did print afford? Our
investigations will be informed by readings in recent theory and criticism on Black Studies, print culture, and archives. In their final projects,
students will have the chance to pursue their own original research using the rich resources of Philadelphia-area libraries.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 061. The Literatures of Slavery
How did Black literary production emerge to resist the institution and ideology of slavery in the United States? While this course will focus
largely on antebellum slave narratives- powerful acts of self-presentation that challenged the racial logic of slavery and bore witness to its brutal
violence-we will also consider Black oratory, essays, poetry, and fiction of the late 18th and 19th centuries.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 064A. The New Negro Versus Jim Crow
The first in a sequence of courses on the post-Emancipation development of African American literature, this course focuses on the Black literary
florescence that began at the end of the 19th century even as the strictures and structures of the Jim Crow regime hardened. What, then, is the
relationship between the birth of Jim Crow and the birth of a "New Negro"?
18th/19th c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2021. Foy.
Fall 2023. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071A. The Short Story en las Américas
(Cross-listed as SPAN 071, LITR 071S)
This team-taught course will offer a wide-ranging overview of the short story in the Americas from a comparative perspective, emphasizing
continuities and also identifying areas of innovation and transformation.
The course will begin in the early 19th century with masters whose daring work in this "minor" form gave the short story new prominence in
literary history: Poe, Hawthorne, and Chesnutt. Later, the class will focus on Quiroga and Borges whose innovations redefined the genre, and
moved Latin American fiction into the forefront of world literature.
By focusing on close reading and class discussions, we will seek to discover the distinctive characteristics of the short story, and outline its
development and transformation across the continents. Does the short-story bind together the diverse literatures of the United States and Latin
America? How should we identify and understand parallels between the works in English and those in Spanish? How should we explain
contrasts? Of particular interest will be dialogues and influences crossing languages and literary traditions: Poe and Horacio Quiroga;
Hemingway and Borges; Borges/Cortázar inspiring Barth; Rulfo's and García Márquez's (and others') influences on US-based Latinx writers.
Readings, assignments, and class discussions will be in English. No prior knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary. This class is open to
all students, without prerequisites.
For English Literature majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071B. The Lyric Poem in English
English 071B is a survey of the lyric poetry in English from the Middle Ages up to the present, along with a few works read in translation.
Students will learn the basics in understanding and enjoying the music of poetry, including scansion and prosody (beats and sounds). They will
also learn to appreciate the basic forms of lyric poetry, including ballads and sonnets and many other forms, as well as "free" verse; they will
also receive instruction on how to appreciate metaphors, irony, and the many other figures of speech and rhetorical techniques poems employ.
They will also gain appreciation of poetic history and the many ways in which poets and their work have historically interacted with their eras,
while also creating work that can powerfully speak to us in our present moment.
We'll use The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (Ed. Mark Strand and Eavon Boland) and Camille Paglia's Break, Blow,
Burn, a collection of essays on some of the most famous poems in English. Other course materials will be posted as needed on the English 71B
Moodle site.
This course is focused on great poems from the past (from the medieval era to the twentieth century), but both Making of a Poem and Paglia treat
us to some very contemporary poems and poets as well.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as a Med/Ren, 18th/19th, or 20th/21st century course, depending on the topics of the
majority of the student's written work. Discuss your options with the professor.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071D. The Short Story in the U.S.
Reading assignments will primarily be short stories, but will also include selected other relevant materials. The course will begin in the early
19
th
century with masters whose daring and innovative work gave the short story new prominence in literary history: Poe, Irving, Hawthorne,
and Melville. The syllabus will include significant late 19
th
- and early 20
th
-century authors who built on this legacy (such as James, Chopin,
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hurston, and Faulkner, among others). After vacation break we'll turn to later authors such as Eudora Welty, Ray
Bradbury, Toni Cade Bambara, Thomas Pynchon, George Saunders, Sandra Cisneros, Jennifer Egan, Edwidge Danticat, and many others. Our
syllabus will also feature published work by recent Swarthmore graduates who have gone on to become published fiction writers.
This is a Gateway English Literature course, suitable for anyone's first or second English literature course. Majors and minors are also
welcome. For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or as a 20th/21st century course, depending on the topic of the
final research paper.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Fall 2022. Schmidt.
ENGL 090A. Minor Characters and Ordinary People: New Methods in History and Literature
(Cross-listed as HIST 090N )
Novels, social media, close friends, and parents help us feel like main characters in our own lives, but most of us will remain minor, relatively
unimportant characters in any larger context. This course will explore the problem of the minor character and the ordinary person from the
conflicting and complementary perspectives of the historians and the literary critic, using both traditional and computational methods. Are there
formal analytic strategies for interpreting and examining minor characters and ordinary individuals that do not insist on moving them from the
margins to the center? Or are all minor characters simply understudy protagonists and consequential people waiting for their time in the
spotlight? We will trace this problem through major works of history and literature and through their transformation and interpretation using
qualitative and quantitative methods. Students will create an original essay, art project or other work on a minor character or about the idea of
minor character as part of the course's final publication project.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
20th and 21st Century Courses
ENGL 012. Writing and Sustenance
Food embodies culture and its paradoxes: it delineates 'taste,' it offers us delight and decadence and comfort, it defines both home and the
'unheimlich'-the ritually forbidden-which is the antithesis of home. Major novelists of the past decade have engaged deeply with food production
and consumption as a lens on contemporary culture more generally. What do contemporary novels and memoirs have to teach us about food
politics and and human resilience? Authors include Kingsolver, Franzen, Ozeki, Desai, Yoshimoto, Kimball. The course will also include some
practical experiences (labs, field trips) engaging writing and sustenance.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 035. The Rise of the Novel
Why do we read novels? How has the history of novel-reading shaped the way we think about ourselves, about other people, and about the
world? In answering these questions, we will study the long history of the novel in English considered as an aesthetic and material form, as a
record of social life, and as a way of imagining other possible worlds. We will begin in the eighteenth century, travelling through the novel's
Victorian and Modernist incarnations and its post-colonial and post-modernist reconfigurations to end in the present. Includes close attention to
major canonical novels and authors, a survey of the main critical and theoretical approaches to the novel, strategies for close reading and
interpretation, introductory text-mining techniques, and investigation of how novels were printed and circulated. Recommended for anyone
interested in reading, writing, or reviewing novels.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Fall 2021. Buurma.
Fall 2022. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 046. Tolkien and Pullman and Their Literary Roots
A study of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Pullman's His Dark Materials in the context of their early English sources. For Tolkien, this will
include Beowulf, Old English riddles and elegies, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For Pullman, this will include Biblical stories of the
Creation and Fall, Milton's Paradise Lost, and selected Blake poems. Some film versions will be included.
Med/Ren or 20th/21st.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, CPLT
Spring 2022. Williamson.
Spring 2023. Williamson.
Spring 2024. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047A. Asian American Literature and Culture
Treated as "forever foreign," not quite a minority (a "model"), Asians resurface in U.S. national culture from time to time, remembered anew
amid perennial forgetting. To what extent does Asian American invisibility betray a constitutive role in U.S. history? After reviewing the rise of
Asian American studies, this course will chart the shifting place of Asians in the modernizing of America by examining im/migration, empire's
wars, and the interracial future/diaspora through literary and cultural texts as well as ethnic historiography and criticism. In providing a critical
history of Asian America, this course expands the field's foundational concerns toward a transpacific and hemispheric Asia/America while
exploring minor adoptions and resistances of America, including of its aesthetic and social movements. Texts may include Crazy Rich
Asians, The Year of the Dragon, America is in the Heart, Philippine-American War editorial cartoons, Obasan, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, We
Should Never Meet, Tropic of Orange, Robot Stories, I'm Not Saying I'm Just Saying, Homecoming King, Immigrant Acts, Coolies and
Cane, Impossible Subjects, Soldiering through Empire, The Oriental Obscene, Alien Capital, Partly Colored, and Dangerous Crossings. Students
will be evaluated based on class participation and presentations, written responses, (con)textual analysis, and comparative analysis or genre
recreation.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047B. Alternate War Histories of Asia/America
In what ways do cultural disparities and conflictual historical experiences lead to not only different perceptions of reality but in fact multiple
realities? Anchored in two wars-World War II, from which the US emerged as a world power, and the Vietnam War, the first televised war and
America's "unwinnable war"-this course focuses on Asian/American entanglement and the worlds to which it gives rise. There are multiple
Japans that emerged in World War II: the empire that might have conquered the US, as imagined in the alternate history of The Man in the High
Castle; the lost land of origin that has brought trauma on its "heirs," the Japanese interned by the US; the Japan experienced by comfort women
in Asia. Similarly, the story of the Vietnam War has been told almost exclusively from an American viewpoint. Yet The Sympathizer promises to
tell another story: not only of the US in Vietnam as seen by the Vietnamese but of the Vietnamese in America, indeed of two Vietnams. What
might we learn from alternate (hi)stories about the political functions and ontological power of narrative? Texts may include The Man in the
High Castle, No-No Boy, Comfort Woman, The World at War, Cold War, Apocalypse Now, Vietnam War protest poetry, The Sympathizer, Night
Sky with Exit Wounds, We Should Never Meet, Forgetting Vietnam, Maya Lin, and the Vietnamese Oral History Project, along with theoretical
texts on war and reality. Students will be evaluated based on class participation and presentations, written responses, (con)textual analysis, and
comparative analysis.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired, PEAC.
Fall 2021. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047C. Asian American Gender/Sexuality/Species
Asian Americans are typically represented as either the model minority, the immigrant whose successful assimilation serves to discipline other
minorities, or the yellow peril, the eternal foreigner threatening to invade from within. How are these figures not only racial but also gendered
and sexual, consistent with constructions of the hardworking but racially "castrated" Asian man and the desirable because "domestic" Asian
woman? To what extent are these tropes premised on animality, rooted in the fear that the other may not be human, and that this other will
encroach upon the self, reveal the human as other? Through an examination of the representation and performance of gender and sexuality in
Asian American literature and culture, this course considers the intertwined constitution and contradictions of race, gender, and sexuality while
keeping an eye on the animal that serves as their limits. We will focus on U.S. representations of Asian masculinity and femininity, the
association of Asians in the (post)colony with appetite, and Asian reclamations of the child and the queer along with the animal. Readings may
include M. Butterfly, Bruce Lee and Wang TV clips, Charlie Chan is Dead 2, The Chinaman Pacific and Frisco R. R. Co, The Joy Luck
Club, "Happiness: A Manifesto," The Book of Salt, Dogeaters, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, The
Hypersexuality of Race, Eating Asian America, and Dangerous Crossings.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Spring 2022. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047D. Southeast Asian Literature in English
In traditional terms the part of the world between China and India, Southeast Asia lies at a global crossroads where the giants of the continent
have historically spread their influence and where the East met the West due to the European scramble for "the (East) Indies." Its position at
these borderlands has made Southeast Asia one of the world's most diverse, but also liminal, sites, as indicated by its elision in history and
literary studies (including in postcolonial studies, if not as much in area studies). Given the minor role to which it is relegated in the world and in
Asia, how does the history of Southeast Asia get narrated in its literature-in particular, in literature written in or translated into English, the
postwar lingua franca? This course charts modern Southeast Asian history through literature from or about its different periods-from the
colonial era to the world between the wars to independence to the contemporary time. In the process, we will examine the literary strategies
invented and adopted by locals to tell their (version of) history as well as the language of transmission-a language that, as it becomes more and
more universal, might efface the very thing for which we are looking. Readings will come from mainland and maritime Southeast Asia as well as
the diaspora and may include Dumb Luck, The Harmony Silk Factory, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Only a Girl, Insurrecto, Virtual Lotus,
and A/PART.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 052A. U.S. Fiction, 1900-1950
This course focuses on well-known and newly recognized novelists important for this period: Baum, London, Wharton, Cather, Hemingway,
Hurston, Loos, Hammett, McCullers, and Steinbeck. There will be attention to innovations in the novel as a literary form and to the ways in
which writers engage with their historical context, particularly regarding issues of immigration, race, community, and redefinitions of gender
roles and the meaning of "American."
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 052B. U.S. Fiction, 1945 to the Present
We'll look at major authors and emerging figures, with attention to innovations in the novel as a literary form and the ways in which writers
engage with their historical context, both within the U.S. and globally. Highsmith, Baldwin, Hemingway, and McCarthy, in different ways,
introduce themes of gender roles, sexuality, and politics that will be taken up by a host of later works, including Marshall, Díaz, and Belleza.
Both McCarthy's and Wolitzer's novels follow a group of young adult friends (Vassar students from the 1930s and summer arts camp friends from
the 1970s) into their older adult lives-personal stories of friendship and betrayal, but also stories of the nation's changes. Near the end of the
semester, the YA [young adult genre] author Rhoda Belleza and her editor, Swarthmore grad Tiffany Liao, will visit Swarthmore to discuss
Belleza's new novel Empress of a 1000 Skies, which we'll read. (If you liked the most recent Star Wars reinventions, you should really enjoy this
work.)
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 052C. Contemporary US Fiction, 1990 to the Present
This course will focus on contemporary U.S. fiction published since 1990 or so. The reading list will feature global perspectives on the U.S. as
well as new understandings of the U.S.'s past and present by U.S.-born authors. We'll explore the novels' formal inventiveness as well as their
engagement with history, race, gender, and a variety of other social issues, including multi-racial single and family identities (and, by
implication, how this may help the U.S. national narrative evolve away from white suprematism). Three of the readings will use the genre of
"historical fiction" to reinterpret U.S. history, but all the texts rewrite the possibilities of personal, family, and national/transnational narratives.
A special feature of the course will be the celebration of Swarthmore alum Patricia Park, who will visit Swarthmore to read from and discuss her
first novel. Entitled Re Jane, its heroine Jane Re is a mixed-race orphan on a quest to learn more about her family history. The novel is set in
Queens, Brooklyn, and Korea, and is both a fun romantic comedy and a clever reimagining of the Jane Eyre plot.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 053. Modern American Poetry
An introductory survey of the full range of 20th-century American poetry, but we will commence with Whitman and Dickinson, two key
predecessors and enablers. The emphasis will be on particular poets and poems, but a recurrent theme will be poetry's role in a democracy: is
poetry really an esoteric art for the "educated" few, as some imply, or has poetry in the 20th century played a crucial role in shaping both
democratic citizens and a sense of democratic culture?
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Schmidt.
Spring 2023. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 053R. Research Topics in U.S. Literature
A limited-enrollment, research-oriented colloquium for students who have done well in a previous U.S. literature course and would like to do
advanced work. We will focus on readings and research materials to learn some basic methods and theory relevant for contemporary archival
research using print and online resources. Later in the semester students will be able to propose, design, and present their own research project
to the class. Students will conclude the course by writing a research thesis on a topic of their choice approved by the professor; they will also
write a short paper on the earlier materials.
20th/21st c.
Prerequisite: English 52 (A or B) or English 53, or an equivalent mid-level course covering U.S. or colonial literature taught by the Swarthmore
English department. Enrollment limited to 15.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 054. Toni Morrison
(Cross-listed as BLST 054)
As the recipient of numerous literary prizes (Nobel, Pulitzer, and National Book Critics Circle Award, to name a few), Toni Morrison was an
author of international renown whose books routinely occupied a place on domestic and international best seller lists. Indeed, it is safe to say
that her work transcended what many readers ascertain as "black writing" in the 21st Century. Her works consistently engaged the role memory,
place, and community play in our lived experience. But how did Morrison understand her literary project in light of the fact that she eschewed
the white gaze as a controlling motif in her fictions? In a moment when discussions about how-and sometimes, whether-we value Black bodies
are happening all around us, this course offers us an opportunity to use the reading of Morrison's novels as a catalyst for new ways to think not
only about how we can occupy place, but happily cohabit with our neighbors whether they look like us, share our point of origin, or reflect our
values. In the process, we will endeavor to become a learning community in which critical thinking, analysis, dialogue, and debate are central to
developing inclusive methods of inquiry.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Beavers.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 058. Climate Fiction
(Cross-listed as ENVS 058 )
Climate fiction responds to the immensity of climate change through a variety of modes including journalism, dystopia, speculation, black
comedy. We will hone skills of thinking, writing, and speaking critically about cultural forms and social structures entangled with our
changing climate and environment. Authors include Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Jesmyn Ward, and Richard Powers.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 062. Classic Black Autobiography
A survey of twentieth-century Black autobiography, emphasizing the significance of the autobiography as an act of representation, not simply a
document of experience. What strategies do Black narrators like Du Bois, Wright, Hurston, Dunham, Baldwin, Lorde, and Malcolm X employ to
represent themselves, and how? How do their textual strategies and contextual concerns change from the Jim Crow regime into the post-Civil
Rights era?
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2021. Foy.
Spring 2024. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 063. Contemporary Black Autobiography
How does the Black subject become the source and site of intersectional theory? This course examines the complexities of Black self-presentation
in relation to gender, sexuality, class, place, and history, with a particular focus on developments within the last decade, the era of Black Lives
Matter.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Spring 2022. Foy.
Spring 2023. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 064B. Black Renaissance and Resistance
The second in a sequence of courses on the development of African American literature, this course explores the historical conditions, political
concerns, and aesthetic currents of Black cultural production during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s through its aftermath in the 1930s.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Spring 2022. Foy.
Spring 2024. Foy.
ENGL 064C. Black Protest and Possibility
The third in a sequence of courses on the development of African American literature, this course examines both the rise of popular Black protest
literature and other works that sought to counter, complicate, or complement it during the 1940s and 1950s. Through the work of such Black
writers as Wright, Petry, Ellison, Baldwin, Brooks, Himes, Marshall, and Hansberry, we will consider how they addressed the dilemmas of racial
representation.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2022. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 064D. Soul Power
The fourth in a sequence of courses on the development of African American literature, this course examines the impact of Black cultural
nationalism on the poetry, drama, fiction, and autobiography of the 1960s, attending to the iconography, ideology, and aesthetics of "soul."
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Spring 2023. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 065. Asian American Literature
How does Asian American literature function as the site of key debates about ethnic and national identity? This course explores Asian American
cultural production over the past 50 years, beginning with Flower Drum Song (1961), the first Hollywood film starring an all-Asian American
cast, and ending with the Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's short stories. Authors include Maxine Kingston, Chang-Rae Lee, David
Henry Hwang, and Theresa Hak-Kyung Cha.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 066. In/Visible: Asian American Cultural Critique
Popular representations of Asian Americans frame this immigrant group as either invisible (unseen and unheard) or hypervisible (as "yellow
peril" or "terrorist"). By contrast, the writers, scholars, and artists that we will examine in this class challenge such linear narratives, and create
new futures of Asian America. This class will highlight critical theories of race and ethnicity in relation to a wide range of textual forms:
literature, performance, visual culture. Students will also collaborate, when possible, with Asian American arts organizations in the
Philadelphia area.
Prerequisite: ENGL 065, 19th/20th Century English course
INTP, GSST, FMST classes will also be considered.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, ESCH
ENGL 067. James Baldwin's Civil Rights
Focusing on that prolific period from the late 1950s to the early 1970s when James Baldwin arose as a spokesperson, celebrity, and artist of the
Civil Rights Movement, this course engages his thought through his fiction, essays, drama, and memoir, paying particular attention to the ethics
and aesthetics of Blackness, race, gender, sexuality, and history.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Fall 2022. Foy.
Fall 2023. Foy.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 068. Black Culture in a "Post-Soul" Era
Since the 1970s, younger generations of African American writers, artists, and intellectuals have struggled over the meaning of Blackness in the
wake of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements that preceded them. Supported by a handful of historical and critical studies, we will
examine how black novelists, playwrights, and poets in the 'post-soul' era have dealt with a complex of shifting and interconnected concerns,
including the imperatives of racial representation in a society increasingly driven by mass consumption and global media, the contentious
discourses of sexual politics, and the polarization of classes within Black America.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 069. Reconstructing US Culture 1866 to 1900
This course will introduce students to the U.S. literature of the Reconstruction era. We will interpret the historical period and political project
of "Reconstruction" broadly to include texts produced during and, in some cases, after the formal period of direct federal intervention in the
south after the Civil War. If, as many scholars have suggested, Reconstruction was ultimately a contest over meaning-the meaning of the Civil
War, of freedom, of race, of the nation, and of citizenship-then it did not end in 1877. Indeed, as the historian Eric Foner has suggested,
Reconstruction is still not over. In addition to introducing students to the culture of the Reconstruction period, this course will also broadly
consider the place of war, national citizenship, freedom, and race in post-bellum American literature. Authors to include Pauline Hopkins, Mark
Twain, Charles Chesnutt, Albion W. Tourgée, WEB Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Kate Chopin.
GATEWAY English Literature. For English Literature majors and minors, this course can count as either an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century
course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071A. The Short Story en las Américas
(Cross-listed as SPAN 071, LITR 071S)
This team-taught course will offer a wide-ranging overview of the short story in the Americas from a comparative perspective, emphasizing
continuities and also identifying areas of innovation and transformation.
The course will begin in the early 19th century with masters whose daring work in this "minor" form gave the short story new prominence in
literary history: Poe, Hawthorne, and Chesnutt. Later, the class will focus on Quiroga and Borges whose innovations redefined the genre, and
moved Latin American fiction into the forefront of world literature.
By focusing on close reading and class discussions, we will seek to discover the distinctive characteristics of the short story, and outline its
development and transformation across the continents. Does the short-story bind together the diverse literatures of the United States and Latin
America? How should we identify and understand parallels between the works in English and those in Spanish? How should we explain
contrasts? Of particular interest will be dialogues and influences crossing languages and literary traditions: Poe and Horacio Quiroga;
Hemingway and Borges; Borges/Cortázar inspiring Barth; Rulfo's and García Márquez's (and others') influences on US-based Latinx writers.
Readings, assignments, and class discussions will be in English. No prior knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary. This class is open to
all students, without prerequisites.
For English Literature majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071B. The Lyric Poem in English
English 071B is a survey of the lyric poetry in English from the Middle Ages up to the present, along with a few works read in translation.
Students will learn the basics in understanding and enjoying the music of poetry, including scansion and prosody (beats and sounds). They will
also learn to appreciate the basic forms of lyric poetry, including ballads and sonnets and many other forms, as well as "free" verse; they will
also receive instruction on how to appreciate metaphors, irony, and the many other figures of speech and rhetorical techniques poems employ.
They will also gain appreciation of poetic history and the many ways in which poets and their work have historically interacted with their eras,
while also creating work that can powerfully speak to us in our present moment.
We'll use The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (Ed. Mark Strand and Eavon Boland) and Camille Paglia's Break, Blow,
Burn, a collection of essays on some of the most famous poems in English. Other course materials will be posted as needed on the English 71B
Moodle site.
This course is focused on great poems from the past (from the medieval era to the twentieth century), but both Making of a Poem and Paglia treat
us to some very contemporary poems and poets as well.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as a Med/Ren, 18th/19th, or 20th/21st century course, depending on the topics of the
majority of the student's written work. Discuss your options with the professor.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071D. The Short Story in the U.S.
Reading assignments will primarily be short stories, but will also include selected other relevant materials. The course will begin in the early
19
th
century with masters whose daring and innovative work gave the short story new prominence in literary history: Poe, Irving, Hawthorne,
and Melville. The syllabus will include significant late 19
th
- and early 20
th
-century authors who built on this legacy (such as James, Chopin,
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hurston, and Faulkner, among others). After vacation break we'll turn to later authors such as Eudora Welty, Ray
Bradbury, Toni Cade Bambara, Thomas Pynchon, George Saunders, Sandra Cisneros, Jennifer Egan, Edwidge Danticat, and many others. Our
syllabus will also feature published work by recent Swarthmore graduates who have gone on to become published fiction writers.
This is a Gateway English Literature course, suitable for anyone's first or second English literature course. Majors and minors are also
welcome. For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or as a 20th/21st century course, depending on the topic of the
final research paper.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Fall 2022. Schmidt.
ENGL 071K. Lesbian Novels Since World War II
This course will examine a wide range of novels by and about lesbians since World War II. Of particular concern will be the representation of
recent lesbian history. How, for instance, do current developments in cultural studies influence our understanding of the lesbian cultures of the
'50s, '60s, and '70s? What is at stake in the description of the recent lesbian past?
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 072. Global Modernisms: Anticolonial Modernism
In this course, we will survey global fiction from the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries, tracing an arc of modernist literary practices that
extends beyond the largely American and European coterie of high modernists. We will put pressure on the geopolitics of literary modernism(s),
exploring how historical currents and theoretical frameworks breed new critical lenses for modernist form. And we will ask: what does it mean to
be modernist?
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 076. The World, the Text, and the Critic
This core course introduces students to critical approaches in contemporary global literatures. We will explore how literature represents the
relationship between "the West and the Rest," and examine our own relation to colonial and postcolonial histories. Novels include White Teeth,
The God of Small Things, and Heart of Redness.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 077. South Asians in America
This class surveys a century of migration from the Indian subcontinent to the United States. Two questions will guide our readings and
discussion: First, what does it mean to identify as South Asian? Second, how do new ethnic identities expand our understanding of what it means
to be American? In this interdisciplinary class, we'll read Pulitzer Prize winning authors Jhumpa Lahiri and Ayad Akhtar; discuss what it means
to identify as "brown" or "Muslim" after 9/11; and explore the lives of South Asian teenagers in Silicon Valley; political activists in New York
City; and workers and artists nationwide. Throughout our readings, we will explore how ethnicity is shaped by differences of gender, religion,
sexuality and class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 078. Modernism
This course introduces students to high modernism, a period of literary experimentation that spanned the first half of the twentieth century. We
will be interested in innovative forms, failed experiments, inner lives, social movements, and the looming shadow of history. Expect to encounter
authors such as Conrad, Forster, Woolf, Joyce, Barnes, and Faulkner.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Patnaik.
Spring 2024. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 079. What is Cultural Studies?
What in the world is cultural studies? Focusing on film, art, fashion and music, we'll explore how to read and write about culture and power.
Literary close reading will go hand in hand with ethnography, historiography, cinema studies, and aesthetic theory. Highlighting how race,
class, sexuality and gender intersect in the production and consumption of cultural texts, the class emphasizes how what we read is part of the
world in which we live.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GSST
Fall 2021. Mani.
Spring 2023. Mani.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 080. Introduction to Literary Theory
This course introduces you to a range of theoretical methods for literary interpretation, including feminism, queer theory, Black studies,
postcolonialism, Marxism, (new) historicism, ethnic studies, psychoanalysis, Native studies, ecocriticism, disability studies, and book history. We
will read a selection of particularly fruitful approaches to understanding literature, including classic texts and exciting recent work; apply these
methods to a variety of primary texts; and experiment with how we might extend and remake them in our own critical practices.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2021. Cohen.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Fall 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 081. Transgender Life Writing
This course engages the work of writers who identify as transgender, asking about the relationship between intersectional transgender
experience and life narrative. How has the closet typically structured narrative and subjectivity? How does transgender writing redefine ideas of
character and continuity? How do narrative and intersectional gender theory form and inform one another? How do various writers configure
transgendered bodies?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 082. Transnational Feminist Theory
This class introduces perspectives from domestic United States and global contexts in order to ask: How do the contributions of women of color
in the United States and of feminist movements in the "Third World" radically reshape the form and content of feminist and queer politics?
Through critical inquiry into major texts in transnational feminist and queer studies, the course dynamically reconceptualizes the relationship
between women and nation; between gender, sexuality and globalization; and between feminist/queer theory and practice.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 083. On Violence
A dark lexicon emerged out of the 20th century: total war, genocide, and collateral damage were new terms invented to describe "new" versions
of atrocity. But does our ability to name violence mean that we understand it any better? This course explores the aesthetic and narrative
structures of violence in modern fiction, film, critical theory, and law. Even as we recognize texts as pertaining to distinct modes (modernism,
postmodernism, contemporary literature) we will explore how histories of colonialism and racism condition formal innovation.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 084. Human Rights and Literature: Borderzones of the Human
This course examines how twentieth- and twenty-first-century narratives imagine "the human." Shortly after the signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Hannah Arendt argued that the "right to have rights" is not, in fact, universal: in practice, rights are
secured by the state. But if human rights operate within the framework of the nation-state, the problems of the contemporary moment do
not. How, then, do we begin to imagine the rights-bearing human in an age of mass migrations, privatized militaries, global flows of capital,
climate crises, and the world wide web? The first section of this class will be devoted to studying the ways human rights advocacy and practice
has traditionally depended upon narrative structures (testimony, witnessing, reportage) and the sympathetic imagination in order to raise
awareness of atrocity. The second half of the class will explore how such attempts to narrate the human face new obstacles in the twenty-first
century. Course readings will include a wide array of narrative forms, from novels, memoirs, photography and film to ad campaigns, NGO
reports, and Freedom Information Act requests. Primary texts will be supplemented by secondary readings (Jacques Derrida, Hannah Arendt,
Giorgio Agamben, Joseph Slaughter, Deborati Sanyal, and Eyal Wiezman) and by research labs that will introduce students to local and regional
human rights work.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH
Fall 2022. Patnaik.
Fall 2023. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 084A. Reparations
In this course, we will analyze how reparations become embraced by human rights over the course of the twentieth century as a mechanism for
redressing human wrongs. We will situate reparations as they emerge in national and international contexts, including redress for Japanese-
American internment during World War II, the truth commissions in Central America and post-apartheid South Africa, civilian killings during
the War on Terror, and reparations for slavery within America. Expect to engage with literature, philosophy, literary and legal theory, national
and international treaties, and archival sources.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 086. Theory Capstone: Thinking in Crisis
(Cross-listed as HIST 090J , INTP 091)
This course explores important works of theory, history, and fiction that were produced during (and in response to) moments of profound social,
economic, and political crisis.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 087. American Narrative Cinema
(Cross-listed as FMST 021)
This course surveys U.S. narrative film history with an emphasis on the Hollywood studio era. We consider how genres such as the western, the
melodrama, and film noir express aspirations and anxieties about race, gender, class and ethnicity in the United States. Film is understood as
narrative form, audiovisual medium, industrial product, and social practice. Classical Hollywood is approached as a national cinema,
illuminated by attention to independent narrative traditions ("race movies," New Queer Cinema).
20th/21st c.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020M, ENVS 043)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offer students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GSST, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089B. Environmentally Engaged Literature: Pollutants, Fossil Fuels, and Atomic Bombs
(Cross-listed as ENVS 044)
Pollutants. Fossil Fuels. Atomic Bombs. In many ways, pesticides, oil, and plutonium structure our lives; they impact our health, our politics, and
may even threaten the existence of life itself. Ironically, because these materials permeate nearly every aspect of our existence, the human mind
can struggle to comprehend them. In this course, we will read literature that engages with our environment to help us bring humans' relationship
to these materials into focus. Scientific, historical, and economic studies of these materials tend to focus on their scale and widespread impact.
Reading poetry, plays, short stories, and novels will allow us to imagine these materials more intimately-through individual, cultural, and
aesthetic perspectives. In this course, students will ask: How can literature help us to understand-and perhaps change-our material, economic,
and social environments? How has our relationship to materials changed over time? How do environmental and material realities impact
cultural production and imagination? Texts under discussion will likely include: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962); Terry Tempest
Williams' Refuge (1991); Mark Nowak's Coal Mountain Elementary (2009); Lesley Battler's Endangered Hydrocarbons (2015); Andrew
Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling (2012); Adam Dickinson's The Polymers (2013); and two films: Hiroshima mon Amour (dir. Alain Resnais,
1959) and There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Anderson, 2007). Course requirements include active participation; a close-reading paper; an
engaged assignment; and a final research paper. All students are welcome.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Price.
ENGL 089E. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 042)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
GATEWAY English Literature.
First year students need instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GSST, ESCH, GLBL
Fall 2023. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENGL 090. Queer Media
(Cross-listed as FMST 046)
The history of avant-garde and experimental media has been intertwined with that of gender non-conformity and sexual dissidence, and even the
most mainstream media forms have been queered by subcultural reception. Challenging Hollywood's heterosexual presumption and mass media
appropriations of lgbt culture, we will examine lgbt aesthetic strategies and modes of address in contexts such as the American and European
avant-gardes, AIDS activism, and transnational and diasporan film through the lens of queer theory.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, DGHU
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 090A. Minor Characters and Ordinary People: New Methods in History and Literature
(Cross-listed as HIST 090N )
Novels, social media, close friends, and parents help us feel like main characters in our own lives, but most of us will remain minor, relatively
unimportant characters in any larger context. This course will explore the problem of the minor character and the ordinary person from the
conflicting and complementary perspectives of the historians and the literary critic, using both traditional and computational methods. Are there
formal analytic strategies for interpreting and examining minor characters and ordinary individuals that do not insist on moving them from the
margins to the center? Or are all minor characters simply understudy protagonists and consequential people waiting for their time in the
spotlight? We will trace this problem through major works of history and literature and through their transformation and interpretation using
qualitative and quantitative methods. Students will create an original essay, art project or other work on a minor character or about the idea of
minor character as part of the course's final publication project.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 092. Marxist Literary and Cultural Studies
How has Marxist thought informed the study of literature and culture, and how does Marxism speak to us today? This class provides a grounding
in the work of Marx and Engels and then investigates how a range of more recent writers have built upon their ideas, particularly in relation to
questions about race, gender, sexuality, and late capitalism. We will try out these interpretive approaches on a selection of primary texts,
including poetry, pop music, advertisements, radical newspapers, fiction, and film--some assigned and some generated by the class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Cohen.
Fall 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 094. Aydelotte Seminar on Liberal Arts Education
(Cross-listed as HIST 090L )
The research-intensive, partly project-based Aydelotte Seminar surveys the past and present of liberal arts education, and speculates wildly on its
possible futures. Drawing on research, writing, and in-person expertise from inside and outside the academy and from across a wide range of
disciplines and methods, the seminar examines how access and financial aid, curricular decisions, diversity, inequality, governance, and
knowledge production play out in the context of the liberal arts institution.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Creative Writing Workshops
The department offers two types of creative writing courses.
One course style focuses primarily on creative work: Poetry Workshop (070A), Fiction Workshop (070B), Advanced Poetry Workshop (070C),
and Advanced Fiction Workshop (070H). These workshops are limited to 12 participants, graded CR/NC. Registration for introductory
workshops is open but may be decided by course lottery; registration for advanced workshops requires completion of an introductory workshop
or permission of the instructor.
Other creative writing courses incorporate more substantial reading and written analytical responses: for example, the First-Year Seminar
Grendel's Workshop (009R). These courses are limited to 12 or 15 participants; some are graded and some are CR/NC; refer to the department
web site for the latest information.
ENGL 009R. First-Year Seminar: Grendel's Workshop
This course will be a study of several traditional literary texts and of modern reshapings of these old stories into new artistic forms. Pairings of
old and new will include various versions of Cinderella/Ashputtle, Little Red Riding Hood, Beowulf and Gardner's Grendel, and Shakespeare's
Hamlet and Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. There will be both critical and creative writing assignments in the class.
John Gardner rewrote the ancient epic Beowulf in modern idiom from the monster's viewpoint. Tom Stoppard showed us what Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern were up to offstage in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Angela Carter's Red Riding Hood was fascinated by the company of wolves. Students
will study old texts and their modern revisions and then write both critical papers about the them and also, using the re-telling models as starting
points, reshape their own beautiful or beastly visions in creative writing forms. Here are some retelling slants: What is the story of the rat in
Cinderella who is turned into a coachman? What is Ophelia dreaming in Hamlet as she slides into the netherworld of drowning and
death? What is the mute lullaby which Grendel's mother uses to sing him (or herself) to sleep in her underwater cave each night? What might
the wolf in LRRH and Grendel have to say to one another over cappuccino in Kohlberg?
This First-year Seminar counts as both a Writing Class (W) and an English Dept. Creative Writing workshop.
Humanities
Writing course.
Fall 2021. Williamson.
Fall 2022. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070A. Poetry Workshop
This workshop emphasizes each individual's distinctive voice within the context of contemporary poetics as students work through formal
exercises and thematic experiments, reading and commenting on each other's writing. Attendance at readings required. Limited to 12 students.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 12.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Williamson.
Spring 2023. Bolton.
Spring 2024. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070B. Fiction Workshop
This course is a systematic introduction to the craft of fiction writing. It will consist of in-depth analyses of selected short stories in conjunction
with workshops of your own stories. Basic craft elements such as plot, character development, dialogue, imagery, voice, figurative language, and
point of view will be explored. Attendance at visiting author readings is required. This course is limited to 12 Students. Enrollment is by
permission.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 12.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Okparanta.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070C. Advanced Poetry Workshop
Poetry books often represent their authors' conscious statements, made through selection, organization, and graphic presentation. In this
workshop, students design and complete their own volumes. Attendance at readings required. Limited to 12 students.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: ENGL 070A, 070D, 070G, or 070J, or similar workshop elsewhere. Admission and credit determined by instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070G. Writing Nature: Digital Storytelling
(Cross-listed as ENVS 045A)
This course uses the Crum woods as a laboratory setting for the production of multimedia poems and brief memoirs. Digital stories combine
spoken words with images, sound, and sometimes video to create powerful short movies. We'll spend time grappling with some of the stories
inherent in the Crum woods ecosystem as well as the multifaceted story of our relationship to the woods. The class will conclude with a public
screening of work produced.
Limited to 15.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070H. Advanced Fiction Workshop
This class, which will focus on episodic writing in the novel (and novella), is for students who are already fairly comfortable making narratives
and developing characters. Through reading, workshop critique, and significant revision, students will experiment with ways to deepen and
transform their fiction. Attendance at readings required. Limited to 12 students.
Graded CR/NC. Admission and credit determined by instructor.
Prerequisite: ENGL 070B or similar fiction workshop, or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Okparanta.
Spring 2023. Okparanta.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070K. Directed Creative Writing Projects
Students - whether Course or Honors majors or minors -- who plan a directed writing
project in fiction or poetry must consult with the Director of the Program in Creative
Writing and if possible with a member of the Department's writing faculty who might
supervise the project, and must submit a prospectus to the Department by way of
application for such work before the beginning of the semester during which the project
is actually done. The number of these ventures the Department can sponsor each year
is limited. In spring 2021, the deadline for written applications for the Directed
Creative Writing Project for 2021-22 and 2022-23 is April 19. For projects proposed
for the spring semester, students should confirm their interest by updating their
application by the Monday after fall break.
Graded CR/NC.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070L. Creative Writing Outreach
(Cross-listed as EDUC 073)
Where do arts, education and activism meet? In this course students will explore artistic affinities through creative writing activities and consider
arts education and advocacy through diverse texts. Students will cultivate skills necessary to becoming Teaching Artists in imaginative writing at
the elementary level through coursework as well as through volunteer placement in local schools. Topics covered include: creative curriculum
development and presentation, educational climate for grades K-5 and teaching pedagogy.
Limited to 15.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL
Fall 2023. Browne.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070R. River Stories
(Cross-listed as ENVS 045B )
The Delaware River is the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi: it is also a repository of American history, from Washington's
midnight crossing during the Revolutionary War through Indian massacres through the era of pollution and the effects of the Clean Water Act.
Twelve upper-class students will have the opportunity to spend time on the river before the start of the semester: we'll take 7-10 days to canoe
and/or kayak, camp, explore ecosystems and natural history, visit water treatment centers, write, and gather media (photos, video, sound files). In
addition to a traditional English paper and a research essay on environmental issues affecting the Delaware River, students will keep field
journals and write poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction prose. One or more of these creative pieces will be turned into a digital story; several
will be added to a communal memory map of the Delaware.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 12.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070S. Screenwriting
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of screenwriting while enabling them to explore their unique sensibility as writers. We
consider how screenplays differ from other dramatic forms and understand what makes good cinematic storytelling. By looking at short and
feature-length scripts and films, we examine issues of structure, character development, effective use of dramatic tension and dialogue, tone, and
theme. Through in-class exercises and discussions, students flesh out their ideas and grapple with their writing in a supportive workshop
atmosphere. Coursework includes screenings, short assignments, and the completion of several drafts of a short screenplay. No previous writing
experience required.
Prerequisite: Instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST and ENGL.
Fall 2021. Evans.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
ENGL 070T. Translation Workshop
(Cross-listed as RUSS 070, LING 070, LITR 070R)
This workshop in literary translation will concentrate on both theory and practice, working in poetry, prose, and drama as well as editing.
Students will participate in an associated series of bilingual readings and will produce a substantial portfolio of work. Students taking the course
for linguistics credit will write a final paper supported by a smaller portfolio of translations. No prerequisites exist, but excellent knowledge of a
language other than English (equivalent to a 004 course at Swarthmore or higher) is highly recommended or, failing that, access to at least one
very patient speaker of a foreign language.
Humanities
1
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070V. Memory into Memoir
This workshop will focus on memoir: prose writing based on personal history. In our practice we will pursue the art and craft of transforming
the raw material of recollected experience into written narrative. Students will explore creative techniques including approach, research,
organization, and stylistic concerns, with the aim of producing a polished original memoir project. The larger conversation in the course will
address issues ranging from definitions of memoir, the ethical obligations of memoirists, the emotional weight of sharing personal writing, and
the place of memoir in the literary marketplace. The majority of class time will be devoted to discussion of participants' ongoing work. In
addition, students will be expected to read widely from selected memoirs by authors ranging from Augustine to Akwaeke Emezi. At the end of
term, students will submit a final portfolio of their revised work.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 12.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Lee.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070X. Experiments in Nonfiction
What are the personal and political stakes of writing from life? This workshop is for students interested in exploring non-fiction beyond
conventional memoir. From lyric essays to critical life-writing, from hybrid journalism to conceptual writing, students will read and experiment
with new forms as well as discuss each other's work. Students will focus on contemporary writers like Anne Carson, John D'Agata, Claudia
Rankine, and Maggie Nelson, while also hearing from other voices gleaned from antiquity to the present.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 15.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070W. Writing the Short Story
Short story writing is arguably the most challenging of all fiction writing. This class focuses on the craft of writing short stories and breaks down
the story into elements such as: character, dialogue, plot, point of view, and structure. Students will be required to read and discuss fiction by
major writers, to critique each other's work, and to write and revise at least one short story.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 12.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lee.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070Z. Introduction to Creative Writing
This multi-genre course will spend one intensive week focusing on each of the following genres: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and
multimedia (digital storytelling). Each day will include some reading and discussion (to help you discover models and inspiration for your work),
and "in-class" writing exercises. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week will be workshop days, featuring the work of four class
members each day. By the end of the J-term, you will have a digital story and a writer's portfolio as well as a basic grasp of the elements of
poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Graded CR/NC.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Independent Study, Method, and Culminating Exercises
ENGL 097. Independent Study and Directed Reading
Students who plan an independent study or a directed reading must consult with the appropriate instructor and submit a prospectus before the
semester in question. Normally limited to juniors and seniors and available only if a professor is free to supervise the project.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 098. Senior Thesis
Course majors may pursue a thesis for 1 (40-50 pages) or 2 (80-100 pages) credits. A proposal for the project must be submitted in April of the
junior year. Before submitting this proposal, course majors must consult with a prospective faculty supervisor. This work does not replace ENGL
099, required of every course major. Available only if a professor is available to supervise the project.
1 - 2 credits.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 099. Senior Course Majors Colloquium
This colloquium is open to senior course majors in English Literature. Focusing on the senior essay required to complete the major, this class
features guest lectures by faculty and critical readings on literary theory and methodology. Short writing assignments in this class will build
towards the senior essay, as students work in peer-centered environments as well as individually with the instructor. Students will complete their
senior essays by the end of the fall semester.
See professor to establish credit category.
Prerequisite: ENGL 096 or ENGL 080
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Song.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Song.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Honors Seminars
Honors seminars are open to juniors and seniors only and require approval of the department chair. Priority is given to honors majors and
minors.
Medieval and Renaissance Honors Seminars
ENGL 101. Shakespeare
Study of Shakespeare as a dramatist. The emphasis is on the major plays, with a more rapid reading of much of the remainder of the canon.
Students are advised to read widely among the plays before entering the seminar.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 102. Chaucer and Medieval Literature
A study of medieval English literature with an emphasis on Chaucer. Texts will include Beowulf, Old English poems, Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde, Margery Kempe's autobiography, selected mystery plays and Everyman, and
Arthurian materials. Some works will be in Middle English; others, in translation.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
18th and 19th Honors Seminars
ENGL 111. Victorian Literature and Culture
This research-intensive seminar on the Victorian novel as a genre and a material object asks how literature can be both product and producer of
its historical moment. Readings include novels by authors like George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, George
Meredith, Thomas Hardy, Bram Stoker, and Margaret Oliphant.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 114. Early American Media Cultures
This course borrows some of the methods of new media studies to look anew at the multimedia culture of the 18th- and 19th-century United
States. We will study newspapers, maps, wampum, photographs, songbooks, advertisements, and counterfeit money, alongside literary texts that
thematize this rich media culture.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
20th and 21st Honors Seminars
ENGL 116. Redefining US Southern Literature
(Cross-listed as BLST 116)
Our focus this year will be on the long, grand, and problematic tradition of U.S. Southern literature especially fiction in both comic and tragic
modes as it developed after the Civil War to the present.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Schmidt.
Fall 2023. Schmidt.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 117. Theories and Literatures of Globalization
This seminar examines the literary and cultural dimensions of globalization. Pairing novels and short stories by major global writers with
ethnographic and historical texts, we will examine the relationship between colonialism and postcolonialism; modernity and globalization; racial
formation and the nation-state. By developing a critical engagement with theories of identity and difference, we will explore the ways in which
global literatures engender new politics of nationalism, race, and sexuality.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 118. Modern Poetry
A study of the poetry and critical prose of Yeats, Eliot, Stevens, and H.D., in an effort to define their differences within the practice of
"modernism" and to assess their significance for contemporary poetic practice.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 119. Black Cultural Studies
How have black writers both represented and theorized a series of tensions characterizing African American culture since the end of slavery-
between past and present, roots and routes, folk and modern, sound and vision, city and country, nation and diaspora, culture and capital, people
and power? Motivated by such concerns, this seminar will examine approaches to African American literature that are historical, cultural, and
theoretical. Prior work in African American literature and/or Black Studies is recommended.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 121. Modernism and Forgetting
This course is an advanced research seminar on the literatures, cultures, and theories of modernism. Central questions include: How do aspects
of psychic life, such as mourning and trauma, exert pressure on literary form? Why do memory's material traces (the archive, the photograph)
enthrall the modernist imagination? What ethical or political values attend literary projects of remembering? Of forgetting? We will situate
modernist literary practice alongside psychoanalytic, postcolonial, queer, and feminist critique.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Honors Thesis and Independent Study
ENGL 180. Thesis
A major in the Honors Program may, with department permission, elect to write a thesis as a substitute for one seminar. The student must select
a topic and submit a plan for department approval no later than the end of the junior year. Normally, the student writes the thesis of 80 to 100
pages, under the direction of a member of the department. The 2-credit thesis project may take place over 1 or 2 semesters.
1 - 2 credits.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 183. Independent Study
Students may prepare for an honors examination in a field or major figure comparable in literary significance to those offered in the regular
seminars. Independent study projects must be approved by the department and supervised by a department member. Deadlines for the receipt of
written applications are the second Monday in November and the first Monday in April.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Academic Writing Courses
These courses are writing-intensive courses that count toward graduation credit but not toward the English major. They may not be substituted
for a prerequisite course in English.
ENGL 001C. Writing Pedagogy
(Cross-listed as EDUC 001C)
This seminar serves as the gateway into the Writing Associates Fellowship Program (WAs). Students are introduced to the theory and pedagogy
of composition studies and the concept of reflective practice. The seminar asks students to connect theory with practical experience when
assessing how best to engage with different student writers and different forms of academic prose.
Open only to those selected as Writing Associates. Meets distribution requirements but does not count toward the major.
Graded CR/NC.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Newmann Holmes
Fall 2022. Newmann Holmes
Fall 2023. Newmann Holmes
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 001D. Writing Tutorial
Students currently enrolled or have completed an academic writing course, in consultation with the professor of these courses, may enroll in the
tutorial. Students will set up an individual program to work with the professor on writing for the course or other courses.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 001F. Transitions to College Writing
This class introduces students to the different genres of writing required at the College. Through assignments and class readings students learn
what they might need to transition from writing in high school to writing at Swarthmore. Meets distribution requirements but does not count
toward the major. Students may take ENGL 001F and an English Literature first-year seminar (ENGL 008 A-Z and 009A-Z).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Mera Ford. Mishra.
Spring 2022. Mishra, Newmann Holmes
Fall 2022. Mera Ford, Mishra
Fall 2023. Mishra.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 001J. First-Year Seminar: Persuasion
This course will ask students to interrogate the tools of oral and written persuasion across different academic and public discourse communities.
We will look at such topics as activism, marketing, and political campaigns. Students will engage with such questions as: How do we listen and
empathize with others in order to argue from one's own position? How do we use lived experience to support or advance a narrative and what
responsibilities do we, as author, have to authenticate the experience? How do we use images to speak to different audiences?
Students will be able to critically examine how persuasion works in their own communications and the communications of others in real contexts.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 002M. Medical Writing and Rhetoric
This course introduces students to the field of medical humanities and to typical genres of writing within medicine. By analyzing texts and
narratives by physicians and other health practitioners, we will identify and assess rhetorical strategies used to communicate with specialist and
non-specialist audiences. By composing their own patient or witness narratives, students will further develop effective rhetorical techniques to
engage both a scholarly and civic audience. We will also explore representations of medical (mal)practice from popular culture to interrogate
dominant myths--perpetuated through visual, digital, and written media--that inform the social and rhetorical contexts of medical discourse.
Humanities.
Writing.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Mera Ford
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 002V. Visual Rhetorics and Multimodal Writing:Making arguments with image, text, and sound
We live in visually-mediated times. The rhetorical power of images-to inform, persuade, and manipulate-is especially worthy of our attention as
21st-century writers. Increasingly, whether in the sciences, humanities, or in popular discourse, we are asked to create multimodal texts-that is,
texts which combine visual, aural and alphabetic modes. In English 2V students will gain hands-on experience producing maps, video essays, and
argument-driven essays for online audiences and analyzing multimodal arguments made by others. Students will revise projects in response to
feedback from classmates, the professor, and other readers/audience members, and class time will be given to developing both traditional and
multimodal writing processes.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 002W. Words Matter: Crafting and Critiquing Rhetorically Effective Styles
Style: one of the most elusive and debated concepts in writing. Style: easy to feel its palpitation in the works of our favorite authors but hard
to analyze. Style: they say it's unteachable. Style: create one by breaking conventions, but go too far and invite damnation...This course will flirt
with and at times push back against such notorieties about style. This course will help you develop one in your academic and essayistic prose
through close reading of other writers' style, genre studies, hands-on practice, and reflection. Get ready for some experimentation, risk-taking,
fun (yes, fun!), and copious writing.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Mishra
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 003A. Independent Study and Directed Reading in Writing Studies
Students who plan an independent study or a directed reading must consult with the appropriate instructor and submit a prospectus for such
work before the beginning of the semester during which the study is actually done. The course is available only if a professor is free to supervise
the project.
Humanities.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 005. Journalism Workshop
An introduction to news gathering, news writing, and journalism ethics. Students learn the values, skills, and standards crucial to high-quality
journalism. They write conventional news stories, narratives, profiles, non-deadline features, trend stories, and point-of-view articles on a beat of
their choosing. Guest speakers include award-winning reporters and editors. This course counts as a general humanities credit and as a writing
course, but does not count as a credit toward a major or minor in English literature. This course is open to first year students.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Mezzacappa.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Environmental Studies
Coordinator:
ERICH CARR EVERBACH (Engineering) Program Coordinator
Cassy Burnett, Administrative Coordinator
Committee:
Adrienne Benally (Environmental Studies)
Elizabeth Bolton (English Literature)
3
Timothy Burke (History)
Giovanna Di Chiro (Environmental Studies)
Christopher R. Graves (Chemistry and Environmental Studies)
Eric L. N. Jensen (Physics and Astronomy)
José-Luis Machado (Biology)
Jennifer Peck (Economics and Environmental Studies)
Jennifer Pfluger (Environmental Studies)
Christine Schuetze (Anthropology)
Mark Wallace (Religion)
1
Absent on leave, fall 2020.
2
Absent on leave, spring 2021.
3
Absent on leave, 2020-2021.
Why Environmental Studies? Why now?
Profound anthropogenic changes are occurring in the land, water, and air around us, with the result that human societies face greater changes
and environmental challenges than we have ever known. Global population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2040; global energy
consumption is rising sharply while even present-day carbon emissions intensify global warming. Along with global warming, trends such as
deforestation, mass extinctions, and eutrophication threaten the finely-balanced marine and terrestrial ecosystems on which we rely for food,
water, shelter, and more. Sea-water rise along with increasing heat and drought will create climate refugees and resource conflicts on
unprecedented scales. Responding to these crises requires all the creativity and rigor and compassion we can gather-including the cultivation of
intellectual skills that until recently were housed in discrete and disparate disciplines.
Environmental studies brings together the natural sciences and engineering, the humanities, and the social sciences to tackle environmental
issues of great complexity and socio-political importance. In relation to climate change, for instance, natural scientists provide data to
understand the scope of the problem and the processes that result in global warming, social scientists help to understand and craft policies
around human behaviors that cause climate change, and humanists provide the moral and historical framework to understand our obligation to
action and the tools to communicate environmental values. Only an integrated, interdisciplinary approach can address the extremity and
complexity of the challenges we face: students must learn to think across and through disciplines in order to become the kinds of problem-solvers
our societies so urgently need.
First Course Recommendations
While Intro to Environmental Studies (ENVS 001) is taught in the spring semester and we encourage all interested students to take it as soon as
possible, there are also Environmental Studies courses offered each fall that are open to first-year students. Students interested in possibly
majoring or minoring in ENVS should look at the fall ENVS course offerings and consider taking one of those courses if possible.
The Academic Program
Course Major
Students majoring in Environmental Studies will complete ten credits in the program, including Introduction to Environmental Studies; two
Environmental Science and Technology credits, including at least one lab course; two Environmental Social Science credits; two Environmental
Arts and Humanities credits; a four-credit topical or disciplinary focus designed by the student in conversation with the faculty coordinator; and
the Environmental Studies Capstone or a thesis. Two of the credits can count both toward the four-credit focus and toward the distribution
requirements in the three divisions.
Environmental Studies courses at Bryn Mawr and Haverford can also be applied to the major or minor, as can study-abroad and
domestic programs authorized by Swarthmore's Office of Off-Campus Study and the Faculty Coordinator of Environmental Studies.
Course Minor
Students minoring in Environmental Studies shall take at least six credits in the program, consisting of the Introduction to Environmental
Studies; two Environmental Science courses; two Environmental Social Science or Humanities courses; and the Environmental Studies capstone
or another upper-level Environmental Studies course.
Honors Major
Honors majors will complete all of the requirements for the course major, and will also designate three two-credit preparations on which they
will be examined. These preparations may either be two-credit seminars that count toward ENVS (e.g. ECON 176, Environmental Economics,
BIOL 137, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning) or combinations of two one-credit courses that have been approved by the ENVS program as
suitable combinations for honors preparations. Students writing their sophomore plans should consult with the Faculty Coordinator and their
advisor for the current list of approved preparations.
Honors Minor
Honors minors in Environmental Studies must complete all of the requirements for the course minor while also proposing one honors
preparation as outlined above.
Overview of the Curriculum
a) ENVS 001: Introduction to Environmental Studies. This is a team-taught, interdisciplinary introduction to the field of Environmental Studies.
Faculty instructors are drawn from the natural sciences and engineering on the one hand and from social sciences and humanities on the other in
order to ensure cross-disciplinary perspectives and connections. Students interested in majoring or minoring in Environmental Studies should
take this course as early as possible; we anticipate that most students declaring a major or minor will have taken it by the sophomore year.
b) Two Environmental Social Science courses. We expect our students to grasp the fundamentals of economic policies, environmental histories,
and socio-cultural formations; we also want them to be able to design, conduct, and analyze empirical research.
c) Two Environmental Arts and Humanities courses. We want our students to be able to analyze rhetorical strategies of individual texts and
broader discourse communities (e.g. climate justice movements as well as climate denial). We want them to question the assumptions underlying
existing cultural structures and explore alternatives. When possible, we want them to develop creative skills to help them inspire and motivate
others.
d) Two Environmental Science and Technology courses, including at least one lab course. We expect our students to be able to conduct inquiry-
based science, working with raw data as well as understanding data produced by others.
e) A four-course topical or disciplinary focus, including elements of methodological development and practical engagement (praxis). This focus
offers our students the opportunity to develop their own areas of expertise while also developing greater depth and breadth in interdisciplinary
problem-solving. Sample thematic and disciplinary foci are listed below. Two of the credits that count toward the distribution requirements in b-d
above can also count toward the four-course focus. Prospective majors should specify the details of their four-course focus (both the overall
theme and the courses they plan to use) in their Sophomore Plan of Study.
f) Environmental Studies Capstone. The capstone brings graduating seniors back together to work on collaboration and to share their diverse
talents and backgrounds in tackling a shared topic or challenge. The capstone meets the requirement for the senior comprehensive experience.
Sample thematic foci:
Food: ENVS/BIOL 009 Our Food; ENGR 010 Fundamentals of Food Engineering; ENVS 052/CHIN 086 Chinese Food, Culture and Farming;
PHYS 024 Earth's Climate and Global Warming.
Disasters: ENVS 006 Visions of the End; ENVS 026 Environmental History of the Soviet Union; ENVS 031/PEAC 055/SOCI 055C Climate
Disruption; ENVS 051/JPNS 035 Narratives of Disaster and Rebuilding in Japan.
Sustainability: ENVS 085 Urban Environmental Community Action; ENVS 089 Sustainability Research Methods [2 credits]; ENVS 092A
Directed Reading: UNFCCC COP.; Independent Study Project.
Asia (courses developed through Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment): CHIN 089 Tea Culture; CHIN 087/POLS 087 Water
Policies, Water Issues: China & US; POLS 088 Environmental Governance in China; ENVS 052/CHIN 086 Food, Culture, and Farming in
China.
Sample disciplinary foci:
Environmental Biology: BIOL 036 Ecology; BIOL 037 Conservation Biology; BIOL 137 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function [2 cr]
Environmental Economics: ECON 055 Behavioral Economics; ECON 081 Economic Development; ECON 176 Environmental Economics [2 cr]
Environmental Engineering: ENVS 075/ENGR 063 Water Quality and Pollution Control; ENVS 076/ENGR 066 Environmental Systems; ENVS
077/ENGR 035 Solar Energy Systems; ENVS 078/ENGR 057 Operations Research
Environmental Literature: ENVS 042/ENGL 089E Ecofeminism(s); ENVS 043/ENGL 089/SOAN 20M Race, Gender, Class, and Environment;
ENVS 044/ENGL 089B Materials that Matter; ENVS 045B River Stories or ENVS 040/RELG 022 Religion and Ecology.
Off-Campus Study
In addition to the Swarthmore-specific ENVS study abroad program outlined below, there are many programs that offer environmental
opportunities in their coursework. ENVS majors who study abroad often use courses from that experience as an integral part of their four-course
focus.
Cape Town South Africa Program on Globalization, Environment, and Society
Swarthmore is a member of a consortium with Macalester and Pomona Colleges that sponsors a junior year environmental study abroad
program in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Students from the three consortium schools, as well as those schools
under consortium agreements with the three schools, may apply. For more information, see the website:
https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies/globalization-environment-society-study-abroad-south-africa
Environmental Studies Courses
ENVS 001-019 Introductory Courses
ENVS 001. Introduction to Environmental Studies
Built around four case studies, this course provides a broad introduction to the inherently interdisciplinary work of environmental studies by
providing historical background and examining options for action using tools from a variety of perspectives, chiefly from the sciences and social
sciences. Course themes include tragedy of the commons issues, and rights and environmental justice; sustainable development, including
increasing urbanization of humanity, population growth, and Kuznets curve; global climate change science and debate; feedback loops and
tipping points; and community adaptation and resilience.
Non-division.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Spring 2022. Graves, Padilioni.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 006. First-Year Seminar: Apocalypse: Hope and Despair in the Last Days
(Cross-listed as RELG 006C)
For millennia, speculation about the end of the world has fired the political and religious imagination of Western cultures. Today, arguably, the
most potent threat to planetary well-being is the unchecked advance of the fossil fuels extraction industry. This course will study the range of
reactions to this threat inside and outside of the academy, including sustainability politics, on the one hand, and the religious-environmental
movement, on the other.
Many environmentalists argue we are living at "the end of nature" or the time of the "6th great extinction," while many religious believers,
doomsday "preppers" and others, some sympathetic to fossil fuels-apocalypticism, and some not, also assert we are living into the end of the
world as we know it.
Questions will be asked about the history and role of the extractive industries in climate change; how the emerging field of environmental studies
can shape productive moral and political responses to this change; and the hope, and the anxieties, of new environmental spiritualities (with
special reference to Christian, Amerindian, and Pagan worldviews) to challenge neoliberal economics and engender a living passion for the
health of human societies in harmony with the wider natural world.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 007. Chester Semester Fellowship
ChesterSemester is an interdisciplinary course on social change with an engaged scholarship internship component. Housed within the
Environmental Studies Program and supported by the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility and the Office of Sustainability, it consists
of a weekly one-hour class on Mondays 4-5 pm facilitated by engaged faculty, staff, and community partners; a 4-5 hours per week supervised
internship in the nearby city of Chester; and a final research project. The purpose of ChesterSemester is to build strong relationships between
committed students and community leaders on common projects of mutual transformation.
Includes a 4-5 hour internship in Chester City, PA.
Humanities.
1.0 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH.
Fall 2021. Wallace
Spring 2022. Wallace.
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Spring 2023. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: Environmental Studies
ENVS 008. Plants and People
This course explores the relationships between people and plants, particularly in the contexts of food, health, and medicine, in order to reflect on
and deepen human connections to the botanical world. As we explore differences in plant/people relationships and ethnobotanical knowledge
systems, we will consider questions about how these differences have been valued or devalued and their impacts on environmental sustainability
and human wellbeing. The course will emphasize hands-on learning (e.g., nature journaling, gardening, botanical medicine
preparation, artisanal vegetable fermentation, field trips, etc.).
1.0 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Fall 2021. Mohn.
Fall 2023. Mohn.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 009. Our Food
(Cross-listed as BIOL 009)
The scale and efficiency of our food system is one of the marvels of the modern world. Yet in many ways this system is broken. This course will
address the current state of our agricultural food system from scientific, humanitarian and sustainability perspectives, focusing on the U.S. Each
student will grow crop plants and maintain a micro-garden plot on campus, as well as develop educational signage for the public that conveys
information about agriculture, food systems and/or their crop. Three full hours of lecture/discussion/lab and one floating hour of fieldwork per
week.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Pfluger.
Fall 2022. Pfluger.
Fall 2023. Pfluger.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 010. Climate Change: Science & Responses
(Cross-listed as PHYS 001C)
A study of the complex interplay of factors influencing conditions on the surface of the Earth. Basic concepts from geology, oceanography, and
atmospheric science lead to an examination of how the Earth's climate has varied in the past, what changes are occurring now, and what the
future may hold. Besides environmental effects, the economic, political, and ethical implications of global warming are explored, including
possible ways to reduce climate change.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Bell.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 012. Compost and Climate Change
The management of food, garden and other organic wastes has significant effects on anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This course
focuses on understanding the environmental impacts of organic waste stream management practices. As part of the course, students will take part
in assessing current practices and developing recommendations for organic waste management at the college. Multiple field trips.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 013. Our Trash
Our trash systems are designed so that throwing things away can be a thoughtless act. However, thought is required to effectively and ethically
deal with the colossal amount of trash produced in the U.S. Waste disposal can have significant and often deleterious effects on vulnerable
communities, local environments and the global climate. This course focuses on understanding the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of
U.S. waste management processes and the science of decomposition. As part of this course, students will participate in a practicum "zero waste"
waste prevention project in conjunction with community partners. Multiple field trips.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Pfluger.
Spring 2024. Pfluger.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 014. Environmental Issues in Native American Communities
Native American communities face environmental issues and are experiencing direct impacts of climate change on their contemporary lives and
cultural lifeways that are deeply connected to the land and surrounding ecosystems. Using illustrative case studies, this class will examine
environmental issues and climate change impacts on Native American communities, current conflicts over tribal lands and natural resources,
environmental racism, place-based Native activism, and tribal responses to ecological issues and problems. Specific topics will include
Indigenous knowledge systems, Indigenous land stewardship, land tenure, treaty rights, politics and policy, energy development on tribal lands,
conflicting land-use interests and values, tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and Indigenous environmental justice.
1.0 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC.
Fall 2021. Benally
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 015. FYS: Nature Rx: Wellbeing and the natural world
A growing body of research demonstrates the positive effects of nature on mood, cognition, and social behavior. In this course, we will explore
current research on these topics and develop nature practices that support individual and community wellbeing. As first year students attending
college at an arboretum, incorporating such practices in your everyday life is both much needed and readily accessible. This course will include
weekly discussions, outdoor activities, and reflections that empower you to care for yourself and your community throughout college and
beyond.
1.0 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Ellow.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 016. Redefining Scientific Ways of Knowing
Upscaled by global colonization, European cultural and scientific practices have left a devastating impact on the Earth. At the same time, global
technological efficacy currently serves as a lifeline of empowerment. By working in concert with ages-old indigenous wisdom and the Western
experimental idiom, this course equips students to achieve joy and sustainability in our changing world.
1.0 credit
Eligible for ENVS.
Fall 2023. Costa.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENVS 020-039 Social Sciences
ANTH 033B. Environmental Anthropology
(Cross-listed as ENVS 024)
This course offers students an introduction to Environmental Anthropology, a subfield of anthropology which encompasses the study of the
interrelationships between humans and the ecosystems in which they are embedded as well as analysis and application of anthropological
knowledge to contemporary environmental issues. Humans have transformed their environments for millennia, but in recent decades, have
altered the global environment in ways that have no precedent in human history or in geological time. With contemporary environmental crises
as its backdrop, this course examines some classic and contemporary anthropological approaches to the environment, exploring the value of
anthropological theory, methods, and approaches in the humanistic study of the environment. In this sense, the course will expose students to
diverse ways for thinking about the environment in its many dimensions and critical perspectives on contemporary environmental issues. We will
review various theoretical approaches and their implications for our understanding of human relations to the environment, and explore how
anthropologists and those they study are engaging with contemporary environmental issues including biodiversity conservation, deforestation,
community-based natural resource management, ecotourism, and climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 033E. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed as ENVS 029)
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches and scholarship from the
disciplines of anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the environmental humanities, and social movement
theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of texts each week, offering deep engagement to
analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy
of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the class will also explore the interlocking themes of social
and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films, and other digital media to provide a sense of what
environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to bring about change. Students in this course will learn
to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to
think creatively about possible solutions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ECON 032. Operations Research
(Cross-listed as ENGR 057)
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 076. Environmental Economics
Cross-listed with ENVS 020
Introduction to the microeconomics of environmental issues with applications to the design of environmental policy. The course will cover the
concepts and methods used in the valuation of environmental goods as well as the design of policy instruments and regulations to improve
environmental quality. Specific topics include pollution and environmental degradation, the use of renewable and non-renewable resources, and
climate change.
Prerequisite: ECON 001. Recommended: ECON 011.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Peck.
Fall 2023. Peck.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 176. Environmental Economics
Cross-listed with ENVS 120
This seminar examines the microeconomics of environmental issues with applications to the design of environmental policy. The seminar will
cover the concepts and methods used in the valuation of environmental goods as well as the design of policy instruments and regulations to
improve environmental quality. Specific topics include pollution and environmental degradation, the use of renewable and non-renewable
resources, and climate change.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent), and single-variable calculus (MATH 025 or higher).
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ENVS 120
Fall 2021. Peck.
Fall 2023. Peck.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ENVS 020. Environmental Economics
(Cross-listed as ECON 076 )
Introduction to the microeconomics of environmental issues with applications to the design of environmental policy. The course will cover the
concepts and methods used in the valuation of environmental goods as well as the design of policy instruments and regulations to improve
environmental quality. Specific topics include pollution and environmental degradation, the use of renewable and non-renewable resources, and
climate change.
Prerequisite: ECON 001. Recommended: ECON 011
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Peck.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 021. Disaster Politics and Policies
(Cross-listed as POLS 045)
How does the trauma of disaster influence political processes, institutions, and leaders? How do political processes, institutions, and leaders
affect disaster events and their aftermath? Do disasters lead to meaningful policy change, or is their impact fleeting? This course examines the
political and policy dynamics associated with disasters-- those that are predominantly "natural" (e.g., hurricanes and tornadoes), and those that
result mainly from human action or inaction (e.g., airplane crashes, mass shootings, building collapses). Using a variety of cases from different
historical periods, different regions of the world, and different levels of political analysis (national, regional, and local), this course will examine
the causes and consequences of disaster, policy-making and disaster, and the new professional field of disaster management. We will look
critically at the role of NGOs and international aid in disaster relief, as well as international institutions.
Not open to students who have taken POLS 010F: The Politics of Disasters.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. White.
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 022. Environmental Policy and Politics
(Cross-listed as POLS 043)
Topics in environmental politics, policy, and law. In the United States, we focus on national regulation and proposals for more flexible responses
to achieve environmental goals; environmental movements and environmental justice; the role of science in democratic policy-making; courts
and the impact of federalism, the commerce clause, and rights on regulation. The course also considers the role and efficacy of supranational
institutions and NGOs and controversies between more and less developed nations. Topics include most of the following: air and water pollution,
common-pool resource problems, toxic and radioactive waste, sustainable development, food, natural resource management, wilderness,
environmental racism, effects of climate change.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, CBL, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 023. Politics of Population
(Cross-listed as POLS 048)
The role of population and demographic trends in local, national, and global politics will be examined. Topics include the relationship between
population and development, causes of fertility decline, the impact and ethics of global and national family planning programs, and
contemporary issues such as population aging and the AIDS pandemic.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 024. Environmental Anthropology
(Cross-listed as ANTH 033B)
This course offers students an introduction to Environmental Anthropology, a subfield of anthropology which encompasses the study of the
interrelationships between humans and the ecosystems in which they are embedded as well as analysis and application of anthropological
knowledge to contemporary environmental issues. Humans have transformed their environments for millennia, but in recent decades, have
altered the global environment in ways that have no precedent in human history or in geological time. With contemporary environmental crises
as its backdrop, this course examines some classic and contemporary anthropological approaches to the environment, exploring the value of
anthropological theory, methods, and approaches in the humanistic study of the environment. In this sense, the course will expose students to
diverse ways for thinking about the environment in its many dimensions and critical perspectives on contemporary environmental issues. We will
review various theoretical approaches and their implications for our understanding of human relations to the environment, and explore how
anthropologists and those they study are engaging with contemporary environmental issues including biodiversity conservation, deforestation,
community-based natural resource management, ecotourism, and climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 025. The Environmental History of Africa
(Cross-listed as HIST 089)
This course examines African history from an ecological and environmental perspective.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS
ENVS 028. Global Environmental Governance
(Cross-listed as POLS 081)
Global climate change, in particular, and environmental issues, in general, have moved to the forefront of public debates. This course examines
the governance of these issues from an International Relations perspective. Topics include: multilateral trade agreements and the environment;
United Nations processes, agreements, and institutions; climate change finance and environmental foreign aid; multilateral development banks
(including the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and environmental governance; non-state actors; social movements;
and global environmental governance and great powers. The course will begin with a political-economic conceptualization of global
environmental governance and also introduce students to some fundamental concepts in public policy and environmental regulation. Given this is
taught primarily from global governance and International Relations perspectives, it is not suited to students looking to engage in particular
countries' environmental regulation, though student presentations will examine differences across some countries. It is ideal for students to have
taken POLS4 prior to taking this course, and students should be ready to apply basic economic concepts to environmental regulation (without
which their understanding of the governance of climate change cannot be advanced).
Prerequisite: One political science course.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Kaya.
Fall 2022. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 029. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed with ANTH 033E)
This course offers students an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches
and scholarship from the disciplines of environmental anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the
environmental humanities, and social movement theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of
texts each week, offering deep engagement to analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary
environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between
environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the
class will also explore the interlocking themes of social and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films,
and other digital media to provide a sense of what environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to
bring about change. Students in this course will learn to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these
entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to think creatively about possible solutions.
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 031. Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking
(Cross-listed as PEAC 055)
The course will examine several ways in which climate change is a driving force of violent and nonviolent conflict and creates opportunities for
peacemaking and social justice. Already, climate change has been identified by the U.S. military as a threat to national security, offering a new
rationale for expanding the military industrial complex. Demands on scarce resources generate and exacerbate regional conflicts and drive mass
movements of refugees. Behind these dramatic manifestations of climate stress lie extensive corporate and national interests and hegemonic
silences that emerging conflicts often reveal. Conflict also brings new opportunities for peacebuilding, cooperation, and conflict resolution.
Climate crises have renewed and expanded local and global movements for environmental justice and protection, many of which have historical
connections with the peace movement. In support of the college's carbon charge initiative, we will dedicate part of the course to understanding
what constitutes the social cost of carbon and how it is represented in carbon pricing, particularly with respect to increasing frequencies of
armed conflict and extension of the military industrial complex.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 033. Indigenous Peoples and Globalization
(Cross-listed as SOCI 041C)
This course provides a sociological look at Indigenous Peoples from the local to the global, including Native Nations (and Tribes) of the U.S.,
Latin America, the Maori (New Zealand), Adevasi (India), and the many Peoples from East Asia, Africa and Europe. We discuss models for
understanding Indigenous struggles in the 21st century, especially in line with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UN DRIP), and levels of Sovereignty, Autonomy, and Minority status (world-systems analysis). We pay special attention to Indigenous
peoples (tribes) who continue to survive and thrive in a modern world of global climate change, neoliberal capitalist hegemony and extreme
cultural domination. The class provides students opportunities to view interdisciplinary global issues - environmental world threats, social
change and refugees, hegemonic decline, regional warfare of nation-states, spirituality, food sovereignty - from Indigenous perspectives.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Fenelon.
Fall 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: Environmental Studies
ENVS 035. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action
Examines historical, political, and activist roots of the field of environmental justice. Using interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology,
environmental science, history, geography, cultural studies, and social movement theory, we analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and
community activism in contemporary environmental issues such as: air quality and health, toxic contamination and reproductive issues,
sustainable agriculture and food security, fossil energy-coal, oil, hydro-fracking and livelihoods, climate change and climate justice. Course
incorporates a community-based learning component.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 037. Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.
(Cross-listed as CHIN 087 and POLS 087)
Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21st century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing
and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users,
between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh
water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution;
groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management;
wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. What role do governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs and grassroots
citizens' movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management.
Chinese language ability desirable but not required.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 037A. Attachment: Policies and Issues of Fresh Water Resources in China/Taiwan
(Cross-listed as CHIN 087A and POLS 087A)
This is an attachment to ENVS 037 (. Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work
will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professors Nackenoff and Kong, and will include specific Chinese language training in the
vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 046. Warming Up: Performing Ecology
(Cross-listed as DANC 046, THEA 005D )
This introductory course focuses on creative opportunities for students wishing to explore ecology, environmental studies, and the performing
arts, specifically focusing on eco-performance and design. Class goals will aim to support a better understanding of environmental studies via an
artistic lens, allowing students to combine creative processes with environmental sciences. Emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary skills
and experiences that raise awareness around environmental studies and simultaneously engage culture and community.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 120. Environmental Economics
(Cross-listed as ECON 176)
This seminar examines the microeconomics of environmental issues with applications to the design of environmental policy. The seminar will
cover the concepts and methods used in the valuation of environmental goods as well as the design of policy instruments and regulations to
improve environmental quality. Specific topics include pollution and environmental degradation, the use of renewable and non-renewable
resources, and climate change.
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 031 (or its equivalent), and single-variable calculus (MATH 025 or higher).
Social Sciences
2 credits.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Peck.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
HIST 033. Environmental History of the Soviet Union
This course focuses on the impact of ideology and politics on the environment in twentieth-century Russia. Readings include short stories, novels,
monographs, articles, and documents.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 089. The Environmental History of Africa
Cross-listed as ENVS 025
This course examines African history from an ecological and environmental perspective.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
LING 120. Anthropological Linguistics: Endangered Languages
(Cross-listed as )
In this seminar, we address some traditional issues of concern to both linguistics and anthropology, framed in the context of the ongoing,
precipitous decline in human linguistic diversity. With the disappearance of languages, cultural knowledge (including entire technologies such as
ethnopharmacology) is often lost, leading to a decrease in humans' ability to manage the natural environment. Language endangerment thus
proves relevant to questions of the language/ecology interface, ethnoecology, and cultural survival. The seminar also addresses the ethics of
fieldwork and dissemination of traditional knowledge in the Internet age.
Prerequisite: One course in linguistics or anthropology or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
PEAC 055. Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking
ENVS 031
The course will examine several ways in which climate change is a driving force of violent and nonviolent conflict and creates opportunities for
peacemaking and social justice. Already, climate change has been identified by the U.S. military as a threat to national security, offering a new
rationale for expanding the military industrial complex. Demands on scarce resources generate and exacerbate regional conflicts and drive mass
movements of refugees. Behind these dramatic manifestations of climate stress lie extensive corporate and national interests and hegemonic
silences that emerging conflicts often reveal. Conflict also brings new opportunities for peacebuilding, cooperation, and conflict resolution.
Climate crises have renewed and expanded local and global movements for environmental justice and protection, many of which have historical
connections with the peace movement. In support of the college's carbon charge initiative, we will dedicate part of the course to understanding
what constitutes the social cost of carbon and how it is represented in carbon pricing, particularly with respect to increasing frequencies of
armed conflict and extension of the military industrial complex.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ENVS
Fall 2021. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
POLS 043. Environmental Policy and Politics (AP)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 022)
Topics in environmental politics, policy, and law. In the United States, we focus on national regulation and proposals for more flexible responses
to achieve environmental goals; environmental movements and environmental justice; the role of science in democratic policy-making; courts
and the impact of federalism, the commerce clause, and rights on regulation. The course also considers the role and efficacy of supranational
institutions and NGOs and controversies between more and less developed nations. Topics include most of the following: air and water pollution,
common-pool resource problems, toxic and radioactive waste, sustainable development, food, natural resource management, wilderness,
environmental racism, effects of climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS ESCH, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 043B. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action (AP)
Examines historical, political, and activist roots of the field of environmental justice. Using interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology,
environmental science, history, geography, cultural studies, and social movement theory, we analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and
community activism in contemporary environmental issues such as: air quality and health, toxic contamination and reproductive issues,
sustainable agriculture and food security, fossil energy-coal, oil, hydro-fracking-and livelihoods, climate change and climate justice. Course
incorporates a community-based learning component.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 045. Disaster Politics and Policies (CP)
Cross listed ENVS 021
How does the trauma of disaster influence political processes, institutions, and leaders? How do political processes, institutions, and leaders
affect disaster events and their aftermath? Do disasters lead to meaningful policy change, or is their impact fleeting? This course examines the
political and policy dynamics associated with disasters-- those that are predominantly "natural" (e.g., hurricanes and tornadoes), and those that
result mainly from human action or inaction (e.g., airplane crashes, mass shootings, building collapses). Using a variety of cases from different
historical periods, different regions of the world, and different levels of political analysis (national, regional, and local), this course will examine
the causes and consequences of disaster, policy-making and disaster, and the new professional field of disaster management. We will look
critically at the role of NGOs and international aid in disaster relief, as well as international institutions.
Comparative
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. White.
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 048. The Politics of Population (CP)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 023)
The role of population and demographic trends in local, national, and global politics will be examined. Topics include the relationship between
population and development, causes of fertility decline, the impact and ethics of global and national family planning programs, and
contemporary issues such as population aging and the AIDS pandemic.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 081. Global Environmental Governance (IR)
Cross-listed with ENVS 028
Global climate change, in particular, and environmental issues, in general, have moved to the forefront of public debates. This course examines
the governance of these issues from an International Relations perspective. Topics include: multilateral trade agreements and the environment;
United Nations processes, agreements, and institutions; climate change finance and environmental foreign aid; multilateral development banks
(including the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and environmental governance; non-state actors; social movements;
and global environmental governance and great powers. The course will begin with a political-economic conceptualization of global
environmental governance and also introduce students to some fundamental concepts in public policy and environmental regulation. Given this is
taught primarily from global governance and International Relations perspectives, it is not suited to students looking to engage in particular
countries' environmental regulation, though student presentations will examine differences across some countries. It is ideal for students to have
taken POLS4 prior to taking this course, and students should be ready to apply basic economic concepts to environmental regulation (without
which their understanding of the governance of climate change cannot be advanced).
Prerequisite: One political science course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core; ENVS
Fall 2022. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 087. Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.
(Cross-listed as CHIN 087)
Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21st century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing
and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users,
between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh
water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution;
groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management;
wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. In the U.S. context especially, issues of water rights regimes and property rights,
privatization, and commodification of water will receive attention. Which claims upon fresh water resources come first? What role do
governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs, and grassroots citizens' movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures
will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management. Chinese language ability desirable but not required.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
SOAN 020M. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as ENVS 043, ENGL 089)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GSST, BLST, GLBL-core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 041C. Indigenous Peoples and Globalization
(Cross-listed as ENVS 033)
This course provides a sociological look at Indigenous Peoples from the local to the global, including Native Nations (and Tribes) of the U.S.,
Latin America, the Maori (New Zealand), Adevasi (India), and the many Peoples from East Asia, Africa and Europe. We discuss models for
understanding Indigenous struggles in the 21st century, especially in line with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UN DRIP), and levels of Sovereignty, Autonomy, and Minority status (world-systems analysis). We pay special attention to Indigenous
peoples (tribes) who continue to survive and thrive in a modern world of global climate change, neoliberal capitalist hegemony and extreme
cultural domination. The class provides students opportunities to view interdisciplinary global issues - environmental world threats, social
change and refugees, hegemonic decline, regional warfare of nation-states, spirituality, food sovereignty - from Indigenous perspectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Fenelon.
Fall 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ENVS 040-059 Humanities and Arts
ARTH 063. Architecture and American Landscape
In his essay, "Preserving Wildness," environmentalist Wendell Berry wrote: "We need to understand [nature] as our source and preserver, as an
essential measure of our history, and as the ultimate definer of our possibilities." With Berry's multidimensional conception of nature in mind,
this course examines the interrelationship of architecture, planning, and the ever-changing American landscape. It looks at the ways in which
architecture may respond to the political, social, and philosophical implications of diverse ecological perspectives and uncovers the part
architecture plays in environmental preservation and degradation. The class takes as its starting point colonial settlements and Native American
land use patterns in the Eastern United States and concludes with national responses to 21st-century climate change discourse, paying
particular attention to fluctuating conceptions of wildness and nature over time and to the wider socio-cultural implications of these attitudes.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
CHIN 086. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as LITR 086CG, ENVS 052)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerable food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more ecologically
friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more traditional diets and
redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR and US food
conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class (Environmental
Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Recommended: some knowledge of Chinese culture or language
Prerequisite: The course has no prerequisite; some knowledge of Chinese culture or language is preferred but not required.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CLST 004. Radical Jesus
Cross listed with RELG 004
Discussion-and writing-intensive study of classical and contemporary understandings of the figure of Jesus through analytical reading,
classroom dialogue, expository writing, and community engagement. It asks the questions, Who was the real historical Jesus? and, What is the
relevance of Jesus for today? Introduction to wide understanding of Greco-Roman cultures and ancient texts, biblical and otherwise, including
many of the extracanonical scriptures that did not make the final cut for inclusion in the commonly received New Testament. Also introduction to
the Greek alphabet, lexicons, and research tools for New Testament study along with rudimentary Greek terms essential to biblical scholarship
and commentary. Instruction is intellectually rigorous and responsive both to skeptical and faith-based readings of Jesus' biography and the
Bible. The ground is level in this class: believers and unbelievers, evangelicals and atheists are welcome. No prior background in religious or
biblical studies is assumed or required. The class is divided into four three-week sessions with each session devoted to one of the Gospels, and a
final week-long session focusing on the Book of Acts. Each session will study the interplay between Christian scriptures along with writings and
images about Jesus drawn from the Hebrew Bible, extracanonical writings, film and video, history, theology and fiction. Images of Jesus through
time will be tackled: Jewish rabbi, political revolutionary, apocalyptic prophet, queer lover, desert shaman, African messiah, and Native
American trickster.
Humanities.
Writing.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, ENVS, RELG
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ENGL 058. Climate Fiction
(Cross-listed as ENVS 058 )
Climate fiction responds to the immensity of climate change through a variety of modes including journalism, dystopia, speculation, black
comedy. We will hone skills of thinking, writing, and speaking critically about cultural forms and social structures entangled with our
changing climate and environment. Authors include Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Jesmyn Ward, and Richard Powers.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070G. Writing Nature: Digital Storytelling
(Cross-listed as ENVS 045A)
This course uses the Crum woods as a laboratory setting for the production of multimedia poems and brief memoirs. Digital stories combine
spoken words with images, sound, and sometimes video to create powerful short movies. We'll spend time grappling with some of the stories
inherent in the Crum woods ecosystem as well as the multifaceted story of our relationship to the woods. The class will conclude with a public
screening of work produced.
Limited to 15.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 070R. River Stories
(Cross-listed as ENVS 045B )
The Delaware River is the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi: it is also a repository of American history, from Washington's
midnight crossing during the Revolutionary War through Indian massacres through the era of pollution and the effects of the Clean Water Act.
Twelve upper-class students will have the opportunity to spend time on the river before the start of the semester: we'll take 7-10 days to canoe
and/or kayak, camp, explore ecosystems and natural history, visit water treatment centers, write, and gather media (photos, video, sound files). In
addition to a traditional English paper and a research essay on environmental issues affecting the Delaware River, students will keep field
journals and write poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction prose. One or more of these creative pieces will be turned into a digital story; several
will be added to a communal memory map of the Delaware.
Graded CR/NC. Limited to 12.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020M, ENVS 043)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offer students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GSST, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089B. Environmentally Engaged Literature: Pollutants, Fossil Fuels, and Atomic Bombs
(Cross-listed as ENVS 044)
Pollutants. Fossil Fuels. Atomic Bombs. In many ways, pesticides, oil, and plutonium structure our lives; they impact our health, our politics, and
may even threaten the existence of life itself. Ironically, because these materials permeate nearly every aspect of our existence, the human mind
can struggle to comprehend them. In this course, we will read literature that engages with our environment to help us bring humans' relationship
to these materials into focus. Scientific, historical, and economic studies of these materials tend to focus on their scale and widespread impact.
Reading poetry, plays, short stories, and novels will allow us to imagine these materials more intimately-through individual, cultural, and
aesthetic perspectives. In this course, students will ask: How can literature help us to understand-and perhaps change-our material, economic,
and social environments? How has our relationship to materials changed over time? How do environmental and material realities impact
cultural production and imagination? Texts under discussion will likely include: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962); Terry Tempest
Williams' Refuge (1991); Mark Nowak's Coal Mountain Elementary (2009); Lesley Battler's Endangered Hydrocarbons (2015); Andrew
Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling (2012); Adam Dickinson's The Polymers (2013); and two films: Hiroshima mon Amour (dir. Alain Resnais,
1959) and There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Anderson, 2007). Course requirements include active participation; a close-reading paper; an
engaged assignment; and a final research paper. All students are welcome.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Price.
ENGL 089E. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 042)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
GATEWAY English Literature.
First year students need instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GSST, ESCH, GLBL
Fall 2023. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 006. First-Year Seminar: Apocalypse: Hope and Despair in the Last Days
(Cross-listed as RELG 006C)
For millennia, speculation about the end of the world has fired the political and religious imagination of Western cultures. Today, arguably, the
most potent threat to planetary well-being is the unchecked advance of the fossil fuels extraction industry. This course will study the range of
reactions to this threat inside and outside of the academy, including sustainability politics, on the one hand, and the religious-environmental
movement, on the other.
Many environmentalists argue we are living at "the end of nature" or the time of the "6th great extinction," while many religious believers,
doomsday "preppers" and others, some sympathetic to fossil fuels-apocalypticism, and some not, also assert we are living into the end of the
world as we know it.
Questions will be asked about the history and role of the extractive industries in climate change; how the emerging field of environmental studies
can shape productive moral and political responses to this change; and the hope, and the anxieties, of new environmental spiritualities (with
special reference to Christian, Amerindian, and Pagan worldviews) to challenge neoliberal economics and engender a living passion for the
health of human societies in harmony with the wider natural world.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 016. Redefining Scientific Ways of Knowing
Upscaled by global colonization, European cultural and scientific practices have left a devastating impact on the Earth. At the same time, global
technological efficacy currently serves as a lifeline of empowerment. By working in concert with ages-old indigenous wisdom and the Western
experimental idiom, this course equips students to achieve joy and sustainability in our changing world.
1.0 credit
Eligible for ENVS.
Fall 2023. Costa.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENVS 040. Religion and Ecology
(Cross-listed as RELG 022)
This course focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and
modern times. In turn, it examines how various religious worldviews can aid the development of an earth-centered philosophy of life. The thesis
of this course is that the environment crisis, at its core, is a spiritual crisis because it is human beings' deep ecocidal dispositions toward nature
that are the cause of the earth's continued degradation. Course topics include ecological thought in Western philosophy, theology, and biblical
studies; the role of Asian religious thought in forging an ecological worldview; the value of American nature writings for environmental
awareness, including both Euro-American and Amerindian literatures; the public policy debates concerning vegetarianism and the antitoxics
movement; and the contemporary relevance of ecofeminism, deep ecology, Neopaganism, and wilderness activism. In addition to writing
assignments, there will be occasional contemplative practicums, journaling exercises, and a community-based learning component.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-Core, PEAC
Fall 2021. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 041SR. StuRn: Critical Environmental Geographies of Race and Class
Much of the history of colonization, and white supremacist racism has manifested an American landscape where geographic location is often the
premier determinant of the material status of ones life. Namely, the life expectancy of Swarthmore Borough residents is over 12 years the life
expectancy of Chester, PA residents-- two spaces separated by a mere 3 miles. This course recognizes this life expectancy to be one particular
measure of how space defines one's proximity, accessibility, experience, and legitimacy to the resources they need to thrive. In recognizing this
difference and the injustices it perpetuates, it becomes our onus and accountability, as privileged Swarthmore students, to leverage our capacities
to move our resources, money, and power to help augment ongoing initiatives and to learn from the ways that Chester residents are shaping the
kind of reality they wish to see. . The course will originate from a macro-level consideration of the history of space and its intersections with
politics, to provide a crucial understanding of the underlying themes of the built environment. Secondarily, the reading of how these theories
penetrate the citizen, the self, and the consciousness will offer an important transition to confronting and examining how these theories manifest
in issues at the regional, local, interpersonal, and individual levels. Case studies of Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania)
will allow the course to activate themselves alongside the stakeholders within these phenomena, namely Black, and Indigenous community
members engaging in organized resistance. Ultimately, the course will center with a focus on Swarthmore and Chester, and course students will
become designers, artists, scholars, activists, and more, to leverage their course experience to contribute their collaborative visions for a more
spatially just Swarthmore-Chester continuum. Student work will understand, process, synthesize, and contribute a direct impact, as all student
work will be rooted in meeting the demonstrated needs of Chester Residents for Quality Living (CRCQL), Campus Coalition Concerning Chester
(C-4), and other community based groups. As this course is led by students in the Project Pericles, C-4 Chester Road Collaborative, course
students will be active members, and expected to direct their individual creative and academic growth in a shared community of students and
residents.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Spring 2022. Di Chiro
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: Environmental Studies
ENVS 042. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089E)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
First year students need instructor's approval.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST, INTP
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 043. Race, Gender, Class, and the Environment
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089, SOAN 020M)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 044. Environmentally Engaged Literature: Pollutants, Fossil Fuels, and Atomic Bombs
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089B)
Pollutants. Fossil Fuels. Atomic Bombs. In many ways, pesticides, oil, and plutonium structure our lives; they impact our health, our politics, and
may even threaten the existence of life itself. Ironically, because these materials permeate nearly every aspect of our existence, the human mind
can struggle to comprehend them. In this course, we will read literature that engages with our environment to help us bring humans' relationship
to these materials into focus. Scientific, historical, and economic studies of these materials tend to focus on their scale and widespread impact.
Reading poetry, plays, short stories, and novels will allow us to imagine these materials more intimately-through individual, cultural, and
aesthetic perspectives. In this course, students will ask: How can literature help us to understand-and perhaps change-our material, economic,
and social environments? How has our relationship to materials changed over time? How do environmental and material realities impact
cultural production and imagination? Texts under discussion will likely include: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962); Terry Tempest
Williams' Refuge (1991); Mark Nowak's Coal Mountain Elementary (2009); Lesley Battler's Endangered Hydrocarbons (2015); Andrew
Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling (2012); Adam Dickinson's The Polymers (2013); and two films: Hiroshima mon Amour (dir. Alain Resnais,
1959) and There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Anderson, 2007). Course requirements include active participation; a close-reading paper; an
engaged assignment; and a final research paper. All students are welcome.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Price.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 045A. Writing Nature: Digital Storytelling
(Cross-listed as ENGL 070G)
This course uses the Crum woods as a laboratory setting for the production of multimedia poems and brief memoirs. Digital stories combine
spoken words with images, sound, and sometimes video to create powerful short movies. We'll spend time grappling with some of the stories
inherent in the Crum woods ecosystem as well as the multifaceted story of our relationship to the woods. The class will conclude with a public
screening of work produced.
1.0 credit
Eligible for ENVS.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: Environmental Studies
ENVS 045B. River Stories
Cross-listed as ENGL 070R
The Delaware River is the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi: it is also a repository of American history, from Washington's
midnight crossing during the Revolutionary War through Indian massacres through the era of pollution and the effects of the Clean Water Act.
Twelve upper-class students will have the opportunity to spend time on the river before the start of the semester: we'll take 7-10 days to canoe
and/or kayak, camp, explore ecosystems and natural history, visit water treatment centers, write, and gather media (photos, video, sound files). In
addition to a traditional English paper and a research essay on environmental issues affecting the Delaware River, students will keep field
journals and write poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction prose. One or more of these creative pieces will be turned into a digital story; several
will be added to a communal memory map of the Delaware.
Graded CR/NC.
Limited to 12.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: Environmental Studies
ENVS 046. Warming Up: Performing Ecology
(Cross-listed as DANC 046, THEA 005D )
This introductory course focuses on creative opportunities for students wishing to explore ecology, environmental studies, and the performing
arts, specifically focusing on eco-performance and design. Class goals will aim to support a better understanding of environmental studies via an
artistic lens, allowing students to combine creative processes with environmental sciences. Emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary skills
and experiences that raise awareness around environmental studies and simultaneously engage culture and community.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 047. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as JPNS 036 and PEAC 036)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner, Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 048. Philosophy of Nature
Cross-listed as PHIL 029
The question of how we conceive of nature and our relationship to it is one that has become increasingly pressing as we deal with environmental
issues that are rapidly reaching a critical point. There has been a resurgence of interest in views like process philosophy-a view that suggests
that unless we take interconnected becoming into account we cannot explain the novelty of life; panpsychism-a view that suggests that
consciousness may be a fundamental component of the universe rather than an emergent effect of brains; biosemiotics-a view that suggests that
even at the level of cells and unicellular organisms life operates through meaning-making rather than merely as mechanisms; and "new"
materialism-a view that suggests that even matter instead of being viewed as inert could be conceived as having a kind of agency of its own.
These views, among others, in updated forms that take up again questions silenced at earlier points in time in new contexts-along with cross-
cultural views that have never succumbed to the Western binaries of nature/culture, human/animal, and self/other-in light of the radical
challenges facing us, are rich resources for rethinking our relationship to nature in ways that could foster the kind of shifts in self-understanding
and investment in our relations to others and our surroundings that we need to survive.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS.
Spring 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 050. Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Impacts
Indigenous Peoples around the world are among the first to experience the direct impacts of climate change that pose serious threats to their
contemporary livelihoods and cultural lifeways. Using illustrative case studies, this course will examine the impacts of climate change on
Indigenous peoples and their communities globally and will examine Indigenous responses to climate change. Major themes and topics will
include Indigenous relationships to land, cultural sustainability, food security, Indigenous climate adaptation and mitigation planning, and
international forums concerning climate change policy and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. This course centers the lived experience and
cultural perspectives of Indigenous Peoples.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Benally.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 052. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as CHIN 086, LITR 086CG)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerable food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more
ecologically friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more
traditional diets and redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR
and US food conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class
(Environmental Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Prerequisite: Some knowledge of Chinese culture or language is preferred but not required.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ASIA
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 057. Afro-Futurism: Astral Mythologies of Creation and the Afterlife
(Cross-listed as RELG 047)
In his 1974 film Space is the Place, avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra announced his mission to rescue Black earthlings and shuttle them in his
spaceship to the safety of a newly-discovered planet: "I come to you as a myth. Because that's what black people are, myths. I come to you from a
dream that the black man dreamed long ago." In many ways, Sun Ra's prophecy parallels variants of the Dogon creation myth of Mali, West
Africa (recorded in the 1940s) that details the fateful voyage of the Nommos demiurge deities, who traveled to Earth in a sky vessel from a
planetary point of origin some observers speculate may orbit the Sirius star system.
Through primary and secondary readings, interactive classroom activities, and multimedia sources -- including a bevy of music and film
recordings -- this course investigates Afrofuturism as a radical imaginary within the broader corpus of Black Astral Mythologies. By tracing a
throughline between topics such as 16th-century astronomical observations at the University of Timbuktu, U.S. Underground Railroad fugitive
navigations according to the 'North Star,' and recent cosmogonic speculation by quantum physicists into the elusive nature of Dark Matter,
students will consider this premise: when the safe harbor of the earth no longer offers itself as habitation, Blackened celestial futures constellate
the cosmic horizons.
Possible field trip to the House of Future Sciences, headquarters of the Philadelphia collective AfroFuturist Affair.
Humanities
1.0 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 058. Climate Fiction
(Cross-listed as ENGL 058)
Climate fiction responds to the immensity of climate change through a variety of modes including journalism, dystopia, speculation, black
comedy. As we read climate fiction that grapples with crises from the Dust Bowl through imaginary (yet not implausible) apocalypses, we will
hone skills of thinking, writing, and speaking critically about cultural forms and social structures entangled with our changing climate and
environment. Authors include John Steinbeck, Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Junot Diaz, Richard Powers, Kim Stanley Robinson.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
JPNS 036. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as PEAC 036, ENVS 047)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
PEAC 036. Environment, Cultural Memory and Social Change in Japan
Cross-listed as JPNS 036, ENVS 047
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. In addition, under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore possible applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we
will engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related
to contemporary environmental and peace activism.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-paired
Fall 2023. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PHIL 029. Philosophy of Nature
(Cross-listed as ENVS 048)
The question of how we conceive of nature and our relationship to it is one that has become increasingly pressing as we deal with environmental
issues that are rapidly reaching a critical point. There has been a resurgence of interest in views like process philosophy-a view that suggests
that unless we take interconnected becoming into account we cannot explain the novelty of life; panpsychism-a view that suggests that
consciousness may be a fundamental component of the universe rather than an emergent effect of brains; biosemiotics-a view that suggests that
even at the level of cells and unicellular organisms life operates through meaning-making rather than merely as mechanisms; and "new"
materialism-a view that suggests that even matter instead of being viewed as inert could be conceived as having a kind of agency of its own.
These views, among others, in updated forms that take up again questions silenced at earlier points in time in new contexts-along with cross-
cultural views that have never succumbed to the Western binaries of nature/culture, human/animal, and self/other-in light of the radical
challenges facing us, are rich resources for rethinking our relationship to nature in ways that could foster the kind of shifts in self-understanding
and investment in our relations to others and our surroundings that we need to survive.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 035. Environmental Ethics
Environmental ethics deals with normative moral and political questions and issues concerning the environment. Here are some questions we
will examine. Who counts in environmental ethics: only humans, all animals, plants, too, or all forms of life, even ecosystems? Should species,
natural habitats, or wilderness be preserved for their own sake? What ethical questions does climate change raise and how could and should we
answer them? How should we think about our relation to nature and our use of technology in general?
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
RELG 004. Radical Jesus
(Cross-listed as CLST 004 )
Discussion-and writing-intensive study of classical and contemporary understandings of the figure of Jesus through analytical reading,
classroom dialogue, expository writing, and community engagement. It asks the questions, Who was the real historical Jesus? and, What is the
relevance of Jesus for today? Introduction to wide understanding of Greco-Roman cultures and ancient texts, biblical and otherwise, including
many of the extracanonical scriptures that did not make the final cut for inclusion in the commonly received New Testament. Also introduction to
the Greek alphabet, lexicons, and research tools for New Testament study along with rudimentary Greek terms essential to biblical scholarship
and commentary. Instruction is intellectually rigorous and responsive both to skeptical and faith-based readings of Jesus' biography and the
Bible. The ground is level in this class: believers and unbelievers, evangelicals and atheists are welcome. No prior background in religious or
biblical studies is assumed or required.
The class is divided into four three-week sessions with each session devoted to one of the Gospels, and a final week-long session focusing on the
Book of Acts. Each session will study the interplay between Christian scriptures along with writings and images about Jesus drawn from the
Hebrew Bible, extracanonical writings, film and video, history, theology and fiction. Images of Jesus through time will be tackled: Jewish rabbi,
political revolutionary, apocalyptic prophet, queer lover, desert shaman, African messiah, and Native American trickster.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, ENVS, ESCH, INTP
Spring 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006C. First Year Seminar: Apocalypse: Hope and Despair in the Last Days
(Cross-listed as ENVS 006)
For millennia, speculation about the end of the world has fired the imaginations of Western cultures. Today, in the light of the interrelated crises
of ecological collapse and COVID-19, scientists argue we are in the time of the "Sixth Great Extinction," while religious communities assert we
are living into the end of the world based on ancient prophecies. This course will ask how two seemingly unrelated modes of discourse-
environmental science and religious studies-converge to shape productive responses to the world's end; and the power, and the anxieties of
environmental spiritualities (with special reference to Buddhist, Neopagan, Christian and Indigenous worldviews) to give birth to hope and
resilience in the face of the coming storm.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 022. Religion and Ecology
(Cross-listed as ENVS 040)
This course focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and
modern times. In turn, it examines how various religious worldviews can aid the development of an earth-centered philosophy of life. The thesis
of this course is that the environment crisis, at its core, is a spiritual crisis because it is human beings' deep ecocidal dispositions toward nature
that are the cause of the earth's continued degradation. Course topics include ecological thought in Western philosophy, theology, and biblical
studies; the role of Asian religious thought in forging an ecological worldview; the value of American nature writings for environmental
awareness, including both Euro-American and Amerindian literatures; the public policy debates concerning vegetarianism and the antitoxics
movement; and the contemporary relevance of ecofeminism, deep ecology, Neopaganism, and wilderness activism. In addition to writing
assignments, there will be occasional contemplative practicums, journaling exercises, and a community-based learning component.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice
Social justice rhetoric and activism are often framed around the theme of a fight or a struggle -- however noble -- against the forces and powers
of oppression. This course takes a different tack and approaches social justice via perspectives of healing, wellness, and critical care practices.
This course places an emphasis upon praxis, and as such will center healing and social justice practitioners and their methodologies as our
primary curricular materials (via in-class visits and their social media footprints) to accompany more traditional classroom readings and
multimedia assignments. What happens to our notions of social justice if we view current-day global oppression chiefly as a problem of colonial
dis/ease -- a restless sickness wracking the social and political body, the encrusted layers of generational trauma and violence catalyzed by the
on-going and open-ended histories of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RUSS 043. Chernobyl: Nuclear Narratives and the Environment
(Cross-listed as LITR 043R)
What really happened on April 26, 1986? This course will introduce students to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, its consequences, and its
representations across a range of cultures. Texts will be drawn from (non-)fiction, poetry, film, TV, video games, VR, and other media, as we
consider the labyrinth of Chernobyl's mythology through a comparative lens and as a global phenomenon. Culture meets ecology, science,
history, and politics. Fields trips and guest speakers. The final class project will involve an installation at McCabe Library. Taught in translation.
No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RELG 047. Afro-Futurism: Astral Mythologies of Creation and the Afterlife
(Cross-listed as ENVS 057)
In his 1974 film Space is the Place, avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra announced his mission to rescue Black earthlings and shuttle them in his
spaceship to the safety of a newly-discovered planet: "I come to you as a myth. Because that's what black people are, myths. I come to you from a
dream that the black man dreamed long ago." In many ways, Sun Ra's prophecy parallels variants of the Dogon creation myth of Mali, West
Africa (recorded in the 1940s) that details the fateful voyage of the Nommos demiurge deities, who traveled to Earth in a sky vessel from a
planetary point of origin some observers speculate may orbit the Sirius star system.
Through primary and secondary readings, interactive classroom activities, and multimedia sources -- including a bevy of music and film
recordings -- this course investigates Afrofuturism as a radical imaginary within the broader corpus of Black Astral Mythologies. By tracing a
throughline between topics such as 16th-century astronomical observations at the University of Timbuktu, U.S. Underground Railroad fugitive
navigations according to the 'North Star,' and recent cosmogonic speculation by quantum physicists into the elusive nature of Dark Matter,
students will consider this premise: when the safe harbor of the earth no longer offers itself as habitation, Blackened celestial futures constellate
the cosmic horizons.
Possible field trip to the House of Future Sciences, headquarters of the Philadelphia collective AfroFuturist Affair.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RUSS 086. Nature and Industry in Russian Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 086R)
From pre-Christian religion and folklore based in forest, steppe and tundra and the enduring role of peasant culture to today's Neo-Pagans,
Russian culture has been closely bound to nature, developing sustainable agricultural practices, honoring "Moist Mother Earth" and (even
sophisticated city dwellers) heading out to gather berries and mushrooms. But the Soviet era pursued science-fictional plans to redesign whole
landscapes, make rivers flow backwards and even revolutionize plant genetics (Trofim Lysenko). In practice, such projects led to a shrinking Aral
Sea, massive pollution of industrial and agricultural sites, and the worst nuclear disaster in human history (Chernobyl) - at great human cost.
Writers have both supported industrial transformation and resisted industrialization. This course will trace the evolution of these elements of
Russian culture, focusing on expressions of ideology in literature. No knowledge of Russian is necessary, but students with the language may do
some reading in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
ENVS 060-079 Natural Sciences
BIOL 002. Organismal and Population Biology
Introduction to the study of organisms emphasizing morphology, physiology, behavior, ecology, and evolution of whole organisms and
populations.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
One laboratory per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 009. Our Food
(Cross-listed as ENVS 009)
The scale and efficiency of our food system is one of the marvels of the modern world. Yet in many ways this system is broken. This course will
address the current state of our agricultural food system from scientific, humanitarian and sustainability perspectives, focusing on the U.S. Each
student will grow crop plants and maintain a micro-garden plot on campus, as well as develop educational signage for the public that conveys
information about agriculture, food systems and/or their crop. Three full hours of lecture/discussion/lab and one floating hour of fieldwork per
week.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Pfluger.
Fall 2022. Pfluger.
Fall 2023. Pfluger.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
BIOL 016. Microbiology
This study of the biology of microorganisms will emphasize aspects unique to prokaryotes. Topics include microbial cell structure, metabolism,
physiology, genetics, and ecology. Laboratory exercises include techniques for detecting, isolating, cultivating, quantifying, and identifying
bacteria. Students may not take both BIOL 016 and BIOL 017 for credit.
Prerequisite: CHEM 022; BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or by permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Vollmer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 020. Animal Physiology
An examination of the principles and mechanisms of animal physiology, ranging from the subcellular to the integrated whole animal in its
environment. Possible topics include metabolism, thermoregulation, endocrine regulation, nutrient processing, and muscle physiology.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002 or permission of the Instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Bauer.
Fall 2022. Bauer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 025. Plant Biology
This course is an exploration of the diverse field of plant biology.
Topics will include growth and development, reproduction, genetics and genome biology, evolution and diversity, physiology, responses to
pathogens and environmental stimuli, domestication, agriculture, and applications of plant genetic modification. Laboratories will introduce
organismal, cellular, molecular, and genetic approaches to understanding plant biology.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Grossman.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 031. Marine Mammal Biology and Conservation
A survey of the unique evolutionary histories, ecological strategies and conservation concerns of cetaceans (whales & dolphins), pinnipeds
(seals, sea lions, and walruses), and sirenians (manatees and dugongs). Topics include how biologists study these animals, comparative
approaches to examining their evolution, anatomy and physiology, and marine mammal adaptations for living in a marine environment.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 or permission of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 034. Evolution
The course focuses on how the genetic and phenotypic structure of a population changes in response to mutation, natural selection, migration,
and genetic drift. Other topics, such as quantitative genetics, speciation, phylogeography, and adaptation, provide a broader view of
evolutionary processes.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period or field trip per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Fall 2022. Formica.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 036. Ecology
Spring 2022: How do organisms interact with each other and their environment? In Ecology, we will tackle this question by building quantitative
skills and applying them on the Swarthmore campus. Students will learn to model population growth and species interactions at the community
level in the R programming environment and gain experience with the field and lab skills ecologists use to understand and manage global
change. Through collaboration with local stakeholders and engagement with both Indigenous and Western approaches to understanding humans'
connection with the natural world, we will design and implement an ecological restoration project in the Crum Woods. Students do not need to
have previous fieldwork or R experience, but should be interested in cultivating these skills!
Fall 2022 & Fall 2023: The goal of ecology is to explain the distribution and abundance of organisms in nature through an understanding of how
they interact with their abiotic and biotic environments. Students will gain ecological literacy and practice by studying processes that operate
within and between hierarchical levels or organization such as individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems. All this knowledge will be
applied to understand the current global changes occurring in nature as a result of human activities.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002, or permission of the instructor. ENVS 001 accepted as pre-requisite Spring 2022.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Fall 2022: Three to 6 hours of laboratory and/or fieldwork in the Crum Woods per week, in addition to at least one field trip per semester.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Grossman.
Fall 2022. Machado.
Fall 2023. Machado.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 037. Conservation Biology
Cross-listed as (ENVS 063 )
This course provides an overview of the foundational concepts and future horizons of biodiversity conservation and illustrates central issues in
contemporary conservation with case studies, critical reading of primary literature, field experiences and exposure to quantitative methods
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period or field trip per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Fall 2022. Caviedes-Solis.
Fall 2023. Caviedes-Solis.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 039. Marine Biology
Ecology of oceans and estuaries, including discussions of physiological, structural, and behavioral adaptations of marine organisms.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory per week; several all-day field trips.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Chan.
Fall 2023. Chan.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 042. Climate Change Science and Communication
cross listed as ENVS 061
Climate change is shaped by and shapes biological processes from the individual to the biome. In this course, students will develop a
foundational understanding of the physical and geochemical factors underlying Earth's changing climate, the impact of such changes on the
biological systems, and the consequences for human-environment interactions. Students will also develop strategic communication skills for
sustainability through practice with research-tested science communication tools. Course meetings will be split between lecture, hands-on
activities, paper discussions, and workshops.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 or 002 and one additional NSE course or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS., GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 115E. Plant Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
The course will investigate the technological approaches that plant scientists are using to address environmental, agricultural, and health issues.
Topics will include biofuels, nutritional engineering, engineering disease and stress resistance, bioremediation, and the production of
pharmaceuticals in plants.
Prerequisite: BIOL 025 or any Group I course with permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 116. Microbial Processes and Biotechnology
A study of microbial mechanisms regulating metabolism and gene expression in response to natural and experimental stressors with emphasis on
central and intermediary metabolism. Technical and ethical applications of these concepts in biotechnology will be addressed.
Prerequisite: BIOL 016 or CHEM 038; students planning to use BIOL 116 as an honors preparation must have BIOL 016 or permission of
instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Vollmer.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
BIOL 139. Global Ocean Change Biology
This seminar will examine the impact of anthropogenic activities on marine organisms across different levels of biological organization. Keeping
pace with this rapidly evolving field, we will discuss primary literature across disciplines, including epigenetic and genetic responses,
organismal performances, ecological interactions, ecosystem functions and services. Strong emphasis on quantitative understanding.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002, and any Group II or III intermediate course with permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Chan.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
CHEM 003C. Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Green chemistry underlies the sustainable use of our natural resources. Core principles will be presented on how to achieve sustainability. Atom
economy as driver to limit chemical waste and the conversion of this waste to reusable resources will be addressed. The course will focus on the
impact of catalysis, nutrients, fertilizers, biomass, solvents, and energy usage on our daily life, how to minimize waste, and how to make the
involved chemical processes green to enable the sustainable use of our natural resources.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2023. Lammertsma.
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
CHEM 015. Environmental Chemistry
(Cross-listed as ENVS 060) The course covers selected aspects of atmospheric chemistry, aquatic chemistry, and soil chemistry. There will be a
specific focus on the environmentally important element cycles for C, N, O, P, and S in the absence and presence of current human activity. The
chemistry of organic pollutants across the three zones will also be examined. The course content will involve a discussion of relevant current
events.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010 or CHEM 010 HN ; or discretion of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Graves
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
ENGR 003. Problems in Technology
For students not majoring in science or engineering, this course will concentrate on the automobile and its impact on society. Class time will
cover the principles of operation of vehicles and student lead discussions on related technical, political, social, and economic issues. Possible
laboratory topics include evaluating alternative power systems (e.g., solar, hydrogen, and electric); investigating alternative fuels; and
understanding existing automotive components. Enrollment is limited. Usually offered in alternate years.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Macken.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 004A. Environmental Protection
This course covers fundamentals of analysis for environmental problems in the areas of water pollution, air pollution, solid and hazardous
wastes, water and energy supply, and resource depletion, with an emphasis on technological solutions. Topics include scientific concepts
necessary to understand local and global pollution problems, pollution control and renewable energy technologies, public policy developments
related to regulation of pollutants, and methods of computer-based systems analysis for developing economically effective environmental
protection policies. ENGR 004A may not be used to fulfill the requirements for the engineering major or minor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH and GLBL - Core.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 035. Solar Energy Systems
Fundamental physical concepts and system design techniques of solar energy systems are covered. Topics include solar geometry, components of
solar radiation, analysis of thermal and photovoltaic solar collectors, energy storage, computer simulation of system performance, computer-
aided design optimization, and economic feasibility assessment. This course includes a laboratory. Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: PHYS 004, MATH 025, some coding experience in a procedural computer language such as Matlab, Python, or C, or the
permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Fall 2021. Everbach.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 057. Operations Research
(Cross-listed as ECON 032)
This course introduces students to mathematical modeling and optimization to solve complex, multivariable problems such as those relating to
efficient business and government operations, environmental pollution control, urban planning, and water, energy, and food resources.
Introduction to the AMPL computer modeling language is included. A case study project is required for students taking the course as a natural
sciences and engineering practicum (ENGR 057). The project is optional for students taking the course as ECON 032.
Prerequisite: familiarity with matrix methods, especially solution of simultaneous linear equations, i.e., elementary linear algebra; but a full
course in linear algebra is not required.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum only if taken as ENGR 057
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENVS 008. Plants and People
This course explores the relationships between people and plants, particularly in the contexts of food, health, and medicine, in order to reflect on
and deepen human connections to the botanical world. As we explore differences in plant/people relationships and ethnobotanical knowledge
systems, we will consider questions about how these differences have been valued or devalued and their impacts on environmental sustainability
and human wellbeing. The course will emphasize hands-on learning (e.g., nature journaling, gardening, botanical medicine
preparation, artisanal vegetable fermentation, field trips, etc.).
1.0 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Fall 2021. Mohn.
Fall 2023. Mohn.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 009. Our Food
(Cross-listed as BIOL 009)
The scale and efficiency of our food system is one of the marvels of the modern world. Yet in many ways this system is broken. This course will
address the current state of our agricultural food system from scientific, humanitarian and sustainability perspectives, focusing on the U.S. Each
student will grow crop plants and maintain a micro-garden plot on campus, as well as develop educational signage for the public that conveys
information about agriculture, food systems and/or their crop. Three full hours of lecture/discussion/lab and one floating hour of fieldwork per
week.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Pfluger.
Fall 2022. Pfluger.
Fall 2023. Pfluger.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 010. Climate Change: Science & Responses
(Cross-listed as PHYS 001C)
A study of the complex interplay of factors influencing conditions on the surface of the Earth. Basic concepts from geology, oceanography, and
atmospheric science lead to an examination of how the Earth's climate has varied in the past, what changes are occurring now, and what the
future may hold. Besides environmental effects, the economic, political, and ethical implications of global warming are explored, including
possible ways to reduce climate change.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Bell.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 012. Compost and Climate Change
The management of food, garden and other organic wastes has significant effects on anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This course
focuses on understanding the environmental impacts of organic waste stream management practices. As part of the course, students will take part
in assessing current practices and developing recommendations for organic waste management at the college. Multiple field trips.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 060. Environmental Chemistry
(Cross-listed as CHEM 015)
The course covers selected aspects of atmospheric chemistry, aquatic chemistry, and soil chemistry. There will be a specific focus on the
environmentally important element cycles for C, N, O, P, and S in the absence and presence of current human activity. The chemistry of organic
pollutants across the three zones will also be examined. The course content will involve a discussion of relevant current events.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010 or CHEM 010 HN; or discretion of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Eligible for Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 061. Climate Change Science and Communication
(Cross-listed as BIOL 042)
Climate change is shaped by and shapes biological processes from the individual to the biome. In this course, students will develop a
foundational understanding of the physical and geochemical factors underlying Earth's changing climate, the impact of such changes on the
biological systems, and the consequences for human-environment interactions. Students will also develop strategic communication skills for
sustainability through practice with research-tested science communication tools. Course meetings will be split between lecture, hands-on
activities, paper discussions, and workshops.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 or BIOL 002 and one additional NSE course or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 070. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
This course is designed to introduce the foundations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with emphasis on applications for environmental
analysis in both proprietary and open-source software. It deals with basic principles of GIS and its use in spatial analysis and information
management. Laboratory exercises provide practical experiences that complement the theory covered in lecture. By the end of this semester
students should be capable of analyzing and managing environmental geospatial data.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kokaz-Roy.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 079. Modeling
(Cross-listed as MATH 056)
An introduction to the formulation and analysis of mathematical models. This course will present a general framework for the development of
discrete, continuous, and graphical models of diverse phenomena. Principles of modeling will be drawn from kinetics, population dynamics,
traffic flow, diffusion, continuum mechanics, cellular automata, and network science. Mathematical techniques for understanding models will be
emphasized, including dimensional analysis, phase plane diagrams, stability analysis, bifurcation theory, conservation laws, steady-state
solutions, and computer simulation. Specific applications from chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, and neuroscience will be discussed. A
primary goal of this course is to give insights into the connections between mathematics and real-world problems, allowing students to apply the
course concepts to applications that excite them.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028; in one of MATH 034 or MATH 035; and in MATH 043 or MATH 044; or
permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Crawford.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENGR 063. Water Quality and Pollution Control
Students will study elements of water quality management and treatment of wastewaters through laboratory and field measurements of water
quality indicators, analysis of wastewater treatment processes, sewage treatment plant design, computer modeling of the effects of waste
discharge, storm water, and nonpoint pollution on natural waters, and environmental impact assessment.
Offered in the fall semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010, MATH 025, or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Plata.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
ENGR 066. Environmental Systems
Students will explore mathematical modeling and systems analysis of problems in the fields of water resources, water quality, air pollution, urban
planning, and public health. Techniques of optimization including linear and integer programming are used as frameworks for modeling such
problems. Dynamic systems simulation methods and a laboratory are included.
Offered in the spring semester of alternate years.
Prerequisite: Recommended: ENGR 057 or the equivalent, or the permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
MATH 056. Modeling
(Cross-listed as ENVS 079)
An introduction to the formulation and analysis of mathematical models. This course will present a general framework for the development of
discrete and continuous models of diverse phenomena. Principles of modeling will be drawn from multiple areas, such as kinetics, population
dynamics, disease spread, traffic flow, particle mechanics, and network science. Mathematical techniques and theory useful for understanding
models will be emphasized, such as dimensional analysis, phase plane diagrams, stability analysis, bifurcation theory, conservation laws,
random walks, constitutive relations, chaos theory, and computer simulation. A primary goal of this course is to give insights into the connections
between mathematics and real-world problems, allowing students to apply the course concepts to applications that excite them.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028, and a grade of C or better in one of MATH 043 or MATH
044; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Crawford.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
PHYS 001C. Climate Change: Science and Responses
(Cross-Listed with ENVS 010)
A study of the complex interplay of factors influencing conditions on the surface of the Earth. Basic concepts from geology, oceanography, and
atmospheric science lead to an examination of how the Earth's climate has varied in the past, what changes are occurring now, and what the
future may hold. Besides environmental effects, the economic, political, and ethical implications of global warming are explored, including
possible ways to reduce climate change.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Eric Bell.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ENVS 080-089 Project-based Learning
ENVS 089A. Sustainability Research and Action
This course helps students develop skills in a wide range of research-related skills, ranging from theories of change and content-specific research
strategies, through self-management, project management, communication, engagement, and presentation skills. Guest presenters will help
students understand the growing field of sustainability from a variety of different perspectives. This course supports the President's Sustainability
Research Fellowship.
This course is only open to PSRF students, who have to apply for the program and be accepted in the preceding spring. Students enrolled in
ENVS 089A will automatically be enrolled in ENVS 089B in the spring semester.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Everbach, Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 089B. President's Sustainability Research Fellowship
This course helps students develop skills in a wide range of research-related skills, ranging from theories of change and content-specific research
strategies, through self-management, project management, communication, engagement, and presentation skills. Guest presenters will help
students understand the growing field of sustainability from a variety of different perspectives. This course supports the President's Sustainability
Research Fellowship.
This course is only open to PSRF students, who have to apply for the program and be accepted in the preceding spring. Students enrolled in
ENVS 089A in the fall semester will automatically be enrolled in ENVS 089B in the spring semester.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Spring 2022. Everbach, Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Charlton, Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 090-099 Directed Reading, Independent Project, Capstone
ENVS 091. Capstone Seminar
The culminating experience of the environmental studies major is the capstone seminar course. Under the direction of a faculty member, students
with a variety of backgrounds concentrate on a single, environmental topic. Recent examples include: "Oceans in Peril," "Environmental
Justice," and "The Green Campus: Swarthmore and Sustainability." The class members collectively work on a major initiative as part of the
course. These projects have led to a sustainability action plan for the College, a map illustrating environmental justice in Delaware County, Pa.,
and a conference about watershed restoration.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Bennally
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 092A. UNFCCC COP and International Climate Regime
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) is a critically important annual event for global action on climate change,
but it is situated within a broader and more complex international climate change "regime". This
course provides a foundation for understanding the COP negotiations from a multitude of
perspectives stemming from and external to the UNFCCC - including international relations,
sustainable development, and multi-level climate governance. Key topics include: the structure
of the Paris Agreement (e.g., mitigation, adaptation, loss & damage, etc.) and other relevant
multilateral agreements (e.g., 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction, New Urban Agenda, etc.), power dynamics in multilateral climate
negotiations, the role of non-state actors (e.g., sub-national governments, NGOs, private sector,
activists, etc.), and models for regime change to help meet the urgency of the moment. The
course will also cover current issues to be negotiated at this year's conference and other timely
analyses. Though not required, students are recommended to take POLS 081: Global
Environmental Governance concurrently for a further holistic view on environmental governance
beyond climate change.
*Note: This .5-credit course is open to all students, of whom only a subsection will be selected
via an application process to attend COP. That said, all students in the course will have
meaningful opportunities to engage virtually with the COP and related UNFCCC events.
Additionally, there will be at least one opportunity for students in the course to optionally attend
a high-level, climate policy event in NYC (possibly at UN Headquarters).
0.5 credit.
Eligible for POLS.
Fall 2021. Kaya, Tier.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 096. Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies
Writing course.
1.0 credit
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Film and Media Studies
Chair:
BOB REHAK, Associate Professor
CATALINA LASSEN, Administrative Assistant
Core Faculty:
PATRICIA WHITE, Professor
1
SUNKA SIMON, Professor (Film and Media Studies and MLL, German)
2
RODNEY EVANS, Visiting Associate Professor
2
Affiliated Faculty:
Timothy Burke (History)
William Gardner (Modern Languages and Literatures, Japanese)
Haili Kong (Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)
Maya Nadkarni (Sociology and Anthropology)
Carina Yervasi (Modern Languages and Literatures, French)
2
1
Absent on leave, fall 2021.
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, fall 2021 - spring 2022.
Film and media are crucial and pervasive dimensions of contemporary culture. The development of formal understanding, historical knowledge,
and critical literacy about media texts, technologies, and practices is central to a liberal arts education in the twenty-first century. The
Department of Film and Media Studies offers classes that explore the history, theory, aesthetics, and social and cultural aspects of media forms
including cinema, television, online video, digital games, and media art. The program teaches research and analytical methods as well as digital
production skills and approaches and encourages cross-cultural comparisons as well as attention to audiences and institutions. Our hybrid
curriculum blends critical studies with critical making, often within the same course.
The Academic Program
The Film and Media Studies Department offers a range of courses in critical studies and production, cross-lists film and media courses with
other departments, and awards credit for majors and minors taking approved offerings from other departments and programs. Students may
major or minor in film and media studies, including in the Honors Program. FMST 001 is the prerequisite for advanced work in the major or
minor and is recommended preparation for any course in the department except first-year seminars. In addition to class meetings, most courses
require weekly evening screenings. Production courses are limited enrollment.
First Course Recommendations
First course recommendations
FMST 001. Introduction to Film & Media Studies presents forms and histories of film and other moving-image media, as well as key concepts,
theories, and methods in the discipline of film and media studies. We begin with analysis of the elements of film form; explore narrative,
documentary, experimental and genre formats; and conclude with perspectives on authorship, national cinema, and other topics in film and
media theory. Emphasis is on developing critical viewing, writing, research, and multimedia authoring skills. Required weekly evening
screenings of works from diverse periods, countries, and traditions. FMST 001 is the prerequisite for most other FMST classes.
Film and Media Studies Courses
FMST 001. Introduction to Film and Media Studies
In this course students are presented with forms and histories of film and other moving-image media, as well as key concepts, theories, and
methods in the discipline of film and media studies. We begin with analysis of the elements of film form; explore narrative, documentary,
experimental and genre formats; and conclude with perspectives on authorship, national cinema, and other topics in film and media theory.
Emphasis is on developing critical viewing, writing, research, and multimedia authoring skills. Required weekly evening screenings of works
from diverse periods, countries, and traditions. FMST 001 is the prerequisite for most other FMST classes.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU
Fall 2021. Rehak.
Fall 2022. White.
Fall 2023. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 002. Digital Production Fundamentals
This course introduces students to the expressive possibilities and rigors of the film medium while offering a sound technical foundation in digital
production and post-production. We will explore documentary, experimental, and narrative approaches and also consider the opportunities and
limitations-conceptual, practical and aesthetic- of exhibiting work through different venues and platforms. Emphasis will be on using the formal
and conceptual palette introduced in the course to develop one's own artistic vision. Coursework includes short assignments, discussions,
screenings, and a final project.
Prerequisite: FMST 001 or Instructor Permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU
Spring 2022. Brook.
Spring 2023. Evans.
Spring 2024. Evans.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 005. First-Year Seminar: Special Effects and Film Spectacle
Focusing on the history and theory of spectacular media culture with an emphasis on visual effects and other forms of behind-the-scenes
industrial knowledge, this class introduces students to the basics of studying and writing about spectacle in film, television, and digital
entertainment, exploring questions such as the relationship between style and technology; formal and narrative principles of "showstoppers"
such as musical numbers and fight scenes; and issues of realism and illusion, visual pleasure, sensory immersion, capitalism, cultural worth, and
ideology.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 009. First-Year Seminar: Women and Popular Culture
This course looks at a range of genres associated with female audiences in the US since the late 19th century across print, film, television, and
new media. These include sentimental novels, gothic romances, magazines, "women's pictures," soaps, chick flicks, fanfic and Tumblr. What is
the relation between mass culture aimed at women, cultural production by women, and feminist politics and critique? How do race, class, gender
identity, and sexuality intersect with gendered genre conventions, discourses of authorship and critical evaluation, and the paradoxes of popular
cultural pleasures?
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU, GSST
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 011. Advanced Digital Production
This course is an advanced filmmaking workshop for students with prior production experience. Through practical workshops in pre-production,
sound production, cinematography, and editing, students advance their technical, aesthetic, and storytelling skills beyond the fundamentals.
Through reading, discussion, and exposure to a variety of creative practices within film and video, the course promotes a critical understanding
of these media. Production coursework includes collaborative exercises and the completion of a short film-documentary, narrative, or
experimental culminating in a final project screening. This course is designed to help students develop their voice as filmmakers through the
creation of high-quality works and is strongly recommended for students interested in producing a senior film project.
Prerequisite: FMST 001, and FMST 002 or equivalent production experience with instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2021. Evans.
Fall 2023. Evans.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 013. (Auto)biography and the Archive: Experimental Digital Production
How have filmmakers used the camera to investigate their own life experiences, incorporating issues of race, gender, sexuality, class, geography,
politics, and socioeconomic status? How do filmmakers turn to historical precursors, both known and unknown, to make deeply personal work?
This class expands the boundaries of what we think of as "personal" filmmaking, looking at its history in fiction, documentary, experimental and
hybrid works. We will explore the ways in which the archive intersects with (auto) biography--how empathy for stories filmmakers find in the
ever expanding public archive of images affects the creative process. Course work includes readings by filmmakers and theorists, exercises,
discussions with guest filmmakers, and a final 3-10 minute creative project. Prerequisite FMST 2 or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 015. Screenwriting
(Cross-listed as ENGL 070S)
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of screenwriting while enabling them to explore their unique sensibility as writers. We
consider how screenplays differ from other dramatic forms and understand what makes good cinematic storytelling. By looking at short and
feature-length scripts and films, we examine issues of structure, character development, effective use of dramatic tension and dialogue, tone, and
theme. Through in-class exercises and discussions, students flesh out their ideas and grapple with their writing in a supportive workshop
atmosphere. Coursework includes screenings, short assignments, and the completion of several drafts of a short screenplay. No previous writing
experience required.
Prerequisite: Instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2021. Evans.
Fall 2022. Evans.
Fall 2023. Evans.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 016. The Director/Actor Collaboration
This course focuses on the importance of the relationship between the director and the actor and the use of improvisation in rehearsal and
production to create more powerful performances for film and television. Texts and films examined in the first half of the course will include THE
IMPROVISED PLAY: THE WORK OF MIKE LEIGH by Paul Clements, DIRECTING ACTORS by Judith Weston, THE COOL WORLD by
Shirley Clarke, VERA DRAKE by Mike Leigh and OLD CATS by Sebastian Silva. The second half of the semester will include in-class exercises,
open rehearsals with professional actors and individual student films that put some of the examined techniques into practice. The course will also
include special workshops and Q&A's with guest filmmakers.
Prerequisite: FMST 001 and FMST 002 or equivalent production experience from a film/video production course in the TriCo with a working
knowledge of the Premiere Pro Editing software is required for this course with instructor's approval.
Prerequisite: FMST 001 or FMST 002
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2022. Evans.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 020. Critical Theories of Film and Media
Film critic André Bazin's famous question, "What is cinema?," gained new relevance with the advent of digital media. This course introduces
classical film theory (theories of modernity and perception, montage, realism), contemporary film theory (theories of film language, ideology, the
cinematic apparatus, and spectatorship), approaches that cut across media (authorship, genre, stardom, semiotics, narratology, feminism,
production and reception studies, cognitivism), and theorizations of new media. Through readings and weekly screenings, we explore the
significance of film and other media in shaping and expressing our identities and cultural experiences. Strongly recommended for FMST majors
and minors.
Prerequisite: FMST 001.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, FMST, DGHU
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. White.
Spring 2024. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 021. American Narrative Cinema
(Cross-listed as ENGL 087)
This course surveys U.S. narrative film history with an emphasis on the Hollywood studio era. We consider how genres such as the western, the
melodrama, and film noir express aspirations and anxieties about race, gender, class and ethnicity in the United States. Film is understood as
narrative form, audiovisual medium, industrial product, and social practice. Classical Hollywood is approached as a national cinema,
illuminated by attention to independent narrative traditions ("race movies," New Queer Cinema).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, ENGL
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 022. Cinema and Modernity, 1894-1934
This course explores the first decades of film history in the context of global modernity and artistic modernism. In form and content, silent-era
cinema functioned as both a vector and a reflection of the transformative subjective and social experiences of modernity. Urbanization,
immigration, consumerism, and women's participation in the labor force were refracted in silent movie genres and stars. We will pay special
attention to cinema's internationalism before the introduction of synchronized sound, looking at film culture and national film stars in Asia as
well as the U.S. and Europe. Field trips and guests will address key topics of film historiography including archives and preservation and film
music.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 023. Documentary: The Art of the Real
Contextualizing a range of documentary practices within the history of nonfiction film and television and in the landscape of contemporary media
culture, this course explores the aesthetic and rhetorical strategies of documentary form. Topics include: activist media; the essay film; critical
and sensory ethnographic film; reenactment; television documentary; and witnessing.
Humanities.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 025. Television Studies
This course introduces students to major trends in critical thought regarding electronic media, including the rise of broadcast television, recent
developments in narrowcast or niche programming and distribution, and the relationship among media industries, advertisers, and audiences.
Special attention will be given to probing and historicizing the formal concepts of broadcast and digital TV, examining our ongoing cultural
adaptation to emerging screen technologies and their attendant narrative and audiovisual forms. Coursework includes weekly blogging, one
analytical paper, presentations, and the production of a creative TV-related project.
Required of majors for classes 2024 and after.
Prerequisite: FMST 001
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 026. Popular Music and Media
(Cross-listed as MUSI 005E/LITR 026/GMST 026)
Is Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) the Stop Making Sense (1984) of this generation? How does YouTube compare to Indie records? What's similar
and what's different? What is the relationship between social media and commercial means of distribution, and what is its effect on fandom? This
team-taught course investigates the histories, structures and cultural connections between popular music and other media. How do musical
expressions and genres interact with medium specificity? How can we understand changing exhibition formats (stadium vs. lounge vs. club) and
distribution venues (record store vs. Spotify)? How does celebrity culture then and now impact what is popular and how does it affect the music
industry and vice versa? What lies at the intersection of national, socio-political and fan cultures?
Providing a grounding in music and media history and theory, we will research and analyze mainstream and independent case studies in radio,
film, theater, television and social media in order to better understand and engage with the complex webs that characterize contemporary media,
its production, and its consumption.
Humanities.
Spring 2023. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 031. Documentary Filmmaking as Cultural Work
This course is grounded in a conceptualization of non-fiction filmmaking as a type of "cultural work" - a creative activity with the political goal
of making our society better, more humane, more equitable, more sustainable. We will explore how non-fiction filmmaking (ethnography, the
documentary, essay films) can provide an understanding of large-scale social structures that shape our present reality (including economic class,
racial, ethnic, gender and sexuality hierarchies); as well as offer a vision of and pathway to a better future. A particular focus of our examination
will be the use of the archive (of sound, image and document) to this mode of cultural work. We will look at the relationship of the craft of non-
fiction filmmaking (image choices, motion, editing, venues for of exhibition/sharing) to the intended message and intended audience. How these
productions are created, the organization of production teams, decisions about audience, will be some of the processes we try to understand as
we look at media works created by participatory community media makers in North America (including Appalshop in Whitesburg, KY, New
Orleans Video Access Center, Visual Communications in Los Angeles, Scribe Video Center in Philadelphia), and by auteur image/audio essayist
including John Akomfrah, Jill Godmilow, Renée Green, Isaac Julien, Chris Marker, Raoul Peck, Raúl Ruiz, Rea Tajiri, and Yvonne Welbon.
This course will provide an opportunity to share research and analysis through the creation of short non-fiction works.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Massiah.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 034. Transmedia Worldbuilding and Storytelling
The invention and exploration of elaborate fictional worlds span millennia of human cultural practice, from the islands of Homer's Odyssey to
the Middle Earth of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the blockbuster universes of Star Wars, Marvel and DC. This class explores the mechanical
and aesthetic principles of crafting detailed imaginary worlds and using them to tell stories that interconnect across diverse media, ranging from
film, television, theater, and comics to digital and tabletop gaming, LARPs, virtual reality, and other emerging platforms. In a workshop
environment devoted to developing our own world concepts, we will engage forms of paratextual production such as costume and set design;
model building and prop fabrication; the drafting of maps, blueprints, encyclopedias, and other reference materials; and the coining of conlangs
(constructed languages). Through our creative work we will explore the history of and critical theory surrounding subcreation, transmedia
storytelling, and convergence culture, touching on key works in literary and adaptation theory, global/locative studies, fandom studies,
production culture, genre theory, narratology, performance, gaming, animation, and spectacle/special effects.
Prerequisite: Any FMST course. FMST 001, FMST 025, FMST 036, FMST 041, or any production course strongly recommended.
Humanities.
Spring 2022. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 035. Video Game Design and Creation
Introduces students to the basic elements and steps involved in conceptualizing and making games for popular digital platforms. Integrating
readings on the aesthetics and genres of video gaming, our collaborative workshop environment will use web-based game development tools to
craft both simple and complex games that build and comment on the histories, pleasures, and politics of the video game medium. Course work
includes short creative assignments, readings, discussions, weekly gameplay, and a final project.
Prerequisite: FMST 36
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Spring 2024. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 036. Theory and History of Videogames
This course investigates the video game medium from its earliest incarnation in hackers' prankish exploits to the latest in AAA and indie
publishing, drawing on a variety of texts and perspectives as well as on play, analysis, and creation of video games themselves to build a portrait
not just of games, gamers, and gaming, but of a unique moment in the evolution of contemporary digital media. After establishing a basic
conceptual vocabulary for thinking, speaking, and writing about video games, we will shift our attention to the broader contexts and cultural
functions of video gaming - as commercial and transmedia entities; as spaces for the forging of identity and sociality; and as objects of fandom
and instruments of ideology. As this is a hybrid course that emphasizes making as learning, our final project will involve creating games that
make critical arguments. Required weekly out-of-class gaming and viewing assignments.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU
Spring 2023. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 037. Gender and Genre on Television
This course will explore genre in American television from the 1950s to today through the lens of gender and sexuality. Students will learn about
genre theory and media specific historical, aesthetic, economic conventions of television genres. We will discuss how macro and micro genres
intersect with gender in target and niche audience composition and viewing habits and practices. How ideas and social rituals of leisure and
labor figure into generic representations of gender and sexuality and vice versa. How race, class and gender form intersectionalities explored,
exploited and expanded differently by televisual flow than in our current convergence era of streamed content. Each week students are
responsible for screening at least two assigned episodes and blogging on one episode of a classic TV show they commit to for the semester. One
analytical paper. Every student has to give one presentation analyzing selected clips in the context of critical scholarly articles. Midterm and
Final exams.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST
Fall 2021. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 038. Reality TV
This advanced Television Studies course explores the history and practices of the television medium in its connections to concepts and theories of
realism. We will be considering reality modes in early anthropological films and documentary/fiction hybrids (People on Sunday, Nanook of the
North), and the 1930s TV coverage of the German Olympics alongside the works of Andre Bazin, Siegfried Kracauer, Sergei Eisenstein and
others. We will discuss the impact of neo-realist schools of filmmaking (Italian, French and German) on the first "reality" series on U.S.
television - An American Family (PBS, 1973) and vice versa. We will investigate the live-studio audience aspect of talk and game shows, the rise
of The Real World, the longevity of Survivor and Big Brother, think about global television formats and how reality shows interact with social
media and socio-political practice (American Idol). How and why is realism semiotically and socio-politically connected to the televisual
medium? How does this relationship change over the years and through the different cycles of technological, digital and programmatic
innovation?
Prerequisite: FMST 001, FMST 025 or FMST 054
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 041. Fan Culture
Explores the history, philosophy, and impact of fandom in film, television, and new media. Drawing on methodologies including reception and
audience studies, feminism, performance, cultural studies, ethnography, and convergence theory, we will consider topics such as the evolution of
celebrity and "cult" status; the creation and sharing of fan fiction and vids; gendered, queer, and cis identities in fan culture; relationships
between fandom and industry; and fans' use of digital social media. Screenings include serial and episodic TV, camp and "trash" cinema,
narrative and documentary films, and fan-generated content.
Eligible for GSST credit if all papers and projects are focused on GSST topics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST
Fall 2023. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 042. Animation and Cinema
This course examines the forms, technologies, and history of animation in film and other media. Screenings include short- and feature-length
animated films, narrative and experimental animation from the U.S. and other countries, and animation in television and digital media. Emphasis
is on framing animation in relation to an array of cultural and economic forces and theoretical perspectives, including performance, gender, the
body, media evolution, taste, symbolism and realism, and the avant-garde.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2023. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 043. Conspiracy Media
Investigates conspiracy and the paranoid imagination both within film and television narratives (through stories built around plots, hidden
agendas, and betrayal) and as a mode of skepticism and mistrust toward media themselves (the role played by media in coverups, hoaxes, and
"fake news"). Focusing on a period from the Cold War to present day politics, the course constructs an archeology of screen, print, and
interactive media to explore the shifting meanings of conspiracy in response to technological and social change. Topics include the structural
affinities among conspiracy, narration, and seriality; recurring thematics such as biological contagion, corporate and patriarchal menace, and
supernatural forces; and the role of digital media in both spreading and debunking conspiracies. Required weekly viewing.
Eligible for FMST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 045. Feminist Film and Media Studies
(Cross-listed as GSST 020)
This course explores theories and methods at the intersection of film and media and gender and sexuality studies, including representation and
self-representation, historiography and canon formation, intersectionality and transnational politics, gender performativity and sexual
dissidence, cultural production and critique. Required weekly screenings feature films and programs from a range of historical periods, national
production contexts, and styles: mainstream and independent, narrative, documentary, video art, and experimental. Readings in feminist film
theory will address questions of authorship and aesthetics, spectatorship and reception, image and gaze, and current media politics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST, INTP
Fall 2022. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 046. Queer Media
(Cross-listed as ENGL 090)
The history of avant-garde and experimental media has been intertwined with that of gender non-conformity and sexual dissidence. Queer theory
has developed in relation to queer film texts and cultures. How do lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (lgbt) filmmakers queer sexual norms and
standard media forms? Challenging classic Hollywood's heterosexual presumption and mass media appropriations of lgbt culture, we will
examine lgbt aesthetic strategies and modes of address in contexts such as the American and European avant-gardes, AIDS activism, and
transnational and diasporan film.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST, INTP, DGHU
Fall 2023. White.
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 047. Race and Media Studies
This course interrogates the foundational role of race in the development of modern technologies and media theory. Moving across different
periods and media formations, we will address how race as a social category and cultural fantasy has been materialized through specific film
technologies, representational norms, and institutional networks. At the same time, we will also look at a range of films and television shows that
challenge protocols for constituting race as an object of knowledge and control.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 049. Screening Philadelphia
This course considers how Philadelphia has been mediated and imagined in cinema, popular culture, and US history. We explore Philadelphia's
key role in early film's emergence, in framing ideas about black lives, and its potential for opening up questions about the cultural geography of
cinema and media. Critical attention to onscreen representation, from sitcoms to documentaries to Hollywood film, will be complemented by
historical research and ethnographic fieldwork, drawing on our proximity to the city.
Humanities.
1 Credit.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 050. What on Earth Is World Cinema?
Is there such a thing as world cinema, or is the concept a naïve or imperialist one? What is the relationship between "world cinema" and national
cinemas? What is "national" about national cinemas? This course introduces students to theoretical debates about the categorization and global
circulation of films, film style, authorship, and audiences through case studies drawn from Iranian, Indian, East Asian (Korea, Taiwan), Latin
American, European, and U.S. independent cinemas. Special attention to how film festivals, journalism, and cinephile culture confer value.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 051. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 051G, GMST 051)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 052. Postwar France: French New Wave
(Cross-listed as FREN 073 & LITR 073F)
This course is an in-depth exploration of the development and evolution of the French New Wave in postwar France. We will concentrate on the
history of the New Wave in France from the 1950s through the late 1960s by the close study of the styles of individual filmmakers, the "film
movement" as perceived by critics, and the New Wave's contribution to modernizing France. The primary emphasis will be on the stylistic, socio-
political, and cultural dimensions of the New Wave, and the filmmakers and critics most closely associated with the movement. Directors, who
were once all film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, will be studied along side other important filmmakers of the era.
Fulfills national cinema requirement for FMST.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2022. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 054. German Cinema
This writing intensive course is an introduction to German Cinema from its inception in the 1890s until the present. It includes an examination of
early exhibition forms, expressionist and avantgarde films from the classic German cinema of the Weimar era, fascist cinema, postwar rubble
films, DEFA films from East Germany, New German Cinema from the 1970s, and post 1989 heritage films. Students in the class analyzes a cross-
match of popular and avantgarde films while discussing mass culture, education, propaganda, and entertainment as identity- and nation-building
practices. Taught in English.
Prerequisite: FMST 001
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, LITR, GMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 055. Contemporary Chinese Cinema
(Cross-listed as CHIN 055)
Cinema has become a special form of cultural mirror representing social dynamics and drastic changes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan since the mid-1980s. The course will develop a better understanding of changing Chinese culture by analyzing cinematic texts and the
new wave in the era of globalization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CHIN, FMST
Fall 2021. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 057. Japanese Film and Animation
(Cross-listed as LITR 024J, JPNS 024)
This course offers a historical and thematic introduction to Japanese cinema, one of the world's great film traditions. Our discussions will center
on the historical context of Japanese film, including how films address issues of modernity, gender, and national identity. Through our readings,
discussion, and writing, we will explore various approaches to film analysis, with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of formal and
thematic issues. A separate unit will consider the postwar development of Japanese animation (anime) and its special characteristics. Screenings
will include films by Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Imamura, Kitano, and Miyazaki.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 058. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with LITR 078F.
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 082. Studies in Genre: Horror
Considering horror entertainment across different eras and media platforms, this course introduces students to the study of genre through a
survey of the many forms taken by fear, disgust, and the uncanny as narrative and spectacle in twentieth- and twenty-first-century moving-image
culture. We will draw on approaches ranging from psychoanalysis and gender studies to affect, abjection, and political allegory to explore
subtopics such as monstrosity, perversion, and the grotesque; representations of the supernatural and paranormal; body horror and "torture
porn"; and the alien as other and self. Required weekly screenings and in-class viewing include movies, television, and video games. Warning:
course content may be disturbing and upsetting.
Prerequisite: FMST 001 or instructor's permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2021. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 090. Film and Media Studies Capstone
This course begins by exploring a major paradigm or debate in the field and reviewing research methodology and production techniques.
Students then undertake an individual or collaborative research or creative project (in some cases building upon work started in another class or
independent study), meeting to workshop ideas and present works-in-progress. Research projects will incorporate multimedia presentation, and
creative projects will be accompanied by written materials. The semester culminates in a panel/film exhibition.
Required for FMST senior majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. Rehak.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 097. Independent Study
Students must apply for preregistration approval in writing.
0.5 to 1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 098. Thesis
For a limited number of majors.
Requires approval.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 099. Creative Project
For a limited number of majors.
Requires approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 102. Convergence
This honors seminar explores the cultures and content of the contemporary mediascape through formal, technological, and political lenses,
reading emergent paradigms such as virality, paratextuality, and collective intelligence against equivalent historical moments of media
evolution. Particular attention will be paid to the concepts of "the digital"; rhetorics of revolution and continuity; and the intersection of
information, entertainment, and capitalism within a dominant episteme of new media. Course majors and other students with relevant
background can apply for instructor's approval to take the seminar.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
Course Major
Requirements
Majors must take a minimum of 10 credits, among which the following are required:
FMST 001 Introduction to Film and Media Studies
FMST 020 Critical Theories of Film and Media
FMST 090 Senior Capstone
Students are also required to take at least 1 production course (FMST 002: Digital Production Fundamentals; FMST 011: Advanced Digital
Production; FMST 015: Screenwriting; a hybrid critical studies/production class numbered 30-39; or an approved course taken at another
institution or in another department).
Students must also choose 1 course that offers historical depth in a national or transnational cinema tradition (any class numbered 50-60 or a
course with similar content).
Remaining courses and seminars should be selected to achieve breadth and depth in the discipline and balance between critical studies and
production courses. Courses in a major may include a limited number of credits drawn from film and media offerings at Bryn Mawr, Haverford,
or the University of Pennsylvania; courses in the discipline taken abroad or at other U.S. institutions; or approved offerings from other
Swarthmore departments and programs.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a major, students must have completed FMST 001 and have completed or be currently enrolled in at least one additional
FMST course. Haverford students interested in applying for the Swarthmore major should consult with the department chair and their Haverford
advisor. Bryn Mawr students are encouraged to apply to the Film Studies Program at Bryn Mawr.
Course Minor
Students may add a minor in Film and Media Studies to any major.
Requirements
All minors must take a minimum of 5 credits, which may be selected from the courses and seminars listed or from approved courses taken
abroad, at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, or University of Pennsylvania. The 5 credits must include FMST 001: Introduction to Film and Media Studies
and FMST 090: Capstone, normally taken in the senior year. No more than two credits taken outside FMST can be counted toward the minor.
Acceptance Criteria
To be admitted to the minor, students must have satisfactorily completed one film and media studies course.
Honors Major
Requirements
Students in the Honors Program may major in film and media studies by meeting the requirements for the major and by preparing for and taking
three external exams. The exam preparations should include FMST seminars numbered 100 and higher, if offered, and FMST 090 plus a 1-credit
honors attachment. Other 2-credit honors preparations may incorporate a 1- or 2-credit thesis or creative project or other course or seminar
work with the approval of the film and media studies chair. Senior honors study (SHS) consists of a revised essay and/or short film submitted for
a course or seminar in the preparation. No SHS is required for a thesis or creative project.
Acceptance Criteria
Students wishing to complete the honors major must have received a grade of B+ or better in all film and media studies courses and be approved
by the Film and Media Studies Department.
Honors Minor
Requirements
Students in the Honors Program may minor in film and media studies by meeting the requirements for the minor and by preparing for and taking
one external exam. The exam preparation usually consists either of a 2-credit FMST seminar or FMST 090 plus a 1-credit honors attachment;
however, the 2-credit honors preparation may incorporate a 1- or 2-credit thesis or project or other course or seminar work with the approval of
the film and media studies chair. Senior honors study (SHS) consists of a revised essay or short film submitted for a course or seminar in the
preparation. No SHS is required for a thesis or creative project.
Acceptance Criteria
Students wishing to complete the honors minor must have received a grade of B+ or better in all film and media studies courses and be approved
by the Film and Media Studies Department.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
FMST 090: Capstone is considered the culminating exercise for majors and minors. Occasionally senior majors may be permitted to write a 1- or
2-credit thesis or to make a thesis film in addition to their work in the capstone; applications must be submitted and approved in the semester
before the project is to be undertaken.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Consult with the department chair to determine eligibility of AP or IB work.
Transfer Credit
Students in any major may apply to receive film and media studies credit for courses in critical media studies or production taken abroad or on
other campuses. Please consult with your advisor as you plan your study abroad for recommended programs. Two approved credits may be
applied to the FMST major or minor.
Off-Campus Study
Students in any major may apply to receive film and media studies credit for courses in critical studies or production taken abroad or on other
campuses. Please consult with your adviser as you plan your study abroad for recommended programs. Two approved credits may be applied to
the FMST major or minor.
Gender and Sexuality Studies
Courses
Coordinator:
BAKIRATHI MANI (English Literature)
2
Fall 2021
PATRICIA WHITE (Film and Media Studies)
1
Spring 2022
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee
James Blasina (Music)
Sibelan Forrester (Russian)
3
Farha Ghannam (Sociology and Anthropology)
3
Alexandra Gueydan-Turek (French and Francophone Studies)
Gwynn Kessler (Religion)
Tamsin Lorraine (Philosophy)
Luciano Martinez (Spanish)
Madalina Meirosu (German Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies)
Patricia White (Film and Media Studies)
1
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__
1
Absent on Leave Fall 2021
2
Absent on Leave Spring 2022
3
Absent on Leave 2021-2022 Academic Year
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__
Affiliated Faculty:
Sa'ed Atshan (Peace and Conflict Studies)
3
Giovanna DiChiro (Environmental Studies)
Joseph Nelson (Education)
The Gender and Sexuality Studies Program (GSST) facilitates the interdisciplinary study of social relations of power in a variety of texts,
practices, and cultural, historical and national contexts. The program emphasizes the interrelationships among gender and sexuality, race, class,
nation, and ability and connects such inquiry to local and global politics. Gender and sexuality studies brings feminist and queer theory in
conversation with research in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences through courses offered across the three academic divisions
of the College.
Students may design a special major in gender and sexuality studies in consultation with the program's coordinator and by following the
guidelines below. Students in any major, whether as course majors or in the Honors Program, may elect a minor in gender and sexuality studies
by fulfilling the requirements below. Students who intend to pursue gender and sexuality studies should consult with to the coordinator as they
prepare their sophomore applications. All proposals to minor or major in gender and sexuality studies must be approved by the GSST
Committee.
The Jean Brosius Walton '35 Fund and the Wendy S. Cheek Memorial Fund generously contribute toward activities sponsored by Gender and
Sexuality Studies.
The Academic Program
Course Minor
1. Course minors must take 5 courses and/or seminars, which must be selected from at least two different divisions. Two-credit seminars count as
one course toward program requirements.
2. GSST minors are required to complete GSST 001: Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies, and to take GSST 091: Seminar in Gender
and Sexuality Studies in their senior year.
3. With the approval of the GSST Coordinator, students may include courses offered by the Gender and Sexuality Studies program at Bryn Mawr
and Haverford Colleges, and by the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies program at UPenn in their program.
4. Only one relevant course taken abroad may count toward fulfillment of the minor.
5. Only one course counted for GSST may overlap with the student's major or other minor.
6. With advance approval of the GSST Coordinator, students may elect to write a 1-credit thesis (GSST 092) or pursue an independent study as a
substitute for regular coursework. The thesis cannot be used to fulfill the requirements of the student's major or other minor. Students must have
adequate disciplinary background in gender and sexuality studies to carry out independent study and/or write a thesis.
Honors Minor
1. All requirements and options for the GSST minor apply to students wishing to complete the Honors minor.
2. Students must have a B average in GSST coursework at the College in order to be accepted into Honors.
3. Honors minors must consult with the GSST Coordinator in spring of their junior year regarding their Honors preparations and submit
an application for Honors with their sophomore plan by the spring of their junior year. The Honors examination preparation usually
consists of GSST 091 and a 1-credit Honors attachment. Students may propose an alternative preparation of at least two credits, such
as an Honors seminar eligible for GSST, a thesis, or a combination of two GSST courses. In consultation with the instructor of the
preparation, honors minors will assemble a senior honors study portfolio, which may include materials such as independent essays,
seminar papers, additional reading lists, or research projects.
4. Honors minors may apply one GSST-related study abroad credit toward their minor.
5. Honors minors must complete the written and oral external examiniations for their preparation at the end of their senior year.
Special Major
Students have the option of completing a Gender and Sexuality Studies special major.
1. Special majors must successfully complete the program requirements - GSST 001 and GSST cross-listed courses from at least two different
divisions.
2. Majors are required to complete GSST 001: Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies and to take GSST 091: Seminar in Gender and
Sexuality Studies in their senior year
3. Majors should consult with the Coordinator to identify and include courses in their program that place significant emphasis on the theories
and methods specific to Gender and Sexuality Studies as an academic inquiry.
4. The senior culminating exercise in the major is the GSST capstone (GSST 91).
5. With the approval of the GSST Coordinator, students may include courses offered by the Gender and Sexuality Studies program at Bryn Mawr
and Haverford Colleges, and by the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies program at U. Penn in their program.
6. Up to two courses taken abroad may count toward fulfillment of the special major. In order to receive credit, the GSST Coordinator must pre-
approve the course. If the institution offering the course has a Women's Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, or similar program, the
course in question must be part of that program in order to be approved as a gender and sexuality studies course at Swarthmore.
7. Only one credit may overlap with the student's minor. Two credits may overlap with a second major.
8. With approval of the GSST Coordinator, special majors may elect to write a one-credit thesis (GSST 092), or pursue an independent study as a
substitute for regular coursework. The thesis cannot be used to fulfill the requirements of the student's other major or minor. Students must have
adequate GSST disciplinary background to carry out independent study or write a thesis.
Special Honors Major
In exceptional cases, students can pursue a special major in GSST in the Honors Program. Interested students should consult with the GSST
Program coordinator.
Application Process Notes
Students interested in pursuing a special major or minor in GSST are required to complete the applicable GSST application form and submit it to
the Programs Office, Trotter 107, in conjunction with their online sophomore application.
Transfer Credit
To receive academic credit for women's studies or gender and sexuality studies courses taken at other colleges and universities in the U.S.,
students must have the courses preapproved by the GSST Coordinator. If the institution that offers the course has a Women's or Gender and
Sexuality Studies Program, or a similar program, the course in question must be part of that program in order to be approved as a gender and
sexuality studies course at Swarthmore.
Off-Campus Study
The Gender and Sexuality Studies Program grants academic credit for course work relevant to the academic program taken while studying
abroad. Minors may apply for no more than one credit of work done abroad to meet their GSST requirements. GSST special majors may apply up
to two GSST-related study abroad credits to their program.
In order to receive credit toward their program, the GSST Coordinator must preapprove the course(s).
When the student returns to campus, the GSST Coordinator will evaluate the work (syllabus, exams, papers, and class notes) and assign the
appropriate amount of credit.
Summer Funding Opportunities
GSST students are eligible to apply through the appropriate divisions (Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Engineering) for a
summer stipend of $4,500 in order to allow them to devote a substantial period of time and effort to the pursuit of a creative scholarly project,
internship, work or research leading to thesis, honors, or major project preparation, or immersion in the creative arts during the summer months.
The work is intended to substantially expand the research engagement or professional exposure of students. Deadline is in early February.
The Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility offers funding opportunities for internships, projects, and engaged scholarship. The Richard
Sager Internship, administered through the Lang Center, supports one student interested in working with a non-profit organizational host whose
mission focuses on LGBTQ issues. Students applying as a result of their academic involvement in the GSST program may also be funded through
a Nason grant, which funds students who are proposing to do work which relates to their academic studies. All students will be required to apply
through the Lang Center Common Application. Students do not have to select the Sager Internship in the application process, but will be notified
on receipt of the grant if they do receive the named award. Summer funding deadline in early February. Students should contact Hana Lehmann
(hlehman1), to schedule a required advising appointment.
Gender and Sexuality Studies Courses
The program offers the following courses and seminars:
GSST 001. Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality
This interdisciplinary core course provides an introduction to key concepts, questions, and analytical tools developed by scholars of gender and
sexuality studies. Through this course, you will become familiar with key contemporary debates in the field, as well as the historical formation of
these debates. Substantial attention will be paid to the development and application of queer theory within the history of the field, including
discussion of social construction of gender identities and expressions, as well as LGBTQ identities, texts, theories, and issues. Course materials
will include "classic" and contemporary gender and sexuality studies scholarship from a variety of disciplines. We will explore gender and
sexuality in relation to topics such as media representation, embodiment, economics, health and reproduction, technology, activism, social
movements, and violence.
Required course for GSST minors and special majors.
Non-distribution.
W.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Meirosu.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/gender-sexuality-studies
GSST 035. Against the Norm: (Im)Perfect Bodies and (Dis)Ability Studies
This course draws attention to shifting constructions of body normativity and disability from an interdisciplinary perspective and is informed by
fields such as philosophy, ethnology, psychology, anthropology, political science, and literature. Students will explore ways in which the field of
disability studies both draws from, as well as informs and expands, the fields of gender and sexuality studies and queer studies. The theoretical
framework of the course focuses on the mechanisms that allow definitions, social constructions, and stigmas associated with disability to
contribute to a larger system of power that oppresses individuals who fall short of the norm. We will orient ourselves by asking the following
questions: How is disability socially constructed? How does disability intersect with other identities? How do various definitions of disability
shape and affect advocacy agendas? What are some institutional and social challenges faced by those with non-conforming bodies? Texts
include disability studies theory, critical and theoretical essays, articles by disability rights scholars and activists, first-person accounts, films,
art, and newspaper articles.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Department website: Gender and Sexuality Studies
GSST 056. Outbreak Narratives: A Medical Humanities Exploration of Literature on Germs, Vampires, and
Other Plagues
Crosslisted GMST 056/LITR 056G
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze literature depicting both
contagious outbreaks and life in isolation. This literary examination will also allow students to explore the ethics of cure and human
experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self. We will find that outbreak narratives enable us both to explore the intriguing possibility
of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of
shared vulnerability.
Using literature in English translation to explore contemporary reactions to cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well as to vampires, we will consider
how race, gender, class, and historical époques shape illness stories. Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfriede Jelinek, Thomas
Mann, Heinrich Heine, Fanny Lewald, Namwali Serpell, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Bertha von Suttner.
1
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
GSST 091. Seminar in Gender and Sexuality Studies: Explorations in Theory and Method
This course is a history of four ideas - biopower, jouissance, post-transexual, and intersectionality. We will explore these ideas from multiple
perspectives: the conditions (both historical and intellectual) under which they were articulated, the self-questioning which they inspired, the
forms of critique which they enabled, and the urgency which surrounds them still. Throughout the course, we will question the distinction
between theory and practice, scholarly work and real-life problems. How much work can one idea do? And what appears when we compare the
life-work of these four ideas through and beyond the pages of scholarly journals?
Required for GSST Special Major.
Prerequisite: GSST 001. Juniors with permission of instructor.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Meirosu.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/gender-sexuality-studies
GSST 092. Thesis
1 credit.
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/gender-sexuality-studies
GSST 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/gender-sexuality-studies
GSST 180. Senior Honors Thesis
For students completing a special major in honors, one credit must be taken each semester of the senior year.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/gender-sexuality-studies
Courses Eligible for Gender and Sexuality Studies Credit
For up-to-date course offerings, please visit http://www.swarthmore.edu/gender-sexuality-studies/courses.The following courses have been
approved for credit toward the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program:
Art History
Anthropology
ANTH 002D. First-Year Seminar: Culture and Gender
The goal of this seminar is to dismantle commonplace assumptions about gender, sexuality, and sexual difference. It brings key texts in gender
theory (Foucault, Butler, and others) into conversation with anthropological studies that respond to, problematize, or advance these theoretical
claims. Our focus is the gendered body as the site of power and resistance, in contexts that range from past empires to present-day inequalities,
and from technologies of reproduction to drag performances of femininity.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Nadkarni
Spring 2023. Nadkarni.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 002F. Anthropology of Childhood and the Family
The experience of being a child would appear universal, and yet the construction of childhood varies greatly across cultures and throughout
history. This course examines childhood and child-rearing in a number of ethnographic contexts, investigating children as both social actors and
as the target of specific cultural ambitions and anxieties. Topics include new forms of family and reproduction, children as objects (and agents)
of violence, and representations of childhood in human rights discourse, among others.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 020J. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as DANC 025A)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 049B. Comparative Perspectives on the Body
Explore how different societies regulate, discipline, and shape the human body. In the first part, we examine social theories and explore the
strengths and limitations of different approaches to the study of the body. In the second part, we look at several ethnographic cases and compare
diverse cultural practices that range from seemingly traditional practices (such as circumcision and foot binding) to what is currently
fashionable (including weight lifting, dieting, aesthetic surgery, piercing, and tattooing). When comparing body modifications through time and
space, we seek to understand their socio-economic contexts and relate them to broader cultural meanings and social inequalities. We also
investigate how embodiment shapes personal and collective identities (especially gender identities) and vice versa.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. Ghannam.
Spring 2024. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 072C. Memory, History, Nation
How do national communities remember-and forget? What roles do commemoration and amnesia play in constructing, maintaining, or
challenging national and collective identities? This course considers memory and its pathologies as a central problematic for the nation-state. It
reads theory and ethnography against each other to explore the politics and aesthetics of national memory across numerous sites and contexts,
attentive to both the collectivities such commemorations inspire and their points of resistance or failure.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Nadkarni.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Biology
Chinese
CHIN 036. Women's Literature in Premodern China
(Cross-listed as LITR 036CH)
Contrary to our stereotypes about the silent, invisible woman of premodern China, women actually wrote and published their work in
unprecedented numbers from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. This course will explore the literary and historical significance of
this output, which mainly took the form of poetry and prefaces to poetry collections, letters, some drama, and novels in verse, and which was
produced primarily by gentry women (e.g. women from elite families), courtesans, and nuns. A central theme will be the place and problem of
women's poetry in a male-dominated literary tradition and society. Topics to be addressed include the social function of poetry and women's
literary networks, women's relationship to the publishing market as writers, editors, and readers, the forces driving male interest in women's
writing at certain historical moments, and the changing ideas about what kinds of styles of past poets should be offered to boudoir poets as a
repertoire of available choices to read and imitate.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Dance
DANC 025A. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as ANTH 020J)
How do we locate competing claims of globalization, place-ness, and hybridization of cultural identity in a single frame? Dance offers an
unconventional but powerful frame for studying such competing claims of identity formation. This course will explore the interrelated themes of
performance, gender, personhood, and migration in the context of diasporic experiences. By focusing on specific dance forms from Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, we will examine the trajectories of the global and the local in constructing identity and difference. Students will engage with
theories on nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, as well as embodiment and experience. Broadly, the course will investigate the
interlocking structures of aesthetics and politics, economics and culture, and history and power, all of which inform and continue to reshape
these cultures and their dance forms.
The primary goal for this course is to develop an understanding of cross-cultural identity and difference through the study of dance in
contemporary society. The readings will introduce students to the constructed nature of cultural traditions and the contested nature of cultural
identities. The writing goals are to teach students how to read critically and write within the disciplines of Anthropology, Dance/Culture Studies,
Black Studies, and Global Studies. This course is eligible for credit towards a major or minor in Black Studies.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 038. Performing Ecstasy Dancing the Sacred
(Cross-listed as RELG 042)
By locating the sacred in the experiences of ecstatic dance and music, the course will specifically examine the evolution of Bhakti (Hindu) and
Sufi religious practices from ritual to performance art. By exploring the sacred in relation to social processes of culture and their
transformations, it will connect the sacred not only to history, tradition, ritual, spirituality and subjectivity but also to national identity,
commodity and tourism in contemporary culture.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 079. Dancing Desire in Bollywood Films
(Cross-listed as ANTH 079B)
This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the
dance sequences in Bollywood. We will examine the place of erotic in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to
desires for commodity. The primary focus will be centered on approaches to the body from anthropology and sociology to performance, dance,
and film and media studies.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 079A. Screening Bollywood Film
Recent shifts in the representation of the "erotic" in Bollywood dances have transformed the past representations of gender and sexuality in
Bollywood cinema. The course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions from national to transnational symbols through the
songs and dances (item numbers) in Bollywood cinema and its most visible media platform, T.V Reality Shows. We will explore this through
viewing and analyzing select screen performances in three parts: First, we will examine the place of the erotic in reconstructing gender and
sexuality from past notions of romantic love (associated with ghazal songs or classical and folk dances) to desires for commodity. Second, we will
explore the aesthetic shifts from the traditional song and dance repertoire to trendy MTV-inspired moves. We will examine how transnational
images of commodity production intersect with sexuality, desire, spirituality, and modernity in these screen dances. This course will explore the
song and dance sequences through video-viewing and studio work (with a Bollywood choreographer) as well as reading a few key texts. The list
of videos will be included in the final syllabus.
This is a half semester course begining the second half of the semester.
0.5 Credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Spring 2022. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Economics
ECON 073. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Economics
Does difference make a difference in economics? In this course, we use the theoretical and empirical tools of economics to recognize and analyze
the diverse economic experiences of individuals and groups and to explore sources of and solutions to persistent inequalities. We also examine
the roles of difference and diversity in the development of economic theory and policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 074. Economics of the Family
The family plays a key role in economic systems, as a consumer of goods and services
and as a supplier of inputs, particularly labor. Microeconomics can help us understand
a range of topics about the family and household including decisions about fertility, child
rearing, household management, marriage and divorce, immigration, and labor
supply. Our focus will be on the contemporary American family, but we will also
consider international and historical perspectives and the influence of public policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Fall 2021. Magenheim.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Education
EDUC 045. Literacies and Social Identities
This course explores the intersections of literacy practices and identities of gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation within
communities of practice. It includes but is not limited to school settings. Students will work with diverse theory and analytical tools that draw on
educational, anthropological, historical, sociological, linguistic, fictional, visual, popular readings and "scenes of literacy" from everyday
practice. Fieldwork may be required and includes a Learning for Life partnership, tutoring, or community service in a literacy program.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, LALS.
Fall 2022. Anderson.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 061. Gender and Education
This course examines how gender relations shape everyday life in schools. The course begins with the history and theory of gender and education
in the United States, and then explores popular discourse and key debates in the field, with a focus on the core themes of access and equity in
urban schools; the intersections of race, class, and sexuality; and the implications of gender issues for school policy and classroom practice. The
goal is a reconsideration of what constitutes effective schooling for all students
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Fall 2021. Nelson.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 133. Race, Boyhood, and Education
(Cross-listed as BLST 133)
This seminar examines the lives of Black boys in U.S. schools and classrooms. Black boyhood and Black masculinity are utilized as frameworks
to interpret how aspects of school life influence their learning and identities, such as teacher expectations, school discipline policy, and special
education referral processes. Rooted in boys' agency and resistance, its goal is to inform a (re)imagining of educational spaces in ways that
cultivate the promise of Black boys, and other boys (and girls) of color.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, GSST.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
English Literature
ENGL 023. Renaissance Sexualities
The study of sexuality allows us to pose some of the richest historical questions we can ask about subjectivity, the natural, the public, and the
private. This course will explore such questions in early modern England, examining several sexual categories (the homoerotic, chastity and
friendship, marriage, adultery, and incest) in a range of literary and secondary texts.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 033. The Romantic Sublime
"The essential claim of sublime is that man[sic] can, in speech and feeling, transcend the human" (Weiskel). What does this transcendence look
like? How is it achieved? What resources does it offer us, and at what cost? Authors include Burke, Blake, the Wordsworths, Coleridge, Byron,
the Shelleys, and Keats.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2023. Bolton.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 035. The Rise of the Novel
Why do we read novels? How has the history of novel-reading shaped the way we think about ourselves, about other people, and about the
world? In answering these questions, we will study the long history of the novel in English considered as an aesthetic and material form, as a
record of social life, and as a way of imagining other possible worlds. We will begin in the eighteenth century, travelling through the novel's
Victorian and Modernist incarnations and its post-colonial and post-modernist reconfigurations to end in the present. Includes close attention to
major canonical novels and authors, a survey of the main critical and theoretical approaches to the novel, strategies for close reading and
interpretation, introductory text-mining techniques, and investigation of how novels were printed and circulated. Recommended for anyone
interested in reading, writing, or reviewing novels.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Fall 2021. Buurma.
Fall 2022. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 036. Jane Austen
Mingling stylistic precision with an uncanny eye for social foibles, Austen's novels off a useful entry point into the study of literature and the ways
literature reflects and refracts social conditions. We'll read Austen's major novels along with the 18th-century fiction, politics, and philosophy
to which she was responding; we'll also consider recent critical views on Austen and the ways films of the1990s through the present engaged
Austen's style and social critique. At the same time, students will engage the genre of the academic essay by writing and revising several kinds of
literary essays: close readings; analysis of a novel's use of source material or a film's use of addressing one or more of the novels in a broader
historical or stylistic context.
18th/19th c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047C. Asian American Gender/Sexuality/Species
Asian Americans are typically represented as either the model minority, the immigrant whose successful assimilation serves to discipline other
minorities, or the yellow peril, the eternal foreigner threatening to invade from within. How are these figures not only racial but also gendered
and sexual, consistent with constructions of the hardworking but racially "castrated" Asian man and the desirable because "domestic" Asian
woman? To what extent are these tropes premised on animality, rooted in the fear that the other may not be human, and that this other will
encroach upon the self, reveal the human as other? Through an examination of the representation and performance of gender and sexuality in
Asian American literature and culture, this course considers the intertwined constitution and contradictions of race, gender, and sexuality while
keeping an eye on the animal that serves as their limits. We will focus on U.S. representations of Asian masculinity and femininity, the
association of Asians in the (post)colony with appetite, and Asian reclamations of the child and the queer along with the animal. Readings may
include M. Butterfly, Bruce Lee and Wang TV clips, Charlie Chan is Dead 2, The Chinaman Pacific and Frisco R. R. Co, The Joy Luck
Club, "Happiness: A Manifesto," The Book of Salt, Dogeaters, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, The
Hypersexuality of Race, Eating Asian America, and Dangerous Crossings.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Spring 2022. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 066. In/Visible: Asian American Cultural Critique
Popular representations of Asian Americans frame this immigrant group as either invisible (unseen and unheard) or hypervisible (as "yellow
peril" or "terrorist"). By contrast, the writers, scholars, and artists that we will examine in this class challenge such linear narratives, and create
new futures of Asian America. This class will highlight critical theories of race and ethnicity in relation to a wide range of textual forms:
literature, performance, visual culture. Students will also collaborate, when possible, with Asian American arts organizations in the
Philadelphia area.
Prerequisite: ENGL 065, 19th/20th Century English course
INTP, GSST, FMST classes will also be considered.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, ESCH
ENGL 071K. Lesbian Novels Since World War II
This course will examine a wide range of novels by and about lesbians since World War II. Of particular concern will be the representation of
recent lesbian history. How, for instance, do current developments in cultural studies influence our understanding of the lesbian cultures of the
'50s, '60s, and '70s? What is at stake in the description of the recent lesbian past?
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 077. South Asians in America
This class surveys a century of migration from the Indian subcontinent to the United States. Two questions will guide our readings and
discussion: First, what does it mean to identify as South Asian? Second, how do new ethnic identities expand our understanding of what it means
to be American? In this interdisciplinary class, we'll read Pulitzer Prize winning authors Jhumpa Lahiri and Ayad Akhtar; discuss what it means
to identify as "brown" or "Muslim" after 9/11; and explore the lives of South Asian teenagers in Silicon Valley; political activists in New York
City; and workers and artists nationwide. Throughout our readings, we will explore how ethnicity is shaped by differences of gender, religion,
sexuality and class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 079. What is Cultural Studies?
What in the world is cultural studies? Focusing on film, art, fashion and music, we'll explore how to read and write about culture and power.
Literary close reading will go hand in hand with ethnography, historiography, cinema studies, and aesthetic theory. Highlighting how race,
class, sexuality and gender intersect in the production and consumption of cultural texts, the class emphasizes how what we read is part of the
world in which we live.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GSST
Fall 2021. Mani.
Spring 2023. Mani.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 082. Transnational Feminist Theory
This class introduces perspectives from domestic United States and global contexts in order to ask: How do the contributions of women of color
in the United States and of feminist movements in the "Third World" radically reshape the form and content of feminist and queer politics?
Through critical inquiry into major texts in transnational feminist and queer studies, the course dynamically reconceptualizes the relationship
between women and nation; between gender, sexuality and globalization; and between feminist/queer theory and practice.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020M, ENVS 043)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offer students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GSST, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089E. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 042)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
GATEWAY English Literature.
First year students need instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GSST, ESCH, GLBL
Fall 2023. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENGL 090. Queer Media
(Cross-listed as FMST 046)
The history of avant-garde and experimental media has been intertwined with that of gender non-conformity and sexual dissidence, and even the
most mainstream media forms have been queered by subcultural reception. Challenging Hollywood's heterosexual presumption and mass media
appropriations of lgbt culture, we will examine lgbt aesthetic strategies and modes of address in contexts such as the American and European
avant-gardes, AIDS activism, and transnational and diasporan film through the lens of queer theory.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, DGHU
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Environmental Studies
ENVS 042. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089E)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
First year students need instructor's approval.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST, INTP
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Film and Media Studies
FMST 009. First-Year Seminar: Women and Popular Culture
This course looks at a range of genres associated with female audiences in the US since the late 19th century across print, film, television, and
new media. These include sentimental novels, gothic romances, magazines, "women's pictures," soaps, chick flicks, fanfic and Tumblr. What is
the relation between mass culture aimed at women, cultural production by women, and feminist politics and critique? How do race, class, gender
identity, and sexuality intersect with gendered genre conventions, discourses of authorship and critical evaluation, and the paradoxes of popular
cultural pleasures?
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU, GSST
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 037. Gender and Genre on Television
This course will explore genre in American television from the 1950s to today through the lens of gender and sexuality. Students will learn about
genre theory and media specific historical, aesthetic, economic conventions of television genres. We will discuss how macro and micro genres
intersect with gender in target and niche audience composition and viewing habits and practices. How ideas and social rituals of leisure and
labor figure into generic representations of gender and sexuality and vice versa. How race, class and gender form intersectionalities explored,
exploited and expanded differently by televisual flow than in our current convergence era of streamed content. Each week students are
responsible for screening at least two assigned episodes and blogging on one episode of a classic TV show they commit to for the semester. One
analytical paper. Every student has to give one presentation analyzing selected clips in the context of critical scholarly articles. Midterm and
Final exams.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST
Fall 2021. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 041. Fan Culture
Explores the history, philosophy, and impact of fandom in film, television, and new media. Drawing on methodologies including reception and
audience studies, feminism, performance, cultural studies, ethnography, and convergence theory, we will consider topics such as the evolution of
celebrity and "cult" status; the creation and sharing of fan fiction and vids; gendered, queer, and cis identities in fan culture; relationships
between fandom and industry; and fans' use of digital social media. Screenings include serial and episodic TV, camp and "trash" cinema,
narrative and documentary films, and fan-generated content.
Eligible for GSST credit if all papers and projects are focused on GSST topics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST
Fall 2023. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 045. Feminist Film and Media Studies
(Cross-listed as GSST 020)
This course explores theories and methods at the intersection of film and media and gender and sexuality studies, including representation and
self-representation, historiography and canon formation, intersectionality and transnational politics, gender performativity and sexual
dissidence, cultural production and critique. Required weekly screenings feature films and programs from a range of historical periods, national
production contexts, and styles: mainstream and independent, narrative, documentary, video art, and experimental. Readings in feminist film
theory will address questions of authorship and aesthetics, spectatorship and reception, image and gaze, and current media politics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST, INTP
Fall 2022. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 046. Queer Media
(Cross-listed as ENGL 090)
The history of avant-garde and experimental media has been intertwined with that of gender non-conformity and sexual dissidence. Queer theory
has developed in relation to queer film texts and cultures. How do lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (lgbt) filmmakers queer sexual norms and
standard media forms? Challenging classic Hollywood's heterosexual presumption and mass media appropriations of lgbt culture, we will
examine lgbt aesthetic strategies and modes of address in contexts such as the American and European avant-gardes, AIDS activism, and
transnational and diasporan film.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST, INTP, DGHU
Fall 2023. White.
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
French
FREN 041. Guerre et paix dans la littérature française
Through a study of the representations of war and peace in French literature from the 19th and 20th centuries, this course examines the evolving
attitudes that intellectuals have held towards pacifist ideologies and violent conflicts, as well as the ethical and aesthetic influences that mass
violence has had on their writings. The class will approach this topic from a variety of critical perspectives, including (1) studies of the emotional
consequences of trauma, mourning, and shame, (2) a study of the interconnection of societal constructions of gender with representations of
conflict and peace, and (3) a discussion of the rise of intellectuals in the face of injustice. Works covered will include testimonies, memoirs,
fictional literature and popular culture, bringing together authors such as Balzac, Zola, Camus, Sartre, Duras, and Tardi. Taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST
Fall 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/academic-program
FREN 056. Ces femmes qui écrivent/Reading French Women
Humanities.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 057. Bande dessinée, nouvelle Manga et romans graphiques
The bande dessinée, the Francophone analog to comics, has evolved alongside contemporary youth culture to become a locus for expressions of
sociocultural and aesthetic changes, as well as antiestablishment discourses. In the context of issues such as social class, cultural diversity, and
feminity/masculinity, this course will connect canonical comics (such as Asterix and Tintin) with more current cutting-edge forms including la
nouvelle Manga and graphic novels from Rwanda, Algeria, Lebanon and Iran.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 111. Désir (post)colonial
This course addresses how the colonial encounter has shaped modern perceptions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through the
production, circulation and consumption of deformed images of its colonial subjects. From noble savages and whimpering slaves to hideous
monsters and seductive harem girls, we will examine the dynamics of representation embedded in colonial narrations and visual constructions of
the "Other," focusing on conceptualizations of power as they relate to race, sexual politics and the gendering of the colonial subject. Primary
texts include literature of the slave trade, orientalist fictions and photographs, colonial films, museum exhibitions and world's fairs, and
contemporary works of fiction that deal with the legacy and sometimes continue the colonial desire.
Has a Francophone component. May be taken for 1 credit with permission from the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM, GSST, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 109. Honors Seminar: Queering North African Subjectivities
This seminar will explore the ways in which literary, visual and cultural representations of sexual difference and gender roles disrupt the cultural
imagination of everyday life in North Africa and its Diasporas in France. Special attention will be given to representations of Arab women and
queer subjectivities as sites of resistance against dominant masculinity. We will analyze the ways in which representations of gender have
allowed for a redeployment of power, a reconfiguration of politics of resistance, and the redrawing of longstanding images of Islam in France.
Finally, we will question how creations in French that straddle competing cultural traditions, memories, and material conditions can queer
citizenship.
Advanced content course or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, GSST
Fall 2021. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
German Studies
GMST 056. Outbreak Narratives: A Medical Humanities Exploration of Literature on Germs, Vampires, and
Other Plagues
(Cross-listed as LITR 056G)
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze German literature
depicting contagious outbreaks, life in isolation, and explore the ethics of cure and human experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self, to explore the intriguing possibility of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly
shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of shared vulnerability. Using German literature in
English translation to explore literature on the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well on as vampires, we will consider how race, gender,
class, and historical époques shape illness stories. In particular, we will look at the power dynamics that code contagions either as negative
(where it refers, for instance, to a potentially deadly disease) or as positive (where it refers to contagious affects or an exchange of
ideas). Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfreide Jelinek, Thomas Mann, J. W. Goethe, Fanny Lewald, Heinrich Heine, Franz
Kafka, Bertha von Suttner.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
History
HIST 001J. First-Year Seminar: London Beyond Control: From the Plague Year to the Public Sphere
The Great Plague of London (1665), Daniel Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year (1722), and the avalanche of imitations inspired by the latter in
2020 will all serve as points of entry into plague as a cultural crisis of modernity that has spawned (and continues to spawn) a vast corpus of new
imaginaries of the relationship between self and society, risk and immunity, fact and fiction, private and public, law and justice, freedom and
sovereignty.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 021. London Beyond Control: Great Plagues and Cultural Crises, 1665-2020
The Great Plague of London (1665), Daniel Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year (1722), and the avalanche of imitations inspired by the latter in
2020 will all serve as points of entry into plague as a cultural crisis of modernity that has spawned (and continues to spawn) a vast corpus of new
imaginaries of the relationship between self and society, risk and immunity, fact and fiction, private and public, law and justice, freedom and
sovereignty.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 052. History of Manhood in America
Meanings of manhood and various constructions of masculine identity in America since the 18th century.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 080. History of the Body
Bodies make history and bodies are subject to history's movements. The history of the body, a relatively recent field of inquiry, encompasses the
histories of science, gender, sexuality, race, and empire. This course will explore different chapters of that history, with a focus on Europe and
the Atlantic World.
Prerequisite: This course is not open to first year students.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 084. Gender, Science, and Technology
This course is an introduction to feminist approaches to science and technology within the fields of History of Science and Science and
Technology Studies (STS). We will engage with feminist critiques of scientific knowledge and technologies while exploring past and present
intersections between science, race, sex, and colonial/postcolonial politics.
Corequisite: Preference given to students who have taken courses with ANTH, GSST, HIST, SOAN, and/or SOCI.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2022. Chen.
Fall 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 131. Gender and Sexuality in America
A social and cultural history of gender and sexuality in the United States from the early republic to the present.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. B. Dorsey.
Spring 2023. B. Dorsey.
Fall 2023. B. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 145. Women and Gender in Chinese History
This seminar explores the theoretical frameworks and multiple methodologies that have been applied to the study and interpretation of women
and gender in late imperial and modern China (1700-1980s). Our primary aim is to understand the relationship between the construction of
gender (in particular, the formation of "woman" and "man" as fixed and normative subjects) and the writing of Chinese history.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Spring 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Latin American and Latino Studies
Linguistics
LING 002A. First-Year Seminar: Gender and Language
In this course we will examine the way that language makes gender, and gender makes language. This includes examinations of gender marking
in the grammar of languages (such as grammatical gender, gendered nouns and pronouns, etc.); the way that linguistic performance can be
influenced by gendered embodiment and create gendered performance; and how gender influences linguistic interactions and their
interpretations.
Writing
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Fall 2021. Conrod.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Literatures
LITR 015R. First Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation
(Cross-listed as RUSS 015)
Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers
with the purpose of appreciating the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent,
and outstanding cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing and discussion in English; qualified students may do some
readings in the original language(s).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 017R. First-Year Seminar: Love and Sex in Russian Literature
(Cross-listed as RUSS 017)
Best known for political priorities and philosophical depth, Russian literature has also devoted many works to the eternal concern of love and
sex. We will read significant and provocative works from traditional folk tales through the 21st century to discuss their construction of these most
"natural" impulses-and how they imagine the relationship of human attraction to art, politics and philosophy.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 033R. Propagandize This: LGBTQ Russia, Past and Present
(Cross-listed as RUSS 033)
In 2013, the Russian government passed a law forbidding the "promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors" - that is, restricting and
potentially criminalizing any open discussion of LGBTQ identities or direct acknowledgment of the existence of queer people in Russia.
Homophobic Russian rhetoric emphasizes the supposedly recent and foreign nature of LGBTQ identity and ideas - an idea at odds with the
diverse sexuality and gender legacies of Russia and the USSR explored in this course. We will consider the authors represented in this course,
which covers the 19th century through the present, as participants in legacies, but also as individual creators, and sometimes theorists, of queer
strategies of survival, as well as LGBTQ thought and art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Nikulin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
LITR 056G. Outbreak Narratives
(Cross-listed as GMST 056)
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze German literature
depicting contagious outbreaks, life in isolation, and explore the ethics of cure and human experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self, to explore the intriguing possibility of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly
shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of shared vulnerability. Using German literature in
English translation to explore literature on the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well on as vampires, we will consider how race, gender,
class, and historical époques shape illness stories. In particular, we will look at the power dynamics that code contagions either as negative
(where it refers, for instance, to a potentially deadly disease) or as positive (where it refers to contagious affects or an exchange of
ideas). Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfreide Jelinek, Thomas Mann, J. W. Goethe, Fanny Lewald, Heinrich Heine, Franz
Kafka, Bertha von Suttner.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
LITR 059FG. Re-Envisioning Diasporas
(Cross-listed as FMST 059 )
This course is co-taught in an interdisciplinary collaboration with international, digitally facilitated segments. It addresses the historical,
cultural, representational, and theoretical specificities of diasporas through examining how visual and literary productions deal with questions of
race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, nationality and globalization from a perpetual state of "elsewhere." How does this experience mark the
conceptualization, aesthetics, and politics of the artistic process and textuality? What role do language, body memories, and
visualization/projection play in the works we will discuss? How do virtual and real-life diasporic communities interact with their imagination
and reception?
Students are encouraged to do work in their first and secondary languages. Commitment to cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration a must.
Film Studies background helpful but not required. Seminar-style class taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, FMST, FREN, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 074S. Queer Issues in Latin American Literature & Cinema
(Cross-listed as SPAN 074)
This course will map new forms of representation and interpretation at play in a set of queer issues emerging on recent Latin American literature
and cinema. Emphasis will be on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender subjectivities. The aim is not merely assembling a corpus of readings
around the notion of minority sexualities but to analyze how sexuality is culturally constructed in specific spatial and temporal geographies. We
will also investigate the ways in which literary genres are disturbed and redeployed by queer interventions, and how cinema becomes a
privileged medium for empowerment and visibility. Taught in English.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Music
MUSI 005B. Popular Music and Masculinities from Rock 'n' Roll to Boy Bands
This course examines the ways in which varying masculinities have been articulated, performed, and marketed in American popular music from
the 1950s to the present day. Musical case studied include Rock 'n' roll, boy bands, and contemporary Hip Hop. It examines how popular music
has facilitated a challenge to gender and sexual norms, or alternatively, how it has served to model or reinforce norms. Particular focus will be
given to the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity
, class, and ability. This course includes musical analysis, music video analysis,
scholarly articles in musicology, and theoretical readings in gender studies. It is therefore both a history of popular music and a history of
gender and sexuality.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2024. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 027. Divas
This course examines the musical performances and personae of 20th and 21st century musical "divas" through the lenses of race, class, gender,
sexuality, and fandom. Special attention is on how popular divas have disrupted dominant discourses of gender, sex, race, religion, and
embodiment, as well as articulated resistance to hegemonic cultural requirements. Discussions will address questions such as: Who is a diva,
and what constitutes diva-ness? How have divas defined, expanded, and transgressed boundaries of acceptable female musicianship? How can
subversion and resistance be read in mass-produced cultural forms? What has the effect of technology and mediation been on diva performance
and reception? What is the role of camp and outrageousness in diva performance and imitation?
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Blasina.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 043. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change
ANTH 044
How has gender emerged as an analytical category? How has sexuality emerged as an analytical category? What role did discourses
surrounding gender and sexuality play in the context of Western colonialism in the Global South historically as well as in the context of Western
imperialism in the Global South today? How are gender and sexuality-based liberation understood differently around the world? What global
social movements have surfaced to codify rights for women and LGBTQ populations? How has the global human rights apparatus shaped the
experiences of women and queer communities? What is the relationship between gender and masculinity? What are the promises and limits of
homonationalism and pinkwashing as theoretical frameworks in our understanding of LGBT rights discourses? When considering the
relationship between faith and homosexuality, how are religious actors queering theology? How do we define social change with such attention
to gender and sexuality?
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST, INTP, GLBL- Core, ESCH
Fall 2022. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
POLS 032. Social Philosophy (TH)
What is a society and how does it differ from a community? Under what circumstances, if any, can we legitimately speak of a "we" as opposed to
a collection of individuals? Can a society or a corporation have beliefs and desires? What are social structures and how do they relate to
individual action? Are all social phenomena "constructed" and if so in what sense? What is social science and how might it differ from natural
science? This course will raise these foundational questions in social philosophy before turning to the question of how different pictures of
society and social phenomena shape our normative stances. Do liberalism, socialism and conservatism all follow from particular pictures of
society, for instance? What about movements focusing on race and gender? Should we adopt a conception of social phenomena in light of our
political commitments or the other way around? By raising and addressing such questions, this course aims to help students in the social sciences
achieve greater self-consciousness about the objects and aims of their various disciplines, while also becoming more sophisticated in their
normative reflections.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 079. Islam, Race, and Empire (CP)
Since 9/11, Muslims in Europe and the United States have been at the center of contentious political debates about the meaning of secularism,
citizenship, and democracy. From Donald Trump's Muslim Ban to feminist critiques of the Islamic headscarf, politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum have questioned Islam's compatibility with Western values and ways of life. These disputes belie longer and messier histories
of empire, colonialism, and the War on Terror, through which categories such as "Islam" and "Muslims" have been racialized into a monolithic
brown Other in contrast to the "West." Drawing on a range of intellectual traditions, including postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, anthropology,
and critical race studies, this course examines how imperial legacies and enduring ideas about racial, religious, and ethnic difference structure
contemporary debates about Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America. Over the course of the semester, we will read works by prominent
theorists such as Wendy Brown, Frantz Fanon, Lila Abu-Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak, and discuss how Islam
figures into public conversations about anti-Semitism, citizenship and democracy, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, national identity,
secularism, tolerance, and political violence. Through our readings and discussions, students will learn about the diversity of lived experiences of
Muslims in Western societies and explore the connections between race, religion, and the afterlives of empire.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, GMST, ISLM, INTP, GSST
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 080. Civil Wars (IR)
Civil war is the dominant form of political violence in the contemporary world. Since the Second World War, most conflict has been
focused within rather than between states (i.e., civil war). Drawing on a thriving and diverse area of scholarship in political science, this course
explores the causes, dynamics and consequences of civil wars, as well as regional and international interventions and post-conflict legacies.
Among the central questions we will examine are: What are the individual, group and state level factors that may cause civil wars to break
out? What are the gendered dimensions of civil war and civilian agency? Why are some civil wars longer and more severe than others? How
are civilians, households and communities impacted by civil war and how do they cope? How do civil wars end and what can local, regional and
international actors do to facilitate their termination? To explore these and other questions, students will be introduced to key concepts, theories
and a variety of research approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and interpretive methods as well as micro- and macro-level analysis.
Contemporary and historical cases we will examine include: Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- core; GSST, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Paddon Rhoads
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Psychology
PSYC 048. Gender and Psychopathology
(Cross-Listed as GSST 048 )
Why are certain clinical syndromes, such as depression, overrepresented among women, while others, such as aggression, are more common
among men? This course explores gender differences in emotion socialization, coping styles, and mental illness, including depression, eating
disorders, posttraumatic stress, aggressive disorders, and substance abuse. It also critiques definitions of sex and gender and methodological
approaches to the study of group differences.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Religion
RELG 003. The Bible
The Bible has exerted more cultural influence on the West than any other single document; whether we know it or not, it impacts our lives. This
class critically examines the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)-from its Ancient Near Eastern context to its continued use today. We explore a
variety of scholarly approaches to the Bible- historical, literary, postmodern-as we read the Bible both with the tools of source-criticism and as
cultural critics. Particular focus will be placed on constructions of God, gender, nature, and the "other" in biblical writings as well as the themes
of collective identity, violence, and power.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006. Abrahamic Religion/s: Violence and Monotheism
This course introduces students to the academic study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam through the figure of Abraham. How have these
religions understood Abraham in competing and overlapping ways? In what ways have their respective portrayals of Abraham fostered both
unity and discord, peaceful coexistence and religious wars, that persist throughout history and up to current geo-political, religious landscapes
(e.g. Hevron/Hebron/al-Khalil)? Broader themes this course addresses through the figure of Abraham are the roles of violence in religion, and
gendered and racialized violence and monotheism. Finally, we critically examine the use of the discourse of "Abrahamic Faith/s" in Religious
Studies and Inter-religious dialogue.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 016. First-Year Seminar: Bible and Politics
What role does the Bible play in contemporary political debates? How do the Bible-and religion-shape American politics, political movements,
and the law? This course explores the intersections among the Bible, Religion, and Politics. It critically examines categories often taken as self-
evident and distinct-such as "the religious" and "the political"-and demonstrates how they work together in ways that continue to impact
individual and collective identities in the United States. We begin by reading the Bible - in itself both a political act and an act steeped in politics.
From "the politics of interpretation," we then move on to explore the ways in which religion and biblical interpretations are called upon, both
explicitly and implicitly, in modern and current debates about gender, sexuality, race, science, ethics, and Constitutional Law. We explore issues
such as abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, creationism, incarceration, and capital punishment. Students will be introduced to a range of
methods and theories in the academic study of Religion and related critical theories. Through seminar discussion and written assignments,
students will develop skills that are crucial to engaged, nuanced, critical discourses in the academy and beyond.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 025. Black Women, Spirituality, Religion
This course is an exploration of the spiritual lives of African American women. We will hear black women's voices in history and in literature, in
film, in performance and music, and within diverse periods and contexts, and reflect upon the multidimensionality of religious experience in
African American women's lives. We will also examine the ways that religion has served to empower black women in their personal and
collective attempts at the realization of a sacred self. Topics include: African women's religious worlds; women in the black diaspora; African
American women in Islam, Christianity, and New World traditions; womanist and feminist thought; and sexuality and spirituality. Readings
include works by: Alice Walker; Audre Lorde; bell hooks; Zora Neale Hurston; Patricia Williams, and others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2022. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 032. Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology
The God of the Bible and later Jewish and Christian literature is distinctively masculine, definitely male. Or is He? If we can point out places in
traditional writings where God is nurturing, forgiving, and loving, does that mean that God is feminine, or female? This course examines feminist
and queer writings about God, explores the tensions between feminist and queer theology, and seeks to stretch the limits of gendering-and sexing-
the divine. Key themes include: gender; embodiment; masculinity; liberation; sexuality; feminist and queer theory.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 033. The Queer Bible
This course surveys queer and trans* readings of biblical texts. It introduces students to the complexity of constructions of sex, gender, and
identity in one of the most influential literary works produced in ancient times. By reading the Bible with the methods of queer and trans*
theoretical approaches, this class destabilizes long held assumptions about what the bible--and religion--says about gender and sexuality.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 037. Sex, Gender, and the Bible
The first two chapters of the biblical book of Genesis offer two very different ancient accounts of the creation of humanity and the construction of
gender. The rest of the book of Genesis offers a unique portrayal of family dynamics, drama and dysfunction, full of complex and compelling
narratives where gender is constantly negotiated and renegotiated. In this class, we will engage in close readings of primary biblical sources and
contemporary feminist and queer scholarship about these texts, as we explore what the first book of the Bible says about God, gender, power,
sexuality, and "family values."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 040. Rape, Slavery, and Genocide in Bible and Culture
This course examines biblical "texts of terror." It explores the functions of violence in religious writings as well as their influence and impact on
current cultural issues. What are the biblical contributions to or roots of current societal crises about gender, race, and war? What are the limits
and limitations placed on rape, slavery, and genocide in the Bible that are obscured in current (mis)uses of biblical precedents in support of such
modern day atrocities? Without collapsing the distinctions between or simply blaming the Bible for current manifestations of extreme violence,
this class aims to bring these "texts of terror" into the open to help facilitate critical discussion about, and critique of, violence then and now.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 053. Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Islamic Discourses
An exploration of sexuality, gender roles, and notions of the body within the Islamic tradition from the formative period of Islam to the present.
This course will examine the historical development of gendered and patriarchal readings of Islamic legal, historical, and scriptural texts.
Particular attention will be given to both the premodern and modern strategies employed by women to subvert these exclusionary forms of
interpretation and to ensure more egalitarian outcomes for themselves in the public sphere. Topics discussed include female piety, marriage and
divorce, motherhood, polygamy, sex and desire, honor and shame, same-sex sexuality, and the role of women in the transmission of knowledge.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, GSST, ISLM, MDST
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 114. Love and Religion
A comparative seminar that deals with ancient Greek, early and medieval Christian, medieval Jewish, "secular" troubadour, Hindu, South Asian
and East Asian (Japanese) Buddhist traditions on the transformations of "love" in religious devotional literatures. We focus on themes of erotic
and parental love; gender, sexuality, and the body; the emotions as ethical appraisal; individual love, loss, lament, and "ennobling virtue;" and
the enduring tensions between the particular and "universal" in discourses of and about love, the passions and their vicissitudes in the histories
of religion. Primary texts will range from Plato's Symposium, Gregory of Nyssa's Greek commentaries on the Song of Songs and his Bios
makrinou; the Occitan poetry of female Provençal troubadours, Dante's Vita nuova, selections from the Commedia, Angela di Foligno's Libello;
to early Buddhist women in the poetry and narratives of the Pāli Therīgāthā, the Sinhala narratives of the Buddha's wife Yasodharā and the
Buddha's two mothers, Bengali poetry to the Hindu goddess Kālī and to the divine lovers Krishna and Rādhā; Heian-period Japanese love poems
of Izumi Shikibu, and Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, MDST
Fall 2022. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Russian
RUSS 015. First-Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation
(Cross-listed as LITR 015R)
Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers
to appreciate the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent, and outstanding
cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing, and discussion in English; students who are able may do some readings in the
original languages.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 017. First-Year Seminar: Love and Sex in Russian Literature
(Cross-listed as LITR 017R)
Best known for political priorities and philosophical depth, Russian literature has also devoted many works to the eternal concern of love and
sex. We will read significant and provocative works from traditional folk tales through the 20th century to discuss their construction of these most
"natural" impulses -and how they imagine the relationship of human attraction to art, politics and philosophy.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Nikulin
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 033. Propagandize this: LGBTQ Russia, Past and Present
(Cross-listed as LITR 033R)
In 2013, the Russian government passed a law forbidding the "promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors" - that is, restricting and
potentially criminalizing any open discussion of LGBTQ identities or direct acknowledgment of the existence of queer people in Russia.
Homophobic Russian rhetoric emphasizes the supposedly recent and foreign nature of LGBTQ identity and ideas - an idea at odds with the
diverse sexuality and gender legacies of Russia and the USSR explored in this course. We will consider the authors represented in this course,
which covers the 19
th
century through the present, as participants in legacies, but also as individual creators, and sometimes theorists, of queer
strategies of survival, as well as LGBTQ thought and art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Nikulin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 063. Roots of Feminism & Radicalism in Russia
(Cross-listed as LITR 063R)
From the earliest engagements with socialism in the Russian Empire to Russian Jewish émigré anarchism in the United States, radical visions for
the transformation of society in Russian intellectual history were intertwined with the question of the social position of women. In this writing
intensive course we will trace interlocking questions of social transformation and gender equality through literary and philosophical works by
authors including: Tolstoy, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexandra Kollontai, Emma Goldman, and many others. This course
is writing intensive.
Humanitiies
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Spring 2022. Stuhr-Rommereim.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 111. Tsvetaeva & Mayakovsky.
Poetic, dramatic and prose works of the "hysterical poets," Marina Tsvetaeva and Vladimir Mayakovsky-two of the greatest Russian writers of
the 20th century. Focus on their volcanic poetic development, interactions, and creative responses to gender, decadence, revolution, civil war,
emigration and Soviet repression, as well as the inspirations and tragedies of their personal lives.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Sociology
SOCI 007C. Sociology Through African American Women's Writing
Interrogating the explicit and implicit claims that black women writers make in relation to work by social scientists, we will read texts closely for
literary appreciation, sociological significance, and personal relevance, examining especially issues that revolve around race, gender, and class.
Of special interest will be where authors position their characters vis-à-vis white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and the U.S.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020M. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as ENVS 043, ENGL 089)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GSST, BLST, GLBL-core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 058B. Black Feminisms
In this course, we will examine the contours of Black women's (womyn's/womxn's) ways of naming, being and knowing, their resistance to gender
and race hierarchies, violence, domination, and oppression, and their insistent love, joy, art, and creative practices. We will center black queer
feminisms, explore the intersections of race, gender and sexuality with class, region, religious and spiritual practices, generation, space and
place; explore black feminist thought and its relationship to womanism and other feminisms; explore the multitude of positionalities of black
women (womyn/womxn); examine mediated representations of black women; the commodification of black women's aesthetics, bodies and
sexualities, and the resistance to the same; and highlight black women (womyn/womxn) and femme centered spaces and collectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Spanish
SPAN 066. La voz de la mujer
In this course we will explore the work of representative Spanish women writers of the last three centuries in order to study the development of
female self-awareness. We will read texts by Carolina Coronado, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Mercé Rodoreda, Esther
Tusquets, Carme Riera, Almudena Grandes, etc. The main objective of the course is to analyze female discourse within the historical,
psychoanalytical, metafictional and allegorical realm of the texts to find multiple female voices.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 074. Queer Issues in Latin American Literature & Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 074S)
This course will map new forms of representation and interpretation at play in a set of queer issues emerging on recent Latin American literature
and cinema. Emphasis will be on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender subjectivities. The aim is not merely assembling a corpus of readings
around the notion of minority sexualities but to analyze how sexuality is culturally constructed in specific spatial and temporal geographies. We
will also investigate the ways in which literary genres are disturbed and redeployed by queer interventions, and how cinema becomes a
privileged medium for empowerment and visibility. Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 076. Identidad y conflicto cultural
This class studies contemporary Latin American social identities and their representations in literature, cinema, and other media from Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
The selected texts present different strands of cultural conflict due to the simultaneous presence of markedly different modes of identity.
LGBTQ diversity, sexual identities, femicides and gender violence will be of special relevance.
Several primary questions will guide our analysis: What is identity? What are the socio-historical, cultural and political influences on identity?
What does the study of these texts reveal about the relationship among economic development, the construction of social identities, and
citizenship? How can this class help us to better understand the dynamics of race, class, gender and sexuality in specific Latin American
contexts?
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, GSST
Fall 2023. Martínez
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 104. La voz de la mujer a través de los siglos
The seminar will look into the work of a few outstanding women writers from Spain throughout the centuries to study the development of a
feminine conciousness. The text selection will include works by Santa Teresa, María de Zayas, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Carolina
Coronado, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Carmen de Burgos, Rosa Chacel, Carmen Martín Gaite, Carmen Laforet, Mercé Rodoreda, Esther Tusquets,
Carme Riera, Almudena Grandes and others. The essential aim of the seminar will be to analyze feminine discourse in the realm of the historical,
psychoanalytical, metafictional, and allegorical fiction in order to search for a diversity of feminine voices.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Note:
*All papers and projects must focus on gender and sexuality studies.
Global Studies
Courses
Coordinators:
AYSE KAYA (Political Science), Coordinator
CARINA YERVASI (French and Francophone Studies), Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Farha Ghannam (Anthropology)
3
Stephen Hopkins (Religion)
3
Jose-Louis Machado (Biology)
Lynne S. Schofield (Mathematics & Statistics, Provost's Office)
Tristan Smith (Physics)
Dominic Tierney (Political Science)
Global Studies Committee Member in Memoriam
Stephen Golub (Economics)
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
The Global Studies Program brings together courses across the curriculum that focus on, or provide means to, understanding and analyzing:
global processes, systems, and phenomena, the relationship between the local and the global, and trans-border connections among people and
events.
Global Studies, with its emphasis, on the one hand, on processes and phenomena common across borders and, on the other, with a particular
attention to differences in the global-local connection, offers students an opportunity to more strongly command an understanding of their place
in the world and an awareness and appreciation of differences through cross-cultural competence as well as a greater ability to mediate these
differences. The Global Studies program complements and strengthens Swarthmore's efforts to shape engaged citizens not just with a local or a
national conscience, but also with a global one.
The minor in Global Studies requires a total of 5 credits plus Foreign Language study to create a cohesive pathway to an interdisciplinary
understanding of the global. One of these 5 credits has to come from the Introduction to Global Studies course. The remaining four credits
need to come from the list of eligible courses, which include core courses and paired courses. While core courses offer a global view of a
particular subject, paired courses predominantly study one part of the world or an issue area, topic, or theme through a part of the world. In this
respect, paired courses provide a global view through comparative analysis. One GLBL-eligible paired course needs to be combined with
another GLBL-eligible paired course for the student to receive credit for each paired course. The rationale for the pairing should be outlined in
the student's Sophomore Pathway. Further, Graduating seniors complete a Senior Reflection Exercise.
Those interested in a special major in Global Studies can work with the program coordinators to develop a plan. A special major will include the
requirements of the minor plus additional credits.
The Academic Program
Course Minor
Requirements:
1. Introduction to Global Studies (GLBL 015.)
2. A minimum of four credits in core and paired courses:
o These four credits should come from at least two different divisions.
o More than one course in the same Department/Program is not permitted to count toward the four credit requirement.
o Two of these four credits must come from the core courses
o A maximum of one of these credits may be taken off-campus at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, or on an approved study abroad
program, upon petition to and approval by the coordinators.
3. Foreign language study
Introduction to Global Studies - GLBL 015:
All minors are required to successfully complete the one-credit Introduction to Global Studies (GLBL 015) offered every fall, preferably by their
sophomore year. It is team-taught by two faculty members from different departments. First-years are permitted in the course. Seniors may enroll
upon approval of the instructors.
A minimum of four credits in core and paired courses:
Core courses - Minimum of 2
Core courses are the backbone of the Global Studies program because they have a high level of content central to the analyses of global events,
systems, or processes. The core courses may be focusing on processes of interdependence (such as migrations or the economy of arts), the
impact of an event or a process across multiple regions of the world (such as urbanization in different places or the effects of capitalism), or a
comparative analysis of an idea or phenomenon in different parts of the world (such as how Buddhism is understood and practiced in different
parts of the world). These courses provide explicit tools, concepts, and analysis that are commonly used in, or connect closely with, themes in
Global Studies and are noted in the catalog entry notes as "Eligible for GLBL - Core."
Paired Courses
Students can also pair courses to achieve a comparative, cross-regional emphasis. To elaborate, if students choose to take paired courses that
are eligible for GLBL, they must combine at least two paired courses in order to receive credit for each course for the minor. Courses listed in
this category are predominantly courses that study a part of the world or an issue area, topic, or theme through a part of the world. These
courses may present global concepts, systems or phenomena, but are limited by focus on a specific part of the world. These courses are noted in
the catalog entry notes as "Eligible for GLBL - Paired." An additional core course can count as a paired course with another GLBL-paired
course.
Foreign Language Study
Studying a foreign language engages an essential tool of cross-cultural communication as it embodies a different way to learn about others'
cultures while reflecting on one's own. Choice of language should be integral to the student's Global Studies minor. The language study
requirement comprises two choices:
1. New Language: Students choosing a new language will be required to complete the first three semesters of a new language offered at
Swarthmore (Trico or UPenn for languages not housed at Swarthmore) or reach the equivalent of intermediate level in a study abroad language
option upon approval of program coordinators.
2. Continuing Language: Students choosing to continue a language begun elsewhere and taught at Swarthmore will adhere to the following
guidelines:
Students placed at the 1st - 3rd semester-level must complete through the 3rd semester of that language.
Students placed at the 4th semester-level must complete that level.
Students placed above the 4th semester-level must complete one advanced course in that language.
Students who wish to declare English as their foreign language must meet with the program coordinators.
In essence, some students may continue a language they studied in high school, while others may prefer to begin a new language. We would
strongly advise the student to see the language choice as integral to their choice of elective courses. For languages not housed at Swarthmore,
Global Studies will encourage students to explore two options: (1) local language study in the Trico or at UPenn or (2) study abroad
opportunities that offer intensive language programs on their own or as part of a study abroad program. In such cases where students want to
study languages elsewhere, Global Studies' students will work in consultation with the program coordinators to develop a language study
program.
NB. Some of the courses that would satisfy the Global Studies core and paired courses requirement are language courses, so they would meet
both the course requirements as well as the language requirements.
Sophomore Pathway
Equivalent to the sophomore plan, in the Sophomore Pathway the students will outline their rationale of their chosen GLBL courses and
language study, including how they think these courses will help them pursue their area of interest or permit the exploration of a theme from
different vantage points.
A minimum "B" average within the GLBL minor is required for all minors by their junior year.
Senior Reflection Exercise
Seniors will revisit their Sophomore Pathway as they craft a statement to reflect upon their Global Studies minor. The statement will be presented
in a short, public address to all interested faculty, staff, and students at the GLBL Spring Gathering. The exercise should be a self-assessment on
the student's course choices and what they have learned, what connections still need to be made, what plans they have for future growth in skills
and knowledge-building.
Honors Minor
An Honors Minor preparation will consist of the combination of two related courses using GLBL 015 and any GLBL-core course taken at
Swarthmore. The focus will be on how the two courses connect, combining a dimension of the GLBL 015 syllabus with the GLBL-core course.
Students will be examined in that dimension, even though general questions of either syllabus may be asked. To qualify for Honors, students must
maintain an average of B or better in their GLBL coursework. Students wishing to pursue an Honors Minor in GLBL should consult with the
coordinators.
Special Major
Guidelines for a Special Major in Global Studies
Due to student demand, we are outlining our guidelines for completing a Special Major in Global Studies.
The total number of credits in the Special Major in Global Studies is 10-12, per the College's guidelines. As outlined below, the Special Major in
Global Studies consists of required courses and electives.
The required courses are Introduction to Global Studies (GLBL015) and foreign language study for all Special Majors in Global Studies and
several Economics courses and a course in Statistics for certain concentrations within the Special Major. These courses are geared toward
ensuring the student's substantive immersion in the relevant topics of global studies, as well as gaining general skills required in understanding
the impact of global issues. They also intend to aid the student in their future endeavors.
In addition, the electives-comprising 6-8 "core" or "paired" GLBL-eligible courses-offer specialized electives organized around one of the many
themes within the field of Global Studies. The student should always refer to the website for the most up-to-date information and email the
coordinators with any questions.
Requirements for the Special Major in Global Studies:
1. GLBL015: Introduction to Global Studies. We strongly advise students take this course in their first two years as it will provide a
synthetic overview of different topics and will enable them to discover their interests, thereby helping with the thematic organization
of their elective courses.
2. Foreign language study
3. 6-8 "core" or "paired" GLBL-eligible elective courses organized around a theme, with the theme justified in the student's Sophomore
Pathway paper and later revisited in the student's Senior Reflection Exercise.
4. The student is allowed to take up to one of the above electives in affiliated institutions Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and UPenn) or another
institution with the Coordinators' permission, including from an off-campus study program.
5. It is the student's responsibility to take all prerequisites for any suggested courses.
6. The students should not be taking more than 6 credits in any one Department.
What is a theme?
A thematic organization of the student's 6-8 elective courses ensures the student has a clear, easily communicable focus in their examination of
global issues. A theme identifies and concentrates on the core fields and approaches within the growing area of Global Studies. A theme will
attend to comparative historical and contemporary engagements with and consequences of transnational and global phenomena, processes,
institutions, and representations of these interactions. This means that the theme will encompass different disciplinary and interdisciplinary
courses the student needs to take to fulfill the special major. These courses might provide divergent angles of a topic, study the same phenomenon
from different disciplines, or provide the application of an issue (such as economic development) to different areas of the world (e.g., West Africa
and East Asia). The goal is for the student to have both breadth and depth in their choice of a theme with tightly connected courses.
We recommend the following themes based on the state of the discipline of Global Studies, but remain open to the student petitioning a different
theme if the student can make a strong case that an adequate number of courses exist to fulfill the theme. In this case, the student must describe
the theme as well as list the courses they wish to take, paying close attention to course scheduling. Student designated themes cannot replicate
existing majors in the College.
Possible Themes and Examples of Elective Courses
While we list possible themes here, if the student chooses these themes, then the student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements under the
theme. If the student petitions to do their own theme (see above), the Coordinators retain the right to require specific courses to ensure the
student's coursework is rigorous and meets the expectations of the field of Global Studies.
1. Global Studies Special Major in Urban Studies
This theme, geared toward the study of global urban issues, connects local and global phenomena around the growth of cities. It focuses on
transnational interactions between states and cities with an emphasis on the role of refuge-seeking in the growth of cities, the role of mayors in
global governance as well as the role of architecture and infrastructure on urban expansion. Students are encouraged to develop both a
historical as well as a contemporary understanding of urban growth in the era of the anthropocene (including but not limited to built space and
human, animal, plant interactions; climate impact on cities; population studies; and geography).
GLBL-eligible courses that fit the theme well include (but are not limited to): ARTH66: Race, Space and Architecture or ARTH155 Modern
Architecture and Urbanism or ARTH73 Global History of Architecture; EDU68: Urban Education; FREN116: La pensée géographique;
HIST90E: On the Other Side of the Tracks: Black Urban Community; ENVS43: Race, Gender, Class, and the Environment; PHYS1C: Earth's
Climate and Global Warming; POLS28: The Urban Underclass and Public Policy; SOCI37C Racial Geographies or SOCI48L: Urban Crime
and Punishment; SPAN69: Cartografías urbanas; one course in the Cities program at Bryn Mawr(optional).
2. Global Studies Special Major in Global Political Economy
This theme is ideal for students, who do not wish to pursue a double-major in Political Science and Economics, but would like to still focus
primarily on those two disciplines and adjacent ones, to pursue a focus on understanding, explaining, and studying the global political economy,
including foreign economy policy of countries and opportunities as well as tensions that arise from these policies, issues of economic
development, and the impact of the economy policies on societies and individuals.
1. Four courses in Economics (Econ 001 plus three additional courses):
a. Econ 001. Introduction to Economics is a prerequisite for other courses in the discipline. We will respect Economics' decisions on waivers to
this prerequisite.
b. Additionally, Econ 11 or Econ 21, and a course that bears directly on some aspect of global political economy.
c. If you have trouble taking Econ 11 and 21, please discuss with the Coordinators in a timely manner. The student is, nonetheless, required to
take 3 Econ courses in addition to Econ 001.
2. Stat011. Statistical Methods - or higher (Stat021 or Stat041, if the student has met the departmental prerequisites).
a. Please note that Econ 31 also fulfills the Statistics requirement, i.e. if you have taken Econ 31, you don't need to take Stat 011.
GLBL-eligible courses that fit the theme well include (but are not limited to): ANTH003G: FYS: Development and Its Discontents; ECON54:
Global Capitalism Since 1920; ECON81: Economic Development; ECON151: International Economics; HIST36: Fascinating Fascism;
HIST143: Political Economy of the Middle East: Theory & History; POLS47: Ethics and Economics; POLS66: International Political Economy.
3. Global Studies Special Major in Global Politics & Policies
This theme is ideal for students who wish to study politics, but with a particular emphasis on interactions between states (i.e. international
relations) and between transnational non-state actors and states, and on global social movements and human rights. The students are
encouraged to develop both a historical as well as a contemporary understanding of global politics.
GLBL-eligible courses that fit the theme well include (but are not limited to): ANCH31: The Greeks and the Persian Empire or ANCH 42:
Democracy and Its Challenges: Athens in the 5th-Century; HIST3A: Modern Europe: 1789-1918...; EDU64: Comparative Education; POLS50:
International Relations of East Asia; POLS4: Introduction to International Relations; POLS3: Politics Across the World; POLS61: American
Foreign Policy; HIST003A: Modern Europe: 1789-1918...; POLS81: Global Environmental Governance; POLS37: Contemporary Political
Philosophy; SOCIO48K: Political Sociology: The Mafia and the State.
1. Additional requirements: Econ 001. Introduction to Economics, though we highly recommend at least three courses in Economics.
2. Stat 011.a. Please note that Econ 31 also fulfills the Statistics requirement, i.e. if you have taken Econ 31, you don't need to take Stat 011.
4. Global Studies Special Major in Global Histories, Cultures, Arts
This theme is ideal for students who wish to understand the interconnected nature of the histories and cultures of the world: ancient, early
modern and postcolonial global contacts, historical and contemporary understandings of the entanglement of visual/linguistic/literary cultures in
empire through decolonization.
GLBL-eligible courses that fit the theme well include (but are not limited to): ANCH28: Ancient Egypt or ANCH44 The Early Roman Empire;
ARAB23: Identity and Culture in Arabic Cinema; ARTH72: Global History of Architecture: Prehistory-1750 or ARTH94 Transnational
Modernisms (1850s-contemporary); BLST33: African Cinemas; ENG72 Global Modernisms; FMST50: What on Earth is World Cinema;
FREN113: Re-Contons l'histoire: Postcolonialité et fictions d'écriture françaises; HIST60: The East India Company, 1600-1857; LING25
Sociolinguistics: Language, Culture, and Society; LITR18FJ: Manga, Bande-Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of
Graphic Fictions; LITR52S: Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture; MUSI5A: Music and Dance Cultures of the World or MUSI31:
Music and Culture in East Asia.
5. Global Studies Special Major in Human Mobilities, Migrations, Diasporas
This theme is ideal for students who wish to understand the history, politics and rights behind the movement of people and diasporas, and the
forces (political, climatic, economic, etc.) that give rise to displacements across the globe, as well as the literary and visual expression of this
movement. This theme can explicitly bridge scientific, social scientific and humanistic approaches to analyzing movement across the globe.
GLBL-eligible courses that fit the theme well include (but are not limited to): BIOL34: Ecology or BIOL137: Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Functioning or BIOL009: Our Food; DANC25A: Dance and Diaspora; JPNS73: Transnational Japanese Literature: Diversity and Diaspora in
Modern Japanese Literature; PHIL51: Human Rights and Atrocities; POLS4: Introduction to International Relations; POLS3: Politics Across
the World; POLS31: Borders and Migration; RELG34: Partitions: Religions, Politics, and Gender in South Asia Through the Novel; SOCI35D
Transnational Migration or SOCI35E Immigration, Race, and the Law; SPAN60: Memoria e identidad or SPAN87: Cruzando fronteras:
migración y neoliberalismo en el cine mexicano.
Global Studies Courses
Currently offered courses relevant to the program include the following:
Note: The student is responsible for knowing and meeting any of the prerequisites associated with the following courses. In all cases, the
student's acceptance into these courses is up to the Instructor and not the Global Studies Program coordinators.
GLBL 015. Introduction to Global Studies
This course provides an interdisciplinary approach to globally shared issues, processes, interactions and systems that affect people, communities,
regions, nations, and our planet. Some topics the course examines are: the effects of a globalized world economy, global inequality and
poverty, migration and refugees, identity in a global age, world cities, media in the global age, colonization and decolonization, global ethics,
global social movements. The course takes seriously the interaction between the local and the global. It offers students an opportunity to more
strongly command an understanding of their place in the world and an awareness and appreciation of differences through cross-cultural
competence as well as a greater ability to mediate these differences. The interdisciplinary nature of the course demands multiple points of entry
to communicate and analyze these issues beyond reading and writing, such as films, podcasts, lectures. Each fall Global Studies faculty selects
several topics for an in-depth look at the past, present, and future global landscape.
Note: GLBL 015 is required for Minors, but open to all and will be offered every fall.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, POLS
Fall 2021. Kaya.
Fall 2022. Kaya.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Global Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/global-studies
GLBL 090. Directed Reading
Available on an individual or group basis, subject to the approval of and overseen by a faculty member in GLBL.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Global Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/global-studies
Ancient History
ANCH 031. The Greeks and the Persian Empire
This course studies the political and social history of Greece from the Trojan War to the Persian Wars. We will examine the connections between
Greeks and non-Greeks and their perceptions of mutual differences and similarities. Readings include Homer, Hesiod, the lyric poets (including
Sappho), and Herodotus and Near Eastern documents.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Fall 2021. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Paired
ANCH 032. The Roman Republic
This course studies Rome from its origins to the civil wars and the establishment of the principate of Augustus (753-27 B.C.E.). Topics include
the legends of Rome's foundation and of its republican constitution; the conquest of the Mediterranean world, with special attention to the causes
and pretexts for imperialism; the political system of the Late Republic, and its collapse into civil war.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Mahoney.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Paired
ANCH 056. Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire
This course considers the rise of Christianity and its encounters with the religious and political institutions of the Roman Empire. It examines
Christianity in the second and third centuries of the Common Era and its relationship with Judaism, Hellenistic philosophies, state cults, and
mystery religions and concentrates on the various pagan responses to Christianity from conversion to persecution. Ancient texts may include
Apuleius, Lucian, Marcus Aurelius, Porphyry, Justin, Origen, Lactantius, Tertullian, and the Acts of the Christian Martyrs.
ANCH 044 (The Early Roman Empire) provides useful background.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2024. Turpin.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Paired
Anthropology
ANTH 003G. First-Year Seminar: Development and its Discontents
In this course, our goal will be to gain a new perspective on an often-unquestioned social "good": that of international economic development,
including foreign aid to countries in the global south. This course will provide students with an introduction to the origin and evolution of ideas
about development, and will encourage them to examine major theories and approaches to development from classical modernization theories to
world-systems theories. Students will gain insight into how ideas of development fit into larger global dynamics of power and politics and how,
contrary to professed goals, the practices of international development have often perpetuated poverty and widened the gap between rich and
poor. During the course, we will investigate these issues through an array of texts that address different audiences including a novel, academic
books and journals, film, popular writings and ethnographic monographs.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, ESCH, GLBL - Core
Spring 2024. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 009C. Cultures of the Middle East
Looking at ethnographic texts, films, and literature from different parts of the region, this class examines the complexity and richness of culture
and life in the Middle East. The topics we will cover include orientalism, colonization, gender, ethnicity, tribalism, nationalism, migration,
nomadism, and religious beliefs. We will also analyze the local, national, and global forces that are reshaping daily practices and cultural
identities in various Middle Eastern countries.
Social sciences.
Writing course
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Paired
ANTH 023C. Anthropological Perspectives on Conservation
Conservation of biodiversity through the creation of national parks is an idea and a practice that began in the U.S. with the creation of
Yellowstone in 1872. In this course, we will examine the ideas behind the initial creation of national parks and explore the global spread of these
ideas through the historical and contemporary creation of parks in other countries. As we examine the origin of the idea for parks, we will also
consider the human costs that have been associated with their creation. Ultimately, the class offers a critical exploration of theories and themes
related to nature, political economy, and culture-themes that fundamentally underlie the relationship between society and environment.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, GLBL- core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 033E. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed as ENVS 029)
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches and scholarship from the
disciplines of anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the environmental humanities, and social movement
theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of texts each week, offering deep engagement to
analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy
of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the class will also explore the interlocking themes of social
and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films, and other digital media to provide a sense of what
environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to bring about change. Students in this course will learn
to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to
think creatively about possible solutions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 037C. Anti-Corruption Politics in Latin America & the Caribbean
Anti-corruption discourse has become one of the salient modes of articulating claims for justice and against political, financial, and corporate
power in contemporary Latin America & the Caribbean. In fact, the mobilization of anti-corruption discourse in the region has become an
undeniable force capable of toppling governments, sending corporate executives to prison, and bringing masses to the streets demanding change.
What is the relation between today's "wars" against corruption and ongoing transformations of political and economic power in Latin America &
the Caribbean? How has anti-corruption discourse reshaped imaginaries of political transformation and emancipatory politics in the region?
Rather than assuming a singular definition of corruption, this course explores it as a powerful concept that is not simply or neutrally defined by
law or morality - one with a complex history linked to colonialism and imperialism, as well as to changing ideas of democracy and justice.
Through our readings and discussions, we will develop critical and analytical tools to interrogate the long-standing stereotype of Latin America
as inherently "corrupt" and how this stereotype is mobilized in the present. We will advance this critical work through exploring concrete cases
that show the significance of anti-corruption politics as a tool for accountability and change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Azuero-Quijano.
Spring 2024. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 039C. Food and Culture
Food, a daily necessity for human survival, is strongly shaped by social relationships and cultural meanings. Who makes our food, what we eat,
how we eat, and with whom we eat all reflect and reproduce various social connections and inequalities. This class explores how food, its
making, and its consumption have been analyzed by different scholars, particularly anthropologists. We will also look at how various societies
define, manage, and regulate the preparation and consumption of food. The class consider questions such as: Why do we serve specific foods at
certain occasions? What constitutes a proper meal? How does class, gender, race, and ethnicity shape the making and serving of certain foods?
Why might a particular food be viewed a delicacy in one society, but be seen as disgusting and repulsive in another? How did food become a
"problem" that has to be managed in many of our contemporary societies? Through our readings and discussions, we will seek a deeper
understanding of edible matters, how we shape them and how they shape us.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- core
Fall 2023. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 043E. Culture, Health, Illness
People in all societies encounter and manage sickness. Yet, there are diverse and unique approaches to understanding and managing health and
disease. The human experience of sickness entails a complex interplay between biological, socio-economic and cultural factors. This course
offers an introduction to medical anthropology, and draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand
those factors which influence health and well being (broadly defined), the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of
sickness, healing processes, the social relations of therapy management, and the cultural importance and use of pluralistic medical systems.
Topics covered include how beliefs about health, disease and the body are constructed and transmitted, how healers are chosen and trained,
social disparities in health and illness, and the importance of narrative and performance in the effectiveness of healing practices. Finally, we will
consider the ways in which medical anthropology can shed light upon important contemporary medical and social concerns.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, GLBL - Core
Fall 2021. Schuetze.
Fall 2023. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 049B. Comparative Perspectives on the Body
Explore how different societies regulate, discipline, and shape the human body. In the first part, we examine social theories and explore the
strengths and limitations of different approaches to the study of the body. In the second part, we look at several ethnographic cases and compare
diverse cultural practices that range from seemingly traditional practices (such as circumcision and foot binding) to what is currently
fashionable (including weight lifting, dieting, aesthetic surgery, piercing, and tattooing). When comparing body modifications through time and
space, we seek to understand their socio-economic contexts and relate them to broader cultural meanings and social inequalities. We also
investigate how embodiment shapes personal and collective identities (especially gender identities) and vice versa.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. Ghannam.
Spring 2024. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 053B. Anthropology of Public Health
This course introduces students to the study of "public health" and various problems framed by public health actors through the theoretical and
methodological lenses of sociocultural anthropology. The field of public health is typically defined by its commitment to understand not just the
manifestations and patterns of illness in populations, but the social, political and economic forces that place certain individuals and populations
at greater risk of morbidity and mortality. By critically examining various frameworks for understanding disease in human populations, the class
will explore the potentials and challenges of improving health and healthcare in various populations, both within and outside of the United
States. Additionally, this class aims to demonstrate the value of anthropology to the field of public health and to efforts to solve national and
global health problems. Students will be urged to think about "public health" and "global health" as dynamic cultural artifacts and cultural
systems; and likewise, to consider how ethnography is an important methodological tool, both to understand public health agendas as well as to
investigate the subjects and elisions of public health interventions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH,GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 072C. Memory, History, Nation
How do national communities remember-and forget? What roles do commemoration and amnesia play in constructing, maintaining, or
challenging national and collective identities? This course considers memory and its pathologies as a central problematic for the nation-state. It
reads theory and ethnography against each other to explore the politics and aesthetics of national memory across numerous sites and contexts,
attentive to both the collectivities such commemorations inspire and their points of resistance or failure.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Nadkarni.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Paired
ANTH 122. Urban Ethnographies (M)
As key players in the global economy, cities are the focus of a rich body of literature that explores how urban life is shaped by the complex
interplay between global, national, and local processes. How to best understand this interplay and how it shapes daily life in cities? How can we
understand the inequalities that structure daily life in urban centers around the globe? How to analyze the different identities, spaces, and
subjectivities that are being constituted under changing economic, social, and political conditions? In this seminar, we read ethnographies from
and about cities around the globe and analyze how scholars, particularly anthropologists, have studied cities, their cultures, and social groups.
We pay attention to the forces (such as neoliberalism, modernism, nationalism, and globalization) and inequalities (such as class, race, and
gender) that shape urban life. The texts we read explore current pressing issues such as poverty, violence, policing, gentrification, and
homelessness. Alongside our investigation of city life, students also will have the opportunity to develop their skills in ethnographic research
methods by closely analyzing how different authors accessed and wrote about cities as well as by conducting their own mini-ethnographies.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Ghannam.
Fall 2023. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
ANTH 133. Anthropology of Biomedicine
In this seminar we explore biomedicine from an anthropological perspective, exploring the entanglement of bodies with history, environment,
culture, and power. We begin the course with a focus on the historical emergence of biomedical technologies and their related discourses and
practices and then move into contemporary contexts of their use and circulation. Throughout, we focus on the ways in which the development,
use, and distribution of biomedical technologies and discourses are influenced by prevailing medical systems, political interests, and cultural
norms. Topics to be covered include biomedicine as technology, medical categorization and ideas of the normal, ethics and moral boundaries,
the space of the clinic, the circulation of pharmaceuticals, and health and inequality.
Prerequisite: ANTH 043E or permission of the Instructor
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
Arabic
ARAB 021. Topics in Modern Arab Literature
This course surveys the major writers, trends, themes, and experiences in Arabic literature from the 19th century to the present. Beginning with
the nahda (the Arab renaissance), we will explore the impact of intellectual debates and developments on the emergence of modern Arabic
literature. Through the study of a variety of different texts and authors, from a range of geographies and periods, we will investigate diverse
literary and cultural narratives. Common themes, such as the negotiation of modernity and tradition, social and political transformation, and the
changing role of women, will provide a structure for comparison. This course is taught in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Al-Masri.
Fall 2022. Al-Masri.
Fall 2023. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Paired
ARAB 022. Discourses of Oppression in Contemporary Arabic Fiction
Designed to meet the needs of students who have completed ARAB 021: Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature, this course provides an in-
depth look at major fictional representations of the institutionalized and non-institutionalized sites and structures of oppression explored by Arab
writers. Subtle and overt forms of political oppression are investigated, as well as experiences of hegemony related to gender, sexuality, class,
religion, and ethnicity. This course also examines the ways in which oppression is rethought, restructured, and challenged in Arabic fiction,
leading to new understandings and possibilities in reality. This course is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Al-Masri.
Spring 2023. Al-Masri.
Spring 2024. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Paired
ARAB 023. Identity and Culture in Arab Cinema
This course offers an in-depth study of the cultural politics and poetics of Arab Cinema. Students will analyze and critique films produced in the
20th and 21st centuries from a variety of different periods, styles, and genres. Through these films, the course will explore topics such as
colonialism; ethnic, religious, and national identities; civil conflicts; oppression and censorship; gender and sexuality; poverty; and the rural
and the urban. Students will read critical essays and book chapters on the screened films and related themes. This course is conducted entirely in
Arabic. Advanced knowledge of Arabic is required to successfully complete this course.
Prerequisite: Three years of Arabic or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL - Paired
Spring 2024. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Paired
Art History
ARTH 002. The Western Tradition
This course provides an introduction to Mediterranean and European art from prehistoric cave painting to the 18th century. We will consider a
variety of media-from painting, sculpture, and architecture to ceramics, mosaic, metalwork, prints, and earthworks. The goal of this course is to
provide a chronology of the major works in the Western tradition and to provide the vocabulary and methodologies necessary to analyze these
works of art closely in light of the material, historical, religious, social, and cultural circumstances in which they were produced and received.
We will give attention to the use and status of materials; the representation of social relations, gender, religion, and politics; the context in which
works of art were used and displayed; and the critical response these works elicited.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Paired
ARTH 005. Modern Art in Europe and the United States
This course surveys Western European and American art from the late 18th century to the 1960s. It introduces significant artists and art
movements in their social and political contexts and also focuses attention on art historical approaches that have been developed to interpret this
art, including socio-economic and feminist perspectives.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Fall 2022. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Paired
ARTH 013. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome
This exploration of ancient Greek art and architecture will consider issues such as mythology in daily ritual; the religious, social, and political
functions of sculpture; the use of architecture as propaganda; and the invention of the ideal warrior, athlete, and maiden.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Paired
ARTH 026. Painting, Chemistry and Conservation
CHEM 003B
This interdisciplinary course explores the intersection of chemistry with the visual arts. During the course of the semester we will learn about the
materials available to artists, issues faced by museum curators and conservators, and some basic chemistry concepts related to these topics. Our
exploration of the chemistry, and history, of art media will include labs that extend and enhance the lecture topics.
Humanities. Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Reilly. Stephenson.
Spring 2024. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Core
ARTH 046. Socially Engaged Art in the Americas
Can art change the world? Questions about the impact of art in the social fabric are constitutive of the idea of avant-garde art. This course will
introduce students to these debates as they took shape in the American continent since 1960. With an emphasis on forms of art practice that
outspokenly seek to provoke positive social change, this class provides a parallel narrative of contemporary art, in which art exits the museum
space to ingrain itself in broader social processes.
During the semester students will learn about different theories of socially engaged art articulated by artists and art historians alike. We will
consider art as activism in the Civil Rights era, forms of artistic resistance to Latin American military dictatorships, second wave feminist art,
contemporary community-based art, and forms of engaged art practice concerned with planet-wide environmental crisis. We will debate the
tactics and ideals guiding these practices, and we will evaluate the potential risks that come with relying on art for social transformation. This
course alternates short lecture periods with in-class discussion of primary and secondary sources. It is structured around six thematic blocs, at
the end of which students will produce a short written assignment.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, PEAC, GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/
ARTH 048. 20th Century Latin American Art
This introductory course exposes students to the histories, theories, and forms of modern art in Latin America in the 20th Century. The course
explores the development of artistic scenes in the continent, and how avant-garde art practices have engaged a variety of nation-building
programs -either as reinforcements or as refutations. During this course students will become familiar with scholarship and critical frameworks
formulated in Latin America, as well as in the United States.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
ARTH 052. Global Renaissance
The "Global Renaissance," focuses on Europe's relations with Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East in the early era of colonization
and global expansion.
Students will explore what the visual arts can reveal about the transfer of ideas and the growth of global trade and cultural/religious conflict in
this era of increasing internationalism. We will focus on cross-cultural exchange in the 15
th
and 16
th
centuries, and consider these issues
primarily from the European perception of the expanding world. The theme of globalism will be addressed though the lens not only of painting,
sculpture and architecture, but also objects that are not typically considered "high art" such as maps, textiles, festival art, and ceramics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Core
ARTH 072. Global History of Architecture: Prehistory to 1750 CE
This survey will provide an introduction to the history of the global built environment from the earliest human settlements to the middle of the
second millennium. Chronologically and geographically broad, we will examine selected works of architecture and urbanism from diverse
cultures around the world, commencing ca. 10,000 B.C.E. and ending around 1750 C.E. In doing so, we will interpret the built environment as
both a product of its social, political, and cultural contexts and a force that shapes those contexts. Despite a diversity of examples, common
themes--such as cultural interaction and exchange, religion and belief, transmission of knowledge, architectural patronage, spatial and aesthetic
innovation, and technological transformation--will emerge across the course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- Core, MDST
Fall 2022. Goldstein.
Fall 2023. TBA
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Core
ARTH 073. Global History of Architecture: 1800-Present
This survey will visit some of the major structures, events, and innovations that defined the global built environment in the last six centuries,
beginning with the Renaissance and its contemporaries and extending through Modernism. Our consideration will go beyond a history of style to
examine the built environment as a product of and force acting on its broader social, political, and cultural contexts. We will pay attention to
architecture and urbanism from the place of work to the place of leisure; from sites belonging to the very powerful to those belonging to the
disenfranchised; and from those designed by well-known figures to those without known designers. Themes will include power, belief, technology,
industrialization, trade, patronage, professionalization, identity, empire, and urbanization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Goldstein.
Spring 2024. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Core
ARTH 160. Global Contemporary Art: Honors Seminar
What is 'Global Contemporary Art'? Since the end of the Cold War, contemporary art has experienced a phenomenon of rapid planet wide
expansion. Over 600 art fairs and biennial exhibitions structure a network where artworks, art professionals, and ideas circulate periodically,
informing a community autonomous -yet connected to- local art scenes. In these last three decades, avant-garde art as practiced in Europe and
the United States has expanded to acquire planetary visibility. Simultaneously, traditions of art making from other regions of the world have been
welcomed -albeit in altered fashion-, into the central stages of the artworld. As historians, artists, and critics: How do we make sense of this
shift? More importantly: How do we fit in this picture?
In this seminar, students will learn about the institutional, epistemic, and sociopolitical processes involved in the formation of 'global
contemporary art' as a new art historical category. We will study the role that exhibitions, academia, and the art market play in the setting of
artistic trends, while we analyze how these influences materialize in the practice of artists around the globe. During the semester students will
engage with primary sources such as artworks and artists writings, and secondary sources from the art industry and academia alike. At the end
of this course, students will be ready to describe the political, economic, and cultural processes active in the globalization of the art industry
since 1990, and reflect on the consequences of this process in academic, practiced, and curatorial approaches to contemporary art.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
Writing.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL - Core
Spring 2024. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
Biology
BIOL 034. Evolution
The course focuses on how the genetic and phenotypic structure of a population changes in response to mutation, natural selection, migration,
and genetic drift. Other topics, such as quantitative genetics, speciation, phylogeography, and adaptation, provide a broader view of
evolutionary processes.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 and BIOL 002.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period or field trip per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Fall 2022. Formica.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Core
BIOL 036. Ecology
Spring 2022: How do organisms interact with each other and their environment? In Ecology, we will tackle this question by building quantitative
skills and applying them on the Swarthmore campus. Students will learn to model population growth and species interactions at the community
level in the R programming environment and gain experience with the field and lab skills ecologists use to understand and manage global
change. Through collaboration with local stakeholders and engagement with both Indigenous and Western approaches to understanding humans'
connection with the natural world, we will design and implement an ecological restoration project in the Crum Woods. Students do not need to
have previous fieldwork or R experience, but should be interested in cultivating these skills!
Fall 2022 & Fall 2023: The goal of ecology is to explain the distribution and abundance of organisms in nature through an understanding of how
they interact with their abiotic and biotic environments. Students will gain ecological literacy and practice by studying processes that operate
within and between hierarchical levels or organization such as individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems. All this knowledge will be
applied to understand the current global changes occurring in nature as a result of human activities.
Prerequisite: BIOL 002, or permission of the instructor. ENVS 001 accepted as pre-requisite Spring 2022.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Fall 2022: Three to 6 hours of laboratory and/or fieldwork in the Crum Woods per week, in addition to at least one field trip per semester.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Grossman.
Fall 2022. Machado.
Fall 2023. Machado.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Core
BIOL 037. Conservation Biology
Cross-listed as (ENVS 063 )
This course provides an overview of the foundational concepts and future horizons of biodiversity conservation and illustrates central issues in
contemporary conservation with case studies, critical reading of primary literature, field experiences and exposure to quantitative methods
Prerequisite: BIOL 002 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period or field trip per week.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Fall 2022. Caviedes-Solis.
Fall 2023. Caviedes-Solis.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Core
BIOL 042. Climate Change Science and Communication
cross listed as ENVS 061
Climate change is shaped by and shapes biological processes from the individual to the biome. In this course, students will develop a
foundational understanding of the physical and geochemical factors underlying Earth's changing climate, the impact of such changes on the
biological systems, and the consequences for human-environment interactions. Students will also develop strategic communication skills for
sustainability through practice with research-tested science communication tools. Course meetings will be split between lecture, hands-on
activities, paper discussions, and workshops.
Prerequisite: BIOL 001 or 002 and one additional NSE course or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS., GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Core
BIOL 137. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Can the current decline in global biodiversity alter the functioning and stability of ecosystems? The answer to this question can be reached by
evaluating the ecological consequences of changing patterns in biodiversity, through either extinction or addition of species. We will review the
relative or specific role of extrinsic factors (climate, disturbance, soils, etc.), genetic, taxonomic, and functional diversity in ecosystem
functioning using both experimental and natural evidence.
Prerequisite: Any Group III intermediate biology course. Students who have taken a Group I or Group II intermediate course may register with
consent of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Machado.
Catalog chapter: Biology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/biology
Core
Black Studies
BLST 033. African Cinemas
This course is an introduction to the filmmakers and history of the cinemas (film, video, and new media) of the African continent, focusing
primarily on Francophone West Africa. Students will be introduced to key film concepts and will develop their ability to write critically on the
moving image. Discussion immediately follows each film. Readings and course discussion are in English. Films are subtitled in English.
0.5
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-Paired
Chemistry
CHEM 015. Environmental Chemistry
(Cross-listed as ENVS 060) The course covers selected aspects of atmospheric chemistry, aquatic chemistry, and soil chemistry. There will be a
specific focus on the environmentally important element cycles for C, N, O, P, and S in the absence and presence of current human activity. The
chemistry of organic pollutants across the three zones will also be examined. The course content will involve a discussion of relevant current
events.
Prerequisite: CHEM 010 or CHEM 010 HN ; or discretion of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
One laboratory period weekly.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Graves
Catalog chapter: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chemistry-biochemistry
Core
Chinese
CHIN 015. Intro to East Asian Humanities
(Cross-listed as ASIA 015, LITR 015CH)
This course is a survey of East Asian literatures and cultural histories from antiquity to around 1800. The primary purpose is to provide students
with a basic literacy in East Asian cultures and literatures with substantive emphasis on topics common across East Asia, such as the classical
traditions and cosmology, the Chinese script, Buddhism, the civil service examination, folklore, theater, literature, and medicine. This course is a
colloquium designed to meet the needs of students just beginning their study of China, Japan and Korea, who would like to explore the region
broadly; and those who have already done substantial study of China or Japan and welcome the chance to situate it within the larger context of
traditional East Asia. This course will provide students with information and approaches to analyze primary sources in translation through
assigned postings and short writing assignments.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Paired
CHIN 065. Peking Opera and Globalization
(Cross-listed as LITR 065CH)
By using cultural globalization as an explanatory framework built on the foundation of historical studies, this course enables students to conduct
critical and interdisciplinary analysis of Peking opera, a living theatrical tradition commonly considered to be the "national theater" of China.
The central question we ask is: How have the cultural dimensions of globalization-transnational flows of technology, media, and popular culture-
intensified Peking opera's connection to urban culture, archival digitalization, visual arts, politics of style, Chinese nationalist ideology and
intercultural influences in America? Students not only engage with scholarly literature that cuts across different disciplines and
genres (including theater anthropology, cultural history, cinema, music, literature, and art history), but also are introduced to a rich body of
sources, ranging from photographs to opera films and documentaries. They have the opportunity to learn some basics of singing and movement
and conduct field trips to study with Peking opera troupes in the Chinese community in Philadelphia.
No previous knowledge of Chinese literature or culture is required. All texts are provided in English translation.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Paired
Comparative Literature
CPLT 021. Performance in Early Modern Europe
(Cross-listed as DANC 021)
How do we define performance in early modern Europe? This course explores multi-genre traditions through forms including court ballet,
comedy-ballet, opera, bourgeois drama, and ballet d'action in order to raise questions that are equally relevant for us today: How do we study
something that is fleeting? What is the relationship between "text" and performance? This course explores the hybrid genres of dance, mime,
music, and drama from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in order to analyze their present relevance as "art." Artists and theorists studied
will include Diderot, Noverre, Molière, Garrick, Goldoni, Sulzer, and others.
Taught in English. There is a .5 credit attachment for students reading in French.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, Dance 002, but this new version is open to any student, without any
prerequisite. If you have taken Dance 002, you are not able to enroll in CPLT 021.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired
Fall 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
Paired
Dance
DANC 004. Arts in Action
(Cross-listed as MUSI 006)
What is art and what constitutes action? The course will explore these questions in two ways: First, we will look at the interconnections between
culture, art, and community through rigorous intellectual inquiry by orienting students to some key ideas through selected readings. Second, we
will engage in situated learning with local and international arts communities. We will have community leaders from our local communities as
guest speakers in addition to two webinars planned for the class on the intersections of the arts, citizenship, and justice: one focusing on the U.S
and Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and the other focusing on India and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Our areas of foci will be
local (Philadelphia)and international (India) for cross-cultural engagements with the arts and the burning issues of the times. Both webinars
will have renowned academics and artists/activists from the U.S and India as well as emerging artists and scholars to make them rich and
intergenerational conversations. As a required activity for the class you will be asked to volunteer your time as interns with the Lang center
community partners. Class requirements include readings, video viewing, and discussions, participating in webinars, keeping a regular journal,
volunteer work, and doing a final project to be discussed in class.
This course is open to all students. This course fulfills a prerequisite requirement for dance majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH, GLBL-core
Fall 2023. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Core
DANC 021. Performance in Early Modern Europe
( Cross-listed as CPLT 021 )
How do we define performance in early modern Europe? This course explores multi-
genre traditions through forms including court ballet, comedy-ballet, opera, bourgeois
drama, and ballet d'action in order to raise questions that are equally relevant for us
today: How do we study something that is fleeting? What is the relationship between
"text" and performance? This course explores the hybrid genres of dance, mime, music,
and drama from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in order to analyze their
present relevance as "art." Artists and theorists studied will include Diderot, Noverre,
Molière, Garrick, Goldoni, Sulzer, and others.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, Dance
002. If you have taken Dance 002, you are not able to enroll in DANC 021.
This course fulfills a requirement for Music or Dance majors and minors.
Open to all students.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, CPLT, FRST
Fall 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: Music and Dance: Dance
Paired
DANC 022. Ballet & Modern Dance in Europe & North America 1789-1960
(Cross-listed as MUSI 026)
This survey examines the history of ballet and modern dance in Europe and North America from 1789 to the late twentieth century in context with
concurrent social and political developments. Using sources including film, text, and performance, we will study the works of choreographers
including George Balanchine, Katherine Dunham, Martha Graham, and Marius Petipa.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Paired
DANC 025A. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as ANTH 020J)
How do we locate competing claims of globalization, place-ness, and hybridization of cultural identity in a single frame? Dance offers an
unconventional but powerful frame for studying such competing claims of identity formation. This course will explore the interrelated themes of
performance, gender, personhood, and migration in the context of diasporic experiences. By focusing on specific dance forms from Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, we will examine the trajectories of the global and the local in constructing identity and difference. Students will engage with
theories on nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, as well as embodiment and experience. Broadly, the course will investigate the
interlocking structures of aesthetics and politics, economics and culture, and history and power, all of which inform and continue to reshape
these cultures and their dance forms.
The primary goal for this course is to develop an understanding of cross-cultural identity and difference through the study of dance in
contemporary society. The readings will introduce students to the constructed nature of cultural traditions and the contested nature of cultural
identities. The writing goals are to teach students how to read critically and write within the disciplines of Anthropology, Dance/Culture Studies,
Black Studies, and Global Studies. This course is eligible for credit towards a major or minor in Black Studies.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Core
Economics
ECON 015. Economic Poverty and Inequality
This course examines the causes and consequences of poverty and (income and wealth) inequality. Topics covered include measurement,
mobility, and the impact of globalization, technical change, taxation, and aid. Micro interventions and macro initiatives are contrasted. Public
policies and programs aimed at prevention, alleviation, and redistribution are analyzed and evaluated. The developed and developing country
contexts are considered.
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Core
ECON 051. International Trade and Finance
This course surveys the theory of trade (microeconomics) and of the balance of payments and exchange rates (macroeconomics). The theories
are used to analyze topics such as trade patterns, trade barriers, flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international
monetary system, and macroeconomic interdependence.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ,PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Core
ECON 054. Global Capitalism Since 1920
This course will study global capitalism over the last century, focusing on the interplay between events, economic theories and policies. The
issues to be examined include: financial market booms and busts; business cycles; inequality; the social welfare state; technological change and
economic growth; and international trade and financial arrangements. The time period covers: the Roaring Twenties; the Great Depression, the
post war Golden Age (1945-1973); the stagflation of the 1970s; the Thatcher-Reagan-Greenspan-Bush era of market liberalization (1980-2007);
and the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2007-2010. Economic theories include: the classical laissez-faire view; Schumpeter's theory of
"creative destruction"; Keynes and the "neo-classical synthesis" advocating a mixed economy; Minsky's theory of financial instability; Friedman,
the efficient-markets hypothesis, and the "new classical" critiques of government interventions; and emerging ideas in response to the present
crisis. The course will chronicle and compare economic policy and performance of the United States, Europe, Japan, and the developing world
(Asia, Latin America, Africa).
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Core
ECON 055. Behavioral Economics
In the past 50 years, economists have increasingly used insights from psychology to explore the limitations of the standard economic model of
rational decision making - a field now known as "behavioral economics." This course is an introduction to the central concepts of behavioral
economics, touching on related research in psychology and experimental economics. We will also discuss the public policy implications of this
work, and current policy applications of behavioral research around the world. Topics covered include: self-control, procrastination, fairness,
cooperation and reciprocity, reference dependence, and choice under uncertainty.
Cannot receive credit for both ECON 055 and ECON 003.
Prerequisite: ECON 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Bhanot.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Core
ECON 074. Economics of the Family
The family plays a key role in economic systems, as a consumer of goods and services
and as a supplier of inputs, particularly labor. Microeconomics can help us understand
a range of topics about the family and household including decisions about fertility, child
rearing, household management, marriage and divorce, immigration, and labor
supply. Our focus will be on the contemporary American family, but we will also
consider international and historical perspectives and the influence of public policy.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Fall 2021. Magenheim.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Paired
ECON 075. Health Economics
This course applies microeconomic theory, including models from behavioral economics, to analyze consumers', producers', and the
government's behavior with respect to health and health care. Special attention will be paid to the role of socioeconomic and demographic
factors in explaining patterns of health and access to health care. Other topics include environmental health, international comparisons of health
and health care systems, and ongoing state and federal health care policy reform.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Magenheim.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Magenheim.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Paired
ECON 079. The Health of Nations
The United States spends far more per person on health care than comparable countries, but many other countries enjoy better health and longer
life expectancy. This is partly explained by differences in health care systems, but there are other factors that influence population health,
including income, education, employment, housing, environmental conditions, emotional stress, social support, and access to health care. We
will look at how these factors-coupled with decision making by individuals, firms, and governments-influence population health across countries,
in aggregate and by race, ethnicity, gender, and age.
Prerequisite: EC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core.
Core
ECON 081. Economic Development
A survey covering the principal theories of economic development and the dominant issues of public policy in low-income countries. Topics
include the determinants of economic growth and income distribution, the role of the agricultural sector, the acquisition of technological
capability, the design of poverty-targeting programs, the choice of exchange rate regime, and the impacts of international trade and capital flows
(including foreign aid).
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. O'Connell.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Core
ECON 082. Political Economy of Africa
A survey of the post-independence development experience of Sub-Saharan Africa. We study policy choices in their political and institutional
context, using case-study evidence and the analytical tools of positive political economy. Topics include development from a natural resource
base, conflict and nation building, risk management by firms and households, poverty reduction policies, globalization and trade, and the
effectiveness of foreign aid.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Paired
ECON 083. East Asian Economies
This course will provide an overview of the East Asian economy and the economic inter-dependencies that characterize the region. After
providing an understanding of the factors that have made East Asia the most dynamic in the world economy, current challenges of the region will
be given particular attention. Topics that will be addressed include: economic growth in East Asia; trade and economic growth; the East Asian
trade-production network; East Asia's role in global imbalances; the Asian financial crisis; financial cooperation in East Asia; monetary
cooperation in East Asia; East Asia's role in global economic governance; inequality in East Asia; demographic challenges of East Asian
countries; environmental challenges and the move to sustainable economics.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Paired
ECON 084. Latin American Economies
A survey of the development experience of Latin American countries. We study policy choices in their political and institutional context.
Topics include Latin American economic history, informality in labor markets, pension reform, antitrust policy, regional economic integration
and trade, debt and currency crises, and the effectiveness of foreign aid.
Guest speakers from universities across Latin America will present on topics pertinent to their own countries. We plan to visit the World Bank
and the Interamerican Development Bank (most likely virtually due to COVID restrictions) to learn about their projects and lending in the LA
region.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Olivero.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 151. International Economics
Both microeconomics and macroeconomics are applied to an in-depth analysis of the world economy. Topics include trade patterns, trade
barriers, international flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international monetary system, financial crises, macroeconomic
interdependence, the roles of organizations such as the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, and case studies of selected
industrialized, developing, and transition countries.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC, GLBL Core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Core
Educational Studies
EDUC 064. Comparative Education
This course examines key issues and themes in education as they play out in local and global contexts around the world. We use case studies to
explore the roles of local, national, and international actors and organizations in the construction of educational policy and practice. Topics will
include immigration and schooling, equity, curriculum goals and constructs, and education in areas of conflict.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- Core
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
Core
English Literature
ENGL 047A. Asian American Literature and Culture
Treated as "forever foreign," not quite a minority (a "model"), Asians resurface in U.S. national culture from time to time, remembered anew
amid perennial forgetting. To what extent does Asian American invisibility betray a constitutive role in U.S. history? After reviewing the rise of
Asian American studies, this course will chart the shifting place of Asians in the modernizing of America by examining im/migration, empire's
wars, and the interracial future/diaspora through literary and cultural texts as well as ethnic historiography and criticism. In providing a critical
history of Asian America, this course expands the field's foundational concerns toward a transpacific and hemispheric Asia/America while
exploring minor adoptions and resistances of America, including of its aesthetic and social movements. Texts may include Crazy Rich
Asians, The Year of the Dragon, America is in the Heart, Philippine-American War editorial cartoons, Obasan, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, We
Should Never Meet, Tropic of Orange, Robot Stories, I'm Not Saying I'm Just Saying, Homecoming King, Immigrant Acts, Coolies and
Cane, Impossible Subjects, Soldiering through Empire, The Oriental Obscene, Alien Capital, Partly Colored, and Dangerous Crossings. Students
will be evaluated based on class participation and presentations, written responses, (con)textual analysis, and comparative analysis or genre
recreation.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047B. Alternate War Histories of Asia/America
In what ways do cultural disparities and conflictual historical experiences lead to not only different perceptions of reality but in fact multiple
realities? Anchored in two wars-World War II, from which the US emerged as a world power, and the Vietnam War, the first televised war and
America's "unwinnable war"-this course focuses on Asian/American entanglement and the worlds to which it gives rise. There are multiple
Japans that emerged in World War II: the empire that might have conquered the US, as imagined in the alternate history of The Man in the High
Castle; the lost land of origin that has brought trauma on its "heirs," the Japanese interned by the US; the Japan experienced by comfort women
in Asia. Similarly, the story of the Vietnam War has been told almost exclusively from an American viewpoint. Yet The Sympathizer promises to
tell another story: not only of the US in Vietnam as seen by the Vietnamese but of the Vietnamese in America, indeed of two Vietnams. What
might we learn from alternate (hi)stories about the political functions and ontological power of narrative? Texts may include The Man in the
High Castle, No-No Boy, Comfort Woman, The World at War, Cold War, Apocalypse Now, Vietnam War protest poetry, The Sympathizer, Night
Sky with Exit Wounds, We Should Never Meet, Forgetting Vietnam, Maya Lin, and the Vietnamese Oral History Project, along with theoretical
texts on war and reality. Students will be evaluated based on class participation and presentations, written responses, (con)textual analysis, and
comparative analysis.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired, PEAC.
Fall 2021. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047D. Southeast Asian Literature in English
In traditional terms the part of the world between China and India, Southeast Asia lies at a global crossroads where the giants of the continent
have historically spread their influence and where the East met the West due to the European scramble for "the (East) Indies." Its position at
these borderlands has made Southeast Asia one of the world's most diverse, but also liminal, sites, as indicated by its elision in history and
literary studies (including in postcolonial studies, if not as much in area studies). Given the minor role to which it is relegated in the world and in
Asia, how does the history of Southeast Asia get narrated in its literature-in particular, in literature written in or translated into English, the
postwar lingua franca? This course charts modern Southeast Asian history through literature from or about its different periods-from the
colonial era to the world between the wars to independence to the contemporary time. In the process, we will examine the literary strategies
invented and adopted by locals to tell their (version of) history as well as the language of transmission-a language that, as it becomes more and
more universal, might efface the very thing for which we are looking. Readings will come from mainland and maritime Southeast Asia as well as
the diaspora and may include Dumb Luck, The Harmony Silk Factory, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Only a Girl, Insurrecto, Virtual Lotus,
and A/PART.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 072. Global Modernisms: Anticolonial Modernism
In this course, we will survey global fiction from the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries, tracing an arc of modernist literary practices that
extends beyond the largely American and European coterie of high modernists. We will put pressure on the geopolitics of literary modernism(s),
exploring how historical currents and theoretical frameworks breed new critical lenses for modernist form. And we will ask: what does it mean to
be modernist?
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Core
ENGL 076. The World, the Text, and the Critic
This core course introduces students to critical approaches in contemporary global literatures. We will explore how literature represents the
relationship between "the West and the Rest," and examine our own relation to colonial and postcolonial histories. Novels include White Teeth,
The God of Small Things, and Heart of Redness.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Core
ENGL 089. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020M, ENVS 043)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offer students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, ESCH, GSST, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Core
ENGL 092. Marxist Literary and Cultural Studies
How has Marxist thought informed the study of literature and culture, and how does Marxism speak to us today? This class provides a grounding
in the work of Marx and Engels and then investigates how a range of more recent writers have built upon their ideas, particularly in relation to
questions about race, gender, sexuality, and late capitalism. We will try out these interpretive approaches on a selection of primary texts,
including poetry, pop music, advertisements, radical newspapers, fiction, and film--some assigned and some generated by the class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Cohen.
Fall 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Core
ENGL 117. Theories and Literatures of Globalization
This seminar examines the literary and cultural dimensions of globalization. Pairing novels and short stories by major global writers with
ethnographic and historical texts, we will examine the relationship between colonialism and postcolonialism; modernity and globalization; racial
formation and the nation-state. By developing a critical engagement with theories of identity and difference, we will explore the ways in which
global literatures engender new politics of nationalism, race, and sexuality.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Core
ENGL 121. Modernism and Forgetting
This course is an advanced research seminar on the literatures, cultures, and theories of modernism. Central questions include: How do aspects
of psychic life, such as mourning and trauma, exert pressure on literary form? Why do memory's material traces (the archive, the photograph)
enthrall the modernist imagination? What ethical or political values attend literary projects of remembering? Of forgetting? We will situate
modernist literary practice alongside psychoanalytic, postcolonial, queer, and feminist critique.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Core
Engineering
ENGR 004A. Environmental Protection
This course covers fundamentals of analysis for environmental problems in the areas of water pollution, air pollution, solid and hazardous
wastes, water and energy supply, and resource depletion, with an emphasis on technological solutions. Topics include scientific concepts
necessary to understand local and global pollution problems, pollution control and renewable energy technologies, public policy developments
related to regulation of pollutants, and methods of computer-based systems analysis for developing economically effective environmental
protection policies. ENGR 004A may not be used to fulfill the requirements for the engineering major or minor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH and GLBL - Core.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
Core
ENGR 007. Art and Engineering of Structures
This introduction to the basic principles of structural analysis and design includes an emphasis on the historical development of modern
structural engineering. It is suitable for students planning to study architecture or architectural history, or who have an interest in structures.
This course includes a laboratory and is designed for students not majoring in engineering. Usually offered in alternate years.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
Core
ENGR 010. Fundamentals of Food Engineering
In this course, we will study the scientific principles that will enable students to understand why a variety of ingredients, recipes, and cooking
processes function the way they do, and why they sometimes don't work as well as expected. The course will include lectures, demonstrations, and
laboratory exercises. There are no prerequisites for this course, and it is open to all students, but it cannot be used to fulfill the requirements for
a major or a minor in engineering.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core.
Spring 2022. Molter.
Spring 2023. Molter.
Catalog chapter: Engineering
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/engineering
Core
Environmental Studies
ENVS 022. Environmental Policy and Politics
(Cross-listed as POLS 043)
Topics in environmental politics, policy, and law. In the United States, we focus on national regulation and proposals for more flexible responses
to achieve environmental goals; environmental movements and environmental justice; the role of science in democratic policy-making; courts
and the impact of federalism, the commerce clause, and rights on regulation. The course also considers the role and efficacy of supranational
institutions and NGOs and controversies between more and less developed nations. Topics include most of the following: air and water pollution,
common-pool resource problems, toxic and radioactive waste, sustainable development, food, natural resource management, wilderness,
environmental racism, effects of climate change.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, CBL, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
GLBL-Paired
ENVS 042. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089E)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
First year students need instructor's approval.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST, INTP
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Core
Film and Media Studies
FMST 025. Television Studies
This course introduces students to major trends in critical thought regarding electronic media, including the rise of broadcast television, recent
developments in narrowcast or niche programming and distribution, and the relationship among media industries, advertisers, and audiences.
Special attention will be given to probing and historicizing the formal concepts of broadcast and digital TV, examining our ongoing cultural
adaptation to emerging screen technologies and their attendant narrative and audiovisual forms. Coursework includes weekly blogging, one
analytical paper, presentations, and the production of a creative TV-related project.
Required of majors for classes 2024 and after.
Prerequisite: FMST 001
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, DGHU, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
Core
FMST 050. What on Earth Is World Cinema?
Is there such a thing as world cinema, or is the concept a naïve or imperialist one? What is the relationship between "world cinema" and national
cinemas? What is "national" about national cinemas? This course introduces students to theoretical debates about the categorization and global
circulation of films, film style, authorship, and audiences through case studies drawn from Iranian, Indian, East Asian (Korea, Taiwan), Latin
American, European, and U.S. independent cinemas. Special attention to how film festivals, journalism, and cinephile culture confer value.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
Core
FMST 051. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 051G, GMST 051)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
Paired
FMST 058. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with LITR 078F.
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
French and Francophone Studies
FREN 015. Advanced French II: La France et le monde francophone contemporain (W course)
This course gives students the opportunity to further develop French language skills through the study of articles, essays, and images. Engage in
reading, discussing, and writing about cultural and visual texts selected from ads, newspapers, literature, television shows, comic strips, videos,
and film from France and the Francophone World. Controverses (textbook) will be used for learning in-depth the art of writing in French.
Particular attention will be paid to oral and written communication and cultural analysis. FREN 014 or placement required.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Spring 2022. Robison.
Fall 2022. Robison.
Spring 2023. Yervasi.
Fall 2023. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
Paired
FREN 045B. La France et le Maghreb
This course examines the relationship between France and the Maghreb, two cultural spaces that are simultaneously united and divided by their
common violent colonial history. Through the study of novels, films, art work and theoretical texts, we will trace the evolution of this conflicted
relationship from the 1950's to present times. We will focus, in particular, on the following topics: (post) colonialism and nationalism, diglossia
and Francophonie, gendered representation, immigration and exile, transculturation and globalization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
Paired
FREN 045D. Le monde francophone: Cinémas africains
This course is an introduction to the filmmakers and history of Francophone West African cinemas, including film, video, and new media.
Students will study the history and culture of this region, be introduced to key film concepts, and develop their ability to do in-depth film analysis.
Students must attend weekly screenings.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, FMST, GLBL-paired
Spring 2024. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
Paired
FREN 111. Désir (post)colonial
This course addresses how the colonial encounter has shaped modern perceptions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through the
production, circulation and consumption of deformed images of its colonial subjects. From noble savages and whimpering slaves to hideous
monsters and seductive harem girls, we will examine the dynamics of representation embedded in colonial narrations and visual constructions of
the "Other," focusing on conceptualizations of power as they relate to race, sexual politics and the gendering of the colonial subject. Primary
texts include literature of the slave trade, orientalist fictions and photographs, colonial films, museum exhibitions and world's fairs, and
contemporary works of fiction that deal with the legacy and sometimes continue the colonial desire.
Has a Francophone component. May be taken for 1 credit with permission from the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM, GSST, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
Paired
Gender and Sexuality Studies
GSST 056. Outbreak Narratives: A Medical Humanities Exploration of Literature on Germs, Vampires, and
Other Plagues
Crosslisted GMST 056/LITR 056G
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze literature depicting both
contagious outbreaks and life in isolation. This literary examination will also allow students to explore the ethics of cure and human
experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self. We will find that outbreak narratives enable us both to explore the intriguing possibility
of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of
shared vulnerability.
Using literature in English translation to explore contemporary reactions to cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well as to vampires, we will consider
how race, gender, class, and historical époques shape illness stories. Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfriede Jelinek, Thomas
Mann, Heinrich Heine, Fanny Lewald, Namwali Serpell, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Bertha von Suttner.
1
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Paired
German Studies
GMST 020. Topics in German Studies I
Topic F'22:
Literature and Cultural Context
This fifth semester class explores key moments in the literary history of Germany (and other German-speaking countries) by reading a series of
canonical texts within their socio-cultural and historical context. The class emphasizes reading and writing skills and critical engagement with
and
questioning of the texts read in the class.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or Placement Test Score of 550 and above.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Werlen.
Fall 2023. Werlen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Paired
GMST 056. Outbreak Narratives: A Medical Humanities Exploration of Literature on Germs, Vampires, and
Other Plagues
(Cross-listed as LITR 056G)
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze German literature
depicting contagious outbreaks, life in isolation, and explore the ethics of cure and human experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self, to explore the intriguing possibility of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly
shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of shared vulnerability. Using German literature in
English translation to explore literature on the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well on as vampires, we will consider how race, gender,
class, and historical époques shape illness stories. In particular, we will look at the power dynamics that code contagions either as negative
(where it refers, for instance, to a potentially deadly disease) or as positive (where it refers to contagious affects or an exchange of
ideas). Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfreide Jelinek, Thomas Mann, J. W. Goethe, Fanny Lewald, Heinrich Heine, Franz
Kafka, Bertha von Suttner.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Paired
History
HIST 003A. Modern Europe, 1789 to 1918: Revolutionaries, Citizens, and Subjects in Europe's Long 19th
Century
This course surveys European history from the French Revolution to the aftermath of World War I. We will explore the European revolutionary
tradition, the extension of citizenship, the emergence of nationalism, and the territorial expansion of Europe. The course will hone your primary
source analysis skills.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Fall 2021. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 003B. Modern Europe, 1918 to the Present: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, Culture Wars
This course surveys major developments in Europe from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 006B. The Modern Middle East
This survey class introduces students to Middle Eastern history from the late eighteenth century to the present. We will cover the major political,
social, and cultural developments in the region during this period and examine how Middle Eastern societies and cultures have been represented
over the last two centuries.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Shokr.
Spring 2023. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 007B. African American History, 1865 to Present
Students in History 7B investigate the history of African Americans from Reconstruction through the 21st century. Historical monographs,
autobiography, film, and literature reveal the story of emancipation, political activism, industrialization, and transformations in cultural identity
from Jim Crow to the election of the nation's first Black president.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 008A. West Africa in the Era of the Slave Trade, 1500 to 1850
This survey course focuses on the origins and impact of the slave trade on West African societies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Burke.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 030. Glory Days? Western Europe's Postwar 1945-1975
Though sometimes called the trente glorieuses (glorious thirty), the decades after World War II witnessed upheaval in Western Europe. We will
analyze these years, which witnessed the Marshall Plan, decolonization, and student protest. We will interrogate how to define a Western
European space, with an eye toward empire, European integration, and the Cold War.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 036. Fascinating Fascism
This course explores the various manifestations of fascism as an ideological, cultural, and political movement in Europe from 1919 to 1945.
Special attention will be paid to Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania, and England.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Core
HIST 060. The East India Company, 1600-1857
The course explores the history of the East India Company, paying special attention to the 18th century and attending to how the history of the
East India Company engages questions of capitalism, empire, race, justice, and modernity.
Prerequisite: A HU or SS course within TriCo.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 065. Cities of (Im)migrants: Buenos Aires, Lima, Philadelphia, and New York
Why do people move? Who participates in the migration process? How do local political, cultural, and economic conditions and broader global
capitalist forces shape individual/family decisions to migrate? What forces mold (im)migrants' adjustments to the new cities? When do
(im)migrant groups become communities? This course explores the adjustment of European immigrants in Buenos Aires, internal migrants in
Lima, and Latinos in Philadelphia and New York and their roles in the making of modern metropolis.
Prerequisite: HIST or LALS course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Core
HIST 066. Making Sense of Being Sick: the Social Construction of Diseases in the Modern World
Discussing Latin American, European, African, Asian, and North American cases, this course examines public health strategies in colonial and
neocolonial contexts; disease metaphors in media, cinema, and literature; ideas about hygiene, segregation and contagion; outbreaks and the
politics of blame; the medicalization of society; and alternative healing cultures.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core, INTP, LALS
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Core
HIST 067T. Digging through the American Tobacco Archives: Public Health, Corporate Deception, and
Cigarette Smoking in the 20th Century
This course examines the worldwide transformation of cigarette smoking from a celebrated and well-accepted habit into a medicalized, risky, and
regulated practice. We will research the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Archive, an online repository with thousands of documents produced
by the deceptive workings of big American tobacco corporations aiming at undermining the medicalization of the cigarette smoking habit
worldwide. Individual or group research projects might deal with the Latin American region or other areas of the world.
Prerequisite: HIST or LALS course.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 080B. Biopower vs Necropolitics: Empires of Life and Death, 1622-2003
"Biopower" and "necropolitics" - two of the major buzz-words of our time - are often used interchangeably even though Achille Mbembe, who
coined the term "necropolitics" (the politics of death) in a seminal article from 2003, was critiquing the idea of "biopower" (the politics of life) as
it had been developed for decades in the work of Michel Foucault. This course locates these two concepts in the work of these two scholars. We
will study the periods they reference - from the Jamestown Massacre in 1622 to the "War on Terror" in the early 2000s - and look as well at the
work they have inspired. In the first two weeks of the class, we will use these concepts and historical readings to create an alternative timeline of
imperial history. The final projects will explore how this alternate timeline can help us write better, deeper, and more convincing histories of the
present.
Prerequisite: A history, HU, political science, sociology, or anthropology course at Swarthmore or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Core
HIST 126. Internationalism and Supranationalism in Modern Europe
This honors seminar will analyze experiments and schemes for organizing the world, ranging from realized projects like the League of Nations
and the European Economic Community to unrealized projects like the European Defense Community. We will discuss internationalism and
integration in a variety of forms, ranging from Third Worldist solidarity to cultural projects like Eurovision. Emphasis will be placed on the goals
of internationalism, tensions between internationalism and nationalism, and historiographical debates about international institutions' legacies.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 143. Political Economy of the Middle East: Theory & History
This honors seminar will survey existing literature on the political economy of the Middle East. We will read work from various subfields in
Middle East history, including labor history, social history, agrarian history, histories of women and gender, histories of colonialism and
decolonization, environmental history, and histories of economic thought. In doing so, we will engage both older traditions of historical and
social scientific inquiry and more recent, theoretically innovative scholarship that is advancing a renewed interest in the study of political
economy and assess the contributions and/or merits of different approaches.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
HIST 149. Reform and Revolutions in Modern Latin America
The historical problem of change-political, economic, social, and cultural-in peripheral Latin America. It emphasizes nation-building capitalist
ideas, populist experiences that produced deep reformist transformations, and revolutionary processes that started very radical and over time
became moderate.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, LALS, PEAC
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Paired
Japanese
JPNS 036. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as PEAC 036, ENVS 047)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Paired
JPNS 073. Transnational Japanese Literature: Diversity and Diaspora in Modern Japanese Literature
Cross-listed with LITR 073J
This seminar-style course will challenge the myths of Japanese ethnic homogeny and cultural isolation and will explore how modern "Japanese"
literature crosses national and cultural borders. Topics to be examined include Japanese authors writing from abroad, colonial and postcolonial
literatures, migration and writing in the Japanese diaspora, and the writings of ethnic minorities in Japan, including writers from Okinawa and
Japan's resident Korean community. Readings and discussion will be in English but students with reading knowledge of Japanese will be
encouraged to read works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, ASIA, INTP, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Russian
RUSS 014. The Russian Novel: Revolution, Terror and Resistance
(Cross-listed as LITR 014R)
What does a culture look like after it undergoes a series of revolutions-sexual, political, linguistic-in short succession? To answer this question,
this course surveys the Russian novel and its contexts from the years following the Bolshevik Revolution, through the Soviet period, and into the
post-Cold War era.
A battle of values in the early USSR between a rebel and a sausage maker. First love and the Russo-Japanese war through the eyes of a child. A
dystopian, Kafkaesque tale of an individual awaiting his execution. Stalin's purges, Gulag labor camps, and the women who fight for their sons.
A murder-mystery in the depths of the Russian provinces. The fall of the Soviet Union and the tragedy of those it left behind. A time traveler born
in 1900 who awakens in 1999 and must reconstruct the Russian 20th Century.
All are welcome. Taught in translation. No previous knowledge of Russian language or culture required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 026. Russian and East European Science Fiction
(Cross-listed as LITR 026R)
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and Eastern Europe, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Karel Čapek,
Mikhail Bulgakov, and Evgenii Zamiatin. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction provided a refuge from stultifying official
Socialist Realism for authors like Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers. This course will concentrate on 20th-century science fiction
(translated from Czech, Polish, Russian and Serbian) with a glance at earlier influences and attention to more recent works, as well as to
Western parallels and contrasts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Paired
RUSS 037. Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Captivity and Incarceration
(Cross-listed as LITR 037R)
"Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!" - Solzhenitsyn. While the Gulag remains the most infamous aspect of the Soviet justice system,
Russia has a long history of inhumane punishment on a terrifying scale. This course explores narratives of incarceration, punishment, and
captivity from the 17th century to the present day. In discussing (non-)fiction, history, and theory, we will consider such topics as justice, violence
and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in suffering.
Authors include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Kropotkin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Pussy Riot, Navalny, Michel Foucault, Susan Sontag, and
Angela Davis, among others.
We'll also have the opportunity to speak with two of our writers, Ali Feruz (jailed Uzbek journalist + LGBTQ+ rights activist) and Oleg
Navalny (served 3.5 years on false charges + brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny).
Taught in translation; no knowledge of Russian language or culture required. All are welcome.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, INTP, GLBL-Paired, ESCH
Fall 2023. Vergara.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Paired
RUSS 043. Chernobyl: Nuclear Narratives and the Environment
(Cross-listed as LITR 043R)
What really happened on April 26, 1986? This course will introduce students to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, its consequences, and its
representations across a range of cultures. Texts will be drawn from (non-)fiction, poetry, film, TV, video games, VR, and other media, as we
consider the labyrinth of Chernobyl's mythology through a comparative lens and as a global phenomenon. Culture meets ecology, science,
history, and politics. Fields trips and guest speakers. The final class project will involve an installation at McCabe Library. Taught in translation.
No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Linguistics
LING 002. First-Year Seminar: Taboo
Taboo terms vary in topic across language communities: religion, sex, disease and death, and bodily effluents are common, but other topics can
appear, often depending on nonlinguistic factors (community size, demographics, and cultural beliefs). Taboo terms also vary in how they are
used: exclamations, name-calling, and maledictions are common, but other uses can appear, such as modifiers and predicates. Over time less
common uses tend to semantically bleach, so that historical taboo terms can be used without hint of vulgarity or rudeness. These less common
uses can fall together with slang in exhibiting linguistic behavior unique within that language, at the word level and the phrase and sentence
level, behavior that is telling with respect to linguistic theory. Each student will choose a language other than English to investigate.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 063. Supporting Literacy Among Deaf Children
(Cross-listed at THEA 033 )
In this course, we will consider ways to promote literacy among young deaf children, including introducing them to sign language literature and
the visual vernacular and encouraging shared reading activities with their care-takers. This course is jointly offered at Gallaudet University. The
GALLY students will re-envision beloved picture books in a way that reflects deaf culture and video-record themselves telling those stories. The
SWAT students will give (remote) feedback on those videos and then produce the revised versions in the form of YouTube videos and ebooks for
the RISE Ebook project website. These bimodal-bilingual stories will be designed so that adults can share them with deaf children regardless of
their knowledge of a sign language (or lack thereof).
Prerequisite: A background in linguistics, theater, film, early childhood development, or education would be helpful.
Corequisite: Students taking the course remotely must have access to an Apple computer or iPad with iBooksAuthor and must have access to
film-editing programs. Students also need to have a rudimentary knowledge of a sign language (such as ASL) or concurrently take an attachment
in ASL language.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Core
LING 073. Computational Linguistics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 013 )
This course explores the possibilities for creating computational resources for languages for which vast collections of text don't exist. Students
will choose a language lacking in computational resources and develop tools for it. The focus will be on creating nuanced symbolic
representations of the language that can be employed by computers, to the benefit of both language researchers who wish to test grammatical
models, and language communities which lack the social capital to benefit from corporately developed resources. Topics covered include input
methods and spell-checking, morphological analysis and disambiguation, syntactic parsing, building corpora, and rule-based machine
translation, with an emphasis on anti-colonial methodologies and free/open-source technologies.
Prerequisite: LING 001 (or equivalent) or CPSC 021 (or equivalent), or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Washington.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Core
Literatures in Translation
LITR 018FJ. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as JPNS 018, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
There is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 018A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Paired
LITR 056G. Outbreak Narratives
(Cross-listed as GMST 056)
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze German literature
depicting contagious outbreaks, life in isolation, and explore the ethics of cure and human experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self, to explore the intriguing possibility of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly
shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of shared vulnerability. Using German literature in
English translation to explore literature on the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well on as vampires, we will consider how race, gender,
class, and historical époques shape illness stories. In particular, we will look at the power dynamics that code contagions either as negative
(where it refers, for instance, to a potentially deadly disease) or as positive (where it refers to contagious affects or an exchange of
ideas). Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfreide Jelinek, Thomas Mann, J. W. Goethe, Fanny Lewald, Heinrich Heine, Franz
Kafka, Bertha von Suttner.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Paired
LITR 074F. The Shadow of the Enlightement
Crosslisted with FREN 074.
The following course offers a critical examination of the central ideas guiding the French Enlightenment, paying particularly close attention to
the notion of "otherness" underlying the Enlightenment project-that is, that which is facilely left out in the eighteenth century's valorization of
reason. In opposition to the Enlightenment idea of the rational man is the irrational animal, a binary that materialist thinkers like La Mettrie and
Condillac are quick to blur; in opposition to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (the crowning civil rights document from the
French Revolution) is Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, a text that criticizes eighteenth-century
gender inequalities; in opposition to the Enlightenment's enormous blind spots surrounding race is Claire de Duras' Ourika, a novel that decries
the pervasive racism of the eighteenth century. Throughout the semester, we will study the novels, essays, and dialogues that shape the major
ideas of the Enlightenment (and the revolutionary modes of thinking that accompany it), while also studying that which lies in the shadow of the
Enlightenment. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Condillac, La Mettrie, Gouges, Duras.
Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 074A).
Humanities
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Core
LITR 077F. Reading While Crossing Three Continents
(Cross-listed as FREN 077 )
You are invited to a cross-cultural exploration of various populations of the Francophone world, through the study or different media and topics,
relevant to contemporary societies in France, West Africa and Central America. Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment
for students reading in French (FREN 077A ).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Core
LITR 078F. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with FMST 058 .
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Music
MUSI 005A. Music and Dance Cultures of the World
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020D)
In this course we take an ethnomusicological approach to examine music and dance cultures from around the world. We will
consider music and dance both in and as culture with attention to social, political, and historical contexts. Topics will include identity, race,
ethnicity, gender, class, religion, memory, migration, globalization, tourism, and social and political movements. The course will provide an
opportunity to develop critical listening and analytical skills to discuss sound and movement.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Fall 2022. Stewart.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Core
MUSI 006A. Music in Times of War and Disease
For centuries, and across the globe, music has accompanied, amplified and responded to the most cataclysmic moments in human history. From
the so-called "Black Death" pandemic of the Middle Ages to the total warfare of the twentieth century to the "gray-zone" conflicts of the new
millennium, music has been employed to manipulate, protest, comfort, witness, and also to process human pain and grief. This course considers
the current pandemic's impact on music in a global-historical context of war and pestilence, seeking to understand how these phenomena have
affected musical sounds, and how music-making has contributed to human resilience. What will be the enduring repercussions of this historical
moment on the future of musical expression?
Eligible for GLBL-Core, PEAC
Core
MUSI 006C. Music and the Battle Between Good and Evil
Who has the power to control music? How can music function in extreme states? Is it different than what it sounds like in periods of
normalcy? This course will explore music within the context of totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. Beginning with Stalin and Socialist
Realist aesthetics in the Soviet Union of the late 1920s, we'll move westward to look at the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in 1930s Germany, and
then east to Mao's Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). We will consider how these leaders attempted to impose political ideology on the
contours of musical expression in their countries, and how individuals forged personal meanings for these musics. We will turn to contemporary
memories (examining first person accounts, memoirs, and survivor testimonies) in order to explore moments in which individuals succeeded in
subverting control. We will consider sources ranging from mass songs to epic musical theatre, marches to model revolutionary ballet, as well as
propagandistic films and poster art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Core
MUSI 006D. Performing Resistance: Black Music and Protest in the African Diaspora
This course explores African diasporic music as it's been used in performative acts of resistance and protest in the United States, the Caribbean,
and South America. We will consider instances when music and movement have been deployed in response to political, economic, and social
tyranny in the past and in the present.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, PEAC, BLST
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Spring 2022. Stewart.
Catalog chapter: Music
MUSI 008B. Music, Race and Class
(Cross-listed as BLST 008B)
What is the power of music? How can music empower individuals and groups in the fight for justice? In this course we will investigate
contemporary case studies from around the world when groups have employed music to confront racism and classism in pursuit of social justice.
Case studies include Apartheid South Africa, Buraku Taiko drummers in Japan, and the Kamehameha Schools Songs Contest in Hawai'i.
Students will complete an original community project to share their course experience with other students on campus. Open to all students
without prerequisite.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, BLST, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Core
MUSI 009B. Music as Oral Tradition
"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." This African proverb, popularized by Nigerian
novelist Chinua Achebe, reflects the absence of the voices of colonized subjects in recorded histories of colonial domination.
This course explores the music and oral traditions of African and African diasporic peoples as legible historical records that are valuable and
credible receptacles of, and sources for the dissemination and comprehensive production of world knowledge. As receptacles of knowledge, the
living archives of song, instrumental music, dance, storytelling, traditional foods, and spiritual practice offer communities a mode for
remembrance, and for teaching, learning, and preserving valuable social information. As sources of knowledge production, the records that
inhabit these living archives represent colonial histories from the perspective of the colonized, on their terms.
During this course, students will use selected case studies to examine how the living archives of colonized African and African diasporic people
in continental Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas have been influential in chronicling past and present struggles. They will consider how
these records remain vital to communities' ability not just to survive, but to thrive in the twenty-first century and beyond.
HU
1
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, Lang Engaged Scholarship, BLST
Spring 2022. Stewart.
MUSI 022. 19th-Century European Music
This survey considers European art music against the background of 19th-century Romanticism and nationalism. Composers to be studied
include Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Berlioz, Robert and Clara Schumann, Wagner, Verdi, Brahms, Dvorak, Musorgsky, and Chaikovsky.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or the equivalent.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Paired
MUSI 031. Music and Culture in East Asia
This course examines music and culture in East Asia with a focus on a selection of contemporary case studies. The course is divided into three
units of China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. Each unit will begin with an introduction to leading musical traditions of the area
including main instruments, ensemble, and musical genres. We will then closely examine case studies from the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries with
attention to music and significant social, political, and historical contexts. Students will develop critical reviews of scholarly articles and
facilitate class discussions based on assigned reading and listening materials. Additional coursework includes performance workshops, reading,
and listening.
Next offered Fall 2023.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Paired
MUSI 100. Ethnomusicology Seminar
(Cross-listed as SOAN 100)
Ethnomusicology is an academic discipline that examines music in and as culture. This course examines how the interdisciplinary field has
developed over the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries through an investigation of its origins, approaches, methodologies, and contemporary theoretical
questions. Course readings will address the relationships between music and a variety of conceptual themes including race, ethnicity, identity,
nationalism, Diaspora, globalization, and gender. The music cultures we will examine in this course represent a wide range of cultures,
geographic regions, musical genres, and historical periods. Students will complete introductory exercises in research, transcription, analysis,
ethnographic fieldwork, & performance.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Ouyang.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Core
Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 039. Social Entrepreneurship for Social Change
Social entrepreneurship is concerned with entrepreneurial responses to demanding and unmet social needs (not adequately served by market or
by state). Through in-depth case analysis, we will consider the context of social entrepreneurial activity (such as the peace and reconciliation
movement in Northern Ireland), the individuals who become engaged in impacting social need (locally, nationally and globally), along with
organizing and undertaking activities and addressing needs effectively. Limited to 15 students.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 043. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change
ANTH 044
How has gender emerged as an analytical category? How has sexuality emerged as an analytical category? What role did discourses
surrounding gender and sexuality play in the context of Western colonialism in the Global South historically as well as in the context of Western
imperialism in the Global South today? How are gender and sexuality-based liberation understood differently around the world? What global
social movements have surfaced to codify rights for women and LGBTQ populations? How has the global human rights apparatus shaped the
experiences of women and queer communities? What is the relationship between gender and masculinity? What are the promises and limits of
homonationalism and pinkwashing as theoretical frameworks in our understanding of LGBT rights discourses? When considering the
relationship between faith and homosexuality, how are religious actors queering theology? How do we define social change with such attention
to gender and sexuality?
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST, INTP, GLBL- Core, ESCH
Fall 2022. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Core
PEAC 071B. Research Seminar: Global Nonviolent Action Database
SOCI 071B
This research seminar involves working with The Global Nonviolent Action Database built at Swarthmore College. This website is accessed by
activists and scholars worldwide. The database contains crucial information on campaigns including those for human rights, democracy,
environmental sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will investigate a series of research cases and write
them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a narrative describing the unfolding struggle. Strategic
implications will be drawn from theory and from what the group is learning from the documented cases of people's struggles.
Social Science.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Core
PEAC 135. Social Movements and Nonviolent Power
SOCI 135
In this two-credit Honors seminar, we will study the global proliferation of the strategic use of nonviolent tactics and methods and investigate the
power in social relations upon which collective nonviolent action capitalizes. We will also address sociological literature on the emergence,
maintenance, and impact of social movements. For examples of the kinds of case studies covered in this seminar, visit
http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu
Non-distribution.
2 credits.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Smithey.
Fall 2023. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Core
Philosophy
PHIL 021. Social and Political Philosophy
In this seminar, we will examine in-depth philosophical approaches to the theory and practice of law. We begin with the classical theoretical
questions. We cover the foundations of law as explained through legal positivism, natural law, and critical legal theory. We examine the roles of
lawmakers, citizens, and judges. We then move to questions with a more practical dimension. We discuss the foundation for criminal law and
punishment as well as issues of racism and sexism in law. Other topics include individual rights, paternalism, policing, privacy, and
technologyThe focus of this course is to explore the relationship between the individual and the state. We will examine three different conceptions
of individuals and the three different theories of the state to which they give rise: political realism, political liberalism, and critical political
theory. First we examine the historical foundations of these three theories. Then we will read contemporary work on particular issues in order to
draw out the implications of the three frameworks. We will see how each framework deals with questions about censorship, personal liberty, civil
disobedience, and national security.
PEAC eligible with the approval of the instructor.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2023. TBD.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Core
PHIL 035. Environmental Ethics
Environmental ethics deals with normative moral and political questions and issues concerning the environment. Here are some questions we
will examine. Who counts in environmental ethics: only humans, all animals, plants, too, or all forms of life, even ecosystems? Should species,
natural habitats, or wilderness be preserved for their own sake? What ethical questions does climate change raise and how could and should we
answer them? How should we think about our relation to nature and our use of technology in general?
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Core
PHIL 039. Existentialism
In this course, we will examine existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus to explore themes
of contemporary European philosophy, including the self, responsibility and authenticity, and the relationships between body and mind, fantasy
and reality, and literature and philosophy.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Paired
PHIL 051. Human Rights and Atrocities
Are there such things as human rights? If so, where do they come from and how are they best conceived? What should we do when they are
violated? This course examines the theoretical underpinnings of human rights. To try to understand and answer these questions, we will read
traditional philosophical arguments and accounts of human rights in addition to philosophical examinations of atrocities like genocide. We will
then use the philosophical works to examine specific historical examples of human rights violations such as genocide, war rape, and apartheid.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Core
Physics
PHYS 001C. Climate Change: Science and Responses
(Cross-Listed with ENVS 010)
A study of the complex interplay of factors influencing conditions on the surface of the Earth. Basic concepts from geology, oceanography, and
atmospheric science lead to an examination of how the Earth's climate has varied in the past, what changes are occurring now, and what the
future may hold. Besides environmental effects, the economic, political, and ethical implications of global warming are explored, including
possible ways to reduce climate change.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Eric Bell.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
Core
Political Science
POLS 003. Politics Across the World (CP)
This course teaches students how to analyze and compare the politics and societies of countries around the world. Topics vary by instructor but
may include the origins of the contemporary system of nation-states, the consolidation and breakdown of democratic and authoritarian political
regimes, the ways that the "rules of the game" in politics structure competition and favor certain groups over others, the politics of economic
development and globalization, the nature and dynamics of social movements, revolutions and civil wars, and the role of identities, ideologies,
and religious beliefs in shaping patterns of political development, and conflict, and inclusion/exclusion. The course also provides an introduction
to some of the main theories, concepts, and methods used by political scientists who engage in the art of comparative politics. To explore these
themes, we draw examples from a variety of countries and regions across the world.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. White.
Fall 2022. Handlin.
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Fall 2023. Handlin.
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 004. Introduction to International Relations (IR)
In this course, we will explore the fundamental concepts of the field of international relations. Students will learn the basic facts about
international conflict, the international economy, international law, development, and the world environment, among other things. Furthermore,
we will study the fundamental theoretical concepts and theories of international relations. Using these theories, students will be able to sort
through arguments about various topics in international relations and make judgment calls for yourself. Finally, students will learn how these
concepts have evolved over time and how we can use them to hypothesize what lies ahead for international relations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Tierney.
Spring 2023. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2023. Tierney.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 030. Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (IR)
Diplomacy is a crucial part of international politics. This course explores: (1) how and why states negotiate; (2) how do states communicate
through diplomacy; (3) when do negotiations fail; (4) the role of mediation in negotiation; (5) the role secrecy plays in diplomacy. The course
introduces students to a range of research skills, including game-theoretic models and historical research. Students will learn how negotiation
functions in contemporary contexts, through exploring a range of scenarios, including negotiation with rogue states, state-terrorist bargaining,
and great power diplomacy.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)
This course, taught in Philadelphia, offers an introduction to the causes and consequences of international migration and examines the political
responses of different national communities to the phenomenon. In the first part of the course we will explore why and how people move from one
country to another and analyze the strategies through which states attempt to manage mobility and exercise control over their territories.
Students will learn about patterns of regular and irregular migration, including economic and undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers. We will also interrogate the efficacy of border walls and other strategies of containment and control. In the second part of the course we
consider how migration transforms both sending and receiving countries and evaluate how countries accommodate (or fail to accommodate)
newcomers to their territories. The growing ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity generated by international migratory flows has spawned
fierce debates over national identity, social cohesion, and political stability. In order to make sense of these debates, we will analyze different
regimes of immigrant integration, incorporation, and assimilation and evaluate the meaning of citizenship, social membership, and belonging.
Classroom meetings will be supplemented with outside lectures and field trips in Philadelphia to observe immigration hearings and to meet with
NGOs and community organizations working on issues surrounding migrant rights and refugee re-settlement. This course will be taught in
Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core; INTP eligible; PEAC eligible
Spring 2022. Balkan
Fall 2022. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 035. Democracy and Dictatorship (CP)
This course examines the nature of democratic and authoritarian governments and explanations for regime change (either from dictatorship to
democracy or the reverse). Topics include the relationship between democracy and development, the power (and limitations) of the United States
to spur democratization in other countries, the institutional foundations of strong dictatorships, the notion that established democracies might be
currently eroding, and the role potentially played by Russia and China in buttressing autocracy in other countries.
Comparative
Social science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, LALS-eligible
Spring 2024. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 043. Environmental Policy and Politics (AP)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 022)
Topics in environmental politics, policy, and law. In the United States, we focus on national regulation and proposals for more flexible responses
to achieve environmental goals; environmental movements and environmental justice; the role of science in democratic policy-making; courts
and the impact of federalism, the commerce clause, and rights on regulation. The course also considers the role and efficacy of supranational
institutions and NGOs and controversies between more and less developed nations. Topics include most of the following: air and water pollution,
common-pool resource problems, toxic and radioactive waste, sustainable development, food, natural resource management, wilderness,
environmental racism, effects of climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS ESCH, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
GLBL-Paired
POLS 045. Disaster Politics and Policies (CP)
Cross listed ENVS 021
How does the trauma of disaster influence political processes, institutions, and leaders? How do political processes, institutions, and leaders
affect disaster events and their aftermath? Do disasters lead to meaningful policy change, or is their impact fleeting? This course examines the
political and policy dynamics associated with disasters-- those that are predominantly "natural" (e.g., hurricanes and tornadoes), and those that
result mainly from human action or inaction (e.g., airplane crashes, mass shootings, building collapses). Using a variety of cases from different
historical periods, different regions of the world, and different levels of political analysis (national, regional, and local), this course will examine
the causes and consequences of disaster, policy-making and disaster, and the new professional field of disaster management. We will look
critically at the role of NGOs and international aid in disaster relief, as well as international institutions.
Comparative
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. White.
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 048. The Politics of Population (CP)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 023)
The role of population and demographic trends in local, national, and global politics will be examined. Topics include the relationship between
population and development, causes of fertility decline, the impact and ethics of global and national family planning programs, and
contemporary issues such as population aging and the AIDS pandemic.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 050. International Relations of East Asia (IR)
After the Cold War's conclusion, East Asia emerged as a geopoliltical hotspot rife with tension and conflict. The course investigates how regional
identity, U.S. presence, historical trauma, nationalism, cultural diversity, and the rise of China shapes the region's security landscape,
institutional architecture and international political economy. Students will be expected to draw connections betwen theory and contemporary
examples drawing on historical and culturally sensitive perspectives.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 052. Comparative Political Theory: Chinese and Western Traditions (TH)
This course examines some of the similarities and differences between Western and Eastern traditions of political thought. Through the course,
we will introduce the students to the richness of both political theoretical traditions, and critically evaluate some "conventional wisdoms" (e.g.
that Confucianism and democracy are antithetical). We will first review the concept of comparative political theory and its methodology, before
moving on to discuss a range of classic topics in political theory, such as happiness, liberty and rights. For each topic, we will first review
influential voices in the Western tradition before examining influential Chinese texts and exploring whether we may synthesize their insights. We
will conclude the course with a discussion of intercultural political dialogue today.
This course does not fulfill the department's political theory requirement - only POLS 11, 12, 100, and 101 fulfill the requirement. This course is
open to those with no political theory background and open to students who are not POLS majors or minors.
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 054. Identity Politics (CP)
The term "identity politics" has become a mainstay of contemporary political discourse. In both scholarly and public debates, it is used to
describe and make sense of phenomena as diverse as multiculturalism, white nationalism, civil rights, the women's movement, LGBTI activism,
separatist groups, and violent ethnic conflicts. Identity is central to politics, but are all identities political? Where do identities come from and
why do they matter for social and political life? Do we have the freedom to choose our own identities or are they ascribed to us by others? And to
what extent do our identities dictate what we can do, think, know, or feel? This class offers an introduction to the politics of identity. Over the
course of the semester, we will investigate how categories like class, race, gender, ethnicity, nation, religion, and sexuality impact politics and
struggles for power around the world. Our readings will explore debates around the politics of recognition and representation, authenticity and
cultural appropriation, corporate diversity and neoliberal multiculturalism, positionality and situated knowledge, oppression and empowerment,
and intersectionality. Students will have the opportunity to conduct independent research on identity related topics of their choice.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP; GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 056. Patterns of Asian Development (CP)
Patterns of political, social, and economic development in Asia will be traced, with special focus on China, Japan, North and South Korea,
Taiwan, Vietnam, and India. Topics include the role of authoritarianism and democracy in the development processes, the legacies of colonialism
and revolution and their influences on contemporary politics, sources of state strength or weakness, nationalism and ethnic conflict, gender and
politics, and patterns of political resistance.
Professor White is offering this course as an Honors Preparation if taken in conjunction with POLS 058 in Spring 2024.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 057. Latin American Politics (CP)
This course examines major topics in Latin American politics from the 20th century to the present, with particular emphasis on Brazil, Chile,
Mexico, and Venezuela. These topics include the rise and fall of democracies and dictatorships, the spread of neoliberal economic models, the
expansion of social policy and anti-poverty programs, the difficulties of combatting corruption, the problem of violence and its relationship to the
drug trade, and the recent ascendance of the left.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 058. Contemporary Chinese Politics (CP)
Just how strong is China? Is it on the path to great power status? This course considers those questions by examining the rise of China in recent
decades, along with the political, economic and social backdrop to this historic development. Topics will include China's political and economic
development, urban and rural unrest, regionalism and nationalism, music and the arts as forms of political expression, environmental politics,
law, justice, and human rights, and the role of the military in Chinese politics. Literature, music, online media and video chat with experts will
supplement traditional written materials.
Professor White is offering this course as an Honors Preparation if taken in conjunction with POLS 056 in Fall 2023.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 059. Middle East Politics (CP)
This course offers an introduction to the politics of the Middle East and North Africa from World War I to the present. As a region that is
popularly perceived as an arena for intractable ethnic and religious conflict, authoritarian political regimes, and social and economic
underdevelopment, the Middle East has long been a critical site in global affairs. Recent events such as the toppling of long-standing
governments in places like Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya during the so-called "Arab Spring," the electoral successes of Islamist political parties in
countries with a history of secular rule such as Turkey, and the repercussions of the on-going civil war in Syria, including the displacement of
millions of persons, renewed bids for Kurdish autonomy, and the rise of ISIS have raised new and pressing questions about the future of the
region. This course aims to help students contextualize and better understand the current political climate by tracing the roots of these conflicts
to the longer history of state and nation formation in the Middle East. Throughout the semester students will learn about political, economic,
social, and cultural developments within a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Topics covered include colonialism,
imperialism, and nationalism, political Islam, revolutions and social movements, the Arab Spring, and U.S. involvement in the region. No prior
knowledge of the Middle East is necessary.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 061. American Foreign Policy (IR)
This course analyzes the formation and conduct of foreign policy in the United States. The course combines three elements: a study of the history
of American foreign relations since 1865; an analysis of the causes of American foreign policy such as the international system, public opinion,
and the media; and a discussion of the major policy issues in contemporary U.S. foreign policy, including terrorism, civil wars, and economic
policy.
Prof. Tierney is willing to work with select honors students enrolled in POLS61 in Spring 2024 to convert this course into an honors
prep. Students must be enrolled in POLS61 (no exceptions) for this option, and commit to meeting with Prof. Tierney regularly and fulfilling
extra assigned work.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Tierney.
Spring 2023. Tierney.
Spring 2024. Tierney.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 063. African Politics (CP)
This course provides an introduction to contemporary African politics with a strong focus on political dynamics in particular African countries.
We begin with Africa's political history, examining pre-colonial structures, the impacts of colonialism, the post-colonial state and practices of
power. We then examine the social forces that shape contemporary politics (e.g., ethnicity, religion, gender, class) and the range of regime types
that have emerged in recent history. The final part of the course focuses on the economic dimensions of politics, conflict dynamics on the
continent and the role of local, regional and international actors in addressing development, peace and security issues. The core concepts and
theories explored in the course are brought to life through a semester-long reporting project in which students work closely over Skype with
experts in the region.
Note distributional change from IR
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST; GLBL-Paired; PEAC
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 064. African American Political Thought (TH)
This seminar is an engagement with African American political thought from approximately 1830 to the present. We will focus on issues such as
slavery, systemic racism, and segregation, as criticized by prominent African American philosophers, public intellectuals, and activists. However,
we will also use their texts to explore broader themes in political theory about the meaning of "freedom" and the burdens of democratic
citizenship. These include debates among African American intellectuals about coalition building, civil disobedience, violence, organized
religion, gender, social class, education, economic organization, and American foreign policy. We will think critically about how African
American political thinking both intersects with and challenges Eurocentric philosophical traditions, and how it intersects with intellectual and
political movements in the broader African diaspora community.
The syllabus may include thinkers such as David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Martin Delany, Harriet Jacobs, Booker T.
Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Harold Cruse, Malcolm X, Angela
Davis, Toni Morrison, Cornel West, Clarence Thomas, and Barack Obama.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, BLST
Spring 2023. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 066. International Political Economy (IR)
This seminar examines how political actors (attempt to) govern as well as shape economic events. The seminar introduces the classic texts of
International Political Economy (IPE), such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. It also discusses core contemporary texts and debates in
the study of international political economic relations. Topics include the international trading system, global financial and monetary systems,
the issue of economic development, the Great Recession, and the role of the United States in global economic governance. Through these
discussions, the seminar also examines the key institutions in the contemporary governance as well as private actors such as multinational firms.
Prof.Kaya is willing to work with select honors students enrolled in POLS 066 to convert this course into an honors prep in IPE (i.e. the
equivalent of POLS116). Students must be enrolled in POLS 066 (no exceptions) for this option, and commit to meeting with Prof.Kaya every
other Friday and fulfilling extra assigned work.
Students taking this course will not be eligible for POLS116A/B.
Prerequisite: POLS 004 and an introductory Economics course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 075. International Politics: Special Topics: The Causes of War
The causes of war is arguably one of the most important issues in the field of international politics. In each week of the course, a candidate
theory will be examined, and a specific war will be analyzed in depth to test the validity of the theory. Topics will include revolution and war,
capitalism and war, misperception and war, and resource scarcity and war. The course will conclude with a discussion of the future of war,
particularly the likelihood of conflict among the great powers.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 079. Islam, Race, and Empire (CP)
Since 9/11, Muslims in Europe and the United States have been at the center of contentious political debates about the meaning of secularism,
citizenship, and democracy. From Donald Trump's Muslim Ban to feminist critiques of the Islamic headscarf, politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum have questioned Islam's compatibility with Western values and ways of life. These disputes belie longer and messier histories
of empire, colonialism, and the War on Terror, through which categories such as "Islam" and "Muslims" have been racialized into a monolithic
brown Other in contrast to the "West." Drawing on a range of intellectual traditions, including postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, anthropology,
and critical race studies, this course examines how imperial legacies and enduring ideas about racial, religious, and ethnic difference structure
contemporary debates about Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America. Over the course of the semester, we will read works by prominent
theorists such as Wendy Brown, Frantz Fanon, Lila Abu-Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak, and discuss how Islam
figures into public conversations about anti-Semitism, citizenship and democracy, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, national identity,
secularism, tolerance, and political violence. Through our readings and discussions, students will learn about the diversity of lived experiences of
Muslims in Western societies and explore the connections between race, religion, and the afterlives of empire.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, GMST, ISLM, INTP, GSST
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 080. Civil Wars (IR)
Civil war is the dominant form of political violence in the contemporary world. Since the Second World War, most conflict has been
focused within rather than between states (i.e., civil war). Drawing on a thriving and diverse area of scholarship in political science, this course
explores the causes, dynamics and consequences of civil wars, as well as regional and international interventions and post-conflict legacies.
Among the central questions we will examine are: What are the individual, group and state level factors that may cause civil wars to break
out? What are the gendered dimensions of civil war and civilian agency? Why are some civil wars longer and more severe than others? How
are civilians, households and communities impacted by civil war and how do they cope? How do civil wars end and what can local, regional and
international actors do to facilitate their termination? To explore these and other questions, students will be introduced to key concepts, theories
and a variety of research approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and interpretive methods as well as micro- and macro-level analysis.
Contemporary and historical cases we will examine include: Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- core; GSST, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Paddon Rhoads
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 081. Global Environmental Governance (IR)
Cross-listed with ENVS 028
Global climate change, in particular, and environmental issues, in general, have moved to the forefront of public debates. This course examines
the governance of these issues from an International Relations perspective. Topics include: multilateral trade agreements and the environment;
United Nations processes, agreements, and institutions; climate change finance and environmental foreign aid; multilateral development banks
(including the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and environmental governance; non-state actors; social movements;
and global environmental governance and great powers. The course will begin with a political-economic conceptualization of global
environmental governance and also introduce students to some fundamental concepts in public policy and environmental regulation. Given this is
taught primarily from global governance and International Relations perspectives, it is not suited to students looking to engage in particular
countries' environmental regulation, though student presentations will examine differences across some countries. It is ideal for students to have
taken POLS4 prior to taking this course, and students should be ready to apply basic economic concepts to environmental regulation (without
which their understanding of the governance of climate change cannot be advanced).
Prerequisite: One political science course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core; ENVS
Fall 2022. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
POLS 085. U.S. National Security (IR)
This course is run in conjunction with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a think tank in Philadelphia. The course will provide in-depth
knowledge of major challenges in US national security as well as an insight into how think tanks operate. Students will meet at the FPRI offices
in center city Philadelphia for a seminar, once per week. Each class will feature guest speakers from the academic and policy worlds. The course
will cover topics including Syria, Russia, informational warfare and propaganda, artificial intelligence, drones, terrorism, and China and East
Asian security. Students will learn about FPRI's research programs, educational activities, podcasts, and journals. The final project will be a
research paper that will be communicated to policy-makers in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 108. Comparative Politics: East Asia (CP)
This course examines the politics of China, Japan, the two Koreas, Vietnam and Taiwan. It compares pathways to development, the role of
authoritarianism and democracy in the development process, the conditions that promote or impede transitions to democracy, and the impact of
regional and global forces on domestic politics and regime legitimacy. It also explores the ideas and cultural patterns that influence society and
politics, and the role of social change and protest in regime transformation.
Comparative
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 109. Comparative Politics: Latin America (CP)
A comparative study of the political economy of Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, El Salvador, and Cuba. Topics include the
tensions between representative democracy, popular democracy, and market economies; the conditions for democracy and authoritarianism; the
sources and impact of revolution; the political impact of neo-liberal economic policies and the economic impact of state intervention; and the
role of the United States in the region.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Handlin
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Paired
POLS 113. International Politics: War, Peace, and Security (IR)
This seminar will investigate in depth the issues of conflict, security, and the use of force in contemporary international politics. The course will
begin by considering the changing meaning of "security" and by analyzing the major theoretical approaches including realism, liberalism, and
constructivism. The course will then tackle some of the great puzzles of international security including the clash of civilizations hypothesis, the
role of nuclear weapons, civil wars and intervention, terrorism, and human rights.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Core
Psychology
PSYC 034. Psychology of Language
(Cross-listed as LING 034)
The capacity for language sets the human mind apart from all other minds, both natural and artificial, and so contributes critically to making us
who we are. In this course, we ask several fundamental questions about the psychology of language: How do children acquire it so quickly and
accurately? How do we understand and produce it, seemingly without effort? What are its biological underpinnings? What is the relationship
between language and thought? How did language evolve? And to what extent is the capacity for language "built in" (genetically) versus "built
up" (by experience)?
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, or COGS 001, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Grodner.
Fall 2023. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Core
PSYC 037. Multicultural Psychology
As individuals, we function in environments we share with others. In those contexts, we learn about what it means to be and how to behave as
members of a group or groups. Further, societally, group membership is associated with power and privilege for some, and marginalization for
others. In this course, we will review how researchers have conceptualized culture, difference, and multiculturalism. A significant portion of the
class will be spent considering race, ethnicity, and culture from a psychological perspective, particularly as they relate to interactions between
dominant and nondominant groups. Identity, discrimination, intersectionality, and privilege are a few of the topics we will discuss.
GLBL-Core eligibility
Prerequisite: PSYC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core eligibility.
Fall 2022. Thelamour.
Fall 2023. Thelamour.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Religion
RELG 005. World Religions
This introductory course supplies students with the religious literacy skills necessary to think and write critically and comparatively about the
world's religions. It will challenge the "world religion" paradigm in both its form and content while engaging students through the study
of diverse traditions. Organized thematically with a focus on "lived religion," we will explore different topics such as food, architecture,
performance, and art through a combination of theoretical pieces and case studies. We will also make use of a variety of media
resources including film, podcasts, and music. The course pays special attention to religious communities in the Greater Philadelphia Area and
will include site visits and virtual tours as a way of introducing participants to the history and diversity of cultures within our own
"neighborhood."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Persaud.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Core
RELG 008. Patterns of Asian Religions
A thematic introduction to the study of religion through an examination of selected
precepts and practices of several religious traditions of India, China, and Japan structured
as patterns of religious life. Materials taken from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of
India, Confucian and Taoist traditions of China, and from Zen traditions of Japan.
Themes we will consider include issues of religious symbols, cosmology, and ritual; the
gods, personhood/self, and religious transformation; liberation, gender, and sexuality;
philosophy, narrative and popular piety; and the place of the body in meditation, worship
and religious experience.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Hopkins.
Spring 2024. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Paired
RELG 022. Religion and Ecology
(Cross-listed as ENVS 040)
This course focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and
modern times. In turn, it examines how various religious worldviews can aid the development of an earth-centered philosophy of life. The thesis
of this course is that the environment crisis, at its core, is a spiritual crisis because it is human beings' deep ecocidal dispositions toward nature
that are the cause of the earth's continued degradation. Course topics include ecological thought in Western philosophy, theology, and biblical
studies; the role of Asian religious thought in forging an ecological worldview; the value of American nature writings for environmental
awareness, including both Euro-American and Amerindian literatures; the public policy debates concerning vegetarianism and the antitoxics
movement; and the contemporary relevance of ecofeminism, deep ecology, Neopaganism, and wilderness activism. In addition to writing
assignments, there will be occasional contemplative practicums, journaling exercises, and a community-based learning component.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Core
RELG 024. From Vodun to Voodoo: African Religions in the Old and New Worlds
Is there a kindred spirituality expressed within the ceremonies, beliefs, music and movement of African religions? This course explores the
dynamics of African religions throughout the diaspora and the Atlantic world. Using text, art, film, and music, we will look at the interaction of
society and religion in the black world, beginning with traditional religions in west and central Africa, examining the impact of slavery and
migration, and the dispersal of African religions throughout the Western Hemisphere. The course will focus on the varieties of religious
experiences in Africa and their transformations in the Caribbean, Brazil and North America in the religions of Candomblé, Santeria, Conjure,
and other New World traditions. At the end of the term, in consultation with the professor, students will create a web-based project in lieu of a
final paper.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Core
RELG 034. Partitions: Religions, Politics, and Gender in South Asia Through the Novel
This discussion-focused, seminar-style course will focus on a close reading of modern and contemporary South Asian novels and short stories
structured around the theme of "partition(s)," not only the historical events of the partition of Bengal (East Pakistan, eventually Bangladesh),
India's Partition in 1947, or the social catastrophe of Indira Gandhi's Emergency in the 1970's, but the long shadows of these events right up to
the (social, political) present. We will focus on many "figures of partition," personal, religious, and political, in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil,
Urdu, and English prose literatures of India and Pakistan. Themes will range from religion and politics, gender/power; sexuality; love within
and outside of the family; women, honor, and seclusion; asceticism and eroticism; caste, class, ethnicity, and race; children and their social and
political vulnerabilities; and love, politics, and inter-caste marriage in Hindu, Parsee, Sikh, Muslim, and Christian settings in South Asia.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Hopkins.
Spring 2024. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Paired
Sociology
SOCI 020C. Global Colorism
"I don't see color." The common adage is an allusion to a society in which phenotype bares minimal weight on one's life chances. Scholars have
long noted that the opposite is true-what we look like matters and greatly impacts our lives. Only coined in the 1980s, colorism, the preferential
treatment of those with lighter skin and "desirable" features, has plagued communities of color for centuries. In this course, we will trace the
origins of colorism considering global contexts for communities of color in general, and the African diaspora in particular. We will use emerging
theories of colorism to examine the role of racism, colonialism, media, and capitalism in engendering and maintaining colorist ideals in
contemporary society. We will engage academic and 'non-academic' texts to expose the variations of systemic colorism on a global scale often
impacted by other demographic markers including: gender, region, class, ethnicity, and culture.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Veras.
Fall 2022. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020M. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as ENVS 043, ENGL 089)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GSST, BLST, GLBL-core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 025C. Globalization and Global Inequality
Globalization, it is widely recognized, is profoundly remaking social structure and transforming the lives of people in every corner of the planet.
Our personal biographies are linked to increasingly dense networks of global interrelations, as the integration of societies, economies, and
cultures fundamentally transforms human life. The concept of globalization is contested, meaning that there are different and competing
understandings of what the term means and how to assess the process. Regardless of how we conceive globalization, the concept occupies an
increasingly prominent place in the social sciences and humanities and for a very good reason: it is impossible to understand the world in the
early 21st century without understanding globalization and its consequences. The objective of this course is to explore what has come to be
known as globalization studies, and in particular, to survey the distinct themes sub-areas that make up the sociology of globalization. These
include: theories of globalization; the global economy; political globalization; globalization and culture; transnational social movements;
globalization and the environment, transnational migration; global conflicts and global inequality.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 028. Black Liberation 2020
(Cross-listed as BLST 028)
2020 has been a tumultuous year. Economic, social, environmental and political events around the world have put global racial hierarchy in
stark relief. In the United States, the Coronavirus pandemic is revealing and exacerbating existing racial inequalities. The continued state
sponsored killing of Black people has sparked the latest iterations of the Black Liberation Movement within and across multiple boundaries. In
this interdisciplinary course, we will investigate and uncover the seeds of these movements in previous eras, the conditions of white supremacy
that continue to call forth resistance, and the manifestations of that constant resistance globally, nationally, and local to our city of Philadelphia.
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, students will work with preeminent journalists, local organizers and community members to create a
podcast that will serve as a digital archive to tell multifaceted stories of Black Liberation 2020.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
SOCI 031C. Indian Nations and Native America
This course traces the 500 years of conquest, colonialism, genocide, resistance, survivance and revitalization of Native Nations in the Americas,
with a special focus on North America. It also covers contemporary issues and social realities (of Indigenous peoples) within the United States,
Canada, Mexico and Turtle Island generally. We discuss origins and struggles over sovereignty, social movements, federal recognition,
enrollment, tribal citizenship, mascotry, Indian gaming, socio-cultural identity and Native worldviews, including alternatives to ongoing
environmental degradation. The class provides students with opportunities to develop their specific knowledge of individual tribal nations,
including Pueblos Indígenas in Central America and the First Nations of Canada and the Arctic.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 035D. Capitalism and Migration
The issue of transnational migration has been much debated by politicians, the media and laypeople alike. This is especially the case in the last
few years. Images of migrants making their way to the nearest border, families being separated through deportation and children being detained
in cages fill our screens. But, do we understand what causes people to migrate in the first place? To understand this, we need to analyze the root
causes of transnational migration as well as the politics involved in it. This will require engagement with issues of power, the legal system and
the production of migrant illegality, race, the nation-state, etc. Rather than only a survey of theories related to the topic, this class is designed to
provide you with a holistic approach to the study of migration from a critical sociological perspective.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, LALS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 041C. Indigenous Peoples and Globalization
(Cross-listed as ENVS 033)
This course provides a sociological look at Indigenous Peoples from the local to the global, including Native Nations (and Tribes) of the U.S.,
Latin America, the Maori (New Zealand), Adevasi (India), and the many Peoples from East Asia, Africa and Europe. We discuss models for
understanding Indigenous struggles in the 21st century, especially in line with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UN DRIP), and levels of Sovereignty, Autonomy, and Minority status (world-systems analysis). We pay special attention to Indigenous
peoples (tribes) who continue to survive and thrive in a modern world of global climate change, neoliberal capitalist hegemony and extreme
cultural domination. The class provides students opportunities to view interdisciplinary global issues - environmental world threats, social
change and refugees, hegemonic decline, regional warfare of nation-states, spirituality, food sovereignty - from Indigenous perspectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Fenelon.
Fall 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048K. Political Sociology: The Mafia and the State
This course will introduce students to the comparative study of criminal organizations across the globe. In it, we will explore the social, political
and economic conditions in which organized crime develops. Analyses will be focused on the organization of criminal networks, rules and codes,
activities both in legitimate business and illegal markets, and their relationship to politics. This comparative approach will enable students to
identify those factors facilitating the emergence, migration and persistence of organized crime across nation states and global polities -
emphasizing the mechanisms, processes and institutions that structure and are structured by criminal organizations. We will survey the major
theoretical approaches and empirical investigations of Mafias and like organizations in Italy, Russia, China, Japan, Central Asia, Central and
South America, the United States, and locally in Philadelphia.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
SOCI 127. Race Theories
Contemporary theories of race and racism by sociologists such as Winant, Gilroy, Williams, Gallagher, Ansell, Omi, and others will be explored.
Concepts and controversies explored will include racial identity and social status, the question of social engineering, the social construction of
justice, social stasis, and change. The U.S. is the focus, but other countries will be examined. Without exception, an introductory course on race
and/or racism is a prerequisite.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Core
SOCI 145. Sociology of Capitalism
This class will provide students with an in-depth examination of capitalism and its logics and the impact that it has on their everyday lives. The
first part of the class will provide an overview of the main ways in which sociologist approach the study of capitalism, focusing particularly on
Max Weber and Karl Marx's views of the origins of the capitalist system. After this, we will explore the inner logics of the capitalist system,
learning not only how it works, but also tracing some of its main contradictions and why it regularly leads to economic and social crisis. The last
part of the course will focus on the impact of capitalism on various aspects of our daily life, presently and in the future.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Spanish
SPAN 012. Imágenes y contextos hispánicos
This course provides an introduction to the Hispanic world with an emphasis on its visual culture. The goal is to understand the key cultural
processes that have shaped Latin America and Spain. We will begin by examining early contact between Europeans and Amerindian civilizations.
We will analyze how the history of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions in Spain had a great impact on how the Spanish colonial empire
developed in the New World. We will then study the nation-building processes of the nineteenth century in Latin America, and continue on to
more recent topics, such as the periods of war and postwar in Spain and some Latin American countries.
Students will develop advanced skills in written Spanish by completing several written assignments over the course of the semester.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
Paired
SPAN 023. Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana
This course introduces students to the richness of Latin American literature through the critical analysis of texts that represent many different
moments in the complex history of an extraordinary region.
Special emphasis will be placed on the shifting relationships between aesthetics, politics, and social change.
Students will be able to compare and contrast how major writers (Quiroga, Borges, Rulfo, García Márquez, Fuentes, Neruda) as well as
emerging ones confront one key question: "Who are we?" Students will analyze individual texts using appropriate literary terminology; and
engage critically in questions about Latin America's colonial legacy, nation-building; revolutionary processes; race and ethnicity; gender and
sexuality.
This is an ideal course for those students who want to strengthen their oral and writing proficiency in Spanish. Especially recommended for those
planning to study abroad.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, ESCH, CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Paired
SPAN 043. Horror y maravilla en la literatura hispana
This course is an introduction to political and ideological uses of the fantastic genre and horror fiction in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia
during the Early Modern period. We will study texts such as short stories, novels, poetry, theater, painting, inquisition records, and films. The
course examines how texts that blur the lines between the real and the unreal, the natural world and the supernatural can be used as mechanisms
of social control that seek to propagate concerns, fears, and stigmas on racial minorities and marginalized groups. Students will learn about the
key sociopolitical, religious, and historical contexts of the era that will help us understand how the fantastic and horror fiction engage with their
society. We will explore themes such as the world of the witches, monsters and prodigies, religious miracles, and diabolical metamorphoses, or
the boundaries between life and death. Students will become familiar with the following terms: horror, fantastic, miracle, magic, diabolical,
metamorphosis, and sensationalism. At the end of the semester, students are expected to know how the popular imagination and the fiction of the
Early Modern period can help us understand the complex sociohistorical vision of that era.
Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Hernández.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 050. Afrocaribe: literatura y cultura visual
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination mainly through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts from the Hispanic Caribbean. We will analyze the political
and economical forces that have affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-
Caribbean philosophy, religion, music, and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will
pay special attention to ideas of colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation; myth and performativity; and transculturation,
syncretism and transvestism.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Paired
SPAN 051. Cuba contemporánea: utopía, revolución y reforma
This course will focus on Cuban literature and culture produced during the historical period of the Cuban Revolution. By reading varied-and
often opposed-literary accounts and artistic representations of those years, the course seeks to analyze the complex socio-economical, political,
and ideological processes that have informed Cuban society and culture since 1959 until the present day. Although it will use a panoramic and
chronological approach, emphasis will be given to works produced in the last three decades. Issues to be discussed include the relation between
national identity, ideology and political discourse; the politics of representation in terms of race, gender and sexuality; exile and diaspora, the
social role of the intellectual, ethics and aesthetics, and the current period of political and economic transition.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Díaz.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 052. Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 052S and LALS 052)
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts. We will analyze the political and economical forces that have
affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-Caribbean philosophy, religion, music,
and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will pay special attention to ideas of
colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation formation; transculturation and syncretism; and myth and performativity.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Paired
SPAN 061. El "otro": voces y miradas múltiples
This course is an overview of literary and artistic expressions as a response of the presence of the "other", contributing to build a collective
cultural imaginary of a diverse society where immigration is a compelling influence. Migrant movements within and outside Spain, and their
impact on transforming Spanish society, will be studied in theatre, film and literature. The imaginary vision of the "other" will be unveiled as an
integral part of the imagined self-identity. Through different readings and visual art forms we will observe the challenge to identity definition
caused by an array of people from different races, cultures and religions.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Paired
SPAN 075. Debates in Latinx Culture: Today and Tomorrow
Crosslisted with LITR 075S.
This advanced course on Latinx culture focuses on contemporary debates and polemical issues involving Latinx cultural production and
representation. In a colloquium and seminar style, students will discuss a wide range of thought-provoking topics such as social movements and
the political participation of Latinos; new trends in film and media; the politics of the literary market; social media presence; new linguistic and
bilingual developments; fashion, music, and the commodification of identity politics in popular culture; among other controversial topics that are
fundamentally shaping the presence and impact of Latinx in the US and the world, today and tomorrow.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
SPAN 076. Identidad y conflicto cultural
This class studies contemporary Latin American social identities and their representations in literature, cinema, and other media from Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
The selected texts present different strands of cultural conflict due to the simultaneous presence of markedly different modes of identity.
LGBTQ diversity, sexual identities, femicides and gender violence will be of special relevance.
Several primary questions will guide our analysis: What is identity? What are the socio-historical, cultural and political influences on identity?
What does the study of these texts reveal about the relationship among economic development, the construction of social identities, and
citizenship? How can this class help us to better understand the dynamics of race, class, gender and sexuality in specific Latin American
contexts?
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, GSST
Fall 2023. Martínez
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Paired
SPAN 087. Cruzando fronteras: migración y neoliberalismo en el cine mexicano
This course studies the rich history of Mexican cinema. It begins by analyzing how the Golden Age of Mexican cinema fomented a national
identity that still prevails in culture today. We then move to contemporary transnational Mexican cinema to study the influences of globalization
and neoliberalism in internationally acclaimed Mexican directors such as Natalia Almada, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu,
and Guillermo del Toro, among others. This part of the course studies Mexican cinema as a transnational product of cosmopolitan filmmakers
who go beyond traditional ideas of national cinema in their quest for creativity, freedom of expression, and broader audiences. In addition to
studying films, the course will take into account the recent scholarship pertaining to Mexican cinema. Throughout the course, we'll examine
issues of displacement, nonbelonging, migration, class, race, gender identity, and social inequality.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Buiza.
Fall 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
SPAN 088. Pasados desgarradores: revolución y trauma en la literatura centroamericana
This course focuses on contemporary Central American literature. It begins with the revolutionary poetry, narrative of resistance, and testimonio
that emerged out of the sociopolitical turmoil of the isthmus during the decades of war, revolutions, and genocide. We will then study the
atmosphere of disenchantment during the postwar period and the aesthetic shift in representations of trauma, violence, and disaffection. We will
study novels, short stories, poems, films, music, and read scholarly articles to understand the sociohistorical and literary context of the war and
the postwar periods in Central America.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 103. Trauma y derechos humanos en la literatura centroamericana
This seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations
of human suffering, empathy, and pain.
The seminar explores the social disintegration and legacy of violence left by decades of civil wars, genocide, and revolution in the region, as well
as theories of trauma, memory, affect, aesthetics, philosophical cynicism, and human rights. These theoretical approaches will help us reflect on
the relation between literature and human rights; the sociopolitical upheavals and their cultural representations; and how cultural production
engages with issues of peace and conflict in the neoliberal era. We will pay special attention to representations of social disaffection, political
disillusionment, and survival in a postwar context shaped by socio-economic precarity. In addition to reading literary works by some of the main
authors in the region-such as Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, and Claudia Hernández-we will analyze scholarly debates
surrounding Central American literature, as well as watch films and performances that probe into the issues of ethics, historical truth, social
justice, reconciliation, and the human predicament in a postwar society.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Spring 2022. Buiza.
Spring 2024. Buiza.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Statistics
STAT 041. Topics in Applied Statistics: Statistical Graphics & Data Visualization
Graphical displays of information can improve our understanding of both data and statistical models. Data Visualization has become a key
component in decision-making about everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to sports analytics to climate change. While these visualizations
can help synthesize complex phenomena into a single graph, we have also been inundated with maps, charts, and diagrams that often present
conflicting conclusions. Drawing heavily from contemporary examples including the COVID-19 pandemic and recent election results, this course
will cover common forms of data visualization and their uses and misuses.
In this course, you will learn how to create, critique, and present graphics in a concise and statistically sound way. Topics include: common data
types and visualizations in R; incorporating statistical concepts such as transformations, smoothing, and uncertainty into visualizations;
interactive graphics; and non-traditional types of data, which may include time series, maps, networks, or text.
You will leave the course having built a portfolio of static and interactive visualizations, statistical writing, and presentations. This is a project-
based course, and you are encouraged to bring additional ideas for datasets and research questions.
Prerequisite: STAT 021 or permission of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Core
Theater
THEA 015. Performance Theory and Practice
This seminar-format course provides a global road map to written and embodied theories and practices of live performance: cross-
culturally, cross-historically, and across genres. The emphasis is on the aspects of live performance that complete and complement the work of
playwrights, with particular attention to performers, director/choreographers, designers, composers, etc. Rather than pre-scripted drama and
commodified models of theatrical production, we emphasize movement-based, ensemble-generated, non-verbal/non-
discursive, interdisciplinary, political and ritual dimensions of performance. The class includes units on performance traditions and genres
beyond Europe, North America, and the anglophone world. Assigned readings will emphasize the practice-based writings by or about theater
artists such as Bharata Muni, Zeami, Stanislavsky, Artaud, Brecht, Mei Lan Fang, Lecoq, Grotowski,Schechner, Chaikin, Mnouchkine, Wilson,
and Castellucci, along with selected theoretical and critical texts by nonpractitioners. Each week will include a video lab of relevant
performances (and field trips to live performances when possible). Assigned writing will consist of a series of short analytical seminar papers
and two major research papers, at least one of which will be devoted to research on performance beyond the Euro-American/anglophone
cultural context. The course will be taught remotely, and each week will consist of a required non-synchronous weekly video screening, a non-
synchronous recorded lecture by the professor, and a 75-minute seminar discussion centered around student papers. The course will end with
final critical research paper on a topic of the student's choice (no final exam).
Recommended in sophomore or junior year.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Prerequisite: THEA 001 or consent of instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Kuharski.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
Core
THEA 106. Theater History Seminar
A comparative study of theater history from its origins through the 21st century, along with a critical examination of a given theatrical company
as a case study. Emphasis on the coherence of specific performance traditions and periods, significant companies as well as individual artists,
the placement of theatrical performance within specific cultural contexts, and their relevance to contemporary theatrical practice. Readings will
include, but not be limited to, dramatic texts as one form of artifact of the theatrical event. The spring 2015 seminar will focus on the work of
Ariane Mnouchkine and the Théâtre du Soleil.
Prerequisite: THEA 015.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Not offered. See THEA 121.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Kuharski.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
Core
History
Faculty
DIEGO ARMUS, Professor
TIMOTHY J. BURKE, Professor
3
ALLISON DORSEY, Professor
BRUCE DORSEY, Professor
ROBERT E. WEINBERG, Isaac H. Clothier Professor of History and International Relations and
Chair
FARID AZFAR, Associate Professor
1
BUYUN CHEN, Associate Professor
3
MEGAN BROWN, Assistant Professor
2
AHMAD SHOKR, Assistant Professor
VIVIAN TRUONG, Assistant Professor
MADDIE LESAGE, Administrative Assistant
1
Absent on leave, fall 2021.
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
Why Study History?
A 2021 study concluded that a liberal arts education "is what will best equip students with the adaptability and fortitude to navigate
the road ahead." (Lynn Pasquerella, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities)
To master an academic methodology that allows you to think critically about the past and analyze the political problems of the
contemporary world.
To wrestle with the complex questions of "how" and "why" changes in the human experience occur over time.
To embark on an intellectual endeavor that provides depth and breadth to your courses in other disciplines and is crucial to a liberal
arts education.
The study of history offers the largest comparative framework possible: all human societies over all time. More importantly, historical
inquiry foregrounds the actual complexity of the human experience without the restrictive theories favored in much of the Social
Sciences.
To develop the intellectual and analytical skills that you will need for life after college.
The Academic Program
Course Major Requirements
Classes 2022, 2023, & 2024
All majors in history must take at least 9 credits in history that fulfill the following requirements:
1. They complete at least 6 of their 9 credits at Swarthmore. Only one credit from AP/IB will count toward the 9 credits required for the
major. (Read more about our External Credit Policies.)
2. They take at least one course or seminar at Swarthmore from each of the following categories: (a) before 1800 (including Ancient
History courses) and (b) outside Europe and the United States, specifically Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East. This
distribution requirement encourages students to explore various fields of history and engage in comparative historical analysis.
Students must use different courses or seminars to fulfill this requirement. (Find what courses meet our Distribution Requirement.)
3. They complete the culminating project, HIST 091 Senior Research Seminar.
Class of 2025 and beyond
All majors must take at least nine credits (six credits must be taken at Swarthmore) in History that fulfill the following requirements:
One introductory credit or first-year seminar (001-010)
One credit in historical methodology & theory-preferably taken before the senior year
Four courses in one Concentration that focus on more than one geographic region or time period
o Concentrations: Capitalism, Culture & Identity, Domination & Resistance, Empire & Nations, and Science & Medicine
o Geographic regions and time periods defined as (a) before 1800 (including Ancient History courses) and (b) outside
Europe and the United States, specifically Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East (Find what courses meet our
Distribution Requirement.)
Two other credits in History
HIST 091 Senior Research Seminar
Acceptance Criteria
Admission to the Department as a course major or minor normally requires a B average in at least two history courses taken at Swarthmore and
a satisfactory standard of work in all courses. Courses in Ancient History (ANCH) offered by the Classics Department count toward the two-
history-courses prerequisite. The Department reserves the right to withhold evaluation of applications submitted after the deadline. If after
applying a student is deferred, the Department will review their application at the end of each semester until the student is either accepted into
the major or withdraws their application.
Honors Major Requirements
Honors history majors must complete the same credit and distribution requirements as described above. Seminars are the normal mode of
preparation for students studying history in the Honors Program. Honors majors will complete three double-credit seminars. Students may
substitute HIST 180 Honors Thesis for one of their seminars. Students wishing to write a HIST 180 Honors Thesis should declare their intention
to the Department and secure an adviser by May 1 of their junior year. They will develop their proposal in the summer with the help of their
advisor and submit it upon returning to school in September. Honors majors will also be required to complete HIST 091 Senior Research
Seminar. Honors students may, if their Honors Program requires it, receive approval from the Department Chair to complete HIST 091 Senior
Research Seminar in the fall of their junior year.
Acceptance Criteria
Admission to honors is selective and based on an evaluation of the student's potential to do independent work and to contribute to seminar
discussions. A minimum grade of B+ in at least two history courses taken at Swarthmore and a record of active and informed participation in
class discussions are required of all students entering seminars. In addition, recommendations from the Department faculty members who have
taught the student are solicited.
Sophomores hoping to take history seminars in their junior and senior years should give special thought to the seminars that they list in their
Sophomore Plans. Seminar enrollments are normally limited to 10. If you are placed in a seminar at the end of your sophomore year, you will be
one of 10 students guaranteed a space and you are, in effect, taking the space of another student who might also like to be in the seminar.
Consequently, you should not list any seminar in your Sophomore Plan without being quite certain that you intend to take it if you are admitted.
Honors students are expected to maintain a B+ average to continue attending honors seminars and being an honors student.
Honors and Course Minor Requirements
All minors must take at least five credits at Swarthmore (AP, IB, transfer credits, and foreign study courses do not count). At least two credits
must be taken as upper-division courses or double-credit seminars. Only one can be an Ancient History course.
Special Major in History and Educational Studies
Requirements
Students designing a special major in History and Educational Studies must take six courses in history, including one course in a field other than
the United States or Europe (see Distribution Requirements). To graduate with a major in History and Educational Studies, a student must also
complete our culminating exercise, HIST 091 Senior Research Seminar. With permission, students can complete a two-semester, two-credit thesis
(but one credit of this thesis must be HIST 091 Senior Research Seminar). Special majors in History and Educational Studies will work with both
an Educational Studies faculty member and the HIST 091 instructor(s) to complete their one-credit senior research paper or two-credit thesis.
Acceptance Criteria
Admission to the Department as a special major follows similar requirements as course majors. Advisers in each Department should be consulted
when designing a plan.
Teacher Certification
History majors can complete the requirements for teacher certification through a program approved by the state of Pennsylvania. For further
information about the relevant set of requirements, please refer to the Educational Studies section of the Catalog.
Course Types
Introductory Courses: Surveys and First-Year Seminars (001-010)
These courses serve as a gateway to the major by introducing students to the discipline of history and fostering their ability to think, read, and
write historically. They prepare students for upper-division courses, which are predicated on previous exposure to coursework in history.
Surveys provide broad overviews of particular times and places in the historical past, but they all focus on major issues of interpretation,
analysis of primary sources, and historical methodology. First-year seminars (History 001A-001Z) are limited to twelve students and explore
specific historical issues or periods in-depth in a seminar setting.
Historical Methodology & Theory Courses
These courses enable students to explore the question, "how do we know the past," through a close examination of "how we do history." The
relationship between knowledge about the past and the practices of history writing is interrogated through courses on specific methods (e.g., oral
history), theories (e.g. political economy), and analytical frameworks employed in various fields of history. By approaching the study and writing
of history as a socially-, culturally-, and historically-embedded practice, students will gain a deeper understanding of how knowing the past is
conditioned by our approaches to the past.
Please note that many Methodology & Theory courses also satisfy Concentration requirements.
Upper-Division Courses (011-099)
Upper-division courses are categorized by concentrations that provide depth and breadth to the study of history and address key topics and
themes that occupy the attention of historians. Cutting-edge historical scholarship tends to fall into at least one of the following concentrations:
Capitalism, Culture & Identity, Domination & Resistance, Empire & Nations, and Science & Medicine.
Please note that some upper-division courses also satisfy the requirement for a methodology or theory course.
Senior Research Seminar (History 91)
All majors must complete HIST 091 Senior Research Seminar, which provides students the opportunity to employ their skills as historians as they
write an extended essay based on primary and secondary sources. This course-which counts as one of the required nine credits-satisfies the
College's requirement that all majors have a culminating exercise and is only offered during the fall semester. The Department encourages
students to consult faculty members about their topics by the end of their junior year and select their topic prior to the first meeting of the Senior
Research Seminar. Juniors are also strongly encouraged to apply for summer research fellowships through the Division of Social Sciences.
We encourage students to use the rich collections of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection and Friends Historical Library, both located in
McCabe Library. The Peace Collection houses an unparalleled collection of antiwar and disarmament materials, including those of many
prominent social activists. The Friends Historical Library possesses one of the richest collections of manuscripts and printed source material on
Quaker history. The holdings of other institutions in the greater Philadelphia area, such as the Hagley Museum and Library (Wilmington, DE),
the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the American Philosophical Society, are also accessible to the student-researcher. In addition, we
encourage students to use online archival collections such as the National Security Archive.
Double-Credit Seminars (100+)
Double-credit seminars are small courses in which students take responsibility for discussions of the material on the syllabus. The instructor
helps facilitate discussions but does not necessarily take a leading role in the learning process. These seminars tend to focus on specific fields of
historical inquiry such as gender and sexuality in the United States; slavery; reform and revolution in Latin America; the Enlightenment and
European intellectual history; political economy of the Modern Middle East; supranational institutions in Europe; colonialism in Africa; women
and gender in China; and the Russian revolution.
Entry into double-credit, honors seminars must be requested through the Department Chair. Our honors seminars are open to students'
applications usually after they have taken two history courses and earned grades of B+ or higher.
Language Attachment
Certain designated courses offer the option of a foreign language attachment, normally for 0.5 credit. Arrangements for this option should be
made with the instructor at the time of registration.
External Credit: AP, IB Credit and Credit from Other Institutions
The Department of History grants one credit for scores of 4 and 5 on AP tests and a 6 and 7 on the IB if you successfully complete one
introductory or first-year seminar offered by the Department. Students must receive a grade of C or higher to receive history credit at
Swarthmore. The credit for the AP or IB test does not satisfy the Department's concentration requirement.
Students who want to receive credit for a second AP or IB test must take a second history course at Swarthmore. However, this credit counts
toward the 32 credits needed to graduate and not to the major in History.
The Department of History does not grant credit from another college or university in the United States except for courses taken at Bryn Mawr
College, Haverford College, and the University of Pennsylvania. We will only grant an exception for domestic off-campus study experiences
validated by our Off-Campus Study or Registrar's Offices and at our discretion. Such credit does not satisfy the Department's concentration
requirement.
The Department of History grants credit for history courses that are pre-approved by the Department and are part of Off-Campus Study outside
the United States. Credit is contingent on successfully completing an introductory course at Swarthmore.
All credit external to Swarthmore to be evaluated by the Department of History is granted on a one-to-one basis. That is, a student must take and
complete a history course at Swarthmore-earning a C or better-for each external credit the student wishes to receive. Any combination of
external credits designated HIST will not exceed three.
Life After Swarthmore
History majors develop strong analytical, writing, and research skills that prepare them for a wide range of occupations and professions. They
can be found pursuing a broad range of career paths, ranging from government service to the world of medicine, from elementary and high
schools to trade unions and public interest foundations, from journalism and publishing to consulting, and from the private to the public sector.
Many find that studying history is excellent preparation for law school and business. Finally, others have gone onto graduate school in history
and now teach at universities and colleges in the United States and overseas.
History Courses
HIST 001B. First Year Seminar: Human Rights as History: From Haiti to Nuremberg
This course takes the subject of human rights and sets it into historical motion, starting with the French Revolution and ending with the 21
st
century.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2023. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001C. First-Year Seminar: Why College? The Past and Future of Liberal Arts
Look past the brochures and the info sessions and ask: what is college in the early 21st Century, how did it get that way? Why do people go to
college? Should they? This class examines the histories and meanings of higher education.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Burke.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001E. First-Year Seminar: Global History of Science
This seminar explores the formation of modern science as a global phenomenon. We will trace the practices and discourses that helped to define
both science (as a form of knowledge-making) and the sciences (as distinct disciplines) from the 18th-20th century.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Chen.
Fall 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001F. First-Year Seminar: The Golden Age of Piracy
This course explores the profound intertwinings of myth and reality in the golden age of piracy, a period that is centered in the early 18th
century.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001H. First-Year Seminar: What Ifs and Might-Have-Beens: Counterfactual Histories
The course will focus on debates about and within the writing of counterfactual histories.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2023. Burke.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001J. First-Year Seminar: London Beyond Control: From the Plague Year to the Public Sphere
The Great Plague of London (1665), Daniel Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year (1722), and the avalanche of imitations inspired by the latter in
2020 will all serve as points of entry into plague as a cultural crisis of modernity that has spawned (and continues to spawn) a vast corpus of new
imaginaries of the relationship between self and society, risk and immunity, fact and fiction, private and public, law and justice, freedom and
sovereignty.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001N. First-Year Seminar: Chinatowns: Then & Now
Chinatowns have long been a fixture of urban life, serving as a haven for workers fleeing anti-Asian violence, a home for immigrant families, and
a hub for tourism. This course will focus on the histories and contemporary conditions of Chinatowns in major U.S. cities, though we will also
discuss the development of suburban Chinatowns and Chinatowns around the world. We will explore questions including: what spurred the
development of Chinatowns? What purpose do they continue to serve, and for whom? What has been their role in Asian American, American, and
urban history?
Social Sciences.
Writing.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001P. First Year Seminar: History through the Lens: Latin America, Latinos, Photography, and the
Present
This course uses photographs to explore key processes in the making of modern Latin America, such as urbanization, industrialization,
migration, labor, race, ethnicity, gender, disease, sports, leisure, music, food, politics, religion, and the environment.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001R. First-Year Seminar: Remembering History
Explores the relationship between the creation of personal and collective memory and the production of history. The seminar will examine the
tensions between memory and history in U.S. history.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001U. First-Year Seminar: Defining an "Us": Nationalism, Culture, and Identity in Modern Europe
This course examines how populations come to see themselves as part of a single community. That community, in some instances called a nation
or nation-state (or even an empire), can demand loyalty. It can also be exclusionary, sometimes with violent outcomes. We will examine the
emergence of cultural and national identities in 19th- and 20th-century Europe through thematic investigations of four intertwined ways such
identities might be forged: land, language, symbols, and blood.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Brown.
Spring 2023. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001V. First-Year Seminar: History in the Making: Autocrats, Activists, and Artists in a Changing Middle
East
This course will examine recent political, social, and cultural transformations in the Middle East and the various historical developments that
have led to them. Through an exploration of the current landscape of the region, we will use contemporary events as a window onto the past,
investigating how history has shaped our world today.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2022. Shokr.
Fall 2023. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001W. First-Year Seminar: Promised Lands: European Settler Colonies 1830-1962
This course explores European settler colonialism in Africa (including Algeria, Angola, and South Africa), Southeast Asia (including Indonesia),
Oceania (Australia), and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries. Students will analyze the practices and lived experiences of the European
imperial project while considering topics such as intimate relationships; notions of self and identity; and economic, political, and physical
domination. We will examine settler reactions to decolonization and the legacies of settler colonialism in independent African and Asian states.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001X. First-Year Seminar: Crime and Punishment in America
The problem of mass incarceration has redefined our cities, undermined our labor movement, and shaped our national politics for the last thirty
years. Yet few historians have focused on the racial, economic, and political implications of this major force in our social order. This seminar
will explore the historic roots of crime and punishment in American life.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 002B. Early Modern Europe: Imperial Origins: Britain, Spain, and France, 1492-1791
Using primary sources, art, recent scholarship, and film, this course explores the origins of the modern world in Europe and its colonies between
the 15th and 18th centuries.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 002F. Early Modern Europe: Rethinking the Scientific Revolution
The course is an overview of the Scientific Revolution in Europe and an exploration of a scholarly debate that grows every year in its
contemporary relevance.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 003A. Modern Europe, 1789 to 1918: Revolutionaries, Citizens, and Subjects in Europe's Long 19th
Century
This course surveys European history from the French Revolution to the aftermath of World War I. We will explore the European revolutionary
tradition, the extension of citizenship, the emergence of nationalism, and the territorial expansion of Europe. The course will hone your primary
source analysis skills.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Fall 2021. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 003B. Modern Europe, 1918 to the Present: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, Culture Wars
This course surveys major developments in Europe from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 004. Latin American History
Drawing on literature, cinema, newspapers, cartoons, music, official documents, and historical essays, this survey course examines the colonial
incorporation of the region into the Atlantic economy; the neo-colonial regimes of the 19th and 20th centuries and their diverse and convergent
historical paths; and the challenges and opportunities of earlier and current globalization trends. Emphasis on changes and continuities over five
centuries exploring revolutionary, reformist, and conservative agendas of change as well as gender, class, racial, and religious issues.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2022. Armus.
Spring 2023. Armus.
Fall 2023. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 005A. Early American History
In this thematic survey of American culture and society from the colonial era through the American Civil War and Reconstruction, student
interpretation of primary-source documents will be emphasized.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. B. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 005B. Modern American History
The history of the 20th- and 21st-century United States has been marked by the tension between the ideal of democracy and the expansion of
American empire. Through analysis of primary and secondary sources, including film, music, images, and literature, this course surveys
American history from the end of Reconstruction to the recent past. We will focus on the development of the "American century" and examine
how the emergence of the U.S. as a world power has influenced domestic politics and social movements.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 006B. The Modern Middle East
This survey class introduces students to Middle Eastern history from the late eighteenth century to the present. We will cover the major political,
social, and cultural developments in the region during this period and examine how Middle Eastern societies and cultures have been represented
over the last two centuries.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Shokr.
Spring 2023. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 007B. African American History, 1865 to Present
Students in History 7B investigate the history of African Americans from Reconstruction through the 21st century. Historical monographs,
autobiography, film, and literature reveal the story of emancipation, political activism, industrialization, and transformations in cultural identity
from Jim Crow to the election of the nation's first Black president.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 008A. West Africa in the Era of the Slave Trade, 1500 to 1850
This survey course focuses on the origins and impact of the slave trade on West African societies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Burke.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 008B. Mfecane, Mines, and Mandela: Southern Africa from 1650 to the Present
This course surveys southern African history from the establishment of Dutch rule at the Cape of Good Hope to the present day, focusing on the
19th and 20th centuries.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 009A. Premodern China
This course surveys the history of premodern China. Thematic focus and content will vary.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2023. Chen.
Fall 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 009B. Modern China: Reformers, Revolutionaries, and Rebels
This course is an introduction to the intellectual, social, and economic forces that shaped the history of modern China. We will rely heavily on
primary sources as we try to reconstruct the plural, contradictory, and fluid ways in which Chinese intellectual and political leaders viewed
themselves as "modern."
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 010. Asian American History
This course explores how "Asian America" came to be. We will begin with the historical experiences of Asians in the U.S., examine the origins of
the term "Asian American" in the movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and consider its current contested usage as a demographic category.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2022. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 020. Leviathan's Revenge: Reading Thomas Hobbes in 2022
Centered on Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1651), this course will trace a counter-history of Western political thought starting with the Ancients
and ending in the present moment when Hobbes' famous mythical entity-at once machine, monster, and idol-continues to inspire paradigm shifts
in the humanities and social sciences.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Azfar.
Spring 2023. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 021. London Beyond Control: Great Plagues and Cultural Crises, 1665-2020
The Great Plague of London (1665), Daniel Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year (1722), and the avalanche of imitations inspired by the latter in
2020 will all serve as points of entry into plague as a cultural crisis of modernity that has spawned (and continues to spawn) a vast corpus of new
imaginaries of the relationship between self and society, risk and immunity, fact and fiction, private and public, law and justice, freedom and
sovereignty.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 022. Empire, Slavery, and the University
Centered around Craig Steven Wilder's Ebony and Ivy, and covering a period from the early 17th to late 19th centuries, this course will explore
the central role that has been played by American and British universities in the histories of racial capitalism, white supremacy, and global
empire.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 023. Enlightenment and Empire, 1776-1803
The course will hone into the tensions that surround the project of liberal empire by focusing on their articulation and contestation in Europe,
America, and India during the revolutionary era of the late eighteenth century. Case studies of specific topics like antislavery boycotts and the
impeachment trials of colonial governors will be used to delve into the role of Enlightenment and empire in the invention of race, sex, science,
knowledge, liberty, capitalism, and ideologies of humanitarianism.
Prerequisite: Department prereq of previous history course; no first-years without permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 024. Witch-hunting in the Early Modern World
Starting with an overview of major themes in the separate but related histories of capitalism and witch-hunting, this course is centered around
Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici: a book that lies at the intersection of these topics. Themes to be explored include gender, science,
religious war, state-building, climate change, peasant revolts, "primitive accumulation," and the historical narrative of modernity.
Prerequisite: This course is not open to first-year students.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 025. Colonialism and Nationalism in the Middle East
This upper-level course will explore the vast and ever-growing scholarly literature on colonialism and nationalism in the Middle East. It will
cover both key theoretical works that have helped to shape this body of historical writing as well as important monographs that exemplify
particular approaches to the topic.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, ISLM
Fall 2022. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 026. Frontiers of Capitalism
This course explores key questions about power, agency, and historical change that are raised by the study of capitalism in the non-Western
world. In the process, it investigates how geographic, social, cultural, and ecological differences have been produced features of capitalist
environments outside of Europe over the last 500 years.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Shokr.
Spring 2023. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 027. Living with Total War: Europe, 1914-1919
This research seminar examines the experience of Europeans in the trenches, under military occupation, and at home in the turbulent years
during and immediately following the First World War.
Optional language attachments: German, French, and Russian.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 028. Aux Armes! History and Historiography of the French Revolution
We examine the sites of the Revolution and its afterlives, using everything from primary source documents to household objects. We will explore
a range of ways of practicing history. This will lead to discussions of nationalism, identity, rights regimes based on gender or race, and
inequalities stemming from material or legal conditions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 030. Glory Days? Western Europe's Postwar 1945-1975
Though sometimes called the trente glorieuses (glorious thirty), the decades after World War II witnessed upheaval in Western Europe. We will
analyze these years, which witnessed the Marshall Plan, decolonization, and student protest. We will interrogate how to define a Western
European space, with an eye toward empire, European integration, and the Cold War.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 031. France in Algeria, France and Algerians, 1830-present
What do the existentialist Albert Camus and the soccer star Zinédine Zidane have in common? The intertwined histories of Algeria (Camus'
birthplace) and France (Zidane's). This course examines that history, from the 1830 invasion to the War of Independence to today. We will ask
how the settler population, of whom Camus is just an example, emerged and analyze debates about citizenship represented by Zidane and other
children of Algerian migrants. Throughout, we will interrogate the history of French empire.
Prerequisite: Department prereq of a previous history course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM
Fall 2022. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 032. Holidays in the Empire
From seedy bars to holy sites, Europeans journeyed to colonized spaces to experience people and places they could never see at home. This class
examines how European peoples participated in the imperial project through their travels. Students will analyze empire and tourism and produce
digital content for a broad public. Students will write and help design content for a web site featuring interactive maps and analysis of these
"holidays in the Empire."
Prerequisite: First-year students must receive permission of instructor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 033. Environmental History of the Soviet Union
This course focuses on the impact of ideology and politics on the environment in twentieth-century Russia. Readings include short stories, novels,
monographs, articles, and documents.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 034. Varieties of Zionist Thought: Judaism, Nationalism, Antisemitism, and the Jewish Question
(Cross-listed as RELG 060)
This course focuses on political expressions of Jewish identity since the late nineteenth century through an exploration of the central texts of
Zionist thought. It integrates biblical, rabbinic, and medieval Jewish texts about Jerusalem, the idea of Zion, and the centrality of the Land of
Israel to provide historical context and background. We ask: what are the ways select Jewish sources from antiquity to modernity have grappled
with varied attitudes toward land, political sovereignty, and national identity in the Diaspora.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST.
Fall 2021. Kessler. Weinberg.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 036. Fascinating Fascism
This course explores the various manifestations of fascism as an ideological, cultural, and political movement in Europe from 1919 to 1945.
Special attention will be paid to Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania, and England.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 037. The Holocaust: History, Representation, and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 037G, GMST 037)
This course explores the roots of Nazism, the implementation of the Final Solution, the legacy of the Holocaust on European society, and the
representation of the Holocaust through an interdisciplinary approach that relies on primary sources, historical scholarship, memoirs, poetry,
painting, and film.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, PEAC
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 038. Angels of Death: Life under Lenin and Stalin
This course explores the causes and consequences of the Bolshevik Revolution. Topics include the collapse of the tsarist regime, consolidation of
communist rule, the rise of Stalin, and de-Stalinization. We explore the successes and failures of communism through a close reading of primary
sources, memoirs, and monographs.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Weinberg.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 039. Picking up the Pieces: Rebuilding Russia after the Collapse of Communism
This course explores the legacy of communism in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. We start with an exploration of Mikhail
Gorbachev's policies and then turn to the impact of the policies of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin on the economy, culture, society, and politics
of Russia since 1991.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 042. The American Revolution
Revolutionary developments in British North America between 1760 and 1800.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 043. Antislavery in America
A research seminar in which students explore the history of antislavery, abolitionist, and emancipationist movements in North America.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 044. American Popular Culture
The history of entertainment and cultural expression in the United States from early America to the contemporary era.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. B. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 046. The American Civil War
The social, cultural and political history of the event often called "the Second American Revolution." This course examines the sectional conflict
that prompted the Civil War, the secession crisis, the war years, and Reconstruction. Central themes of American history emerge-freedom,
equality, self-determination, racial justice and injustice, economic and class conflict. This course will also explore the continued conflict of the
Civil War in American memory and popular culture.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. B. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 051. Black Reconstruction
This course recounts the struggle for freedom and national citizenship rights in the post-Civil War era. Black courage and determination secured
hard won successes despite "splendid failures." History, fiction, and film treatments will help students gain insights into "America's second
Revolution."
Prerequisite: A HIST or BLST course at Swarthmore or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 052. History of Manhood in America
Meanings of manhood and various constructions of masculine identity in America since the 18th century.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 056. Police, Prisons, & Protests
Police violence and incarceration have been the subject of increasing scholarly and popular attention in past years, particularly since the rise of
the Black Lives Matter movement and the global uprisings against police brutality in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd. This
course provides an introduction to histories of the carceral state in the U.S. How have police and prisons developed throughout U.S. history?
Who has been policed and imprisoned? How have impacted communities responded to and resisted police violence and incarceration? We will
address these questions through analysis of primary historical sources, scholarly literature, films, and case studies of contemporary activism.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH.
Spring 2022. Truong.
Spring 2023. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 057. History v. Hollywood
A history course focused on analyzing the narrative of American History as imagined and created by cinematographers. Students will view both
Hollywood classics as well as work by black filmmakers. Assigned readings will address themes of nationality, race, labor, gender, and political
activism.
This course is not open to first year students.
Prerequisite: Department prereq of a previous history course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 059. Motherhood in American History
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 060. The East India Company, 1600-1857
The course explores the history of the East India Company, paying special attention to the 18th century and attending to how the history of the
East India Company engages questions of capitalism, empire, race, justice, and modernity.
Prerequisite: A HU or SS course within TriCo.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 061. From the Ocean to the River: Spaces of Global History
How would our picture of global history change if we shifted the central unit from oceans to rivers? In this course, we will explore this question
from multiple angles, centering our inquiry around a set of questions raised by the intertwined histories of the Indus and Mississippi rivers in the
mid-19th century. Literary sources, works of cinema and primary sources will enrich our inquiry.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 063. History from Below: Oral History and Community-based Archives
How do historians document the experiences of ordinary people and communities that have been left out of dominant narratives? This course
introduces students to the practice of oral history and the construction of community-based archives as two ways scholars and practitioners have
addressed silences and absences in historical record.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 063S. Voices of the Past: Between Oral History and Memory
An examination of the possibilities and limitations of oral history in the reconstruction of the past. After an in-depth discussion of key works in
the field and an initial exposure to specific methodologies, each student will develop his/her oral history research project.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 065. Cities of (Im)migrants: Buenos Aires, Lima, Philadelphia, and New York
Why do people move? Who participates in the migration process? How do local political, cultural, and economic conditions and broader global
capitalist forces shape individual/family decisions to migrate? What forces mold (im)migrants' adjustments to the new cities? When do
(im)migrant groups become communities? This course explores the adjustment of European immigrants in Buenos Aires, internal migrants in
Lima, and Latinos in Philadelphia and New York and their roles in the making of modern metropolis.
Prerequisite: HIST or LALS course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 066. Making Sense of Being Sick: the Social Construction of Diseases in the Modern World
Discussing Latin American, European, African, Asian, and North American cases, this course examines public health strategies in colonial and
neocolonial contexts; disease metaphors in media, cinema, and literature; ideas about hygiene, segregation and contagion; outbreaks and the
politics of blame; the medicalization of society; and alternative healing cultures.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core, INTP, LALS
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 067. Digging Through the National Security Archive: South American "Dirty Wars" and the United
States' Involvement
Focusing on 1970s Latin American dictatorships, this course's aims are twofold: firstly, a critical examination of the available scholarship on the
so-called "Dirty Wars" that produced the disappearance of thousands of citizens-particularly young people-in the context of state terrorism;
secondly, an exploration of the relations between those Latin American dictatorships and the United States through a rigorous research exercise
using the National Security Archive and other primary sources.
Prerequisite: At least one course in history or professor permission.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Spring 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 067T. Digging through the American Tobacco Archives: Public Health, Corporate Deception, and
Cigarette Smoking in the 20th Century
This course examines the worldwide transformation of cigarette smoking from a celebrated and well-accepted habit into a medicalized, risky, and
regulated practice. We will research the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Archive, an online repository with thousands of documents produced
by the deceptive workings of big American tobacco corporations aiming at undermining the medicalization of the cigarette smoking habit
worldwide. Individual or group research projects might deal with the Latin American region or other areas of the world.
Prerequisite: HIST or LALS course.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 075. Craft and Technology in China
This course explores the history of craft and technology in China. Through an examination of different industries, including ceramics, weaving
and dyeing, printing, and paper-making, we will engage with broader questions about the role of expertise, skill, and the production of technical
knowledge in Chinese history.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 077. Fashion: Theory and History
This course traces the historical development of fashion systems and fashion theory, with a special focus on East Asia. Using textual, visual, and
material sources, we will explore historical representations of dress, the politics of dress, fashion and the body, and consumption and modernity.
Prerequisite: A history course or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 078. China, Capitalism, and Their Critics
This course examines the creation of a discourse centered on the relationship between China, a nation with distinct cultural characteristics, and
capitalism, conceived of as an economic system specific to European social formation.
Prerequisite: A history, sociology, or anthropology course, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 080. History of the Body
Bodies make history and bodies are subject to history's movements. The history of the body, a relatively recent field of inquiry, encompasses the
histories of science, gender, sexuality, race, and empire. This course will explore different chapters of that history, with a focus on Europe and
the Atlantic World.
Prerequisite: This course is not open to first year students.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 080B. Biopower vs Necropolitics: Empires of Life and Death, 1622-2003
"Biopower" and "necropolitics" - two of the major buzz-words of our time - are often used interchangeably even though Achille Mbembe, who
coined the term "necropolitics" (the politics of death) in a seminal article from 2003, was critiquing the idea of "biopower" (the politics of life) as
it had been developed for decades in the work of Michel Foucault. This course locates these two concepts in the work of these two scholars. We
will study the periods they reference - from the Jamestown Massacre in 1622 to the "War on Terror" in the early 2000s - and look as well at the
work they have inspired. In the first two weeks of the class, we will use these concepts and historical readings to create an alternative timeline of
imperial history. The final projects will explore how this alternate timeline can help us write better, deeper, and more convincing histories of the
present.
Prerequisite: A history, HU, political science, sociology, or anthropology course at Swarthmore or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 084. Gender, Science, and Technology
This course is an introduction to feminist approaches to science and technology within the fields of History of Science and Science and
Technology Studies (STS). We will engage with feminist critiques of scientific knowledge and technologies while exploring past and present
intersections between science, race, sex, and colonial/postcolonial politics.
Corequisite: Preference given to students who have taken courses with ANTH, GSST, HIST, SOAN, and/or SOCI.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2022. Chen.
Fall 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 087. The Little Ice Age: Climate Change in the Early Modern World
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 089. The Environmental History of Africa
Cross-listed as ENVS 025
This course examines African history from an ecological and environmental perspective.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 090E. On the Other Side of the Tracks: Black Urban Community
The study of the black community in the United States, from the end of the American Revolution to the end of the 20th century. This course
investigates the link between racial identification and community formation, the strengths and weaknesses of the concept of community solidarity,
and the role class and gender play in challenging group cohesiveness.
Prerequisite: This course is not open to first-year students. A HIST or BLST course at Swarthmore.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. A. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 090P. Creatively Adapting the Past
This course is a workshop focused on the creative uses of historical themes, subjects, and evidence.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 090S. Surveillance, Privacy, and Transparency: A History, A Debate, Some Futures
An interdisciplinary course on the history and current development of surveillance and privacy, looking at technologies, practices, and
ideologies.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 090X. Divided America: History of the Culture Wars
This course examines the origins of divisive cultural politics in America since the 1970s surrounding race, religion, gender & sexuality,
education, and popular culture. Some of the topics addressed in the course include: the origins of the "religious right," race and the debates over
affirmative action, the "culture of poverty," and mass incarceration, feminist and anti-feminist movements, sexual & queer politics, the HIV/AIDS
crisis, public schools, and the history of "political correctness" and multiculturalism.
Prerequisite: Department pre-req of a previous history course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. B. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 091. Senior Research Seminar
Students write a 25-page paper based on primary sources.
Required of all majors, including honors majors.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. B. Dorsey. Shokr.
Fall 2022. Brown. Truong.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 092. Thesis
A single-credit thesis, available to all majors in their senior year after completion of HIST 091, on a topic approved by the Department. The
thesis should be 10,000 to 15,000 words in length (50-75 pages), and a presentation to members of the Department and students will be
conducted upon completion of the thesis. Due April 30th or the final day of classes, whichever is first.
May not be taken pass/fail.
Prerequisite: HIST 091
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 093. Directed Reading
Individual or group study in fields of special interest to the student not dealt with in the regular course offerings requires the consent of the
department chair and of the instructor.
HIST 093 may be taken for 0.5 credit as HIST 093A.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Seminars
HIST 116. European Intellectual History: Rethinking the Scientific Revolution
Centered on the Scientific Revolution, this course will explore how politics, culture, religion and empire shaped the intellectual history of Europe
from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 126. Internationalism and Supranationalism in Modern Europe
This honors seminar will analyze experiments and schemes for organizing the world, ranging from realized projects like the League of Nations
and the European Economic Community to unrealized projects like the European Defense Community. We will discuss internationalism and
integration in a variety of forms, ranging from Third Worldist solidarity to cultural projects like Eurovision. Emphasis will be placed on the goals
of internationalism, tensions between internationalism and nationalism, and historiographical debates about international institutions' legacies.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 128. Russia in the 19th and 20th Centuries
This course focuses on the social, economic, political, and intellectual forces leading to the collapse of the autocracy and the rise of Stalin.
Particular attention is devoted to the dilemmas of change and reform, and the problematic relationship between state and society.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Weinberg.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 130. Early America in the Atlantic World
The "new world" of European and Indian encounter in the Americas, along with the African slave trade, British North American colonies, and
the American Revolution.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 131. Gender and Sexuality in America
A social and cultural history of gender and sexuality in the United States from the early republic to the present.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. B. Dorsey.
Spring 2023. B. Dorsey.
Fall 2023. B. Dorsey.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 140. The Colonial Encounter in Africa
Students focus on the social, economic, and cultural dimensions of the colonial and postcolonial era in modern Africa.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, DGHU, INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 143. Political Economy of the Middle East: Theory & History
This honors seminar will survey existing literature on the political economy of the Middle East. We will read work from various subfields in
Middle East history, including labor history, social history, agrarian history, histories of women and gender, histories of colonialism and
decolonization, environmental history, and histories of economic thought. In doing so, we will engage both older traditions of historical and
social scientific inquiry and more recent, theoretically innovative scholarship that is advancing a renewed interest in the study of political
economy and assess the contributions and/or merits of different approaches.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 145. Women and Gender in Chinese History
This seminar explores the theoretical frameworks and multiple methodologies that have been applied to the study and interpretation of women
and gender in late imperial and modern China (1700-1980s). Our primary aim is to understand the relationship between the construction of
gender (in particular, the formation of "woman" and "man" as fixed and normative subjects) and the writing of Chinese history.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Spring 2023. Chen.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 148. Issues and Debates in Modern Latin America
Explores major problems and challenges Latin American nations have been confronting since the last third of the 19th century onward. Topics
include the neocolonial condition of the region, nation and state building processes, urbanization, industrialization, popular and elite cultures,
modernities in the periphery, and race, class, and gender conflicts.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 149. Reform and Revolutions in Modern Latin America
The historical problem of change-political, economic, social, and cultural-in peripheral Latin America. It emphasizes nation-building capitalist
ideas, populist experiences that produced deep reformist transformations, and revolutionary processes that started very radical and over time
became moderate.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, LALS, PEAC
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 180. Honors Thesis
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Interpretation Theory
Courses
Coordinator:
PATRICIA REILLY (Art History), Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Farid Azfar (History)
Osman Balkan (Political Science)
Jean-Vincent Blanchard (Associate Provost, French and Francophone Studies)
Timothy Burke (History)
Rachel Buurma (English Literature)
Sibelan Forrester (Russian)
4
Grace Ledbetter (Classics, Philosophy)
4
Tamsin Lorraine (Philosophy)
Rosaria Munson (Classics)
Maya Nadkarni (Sociology and Anthropology)
Patricia Reilly (Art History)
Olivia Sabee (Dance)
Eric Song (English Literature)
Mark Wallace (Religion)
Patricia White (English Literature)
1
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__
1
Absent on Leave Fall 2021
4
Absent on Leave 2021-2022 Academic Year
The Interpretation Theory Program provides students and faculty with an interdisciplinary forum for exploring the nature, ethics, and politics of
representation. Reaching widely across the disciplines, work done in the minor reflects a long-standing drive to cultivate self-consciousness in
the use of a significant range of interpretive methods. Students use this course of study to develop a flexible, comparative, critical, historicized
grasp of theories of the production of meaning in and through cultural life. They also sharpen their skills in critical reading and intellectual
analysis.
Students who minor take a total of six courses that build on a combination of classic and current hermeneutic methods. Each year, graduating
seniors enroll in a capstone seminar that proposes a structured investigation into an inherently interdisciplinary problem. Faculty team-teach the
course as a way of drawing out multi-disciplinary concerns in both theory and practice.
The Academic Program
Course Minor
Students who minor in Interpretation Theory take a total of 6 courses that build on a combination of classic and current hermeneutic methods.
Three general rules guide the selection:
1. All minors are required to successfully complete the one-credit capstone seminar, team-taught by two faculty members from different
departments, in spring of their senior year. Juniors may enroll upon approval of the instructors, but the seminar must be taken in the
spring of senior year in order to receive capstone credit. First-years are not permitted in the seminar.
2. The three remaining courses are elective but must draw upon at least three different departments. At least 4 of the 6 interpretation
theory credits must be outside the major.
3. A minimum "B" average is required for all minors by their junior and senior years.
Other courses may be considered upon petition to the Interpretation Studies Committee. These may include relevant courses offered at Bryn
Mawr College, Haverford College, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Honors Minor
All students participating in the Honors Program are invited to define a Honors minor in interpretation theory. Students must complete one
preparation for external examination. This 2-credit preparation can be:
- a 2-credit Honors seminar;
- the INTP Capstone seminar plus a reading attachment or a thesis;
- a combination of two eligible courses in different departments;
- a 2-credit thesis;
- or a combination of a thesis plus a related course.
Any thesis must be multidisciplinary. The proposed preparation must be approved by the Interpretation Theory Committee. Honors minors must
meet all other requirements of the interdisciplinary minor.
Capstone Seminars
All minors are required to successfully complete the one-credit capstone seminar, team-taught by two faculty members from different
departments, in the spring of their senior year.
Each year, graduating seniors enroll in a capstone seminar that proposes a structured investigation into an inherently interdisciplinary
problematic. The capstone seminar embodies both the theoretical and interdisciplinary qualities that make interpretation theory distinctive and
compelling.
Students majoring in a variety of disciplines come together with faculty members from 2 different areas to explore theories of knowledge and
questions of interpretation and representation. For example, past capstone seminars have brought together professors from French literature and
biology, political science and religion, anthropology and English, philosophy and art, classics and linguistics, and other interdisciplinary
combinations.
Current and past capstone titles include: Cultural Dimensions of Scientific Thought; Corporality in Storytelling; Rituals and Spectacles of
Violence; Hero Time Travel; Mind, Body, Machine; Interpretation and the Visual Arts; Beyond Reason: Nietzsche, Levinas and the Kabbalah;
Mapping the Modern; and Visionaries of Spirit, and Masters of Suspicion.
Life After Swarthmore
Respondents to an Interpretation Theory Program alumni survey in 2013 indicated that approximately 54% went on to graduate school and of
those, approximately 67% pursued a Ph.D. or other doctorate.
Occupations of interpretation theory graduates are diverse and include: physicians, professors, editors, grant writers, and civil rights activists.
Interpretation Theory Courses
Currently offered courses relevant to the program include the following:
INTP 090. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Interpretation Theory
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/interpretation-theory
INTP 091. Capstone: Interpreting Narrative through Creation with Clay and Language
Spring 2022: LING 091, ARTT 800
This is a course using creative arts to bring into focus questions about the fundamental nature of narrative, about the analogies between different
types of creative arts, and even about what a creative art is. Students will create narratives and realize them through the media of clay and
language. Students will learn the basics of constructing with clay to create representations in shape and form in relation to their own linguistic
narrations.
The capstone will be offered Spring 2023, title and instructors to be determined.
Open to INTP seniors and juniors, and other juniors and seniors by approval of instructors.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2022. Carpenter, Napoli.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Interpretation Theory
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/interpretation-theory
INTP 092. Thesis
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Interpretation Theory
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/interpretation-theory
Anthropology
ANTH 032D. Mass Media and Anthropology
This intermediate course explores the anthropology of modernity and the mass-mediation of modern forms of knowledge. It examines how the
emergence of mass media has produced new kinds of subjects and social relations: from novel images of nationhood to mass experiences of
crime, war, and violence. Along the way, the course also asks the impact of new media technologies on how anthropology itself imagines identity,
community, and locality.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 049B. Comparative Perspectives on the Body
Explore how different societies regulate, discipline, and shape the human body. In the first part, we examine social theories and explore the
strengths and limitations of different approaches to the study of the body. In the second part, we look at several ethnographic cases and compare
diverse cultural practices that range from seemingly traditional practices (such as circumcision and foot binding) to what is currently
fashionable (including weight lifting, dieting, aesthetic surgery, piercing, and tattooing). When comparing body modifications through time and
space, we seek to understand their socio-economic contexts and relate them to broader cultural meanings and social inequalities. We also
investigate how embodiment shapes personal and collective identities (especially gender identities) and vice versa.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. Ghannam.
Spring 2024. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Art History
ARTH 164. Modernism in Paris and New York
This seminar focuses on "Modernism" in 19thand 20th-century art, addressing selected artists from Courbet and Manet through Degas, Gauguin,
Cézanne, Picasso, Pollock, and Rothko. Artists and readings are also chosen to illuminate current scholarly approaches to "Modernism,"
including socio-economic, feminist, and post-colonialist perspectives.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
Classics
CLST 020. Plato and His Modern Readers
(Cross-listed as PHIL 020 )
Plato's dialogues are complex works that require literary as well as philosophical analysis. While our primary aim will be to develop
interpretations of the dialogues themselves, we will also view Plato through the lens of various modern and postmodern interpretations (e.g.,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Jung, Foucault, Irigaray, Rorty, Lacan, Nussbaum, Vlastos).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2023. Ledbetter.
Fall 2023. Ledbetter.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
CLST 036. Classical Mythology
What is a myth? How is myth different from fairy tale or fable? What is its connection to ritual and religion? What sets myth apart from history?
In this survey of the mythology of Greco-Roman antiquity, we will investigate the diverse meanings of 'myth', its social functions, its origins, its
history, and its contemporary relevance. Students will get a broad overview of Classical mythology through direct and close readings of primary
sources (all in English translation), including such texts as Homer's Odyssey, plays by all three of the major Greek tragedians (Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides), and Ovid's Metamorphoses. Our readings of ancient texts will be supplemented by study of ancient art and frequent
investigations of modern responses to and theorizing of myth in diverse fields and media, including sociological, psychological, and
philosophical treatises; modern poetry; visual arts; and film.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2024. Munson.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
Comparative Literatures
LITR 047R. Russian Fairy Tales
(Cross-listed as RUSS 047)
Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their esthetic,
historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts,
and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales
against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, although
students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 070R. Translation Workshop
(Cross-listed as LING 070, RUSS 070)
This workshop in literary translation concentrates on translation theory and practice, working in poetry, prose, and drama as well as editing.
Students will participate in an associated series of bilingual readings and will produce a substantial portfolio of work. Students taking the course
for LING credit will write a final paper supported by a smaller portfolio of translations.
Excellent knowledge of a language other than English (equivalent to a 004 course at Swarthmore or higher) is highly recommended or, failing
that, access to at least one very patient speaker of a foreign language.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, RUSS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 074F. The Shadow of the Enlightement
Crosslisted with FREN 074.
The following course offers a critical examination of the central ideas guiding the French Enlightenment, paying particularly close attention to
the notion of "otherness" underlying the Enlightenment project-that is, that which is facilely left out in the eighteenth century's valorization of
reason. In opposition to the Enlightenment idea of the rational man is the irrational animal, a binary that materialist thinkers like La Mettrie and
Condillac are quick to blur; in opposition to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (the crowning civil rights document from the
French Revolution) is Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, a text that criticizes eighteenth-century
gender inequalities; in opposition to the Enlightenment's enormous blind spots surrounding race is Claire de Duras' Ourika, a novel that decries
the pervasive racism of the eighteenth century. Throughout the semester, we will study the novels, essays, and dialogues that shape the major
ideas of the Enlightenment (and the revolutionary modes of thinking that accompany it), while also studying that which lies in the shadow of the
Enlightenment. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Condillac, La Mettrie, Gouges, Duras.
Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 074A).
Humanities
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 042S. Borges: Aesthetics & Theory
(Cross-listed as SPAN 042)
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent reader. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly quoted. In his texts Borges not only anticipated but also discussed the major topics of
contemporary literary theory: the theory of intertextuality, the limits of the referential illusion, the relationship between knowledge and language,
and the dilemmas of representation and of narration. We will explore how Borges fictionalized these theoretical problems without ever allowing
the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance. We will also read Borges as a universal writer working inside all the cultural
traditions, and also as a writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, LALS, CPLT
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Dance
DANC 023. Contemporary Performance
This course interrogates issues surrounding twenty-first-century movement-based performance including cultural hybridity and the relationship
between movement and text. Using aesthetic theory and methodologies developed by performance studies and dance studies, we will ask what
gets performed, where, and why.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2023. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 032. The Mass Ornament
What does it mean for a group of bodies to move as one? When did this become a valued element of ensemble dancing in western theatrical
dance? In this course, students will examine mass dancing as an idea, through theories of the chorus and the mass, as well as in practice,
through viewings of mass dancing ranging in contexts ranging from the corps de ballet to the chorus line to the flashmob.
Humanities.
1 credit
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
English
ENGL 035. The Rise of the Novel
Why do we read novels? How has the history of novel-reading shaped the way we think about ourselves, about other people, and about the
world? In answering these questions, we will study the long history of the novel in English considered as an aesthetic and material form, as a
record of social life, and as a way of imagining other possible worlds. We will begin in the eighteenth century, travelling through the novel's
Victorian and Modernist incarnations and its post-colonial and post-modernist reconfigurations to end in the present. Includes close attention to
major canonical novels and authors, a survey of the main critical and theoretical approaches to the novel, strategies for close reading and
interpretation, introductory text-mining techniques, and investigation of how novels were printed and circulated. Recommended for anyone
interested in reading, writing, or reviewing novels.
For majors and minors, this course can count either as an 18th/19th or 20th/21st century course.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Fall 2021. Buurma.
Fall 2022. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 071S. Contemporary Life Writing: Form and Theory
In this course, we will explore contemporary forms of life writing. The term "writing" will be used flexibly to encompass self-representation in
visual forms (including graphic memoir, photography, and video). Our topics will include the intersections among autobiography, biography,
and fiction; self-narration as a public and political form; and how life writing has become intertwined with theoretical explorations of gender,
sexuality, race, and biopolitics. Authors include Gloria Anzaldúa, Alison Bechdel, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Jamaica Kincaid, Maggie Nelson,
and Paul B. Preciado. Assignments will include a creative life-writing project as well as academic essays with close textual analysis and
scholarly argument.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 079. What is Cultural Studies?
What in the world is cultural studies? Focusing on film, art, fashion and music, we'll explore how to read and write about culture and power.
Literary close reading will go hand in hand with ethnography, historiography, cinema studies, and aesthetic theory. Highlighting how race,
class, sexuality and gender intersect in the production and consumption of cultural texts, the class emphasizes how what we read is part of the
world in which we live.
20th/21st c.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GSST
Fall 2021. Mani.
Spring 2023. Mani.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 080. Introduction to Literary Theory
This course introduces you to a range of theoretical methods for literary interpretation, including feminism, queer theory, Black studies,
postcolonialism, Marxism, (new) historicism, ethnic studies, psychoanalysis, Native studies, ecocriticism, disability studies, and book history. We
will read a selection of particularly fruitful approaches to understanding literature, including classic texts and exciting recent work; apply these
methods to a variety of primary texts; and experiment with how we might extend and remake them in our own critical practices.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2021. Cohen.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Fall 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089E. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 042)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
GATEWAY English Literature.
First year students need instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GSST, ESCH, GLBL
Fall 2023. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENGL 090. Queer Media
(Cross-listed as FMST 046)
The history of avant-garde and experimental media has been intertwined with that of gender non-conformity and sexual dissidence, and even the
most mainstream media forms have been queered by subcultural reception. Challenging Hollywood's heterosexual presumption and mass media
appropriations of lgbt culture, we will examine lgbt aesthetic strategies and modes of address in contexts such as the American and European
avant-gardes, AIDS activism, and transnational and diasporan film through the lens of queer theory.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, DGHU
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 092. Marxist Literary and Cultural Studies
How has Marxist thought informed the study of literature and culture, and how does Marxism speak to us today? This class provides a grounding
in the work of Marx and Engels and then investigates how a range of more recent writers have built upon their ideas, particularly in relation to
questions about race, gender, sexuality, and late capitalism. We will try out these interpretive approaches on a selection of primary texts,
including poetry, pop music, advertisements, radical newspapers, fiction, and film--some assigned and some generated by the class.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Cohen.
Fall 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 111. Victorian Literature and Culture
This research-intensive seminar on the Victorian novel as a genre and a material object asks how literature can be both product and producer of
its historical moment. Readings include novels by authors like George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, George
Meredith, Thomas Hardy, Bram Stoker, and Margaret Oliphant.
18th/19th c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 121. Modernism and Forgetting
This course is an advanced research seminar on the literatures, cultures, and theories of modernism. Central questions include: How do aspects
of psychic life, such as mourning and trauma, exert pressure on literary form? Why do memory's material traces (the archive, the photograph)
enthrall the modernist imagination? What ethical or political values attend literary projects of remembering? Of forgetting? We will situate
modernist literary practice alongside psychoanalytic, postcolonial, queer, and feminist critique.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
Environmental Studies
ENVS 042. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089E)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
First year students need instructor's approval.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST, INTP
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ANTH 033E. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed as ENVS 029)
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches and scholarship from the
disciplines of anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the environmental humanities, and social movement
theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of texts each week, offering deep engagement to
analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy
of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the class will also explore the interlocking themes of social
and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films, and other digital media to provide a sense of what
environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to bring about change. Students in this course will learn
to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to
think creatively about possible solutions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ENVS 029. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed with ANTH 033E)
This course offers students an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches
and scholarship from the disciplines of environmental anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the
environmental humanities, and social movement theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of
texts each week, offering deep engagement to analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary
environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between
environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the
class will also explore the interlocking themes of social and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films,
and other digital media to provide a sense of what environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to
bring about change. Students in this course will learn to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these
entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to think creatively about possible solutions.
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Film and Media Studies
FMST 020. Critical Theories of Film and Media
Film critic André Bazin's famous question, "What is cinema?," gained new relevance with the advent of digital media. This course introduces
classical film theory (theories of modernity and perception, montage, realism), contemporary film theory (theories of film language, ideology, the
cinematic apparatus, and spectatorship), approaches that cut across media (authorship, genre, stardom, semiotics, narratology, feminism,
production and reception studies, cognitivism), and theorizations of new media. Through readings and weekly screenings, we explore the
significance of film and other media in shaping and expressing our identities and cultural experiences. Strongly recommended for FMST majors
and minors.
Prerequisite: FMST 001.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, FMST, DGHU
Spring 2022. White.
Spring 2023. White.
Spring 2024. Rehak.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 043. Conspiracy Media
Investigates conspiracy and the paranoid imagination both within film and television narratives (through stories built around plots, hidden
agendas, and betrayal) and as a mode of skepticism and mistrust toward media themselves (the role played by media in coverups, hoaxes, and
"fake news"). Focusing on a period from the Cold War to present day politics, the course constructs an archeology of screen, print, and
interactive media to explore the shifting meanings of conspiracy in response to technological and social change. Topics include the structural
affinities among conspiracy, narration, and seriality; recurring thematics such as biological contagion, corporate and patriarchal menace, and
supernatural forces; and the role of digital media in both spreading and debunking conspiracies. Required weekly viewing.
Eligible for FMST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 045. Feminist Film and Media Studies
(Cross-listed as GSST 020)
This course explores theories and methods at the intersection of film and media and gender and sexuality studies, including representation and
self-representation, historiography and canon formation, intersectionality and transnational politics, gender performativity and sexual
dissidence, cultural production and critique. Required weekly screenings feature films and programs from a range of historical periods, national
production contexts, and styles: mainstream and independent, narrative, documentary, video art, and experimental. Readings in feminist film
theory will address questions of authorship and aesthetics, spectatorship and reception, image and gaze, and current media politics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST, INTP
Fall 2022. White.
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
FMST 046. Queer Media
(Cross-listed as ENGL 090)
The history of avant-garde and experimental media has been intertwined with that of gender non-conformity and sexual dissidence. Queer theory
has developed in relation to queer film texts and cultures. How do lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (lgbt) filmmakers queer sexual norms and
standard media forms? Challenging classic Hollywood's heterosexual presumption and mass media appropriations of lgbt culture, we will
examine lgbt aesthetic strategies and modes of address in contexts such as the American and European avant-gardes, AIDS activism, and
transnational and diasporan film.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST, INTP, DGHU
Fall 2023. White.
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
French
FREN 116. La Pensée géographique
Cartography, psychogeography, rhizomes, and so much more! How and why do philosophical and critical thinkers rely on spatial and
geographical metaphors to work through some of their more complex ideas? How might some of these metaphors become models for
understanding and analyzing texts? In this course, we will explore some of the central ideas behind this spatial turn in theory and criticism in
conjunction with the study of French and Francophone texts: from medieval explorers and maps of early France and French empire to
Situationism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism.
May be taken for 1 credit with permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
History
HIST 025. Colonialism and Nationalism in the Middle East
This upper-level course will explore the vast and ever-growing scholarly literature on colonialism and nationalism in the Middle East. It will
cover both key theoretical works that have helped to shape this body of historical writing as well as important monographs that exemplify
particular approaches to the topic.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, ISLM
Fall 2022. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 066. Making Sense of Being Sick: the Social Construction of Diseases in the Modern World
Discussing Latin American, European, African, Asian, and North American cases, this course examines public health strategies in colonial and
neocolonial contexts; disease metaphors in media, cinema, and literature; ideas about hygiene, segregation and contagion; outbreaks and the
politics of blame; the medicalization of society; and alternative healing cultures.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core, INTP, LALS
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 080. History of the Body
Bodies make history and bodies are subject to history's movements. The history of the body, a relatively recent field of inquiry, encompasses the
histories of science, gender, sexuality, race, and empire. This course will explore different chapters of that history, with a focus on Europe and
the Atlantic World.
Prerequisite: This course is not open to first year students.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 090S. Surveillance, Privacy, and Transparency: A History, A Debate, Some Futures
An interdisciplinary course on the history and current development of surveillance and privacy, looking at technologies, practices, and
ideologies.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 140. The Colonial Encounter in Africa
Students focus on the social, economic, and cultural dimensions of the colonial and postcolonial era in modern Africa.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, DGHU, INTP
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Linguistics
LING 063. Supporting Literacy Among Deaf Children
(Cross-listed at THEA 033 )
In this course, we will consider ways to promote literacy among young deaf children, including introducing them to sign language literature and
the visual vernacular and encouraging shared reading activities with their care-takers. This course is jointly offered at Gallaudet University. The
GALLY students will re-envision beloved picture books in a way that reflects deaf culture and video-record themselves telling those stories. The
SWAT students will give (remote) feedback on those videos and then produce the revised versions in the form of YouTube videos and ebooks for
the RISE Ebook project website. These bimodal-bilingual stories will be designed so that adults can share them with deaf children regardless of
their knowledge of a sign language (or lack thereof).
Prerequisite: A background in linguistics, theater, film, early childhood development, or education would be helpful.
Corequisite: Students taking the course remotely must have access to an Apple computer or iPad with iBooksAuthor and must have access to
film-editing programs. Students also need to have a rudimentary knowledge of a sign language (such as ASL) or concurrently take an attachment
in ASL language.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Modern Languages and Literatures
JPNS 073. Transnational Japanese Literature: Diversity and Diaspora in Modern Japanese Literature
Cross-listed with LITR 073J
This seminar-style course will challenge the myths of Japanese ethnic homogeny and cultural isolation and will explore how modern "Japanese"
literature crosses national and cultural borders. Topics to be examined include Japanese authors writing from abroad, colonial and postcolonial
literatures, migration and writing in the Japanese diaspora, and the writings of ethnic minorities in Japan, including writers from Okinawa and
Japan's resident Korean community. Readings and discussion will be in English but students with reading knowledge of Japanese will be
encouraged to read works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, ASIA, INTP, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Music
MUSI 008C. Medievalism in Music and Media
From the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol to Disney's Frozen to video games such as The Witcher and Skyrim, fictionalized allusions to the
Middle Ages loom large in contemporary cultural and political landscapes. How are the Middles Ages presented and understood, and what is the
role of sound and music in the "invention" of the Middle Ages? This course explores the slippery distinction between the "real" and the "made"
musical Middle Ages (roughly defined as the fifth to the fifteenth centuries) through several case studies from the last two hundred years and
spanning across a variety of genres and media: video games, television, cinema, popular and folk musics, manuscript and print scores, and
opera. We will consider the musical strategies that performers, composers, and scholars have adopted to imagine the sound of the Middle Ages,
as well as the historical, political, and ideological motivations prompting them in doing so.
HU
1
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2022. Agugliaro.
Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 043. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change
ANTH 044
How has gender emerged as an analytical category? How has sexuality emerged as an analytical category? What role did discourses
surrounding gender and sexuality play in the context of Western colonialism in the Global South historically as well as in the context of Western
imperialism in the Global South today? How are gender and sexuality-based liberation understood differently around the world? What global
social movements have surfaced to codify rights for women and LGBTQ populations? How has the global human rights apparatus shaped the
experiences of women and queer communities? What is the relationship between gender and masculinity? What are the promises and limits of
homonationalism and pinkwashing as theoretical frameworks in our understanding of LGBT rights discourses? When considering the
relationship between faith and homosexuality, how are religious actors queering theology? How do we define social change with such attention
to gender and sexuality?
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST, INTP, GLBL- Core, ESCH
Fall 2022. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Philosophy
PHIL 016. Philosophy of Religion
(Cross-listed as RELG 015B)
Searching for wisdom about the meaning of life? Curious as to whether there is a God? Questioning the nature of truth and falsehood? Right and
wrong? You might think of philosophy of religion as your guide to the universe. This course considers Anglo-American and Continental
philosophical approaches to religious thought using different disciplinary perspectives; it is a selective overview of the history of philosophy with
special attention to the religious dimensions of many contemporary thinkers' intellectual projects. Topics include rationality and belief, proofs for
existence of God, the problem of evil, moral philosophy, biblical hermeneutics, feminist revisionism, postmodernism, and interreligious dialogue.
Thinkers include, among others, Anselm, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kant, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Levinas, Weil, and Abe.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, INTP
Spring 2022. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 020. Plato and His Modern Readers
(Cross-listed as CLAS 020)
Plato's dialogues are complex works that require literary as well as philosophical analysis. While our primary aim will be to develop
interpretations of the dialogues themselves, we will also view Plato through the lens of various modern and postmodern interpreters (e.g.,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Jung, Foucault, Irigaray, Rorty, Lacan, Nussbaum, Vlastos)
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, INTP
Spring 2023. Ledbetter.
Fall 2023. Ledbetter.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 039. Existentialism
In this course, we will examine existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus to explore themes
of contemporary European philosophy, including the self, responsibility and authenticity, and the relationships between body and mind, fantasy
and reality, and literature and philosophy.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 049. Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
This course will examine the work of three 19th century "philosophers of suspicion" who instigated modern exploration into what conditions our
reality, thus raising questions about how the embodied, human subject emerges out of and experiences a social reality that informs the subject in
specific ways. Their investigations into one's understanding of reality as impacted by class position (Marx), one's understanding of truth as the
effect of will-to-power (Nietzsche), and consciousness as the effect of unconscious forces (Freud) provide an important background to
contemporary questions about he nature of reality, human identity, and social power.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GMST
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 069. Phenomenology-Then and Now
In this course we will look at classic figures in phenomenology like Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty, along with contemporary theorists,
in order to investigate the kind of light descriptions of the lived experience of specifically human bodies in all their variations might shed
on questions we face in the 21st century about what it means to be human (as opposed to, say, non-human life or artificial
intelligence), embodied cognition, interdependent living and environmental change.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2021. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 079. Poststructuralism
This course will examine poststructuralist thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze in light of contemporary questions about identity,
embodiment, the relationship between self and other, and ethics.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 139. Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Poststructuralism
In this course, we will examine the themes of reality, truth, alienation, authenticity, death, desire, and human subjectivity as they emerge in
contemporary European philosophy. We will consider thinkers such as Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, Irigaray, and Deleuze to place
contemporary themes of poststructuralist thought in the context of the phenomenological and existential tradition out of which they emerge.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP, GMST
Spring 2023. Lorraine.
Fall 2023. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Physics
PHYS 021. Capstone: Cultural Dimensions of Scientific Thought
(Cross-listed as INTP 091)
This seminar will explore the deep and often overlooked connections between physical and cultural ways of understanding the universe. To that
end, we will be taking a historical and cross-cultural view of scientific forms of thought in order to examine the multiple, complex relationships
that obtain between individual human agents and their social milieus in the processes of creating and advancing scientific theories of the
universe. How, for example, do we take the measure of what we don't know? How do we ascribe differential values to scientific questions and
solutions? In other words, what makes one question more important than another? What makes a scientific theory "elegant" or "beautiful," and
why do (Western) scientists place epistemological value on such aesthetic considerations? Potential course topics include: the role of myth in the
oral transmission of astronomical knowledge among Aboriginal Australians; the materialization of astronomical knowledge in ancient
Mesoamerican architecture; early cultures of number and numerology; the technological conditions for advances in scientific thought; the role of
social desire in scientific discovery and invention (of the infinitesimally small, of photography, or of relativity, for example); and the role of
intercultural interaction in the creation of new approaches to scientific problems.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Political Science
POLS 011. Ancient Political Thought (TH)
Reason, force, and persuasion are central tools of politics. They are also considered and weighed by political philosophers as they write about
the best (or best achievable) organization of political life to achieve some goal, and the best chance of making those arrangements endure. Use of
each tool tends to reflect particular views about human nature, capacities, and differences. This course explores these and other key concepts of
political thought, drawing on major works in the Western tradition, including Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, and Machiavelli.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2022. Arlen.
Fall 2022. Thakkar.
Spring 2024. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 012. Modern Political Thought (TH)
This course introduces some of the major concepts and themes of modern political thought through a close reading of texts from the 16th to the
early 20th century. The starting point of the course is Machiavelli's novel "science" of statecraft, which identified the state as the focal point of
political activity, and announced that a good politician must be prepared to act immorally, or even love his city more than his soul. In other
words, we begin with the thought of politics as a distinct sphere of activity, centered around the state, and separable from other spheres such as
morality and religion. The problem of the modern state and the relationship of the political to other domains of life will guide our exploration of
the fundamental concepts and debates of modern political thought. Other themes we will discuss include secularism and toleration, absolutist and
popular sovereignty, constitutionalism and individual rights, theories of war and colonialism, and the relationship between social and political
forms of domination. Authors include Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Alexis de
Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, Mary Wollstonecraft, Karl Marx, Max Weber and W.E.B. Dubois.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2022. Arlen.
Spring 2023. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)
This course, taught in Philadelphia, offers an introduction to the causes and consequences of international migration and examines the political
responses of different national communities to the phenomenon. In the first part of the course we will explore why and how people move from one
country to another and analyze the strategies through which states attempt to manage mobility and exercise control over their territories.
Students will learn about patterns of regular and irregular migration, including economic and undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers. We will also interrogate the efficacy of border walls and other strategies of containment and control. In the second part of the course we
consider how migration transforms both sending and receiving countries and evaluate how countries accommodate (or fail to accommodate)
newcomers to their territories. The growing ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity generated by international migratory flows has spawned
fierce debates over national identity, social cohesion, and political stability. In order to make sense of these debates, we will analyze different
regimes of immigrant integration, incorporation, and assimilation and evaluate the meaning of citizenship, social membership, and belonging.
Classroom meetings will be supplemented with outside lectures and field trips in Philadelphia to observe immigration hearings and to meet with
NGOs and community organizations working on issues surrounding migrant rights and refugee re-settlement. This course will be taught in
Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core; INTP eligible; PEAC eligible
Spring 2022. Balkan
Fall 2022. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 054. Identity Politics (CP)
The term "identity politics" has become a mainstay of contemporary political discourse. In both scholarly and public debates, it is used to
describe and make sense of phenomena as diverse as multiculturalism, white nationalism, civil rights, the women's movement, LGBTI activism,
separatist groups, and violent ethnic conflicts. Identity is central to politics, but are all identities political? Where do identities come from and
why do they matter for social and political life? Do we have the freedom to choose our own identities or are they ascribed to us by others? And to
what extent do our identities dictate what we can do, think, know, or feel? This class offers an introduction to the politics of identity. Over the
course of the semester, we will investigate how categories like class, race, gender, ethnicity, nation, religion, and sexuality impact politics and
struggles for power around the world. Our readings will explore debates around the politics of recognition and representation, authenticity and
cultural appropriation, corporate diversity and neoliberal multiculturalism, positionality and situated knowledge, oppression and empowerment,
and intersectionality. Students will have the opportunity to conduct independent research on identity related topics of their choice.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP; GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 079. Islam, Race, and Empire (CP)
Since 9/11, Muslims in Europe and the United States have been at the center of contentious political debates about the meaning of secularism,
citizenship, and democracy. From Donald Trump's Muslim Ban to feminist critiques of the Islamic headscarf, politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum have questioned Islam's compatibility with Western values and ways of life. These disputes belie longer and messier histories
of empire, colonialism, and the War on Terror, through which categories such as "Islam" and "Muslims" have been racialized into a monolithic
brown Other in contrast to the "West." Drawing on a range of intellectual traditions, including postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, anthropology,
and critical race studies, this course examines how imperial legacies and enduring ideas about racial, religious, and ethnic difference structure
contemporary debates about Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America. Over the course of the semester, we will read works by prominent
theorists such as Wendy Brown, Frantz Fanon, Lila Abu-Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak, and discuss how Islam
figures into public conversations about anti-Semitism, citizenship and democracy, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, national identity,
secularism, tolerance, and political violence. Through our readings and discussions, students will learn about the diversity of lived experiences of
Muslims in Western societies and explore the connections between race, religion, and the afterlives of empire.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, GMST, ISLM, INTP, GSST
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 100. Ancient Political Thought
This course will consider the development of political thought in the ancient and medieval periods and the emergence of a distinctively modern
political outlook. Special attention will be paid to the differences between the way the ancients and the moderns thought about ethics, reason,
wisdom, politics, democracy, law, power, justice, the individual, and the community. Key philosophers include Plato, Aristotle, and Hobbes.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 101. Modern Political Theory (TH)
In this seminar, we will study the construction of the modern liberal state and capitalism through the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, and
then, in more detail, we will examine the greatest critics of the modern age-Marx, Nietzsche, Jung, and Foucault. Marx demands that we take
history and class conflict seriously in political theory. Nietzsche connects the evolution of human instinct to the politics of good and evil for the
sake of political transformation. Jung establishes psychology and mythology as foundations for politics, and Foucault uses all three of these
critics to question the modern subject and the disciplines of power and knowledge that construct selves and politics in a postmodern age.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2023. Berger.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Religion
RELG 015B. Philosophy of Religion
(Cross-listed as PHIL 016)
Searching for wisdom about the meaning of life? Curious as to whether there is a God? Questioning the nature of truth and falsehood? Right and
wrong? You might think of philosophy of religion as your guide to the universe. This course considers Anglo-American and Continental
philosophical approaches to religious thought using different disciplinary perspectives; it is a selective overview of the history of philosophy with
special attention to the religious dimensions of many contemporary thinkers' intellectual projects. Topics include rationality and belief, proofs for
existence of God, the problem of evil, moral philosophy, biblical hermeneutics, feminist revisionism, postmodernism, and interreligious dialogue.
Thinkers include, among others, Anselm, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kant, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Levinas, Weil, and Abe.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, INTP, PHIL
Spring 2022. Wallace.
Spring 2024. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 004. Radical Jesus
(Cross-listed as CLST 004 )
Discussion-and writing-intensive study of classical and contemporary understandings of the figure of Jesus through analytical reading,
classroom dialogue, expository writing, and community engagement. It asks the questions, Who was the real historical Jesus? and, What is the
relevance of Jesus for today? Introduction to wide understanding of Greco-Roman cultures and ancient texts, biblical and otherwise, including
many of the extracanonical scriptures that did not make the final cut for inclusion in the commonly received New Testament. Also introduction to
the Greek alphabet, lexicons, and research tools for New Testament study along with rudimentary Greek terms essential to biblical scholarship
and commentary. Instruction is intellectually rigorous and responsive both to skeptical and faith-based readings of Jesus' biography and the
Bible. The ground is level in this class: believers and unbelievers, evangelicals and atheists are welcome. No prior background in religious or
biblical studies is assumed or required.
The class is divided into four three-week sessions with each session devoted to one of the Gospels, and a final week-long session focusing on the
Book of Acts. Each session will study the interplay between Christian scriptures along with writings and images about Jesus drawn from the
Hebrew Bible, extracanonical writings, film and video, history, theology and fiction. Images of Jesus through time will be tackled: Jewish rabbi,
political revolutionary, apocalyptic prophet, queer lover, desert shaman, African messiah, and Native American trickster.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, ENVS, ESCH, INTP
Spring 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 032. Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology
The God of the Bible and later Jewish and Christian literature is distinctively masculine, definitely male. Or is He? If we can point out places in
traditional writings where God is nurturing, forgiving, and loving, does that mean that God is feminine, or female? This course examines feminist
and queer writings about God, explores the tensions between feminist and queer theology, and seeks to stretch the limits of gendering-and sexing-
the divine. Key themes include: gender; embodiment; masculinity; liberation; sexuality; feminist and queer theory.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 037. Sex, Gender, and the Bible
The first two chapters of the biblical book of Genesis offer two very different ancient accounts of the creation of humanity and the construction of
gender. The rest of the book of Genesis offers a unique portrayal of family dynamics, drama and dysfunction, full of complex and compelling
narratives where gender is constantly negotiated and renegotiated. In this class, we will engage in close readings of primary biblical sources and
contemporary feminist and queer scholarship about these texts, as we explore what the first book of the Bible says about God, gender, power,
sexuality, and "family values."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 112. Postcolonial Religious Thought
Today we are facing the four horsemen of the apocalypse: climate catastrophe, white nationalism, global poverty, and a raging pandemic. In
confronting these dire threats, what is the role of religion? This seminar explores new models for understanding religion -- Indigenous studies,
liberation theology, critical plant studies, queer theory -- and a variety of thinkers -- Kierkegaard, Buber, Bonhoeffer, Derrida, Mbembe, Tinker,
Kimmerer -- to enable resiliency, even joy, in the face of the coming storm.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Russian
RUSS 037. Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Captivity and Incarceration
(Cross-listed as LITR 037R)
"Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!" - Solzhenitsyn. While the Gulag remains the most infamous aspect of the Soviet justice system,
Russia has a long history of inhumane punishment on a terrifying scale. This course explores narratives of incarceration, punishment, and
captivity from the 17th century to the present day. In discussing (non-)fiction, history, and theory, we will consider such topics as justice, violence
and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in suffering.
Authors include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Kropotkin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Pussy Riot, Navalny, Michel Foucault, Susan Sontag, and
Angela Davis, among others.
We'll also have the opportunity to speak with two of our writers, Ali Feruz (jailed Uzbek journalist + LGBTQ+ rights activist) and Oleg
Navalny (served 3.5 years on false charges + brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny).
Taught in translation; no knowledge of Russian language or culture required. All are welcome.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, INTP, GLBL-Paired, ESCH
Fall 2023. Vergara.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 043. Chernobyl: Nuclear Narratives and the Environment
(Cross-listed as LITR 043R)
What really happened on April 26, 1986? This course will introduce students to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, its consequences, and its
representations across a range of cultures. Texts will be drawn from (non-)fiction, poetry, film, TV, video games, VR, and other media, as we
consider the labyrinth of Chernobyl's mythology through a comparative lens and as a global phenomenon. Culture meets ecology, science,
history, and politics. Fields trips and guest speakers. The final class project will involve an installation at McCabe Library. Taught in translation.
No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 047. Russian Fairy Tales
(Cross-listed as LITR 047R)
Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their aesthetic,
historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts,
and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales
against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, though
students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 070. Translation Workshop
(Cross-listed as LING 070, LITR 070R)
This workshop in literary translation will concentrate on both theory and practice, working in poetry, prose, and drama as well as editing.
Students will participate in an associated series of bilingual readings and will produce a substantial portfolio of work. Students taking the course
for linguistics credit will write a final paper supported by a smaller portfolio of translations. No prerequisites exist, but excellent knowledge of a
language other than English (equivalent to a 004 course at Swarthmore or higher) is highly recommended or, failing that, access to at least one
very patient speaker of a foreign language.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2022. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Sociology
Spanish
SPAN 042. Borges: Aesthetics & Theory
(Cross-listed as LITR 042S)
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent reader. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly quoted. In his texts Borges not only anticipated but also discussed the major topics of
contemporary literary theory: the theory of intertextuality, the limits of the referential illusion, the relationship between knowledge and language,
and the dilemmas of representation and of narration. We will explore how Borges fictionalized these theoretical problems without ever allowing
the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance. We will also read Borges as a universal writer working inside all the cultural
traditions, and also as a writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, INTP, CPLT
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 078. Laberintos borgeanos
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent and subversive reader. None of his lines, none of his declarations happened inadvertently. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly
quoted. As literary critic Beatriz Sarlo explains, reading Borges as a writer without nationality is an act of aesthetic justice because Borges won,
for Latin Americans, the prerogative of working inside all the cultural traditions. However, this universalistic reading ignores the ties that unite
him to Argentine and Latin American cultural traditions. We will read Borges from this double perspective: as a universal writer, and also as a
writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, INTP
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 108. Jorge Luis Borges
This seminar focuses on one of the most influential writers of all time: Jorge Luis Borges, who devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but
also as an irreverent and subversive reader. His works have shaped all of modern and contemporary fiction, but also influenced fields as diverse
as critical theory, philosophy, film, and computer science.
We will study how Borges's short stories blend Latin American localism and universalism, often through philosophical parables, metafictional
commentaries, and detective fiction, without ever allowing the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance.
To help enrich our seminar discussions, each class session will be organized around one of Borges's major themes: labyrinths, infamy, crime
fiction, memory and time, fate and identity, among others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, INTP
Fall 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Note:
For the most up-to-date, semester-by-semester list of courses, please consult the program website at www.swarthmore.edu/intp.
Any courses attached to the program, at the time taken, will be counted toward requirements for the minor in interpretation theory.
Other courses may be considered on petition to the Interpretation Theory Committee. These may include relevant courses offered at Bryn Mawr
and Haverford colleges and the University of Pennsylvania.
Islamic Studies
Courses
TARIQ al-JAMIL (Religion), Coordinator
Anita Pace (Administrative Assistant)
Committee:
Khaled Al-Masri (Modern Languages and Literatures, Arabic)
Farha Ghannam (Sociology and Anthropology)
3
Alexandra Gueydan-Turek (Modern Languages and Literatures, French)
Steven Hopkins (Religion)
3
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
Swarthmore's Islamic Studies Program focuses on the diverse experiences and textual traditions of Muslims in global contexts. As one of the
world's great religions and cultures, Islam has shaped human experience-both past and present-in every area of the world. The academic
program explores the expressions of Islam as a religious tradition, the role of Muslims in shaping local cultures, Islamic civilization as a force of
development in global history, and the significance of Islamic discourses in the contemporary world. The program offers an undergraduate
minor, drawing from the academic disciplines of art history, dance, film and media studies, gender and sexuality studies, history, modern
languages and literatures, political science, religion, and sociology and anthropology. The Islamic Studies Program challenges students to
consider a wide range of social, cultural, literary, and religious phenomena in both the Arabic and non-Arabic speaking parts of the world. These
include aspects of life in countries with Muslim majorities such as Egypt, Syria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey as well as
those countries with vital minority communities such as France, Germany, and the United States. A sample of coursework includes The Qur'an
and its Interpreters; Islamic Law and Society; Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Islamic Discourses; Cultures of the Middle East; Culture,
Power, Islam; Cultural History of the Modern Middle East; Cities of the Middle East; and Kathak Dance Performance.
The Academic Program
Course Minor
All students must take a minimum of 5 Islamic Studies Program credits. Students must follow the guidelines below regarding the required 5
courses.
Requirements
1. The 5 required courses must cross at least 3 different academic departments.
2. Only 1 of the total 5 credits required by the Islamic studies minor may overlap with the student's major.
3. Students must successfully complete Arabic 004 (and its prerequisites) or the equivalent. This requirement is waived for native
speakers of Arabic and for students who demonstrate sufficient competence by passing an equivalency exam. Alternate fulfillment of
the language requirement may also be approved by the Islamic Studies Committee if a student demonstrates competence in another
language that is relevant to the study of a Muslim society and is directly related to the student's academic program. Only Arabic
courses beginning at the level of Arabic 004 or its equivalent will count toward the total 5 credits in Islamic studies required for the
minor.
To supplement classes offered at Swarthmore, students are encouraged to explore and take classes at other nearby colleges, especially Bryn
Mawr, Haverford, and the University of Pennsylvania. Students are also strongly encouraged to spend a minimum of one semester abroad in a
program approved by both Islamic studies and Swarthmore's Off-Campus Study Office. In addition to furthering the student's knowledge of Islam
and Muslim societies, studying abroad is a unique opportunity for personal and intellectual growth.
Acceptance Criteria
Students interested in Islamic studies are invited to consult with members of the Islamic Studies Committee before developing a proposal for a
minor. The proposal should outline and establish how a minor in Islamic studies relates to the student's overall program of undergraduate study
and should provide a list of the courses to be taken. The minor is open to students of all divisions.
Students will be admitted to the minor after having completed at least two Islamic studies courses at Swarthmore in different departments with
grades of B or better. Applications to the program must be submitted by March 1st of the sophomore year, and all programs must be approved by
the Islamic Studies Committee. Deferred students will be re-evaluated at the end of each semester until they are either accepted or they withdraw
their application.
Honors Minor
To complete an honors minor in Islamic Studies, a student must have completed all the course requirements for the interdisciplinary minor listed
above. Students are encouraged to take a 2-credit honors seminar in an Islamic studies topic in either their junior or senior year. Honors
students are required to complete a 2-credit thesis under program supervision that will count toward the minimum of 5 credits required for the
interdisciplinary minor or take a 2-credit Islamic Studies honors seminar. Students normally enroll for the thesis (ISLM 180) in the fall semester
and in the spring semester of the senior year. The honors examination will address the themes explored in the 2-credit thesis or the 2-credit
Islamic Studies honors seminar.
Special Major
Students are invited to consider a special major in Islamic studies in consultation with members of the Islamic Studies Committee. The proposal
should include the above requirements and should provide a list of the courses.
Islamic Studies Courses
ISLM 096. Thesis
Humanities.
1 credit each semester.
Eligible for ISLM.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Spring 2023. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Spring 2024. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Islamic Studies
Department website: Islamic Studies
ISLM 180. Honors Thesis
1 credit each semester.
Eligible for ISLM
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Spring 2023. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Spring 2024. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Islamic Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/islamic-studies
The Following Courses
The following courses may be applied to an academic program in Islamic studies. See individual departments to determine specific offerings in
2019 - 2022.
Anthropology
ANTH 009C. Cultures of the Middle East
Looking at ethnographic texts, films, and literature from different parts of the region, this class examines the complexity and richness of culture
and life in the Middle East. The topics we will cover include orientalism, colonization, gender, ethnicity, tribalism, nationalism, migration,
nomadism, and religious beliefs. We will also analyze the local, national, and global forces that are reshaping daily practices and cultural
identities in various Middle Eastern countries.
Social sciences.
Writing course
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 123. Culture, Power, Islam
This seminar will be an interdisciplinary investigation into the shifting manners by which Islam is multiply understood as a creatively mystical
force, a canonically organized religion, a political platform, a particular approach to economic investment, and a secular but powerful identity
put forth in interethnic conflicts, to name only a handful of incarnations. Though wide ranging in our theoretical perspective, a deeply
ethnographic approach to the lived experience of Islam in a number of cultural settings guides this study.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Dance
DANC 046. Dance Technique: Kathak
This class introduces the hot rhythms (/talas/) and the cool emotions (/rasa/s) of the Indian classical dance art: Kathak. The dancing involves
high energy, rapid turns, and fast footwork as well as movement of eyes, hands, neck, and fingers. This syncretic dance style from north India
draws on Hindu and Muslim cultural traditions (Bhakti and Sufi) and forms the raw material for the global-pop Bollywood dance. Students who
are enrolled for academic credit will be required to write papers and/or create performance texts or choreographies.
Open to all students. No prior dance experience is required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ISLM, ASIA
Fall 2021. Green.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049F. Dance Performance Repertory: Kathak
This is a moderate level technique course on Kathak. We will work on teen tala or metrical scale of sixteen beats to learn complex rhythmical
structures called bols. The various patterns of bols such as tukra, tehai and paran will also be explored. The two aspects of Kathak technique
nrtta (abstract movement) and nritya (expressive gestures) will be used for a final composition.
The final composition will be presented in a scheduled student dance concert.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 046 or prior knowledge of any classical Indian dance forms.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
History
HIST 001W. First-Year Seminar: Promised Lands: European Settler Colonies 1830-1962
This course explores European settler colonialism in Africa (including Algeria, Angola, and South Africa), Southeast Asia (including Indonesia),
Oceania (Australia), and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries. Students will analyze the practices and lived experiences of the European
imperial project while considering topics such as intimate relationships; notions of self and identity; and economic, political, and physical
domination. We will examine settler reactions to decolonization and the legacies of settler colonialism in independent African and Asian states.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 006B. The Modern Middle East
This survey class introduces students to Middle Eastern history from the late eighteenth century to the present. We will cover the major political,
social, and cultural developments in the region during this period and examine how Middle Eastern societies and cultures have been represented
over the last two centuries.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Shokr.
Spring 2023. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 025. Colonialism and Nationalism in the Middle East
This upper-level course will explore the vast and ever-growing scholarly literature on colonialism and nationalism in the Middle East. It will
cover both key theoretical works that have helped to shape this body of historical writing as well as important monographs that exemplify
particular approaches to the topic.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, ISLM
Fall 2022. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 031. France in Algeria, France and Algerians, 1830-present
What do the existentialist Albert Camus and the soccer star Zinédine Zidane have in common? The intertwined histories of Algeria (Camus'
birthplace) and France (Zidane's). This course examines that history, from the 1830 invasion to the War of Independence to today. We will ask
how the settler population, of whom Camus is just an example, emerged and analyze debates about citizenship represented by Zidane and other
children of Algerian migrants. Throughout, we will interrogate the history of French empire.
Prerequisite: Department prereq of a previous history course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM
Fall 2022. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Modern Languages and Literatures, Arabic
ARAB 004. Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II
This course is a continuation of ARAB 003. Because the material covered in this course relies heavily on the previous course, students are
expected to review and be familiar with the previous work in ARAB 001, ARAB 002 and ARAB 003.
Prerequisite: ARAB 003 or equivalent or permission of the department.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ISLM
Spring 2022. Hanna, Ahmed.
Spring 2023. Hanna, Ahmed.
Spring 2024. Hanna, Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 011. Advanced Arabic I
This course will: (1) conduct a quick review of the basic structures, grammar, and vocabulary learned in earlier courses, (2) introduce new
vocabulary in a variety of contexts with strong cultural content, (3) drill students in the more advanced grammatical structures of MSA, and (4)
train students to comprehend a variety of MSA authentic reading passages of various genres from Intermediate to Intermediate High on the
ACTFL scale.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ARAB 004 and permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Fall 2021. Al-Masri.
Fall 2022. Al-Masri.
Fall 2023. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 011A. Arabic Conversation
A conversation course concentrating on the development of intermediate skills in speaking and listening through the use of texts and multimedia
materials in Modern Standard Arabic. The aim of this course is for the student to acquire well-rounded communication skills and socio-cultural
competence. The selected materials seek to stimulate students' curiosity with the goal of awakening a strong desire to express themselves in the
language. Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials) and prepare assignments for discussion in class. Moreover,
students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in Arabic before they present them in class. This class is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Prerequisite: ARAB 011 (may be taken concurrently) or the equivalent
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Fall 2021. Ahmed.
Fall 2022. Ahmed.
Fall 2023. Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 012. Advanced Arabic II
This course is a continuation of ARAB 011 and all previous course in the sequence. This course will begin with a quick review of advanced
grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students will continue to encounter a wide range of authentic texts and audiovisual materials to enhance
their competency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, with a special emphasis on vocabulary building.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ARAB 011 and permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Spring 2022. Hanna.
Spring 2023. Al-Masri.
Spring 2024. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 012A. Advanced Arabic Conversation
A conversation course concentrating on the development of intermediate skills in speaking and listening through the use of texts and multimedia
materials in Modern Standard Arabic. The aim of this course is for the student to acquire well-rounded communication skills and socio-cultural
competence. The selected materials seek to stimulate students' curiosity with the goal of awakening a strong desire to express themselves in the
language. Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials) and prepare assignments for discussion in class. This class is
conducted entirely in Arabic.
Prerequisite: ARAB 012 (may be taken concurrently) or the equivalent
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Spring 2022. Ahmed.
Spring 2023. Ahmed.
Spring 2024. Hanna.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 013. Levantine Arabic
The aim of this course is to introduce, develop, and cultivate Levantine Arabic (LA) speaking, listening, and reading skills. Emphasis is placed
on the similarities and differences in spoken Arabic used in everyday situations by Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian speakers.
Students will learn the phonological and syntactic rules of LA and acquire knowledge of the social and cultural elements embedded within LA, as
well as the contexts in which it is used. Students will be exposed to textual and audiovisual materials predominantly in LA.
Prerequisite: Two years of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or equivalent. Those who have completed one year of MSA and wish to enroll in this
course are encouraged to consult with the Arabic Program.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM.
Fall 2021. Hanna.
Fall 2023. Hanna.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 021. Topics in Modern Arab Literature
This course surveys the major writers, trends, themes, and experiences in Arabic literature from the 19th century to the present. Beginning with
the nahda (the Arab renaissance), we will explore the impact of intellectual debates and developments on the emergence of modern Arabic
literature. Through the study of a variety of different texts and authors, from a range of geographies and periods, we will investigate diverse
literary and cultural narratives. Common themes, such as the negotiation of modernity and tradition, social and political transformation, and the
changing role of women, will provide a structure for comparison. This course is taught in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Al-Masri.
Fall 2022. Al-Masri.
Fall 2023. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 022. Discourses of Oppression in Contemporary Arabic Fiction
Designed to meet the needs of students who have completed ARAB 021: Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature, this course provides an in-
depth look at major fictional representations of the institutionalized and non-institutionalized sites and structures of oppression explored by Arab
writers. Subtle and overt forms of political oppression are investigated, as well as experiences of hegemony related to gender, sexuality, class,
religion, and ethnicity. This course also examines the ways in which oppression is rethought, restructured, and challenged in Arabic fiction,
leading to new understandings and possibilities in reality. This course is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Al-Masri.
Spring 2023. Al-Masri.
Spring 2024. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 025. War in Arab Literature and Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 025A)
This course will explore literary and cinematic representations of war in the Arab world, focusing on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Lebanese
Civil War, and the Iraq wars. We will look at poetry, fiction, memoir, prison narratives, film, and experimental texts. Through the examination of
a variety of experiences, genres, and perspectives, we will ask questions like: How do narratives of war contribute to the formation of national,
local, and Arab identities? How has the experience of war impacted understandings of religion, masculinity, gender, and domestic violence? We
will identify common themes and images and investigate how these patterns change and develop in different spatial and temporal contexts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 029. Arabs Write the West
(Cross-listed as LITR 029A)
Drawing on historical, fictional, and autobiographical narratives, this course investigates Arab representations of the Occident. These texts
explore cultural encounters, both at home and abroad, border crossings, hybridity, experiences of colonialism and neocolonialism, the
psychology of Orientalism and Occidentalism, processes of assimilation and resistance, and the question of contact zones. Differences in
geography, period, context, and positionality will provide a variety of perspectives on the theme. Works by Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jabarti, Rifa'a Al-
Tahtawi, Yahya Haqqi, Sulaiman Fayyad, Tayyib Salih, Leila Ahmed, and Fadia Faqir will be discussed. This course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 030. Writing America in Arabic
This course will explore how Arab writers have fictionalized and narrated their experiences in America since the first major wave of Arab
immigration to the United States in the late 19
th
century until the present day. Readings will be primarily drawn from literary texts, such as
excerpts from novels, short stories, and poetry, but also include autobiographical and editorial pieces. Debates concerning minority status,
women's rights, individual and community identification, tradition versus assimilation, Orientalist and Occidentalist stereotyping, and political
engagement will animate our discussions. Works by Afifa Karam, Abd al-Masih Haddad, Yusuf Idris, Radwa Ashour, Sunallah Ibrahim, Miral al-
Tahawi, Alaa al-Aswani, and others, will be studied. This course is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Fall 2023. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 041. Self and Nation in Mahmoud Darwish's Poetry and Prose
As one of the greatest, most distinct voices in Arabic literature, Mahmoud Darwish has played a significant role in shaping Palestinian national
identity politics and cultural imaginations, while also offering thoughtful reflections on the human condition more broadly. This course explores
how Darwish's poetry and prose articulate themes like homeland, exile, displacement, dispossession, loss, love, nostalgia, death, and grief. Our
examinations of his prominent texts serve as a gateway to understanding the story of Palestine and to analyzing the tensions between individual
and national identity, history and mythology, memory and forgetfulness, and peace and conflict. Additionally, the course pays special attention to
Darwish's literary innovations and the stylistic features of his work, which grant him a central spot on the vast Arabic literary map. This course
is conducted entirely in Arabic. Advanced knowledge of Arabic is required to successfully complete this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM.
Spring 2022. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 045. Contemporary Thought in the Arab World
(Cross-listed as LITR 045A)
This survey course will trace some of the main themes, problems and issues that have been debated among Arab thinkers and intellectuals since
the latter part of the 19th century. The course will start with the 19th century but emphasize discussions following the military defeat of 1967 and
the ensuing cultural and political crisis. Discussions related to "turath" (heritage), the different strategies of its reading and interpretation, and
the possibilities of using these readings to confront contemporary challenges will be the center of attention of the course. Readings will comprise
three types of texts: those providing historical and social background, translations by the different thinkers under discussion, and articles and
essays that interpret and critique these thinkers.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Modern Languages and Literatures, French
FREN 045B. La France et le Maghreb
This course examines the relationship between France and the Maghreb, two cultural spaces that are simultaneously united and divided by their
common violent colonial history. Through the study of novels, films, art work and theoretical texts, we will trace the evolution of this conflicted
relationship from the 1950's to present times. We will focus, in particular, on the following topics: (post) colonialism and nationalism, diglossia
and Francophonie, gendered representation, immigration and exile, transculturation and globalization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 056. Ces femmes qui écrivent/Reading French Women
Humanities.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 109. Honors Seminar: Queering North African Subjectivities
This seminar will explore the ways in which literary, visual and cultural representations of sexual difference and gender roles disrupt the cultural
imagination of everyday life in North Africa and its Diasporas in France. Special attention will be given to representations of Arab women and
queer subjectivities as sites of resistance against dominant masculinity. We will analyze the ways in which representations of gender have
allowed for a redeployment of power, a reconfiguration of politics of resistance, and the redrawing of longstanding images of Islam in France.
Finally, we will question how creations in French that straddle competing cultural traditions, memories, and material conditions can queer
citizenship.
Advanced content course or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, GSST
Fall 2021. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 111. Désir (post)colonial
This course addresses how the colonial encounter has shaped modern perceptions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through the
production, circulation and consumption of deformed images of its colonial subjects. From noble savages and whimpering slaves to hideous
monsters and seductive harem girls, we will examine the dynamics of representation embedded in colonial narrations and visual constructions of
the "Other," focusing on conceptualizations of power as they relate to race, sexual politics and the gendering of the colonial subject. Primary
texts include literature of the slave trade, orientalist fictions and photographs, colonial films, museum exhibitions and world's fairs, and
contemporary works of fiction that deal with the legacy and sometimes continue the colonial desire.
Has a Francophone component. May be taken for 1 credit with permission from the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM, GSST, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
Modern Languages and Literatures, Russian
RUSS 023. The Muslim in Russia
(Cross-listed as LITR 023R)
The long and strong relationship of Russia and Islam has been neglected in scholarship until recently. This course will examine texts (and films)
spanning more than a thousand years, to introduce actual interactions of Russians and Muslims, images of Muslims in Russian literature (and a
few Muslim images of Russia), the place of Muslim writers in Soviet literature, and the current position of Muslims in Russia and in Russian
discourse.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 003. Crisis Resolution in the Middle East
This introductory course is designed for students without a background in Peace and Conflict Studies or Middle East Studies. Central questions
include: How do we define crises in the contemporary Middle East/North Africa region? How does the nature of the crisis (political, economic,
social, and environmental) impact communities differently? How are grassroots actors, civil society institutions, states, and international
organizations responding to these challenges in their nation-states and across borders? What transnational networks of solidarity have linked the
Middle East to other regions across the globe? For instance, this course will examine the consequences of environmental degradation and
escalating food prices on conflict and instability across the region. We will trace the origins of autocratic regimes in the Middle East and social
movements calling for rights and reforms on one hand and the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism (i.e. Al-Qaeda and ISIS). Furthermore, the
course will explore crises such as contemporary Syria, and how local and international interventions aimed at reversing the marginalization of-
and threats against-minority populations (ethnic, religious, gender, sexuality, ability) have come to constitute a realm of crisis management. By
understanding crises through the theoretical prism of human security frameworks, we will ascertain the prospects for democratization,
development, pluralism, and peace in the region.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC, ESCH
Spring 2023. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 053. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
This course will examine the historical underpinnings of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how they have shaped the contemporary context in
Israel/Palestine. We will approach this from a demography and population-studies framework in order to understand the trajectories and
heterogeneity of Israeli and Palestinian societies and politics. For instance, how has the relationship between race and period of migration to
Israel impacted Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Israeli sub-populations differently? What explains divergent voting patterns between Palestinian
Christians and Muslims over time? How can we measure inequality between Israeli settlers and Palestinian natives in the West Bank in the
present? The course will also synthesize competing theoretical paradigms that account for the enduring nature of this conflict. This includes-but
is not limited to-the scholarly contributions of realist political scientists, U.S. foreign policy experts, social movements theorists, security sector
reformers, human rights advocates, international law experts, and negotiations and conflict resolution practitioners.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ISLM
Fall 2022. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Political Science
POLS 079. Islam, Race, and Empire (CP)
Since 9/11, Muslims in Europe and the United States have been at the center of contentious political debates about the meaning of secularism,
citizenship, and democracy. From Donald Trump's Muslim Ban to feminist critiques of the Islamic headscarf, politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum have questioned Islam's compatibility with Western values and ways of life. These disputes belie longer and messier histories
of empire, colonialism, and the War on Terror, through which categories such as "Islam" and "Muslims" have been racialized into a monolithic
brown Other in contrast to the "West." Drawing on a range of intellectual traditions, including postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, anthropology,
and critical race studies, this course examines how imperial legacies and enduring ideas about racial, religious, and ethnic difference structure
contemporary debates about Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America. Over the course of the semester, we will read works by prominent
theorists such as Wendy Brown, Frantz Fanon, Lila Abu-Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak, and discuss how Islam
figures into public conversations about anti-Semitism, citizenship and democracy, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, national identity,
secularism, tolerance, and political violence. Through our readings and discussions, students will learn about the diversity of lived experiences of
Muslims in Western societies and explore the connections between race, religion, and the afterlives of empire.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, GMST, ISLM, INTP, GSST
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Religion
RELG 008B. The Qur'an and Its Interpreters
This is course will include detailed reading of the Qur'an in English translation. The first part of the course will be devoted to the history of the
Qur'an and its importance to Muslim devotional life. The first portion of the course will include: discussion of the history of the compilation of
the text, the methods used to preserve it, styles of Qur'anic recitation, and the principles of Qur'anic abrogation. Thereafter, attention will be
devoted to a theme or issue arising from Qur'anic interpretation. Students will be exposed to the various sub-genres of Qur'anic exegesis
including historical, legal, grammatical, theological and modernist approaches.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 011B. The Religion of Islam: The Islamic Humanities
This course is a comprehensive introduction to Islamic doctrines, practices, and religious institutions in a variety of geographic settings from the
rise of Islam in the seventh century to the present. Translated source materials from the Qur'an, sayings of Muhammad, legal texts, and mystical
works will provide an overview of the literary expressions of the religion. Among the topics to be covered are: the Qur'an as scripture and as
liturgy; conversion and the spread of Islam; Muhammad in history and in the popular imagination; concepts of the feminine; Muslim women;
sectarian developments; transmission of religious knowledge and spiritual power; Sufism and the historical elaboration of mystical communities;
modern reaffirmation of Islamic identity; and Islam in the American environment.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 013. The History, Religion, and Culture of India II: Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Dalit in North India
After a survey of premodern Hindu traditions, the course tracks the sources of Indo-Muslim culture in North India, including the development of
Sufi mysticism; Sindhi, Urdu, and Tamil poetry in honor of the Prophet Muhammad; syncretism under Mughal emperor Akbar; and the
consolidation of orthodoxy with Armad Sirhindi and his school in the 16th to 17th century. We then trace the rise of the Sikh tradition in the
milieu of the Mughals, northern Hindu Sants and mendicant Sufis, popular goddess worship and village piety, focusing on several issues of
religious experience. We then turn to the colonial and post-colonial period through the lenses of the Hindu saints, artists, and reformers (the
"nationalist elite") of the Bengali Renaissance, and the political and religious thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Dalit reformer Ambedkar. We
will use perspectives of various theorists and social historians, from Ashis Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Peter van der Veer, to Veena Das and Gail
Omvedt.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ISLM
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 029. Is God a White Supremacist?
This course will focus on representations of race in religious discourses and social practice. Particular attention will be given to discussion of
the interpretive practices that are foundational to the process of "whiteness-making" and the construction of white identity. With primary source
readings and secondary literature ranging from the biblical interpretation of white supremacist "Christian identity" churches to the articulation
of the Yakub theory of racial formation in the Nation of Islam, the course readings will: address religious theories justifying racial domination,
engage in critical examination of the influence of religious thought both past and present on comparative global racisms, and transnational
whiteness. Themes will include: evil and the nature of suffering, human/anti-human binaries, death and being, and perceptions of the racialized
transcendent Other in the social, political, and symbolic order.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, BLST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 053. Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Islamic Discourses
An exploration of sexuality, gender roles, and notions of the body within the Islamic tradition from the formative period of Islam to the present.
This course will examine the historical development of gendered and patriarchal readings of Islamic legal, historical, and scriptural texts.
Particular attention will be given to both the premodern and modern strategies employed by women to subvert these exclusionary forms of
interpretation and to ensure more egalitarian outcomes for themselves in the public sphere. Topics discussed include female piety, marriage and
divorce, motherhood, polygamy, sex and desire, honor and shame, same-sex sexuality, and the role of women in the transmission of knowledge.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, GSST, ISLM, MDST
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 054. Power and Authority in Modern Islam
This course examines some of the salient issues of concern for Muslims thinkers during the modern period (defined for the purposes of this course
as the colonial and post-colonial periods). Beginning with discussion of the impact of colonialism on Islamic discourses, the course moves on to
address a number of recurrent themes that have characterized Muslim engagement with modernity. Readings and/or films will include religious,
political, and literary works by Muslims in variety of cultural and linguistic settings. Topics to be discussed will include: nationalism and the rise
of the modern nation-state, questions of religion and gender, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, developments in Islam in the United States and
Canada, and case studies of reformist and revivalist movements in the modern nation-states of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi
Arabia. Special attention will be paid to contemporary Muslim responses to feminist critiques, democracy, pluralism, religious violence,
extremism, and authoritarianism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 100. Holy War, Martyrdom, and Suicide in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
An examination of the concepts of martyrdom, holy war, and suicide in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. How are "just" war, suicide, martyrdom
presented in the sacred texts of these three traditions? How are the different perspectives related to conceptions of death and the afterlife within
each tradition? Historically, how have these three traditions idealized and/or valorized the martyr and/or the "just" warrior? In what ways have
modern post-colonial political groups and nationalist movements appropriated martyrdom and holy war in our time?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST, PEAC
Spring 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 119. Islamic Law and Society
A survey of the history of Islamic law and its developments, with particular attention to the ways Islamic legal principles were formed, organized,
operated in practice, and changed over time. It will focus on issues in Islamic legal theory, methodology, constitutional law, personal law, and
family law that have had the greatest relevance to our contemporary world. This course functions as a basic introduction to the Islamic legal
system in its pre-modern and contemporary forms. The course will also provide comparative discussion of the contrasts between Islamic legal
theory and positive law and European and American legal and constitutional thought.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2024. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 127. Secrecy and Heresy
This seminar will explore religious literature, bodily practices, and social behaviors associated with the performance of secrecy in various
geographical, historical, and political contexts. Religious communities have often employed secrecy as a strategy for the maintenance of group
solidarity and religious identity when faced with allegations of heresy. Secrecy functions not only as a means to subvert and undermine the
marginalization of religious minorities but as a powerful tool for the creation of more egalitarian possibilities through preservation of privileged
knowledge and the presence of internally shared though externally undisclosed social and religious connections. What kinds of religious secrets
are meant to be safeguarded? What set of behaviors and strategies are required to keep these "secrets" or sustain adopted personas? Is religious
secrecy merely a tactic for ensuring survival in the context of social marginalization and political persecution? What is the relationship between
secrecy and suspicion? Is it necessary that what one wishes to conceal is inherently negative, pernicious or even heretical?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Latin American and Latino Studies
Courses
Coordinator:
DIEGO ARMUS (History), Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Elaine Allard (Educational Studies)
1
Nanci Buiza (Spanish)
Désirée Díaz (Spanish)
Samuel Handlin (Political Science)
1
Luciano Martínez (Spanish)
1
Edwin Mayorga (Educational Studies)
Roberto Vargas (McCabe Library)
Affiliated Faculty:
Paloma Checa-Gismero (Art History)
José Luis Machado (Biology)
James Padilioni (Religion)
Salvador Rangel (Sociology)
1
Absent on Leave 2021-22 Academic Year
Swarthmore's Latin American and Latino Studies Program introduces students to the shared history and the rich diversity of Latin American
societies, cultures and nation-states, as well as with the transnational dynamics that shape Latino, Latina and Latinx experiences in the United
States. Students in the program draw on a variety of disciplines for a fuller understanding of how to conceptualize "Latin America" and
"latinidad" in all their complexity. Spoken language, literature and visual culture; pre-colonial, colonial, and modern history; indigenous,
immigrant, and diasporic experiences; political and economic systems and social movements; religion, spirituality and other forms of devotion;
and socioeconomic conditions and cultural identities all figure into this far-ranging and broadly inclusive course of study. Courses in sociology,
educational studies, history, Spanish, religion, political science, peace and conflict studies, and art history contribute to this exciting
interdisciplinary program.
Students may pursue a minor or a special major in Latin American and Latino Studies. Studying beyond the traditional classroom walls provides
students with invaluable opportunities for enriching intellectual experiences and personal growth. Most students pursuing a minor or a special
major spend at least one semester abroad in Latin America. For students who are unable to study abroad for whatever reason, completing an
internship or community service project in a Latinx community in the U.S. offers another way of experiencing a meaningful off-campus
experience with the community.
The Academic Program
Students interested in the Latin American and Latino Studies Program are invited to consult with the program coordinator and members of the
LALS Committee before developing a proposal. The proposal should establish how Latin American and Latino Studies relates to the overall
program of undergraduate study and to the departmental major. The minor is open to students of all divisions.
Course Minor
Latin American and Latino Studies minors must complete the following requirements:
Language:
LALS requires the successful completion of SPAN 004 Intensive Advanced Spanish or its equivalent.
This requirement is waived for native and heritage speakers of Spanish, and for students who demonstrate sufficient competence in this or
another Latin American language (including Portuguese and relevant indigenous languages), as determined by the Latin American and Latino
Studies Committee. Note: LALS credit is not offered for language courses.
Courses:
Students must complete a minimum of 5 Latin American and Latino Studies-eligible courses and/or seminars.
These 5 courses must span both the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions.
In order to develop a basic introduction to Latin America as a social, political and cultural region, students must complete one of the
following courses, preferably by the end of their sophomore year: HIST 004: Introduction to Latin American History; POLS 057:
Latin American Politics; or SPAN 012: Imágenes y contextos hispánicos.
Only 1 of the total 5 courses required for the Latin American and Latino Studies minor may overlap with a student's major or other
minor.
To graduate with a minor or a special major in Latin American and Latino Studies, a student must maintain a minimum grade of "B"
in the program, and a "C" average in any other course work.
Study Abroad or Other Immersive Learning Experience
The immersive experience may take one of two forms: either studying abroad in a program approved by both the Latin American and
Latino Studies Committee and the Off-Campus Study Office, or completing a semester-long internship or community service project in
Latin America or in a Latinx community in the U.S. Either option should be approved by the Latin American and Latino Studies
coordinator.
Students may apply two courses from work taken abroad in Latin America to their Latin American and Latino Studies academic
program.
Courses taken abroad must have a clear Latin American focus and must be preapproved by the appropriate department in order to
count for the LALS minor.
Study abroad must be pursued in Spanish or Portuguese. Students must complete Spanish 004, or its equivalent, before going abroad.
Language courses are not eligible for study abroad credit.
Students are strongly encouraged to complete the introductory course requirement (see above) prior to their immersive off-campus
learning experience.
Honors Minor
To complete an honors minor in Latin American and Latino Studies, students must have completed all requirements for the interdisciplinary
minor. From within these offerings, they may select for outside examination a seminar taken to fulfill the interdisciplinary minor's requirements.
However, the seminar chosen may not be an offering within their major department.
Special Major
Students may plan a Latin American and Latino Studies special major that includes closely related work in one or more departments. Students
must have completed at least two LALS-related courses with grades of B or better to be accepted into the major. Students also have the
possibility of designing an individualized special major in coordination with other departments.
Special majors consist of at least 10 courses and no more than 12 courses.
Latin American and Latino Studies special majors and individualized special majors must complete the major comprehensive requirement of a 1-
credit thesis or other written research project designed to integrate the work across departmental boundaries, or a comprehensive examination.
Any student interested in pursuing an individualized special major must meet with the LALS Program Coordinator to establish a concrete plan
for meeting these requirements.
Life After Swarthmore
Swarthmore graduates who have taken part in the Latin American and Latino Studies Program find that their rich understanding of the cultures
and people of Latin America and Latinos in the U.S. is attractive to employers. Graduates most frequently pursue careers in public service, law,
government, education, humanities, social sciences, and the media.
Latin American and Latino Studies Courses
The following courses are eligible for credit toward a minor or special major in Latin American and Latino Studies:
* All papers and projects for affiliated courses must focus on topics related to Latin American and Latino Studies
LALS 015. First Year Seminar: Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
Cross-listed with SPAN 015
This course is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S. with emphasis on the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the
experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latino/a communities. We will focus particularly in works produced by the three major
groups of U.S. Latino/as (Mexican Americans or Chicanos, Puerto Ricans or Nuyoricans, and Cuban Americans). By analyzing works from a
range of genres including poetry, fiction, film, and performance, along with literary and cultural theory, the course will explore some of the
major themes in the cultural production of these groups. Topics to be discussed include identity formation in terms of language, race, gender,
sexuality, and class; diaspora and emigration; the marketing of the Latino/a identity; and activism through art.
Offered each fall. Taught in English.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Latin American and Latino Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/latin-american-and-latino-studies
LALS 052. Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture
Cross-listed with SPAN 052 , LITR 052S
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts. We will analyze the political and economical forces that have
affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-Caribbean philosophy, religion, music,
and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will pay special attention to ideas of
colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation formation; transculturation and syncretism; and myth and performativity.
LALS 057. Performing Latinidad: Latinx Film, Theater & Performance Art
Cross-listed with SPAN 057
LALS 062. The Politics of Latinx Art and Activism
Cross-listed with SPAN 062
LALS 090. Thesis
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Latin American and Latino Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/latin-american-studies
LALS 093. Directed Reading
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Latin American and Latino Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/latin-american-studies
LALS 180. Senior Honors Thesis
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Latin American and Latino Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/latin-american-studies
Anthropology
ANTH 037C. Anti-Corruption Politics in Latin America & the Caribbean
Anti-corruption discourse has become one of the salient modes of articulating claims for justice and against political, financial, and corporate
power in contemporary Latin America & the Caribbean. In fact, the mobilization of anti-corruption discourse in the region has become an
undeniable force capable of toppling governments, sending corporate executives to prison, and bringing masses to the streets demanding change.
What is the relation between today's "wars" against corruption and ongoing transformations of political and economic power in Latin America &
the Caribbean? How has anti-corruption discourse reshaped imaginaries of political transformation and emancipatory politics in the region?
Rather than assuming a singular definition of corruption, this course explores it as a powerful concept that is not simply or neutrally defined by
law or morality - one with a complex history linked to colonialism and imperialism, as well as to changing ideas of democracy and justice.
Through our readings and discussions, we will develop critical and analytical tools to interrogate the long-standing stereotype of Latin America
as inherently "corrupt" and how this stereotype is mobilized in the present. We will advance this critical work through exploring concrete cases
that show the significance of anti-corruption politics as a tool for accountability and change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Azuero-Quijano.
Spring 2024. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Art History
ARTH 046. Socially Engaged Art in the Americas
Can art change the world? Questions about the impact of art in the social fabric are constitutive of the idea of avant-garde art. This course will
introduce students to these debates as they took shape in the American continent since 1960. With an emphasis on forms of art practice that
outspokenly seek to provoke positive social change, this class provides a parallel narrative of contemporary art, in which art exits the museum
space to ingrain itself in broader social processes.
During the semester students will learn about different theories of socially engaged art articulated by artists and art historians alike. We will
consider art as activism in the Civil Rights era, forms of artistic resistance to Latin American military dictatorships, second wave feminist art,
contemporary community-based art, and forms of engaged art practice concerned with planet-wide environmental crisis. We will debate the
tactics and ideals guiding these practices, and we will evaluate the potential risks that come with relying on art for social transformation. This
course alternates short lecture periods with in-class discussion of primary and secondary sources. It is structured around six thematic blocs, at
the end of which students will produce a short written assignment.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, PEAC, GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/
ARTH 048. 20th Century Latin American Art
This introductory course exposes students to the histories, theories, and forms of modern art in Latin America in the 20th Century. The course
explores the development of artistic scenes in the continent, and how avant-garde art practices have engaged a variety of nation-building
programs -either as reinforcements or as refutations. During this course students will become familiar with scholarship and critical frameworks
formulated in Latin America, as well as in the United States.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-paired
Spring 2022. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/art-and-art-history
Economics
ECON 084. Latin American Economies
A survey of the development experience of Latin American countries. We study policy choices in their political and institutional context.
Topics include Latin American economic history, informality in labor markets, pension reform, antitrust policy, regional economic integration
and trade, debt and currency crises, and the effectiveness of foreign aid.
Guest speakers from universities across Latin America will present on topics pertinent to their own countries. We plan to visit the World Bank
and the Interamerican Development Bank (most likely virtually due to COVID restrictions) to learn about their projects and lending in the LA
region.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Olivero.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Educational Studies
EDUC 045. Literacies and Social Identities
This course explores the intersections of literacy practices and identities of gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation within
communities of practice. It includes but is not limited to school settings. Students will work with diverse theory and analytical tools that draw on
educational, anthropological, historical, sociological, linguistic, fictional, visual, popular readings and "scenes of literacy" from everyday
practice. Fieldwork may be required and includes a Learning for Life partnership, tutoring, or community service in a literacy program.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, LALS.
Fall 2022. Anderson.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 048. From the Undercommons: Ethnic Studies and Education
What is ethnic studies? How can ethnic studies be part of efforts to transform educational and social conditions today from the position of the
undercommons? This course is an examination of the origins, theories, pedagogies, politics, and policies that have come to define ethnic studies
in US education. What key historical events and struggles in U.S. society and education have contributed to ethnic studies as an"undiscipline,"
and as curriculum? Colonialism, race, ethnicity, nationalism, diversity, inclusion, segregation, community control, resistance and survivance, are
among the potential topics to be examined in relation to ethnic studies pedagogies, policies, and social movements in formal (N-Higher Ed) and
informal (afterschools, CBOs, museums, social movements, etc) settings. Coupled to this inquiry will be a weekly field assignment where students
will be collaborating with educators (N-Higher Ed) in crafting or further developing curricular projects that apply an ethnic studies lens.
Social science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Fall 2022. Mayorga.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 053. Educating Emergent Bilinguals
(Cross-listed as LING 053)
Emergent bilingual youth-- those students who speak another language at home and are in the process of learning English at school-- are one of
the fastest growing and most underserved populations in U.S. schools today. This course examines their experiences through multiple lenses,
exploring the impact of immigration policy on schools, linguistic discrimination and English-only ideologies, theories of bilingualism and
language development, policies and practices for teaching multilingual students, and asset-based approaches to curriculum, instruction, and
parent engagement. Students in the course complete weekly fieldwork in area classrooms serving emergent bilinguals and a small-group study of
the neighborhood and school context. Required for students pursuing teacher certification and an essential first course for the ESL Program
Specialist certificate.
Prerequisite: EDUC 014 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH.
Fall 2021. Weinberg.
Fall 2022. Allard.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
EDUC 152. Immigration and Education
In this research seminar, students will study intersections between immigration and education policy and practice in the United States. Through
readings on historical and contemporary immigration and schooling, students will consider the shifting goals and approaches to educating
immigrant youth in the U.S. and the ways in which immigration policies impact the everyday experiences and future prospects of immigrant youth
at different ages and educational stages. Students will conduct a literature review on an immigrant population of their choice and will develop
qualitative research skills through a group research project on current immigration and education policy. Students' research will culminate in a
short film, piece of public scholarship, or journal article, depending on students' interests and strengths.
Prerequisite: 2 Courses in Educational Studies or permission of the instructor. Eligible for LALS credit.
1 or 2 credits.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Allard.
History
HIST 001P. First Year Seminar: History through the Lens: Latin America, Latinos, Photography, and the
Present
This course uses photographs to explore key processes in the making of modern Latin America, such as urbanization, industrialization,
migration, labor, race, ethnicity, gender, disease, sports, leisure, music, food, politics, religion, and the environment.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 004. Latin American History
Drawing on literature, cinema, newspapers, cartoons, music, official documents, and historical essays, this survey course examines the colonial
incorporation of the region into the Atlantic economy; the neo-colonial regimes of the 19th and 20th centuries and their diverse and convergent
historical paths; and the challenges and opportunities of earlier and current globalization trends. Emphasis on changes and continuities over five
centuries exploring revolutionary, reformist, and conservative agendas of change as well as gender, class, racial, and religious issues.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2022. Armus.
Spring 2023. Armus.
Fall 2023. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 065. Cities of (Im)migrants: Buenos Aires, Lima, Philadelphia, and New York
Why do people move? Who participates in the migration process? How do local political, cultural, and economic conditions and broader global
capitalist forces shape individual/family decisions to migrate? What forces mold (im)migrants' adjustments to the new cities? When do
(im)migrant groups become communities? This course explores the adjustment of European immigrants in Buenos Aires, internal migrants in
Lima, and Latinos in Philadelphia and New York and their roles in the making of modern metropolis.
Prerequisite: HIST or LALS course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 066. Making Sense of Being Sick: the Social Construction of Diseases in the Modern World
Discussing Latin American, European, African, Asian, and North American cases, this course examines public health strategies in colonial and
neocolonial contexts; disease metaphors in media, cinema, and literature; ideas about hygiene, segregation and contagion; outbreaks and the
politics of blame; the medicalization of society; and alternative healing cultures.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core, INTP, LALS
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 067. Digging Through the National Security Archive: South American "Dirty Wars" and the United
States' Involvement
Focusing on 1970s Latin American dictatorships, this course's aims are twofold: firstly, a critical examination of the available scholarship on the
so-called "Dirty Wars" that produced the disappearance of thousands of citizens-particularly young people-in the context of state terrorism;
secondly, an exploration of the relations between those Latin American dictatorships and the United States through a rigorous research exercise
using the National Security Archive and other primary sources.
Prerequisite: At least one course in history or professor permission.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Spring 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 067T. Digging through the American Tobacco Archives: Public Health, Corporate Deception, and
Cigarette Smoking in the 20th Century
This course examines the worldwide transformation of cigarette smoking from a celebrated and well-accepted habit into a medicalized, risky, and
regulated practice. We will research the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Archive, an online repository with thousands of documents produced
by the deceptive workings of big American tobacco corporations aiming at undermining the medicalization of the cigarette smoking habit
worldwide. Individual or group research projects might deal with the Latin American region or other areas of the world.
Prerequisite: HIST or LALS course.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 149. Reform and Revolutions in Modern Latin America
The historical problem of change-political, economic, social, and cultural-in peripheral Latin America. It emphasizes nation-building capitalist
ideas, populist experiences that produced deep reformist transformations, and revolutionary processes that started very radical and over time
became moderate.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, LALS, PEAC
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Linguistics
LING 002B. First-Year Seminar: Creoles in the Caribbean
Creole languages are new language varieties arising out of contact between European languages and non-European languages (from the regions
of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean) during colonization. The primary focus will be on Anglophone Creoles of the Caribbean and the
Caribbean coast of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and Honduras. In addition to examining structural
features, we will examine the sociohistorical and linguistic circumstances leading to the formation of new language varieties as well as the
colonial ideologies which shape the study of Creoles and their status in Creolophone societies. Other aspects to be explored include: Creoles and
education, the commodification and spread of Creole languages (e.g. through Reggae), linguistic agency and resistance, the possible relationship
between Creoles and African American English (AAE), whether Creoles are autonomous languages and if they constitute one language family.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS.
Spring 2022. Fuller Medina.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 053. Educating Emergent Bilinguals
(Cross-listed as EDUC 053)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, LALS
Fall 2021. Weinberg.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Peace and Conflict Studies
PEAC 038. Civil Wars & Neoliberal Peace in Central America
This course focuses on the sociopolitical turmoil that devastated Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador as a wave of revolutionary wars swept
across the region from the 1960s to the early 1990s and sought to end decades of oppressive military dictatorships. After studying the civil wars
and their causes, the course will then focus on the peacebuilding efforts and the implementation of democracy within the neoliberal economic
order. Of particular interest are the failures of the peacebuilding process, the current gang violence in the region, and the widespread political
corruption supported by an economic system that has made of everyday life an exercise in survival.
We will pay special attention to U.S. intervention in Central America, particularly the consequences of its involvement in the military
dictatorships and armed conflicts in the region. We'll focus on issues of social trauma and social disaffection, of historical memory and the
genocide of the Mayas, of political resistance and the struggle for social justice, and of the limits of postwar reconstruction and reconciliation in
the era of neoliberalism. This course will help us understand the current crisis of Central
American immigration to the U.S.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Fall 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Political Science
POLS 035. Democracy and Dictatorship (CP)
This course examines the nature of democratic and authoritarian governments and explanations for regime change (either from dictatorship to
democracy or the reverse). Topics include the relationship between democracy and development, the power (and limitations) of the United States
to spur democratization in other countries, the institutional foundations of strong dictatorships, the notion that established democracies might be
currently eroding, and the role potentially played by Russia and China in buttressing autocracy in other countries.
Comparative
Social science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, LALS-eligible
Spring 2024. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 051. Global Justice (TH)
The idea of "global justice" has become increasingly influential in contemporary political philosophy. Its advocates argue that the complex
challenges of a globalized world require theoretical principles which transcend specific nation-state contexts. In this political theory seminar, we
shall explore the conceptual, normative, and institutional insights of the global justice literature. Topics may include: global resource
inequalities and the prospect of international distributive justice; the ethics of immigration, migration, and border control; new perspectives on
sovereignty, citizenship, and international law; cosmopolitan ethics and human rights; climate change and natural resource politics; just war
theory and the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention; the ethics of global philanthropy and developmental aid. Throughout, we shall assess the
performance of existing global governance institutions, while considering new frameworks for promoting transnational public spheres and
holding powerful global actors accountable.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 057. Latin American Politics (CP)
This course examines major topics in Latin American politics from the 20th century to the present, with particular emphasis on Brazil, Chile,
Mexico, and Venezuela. These topics include the rise and fall of democracies and dictatorships, the spread of neoliberal economic models, the
expansion of social policy and anti-poverty programs, the difficulties of combatting corruption, the problem of violence and its relationship to the
drug trade, and the recent ascendance of the left.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 082. Surveillance and Repression (CP)
All states collect information on citizens and use violence to counter certain threats to their authority. But the extent of such activity, and its
implications for the liberty and wellbeing of citizens, can vary widely across time and space. Focusing on the United States and Latin America,
this course examines the politics of state surveillance and repression. We first investigate the growth of the US surveillance state in the second
half of the 20
th
century and the role of surveillance and repression in several authoritarian regimes in Latin America during that time period. We
then consider how technological changes have amplified the capacity of states to surveil citizens in the 21
st
century and the struggles of different
societies across the Americas to place appropriate limits on such activity, examining topics like mass communications collection, the spread of
commercial spyware, the exportation of surveillance technologies to Latin American countries by both the US and China, and the role of big tech
companies whose business models has been termed "surveillance capitalism."
Comparative
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Spring 2023. Handlin.
Spring 2024. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 086. The United States and Latin America (CP)
This course examines the complex and checkered relationship between the United States and Latin America. The first half of the
course locates this relationship within the post-colonial context and explores how US policy toward Latin America changed over the
course of the late 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, with particular attention to the role of commercial interests, the geopolitics of the Cold War,
and the often adverse consequences of US intervention for Latin American peoples and their struggles for democratic self-
determination. The second half of the course explores a series of contemporary issues in depth, including free trade agreements,
drug war policy and transnational criminal networks, the contentious politics of immigration, and the implications of China's recent
challenge to US hegemony in the region.
Comparative
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http:www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 109. Comparative Politics: Latin America (CP)
A comparative study of the political economy of Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, El Salvador, and Cuba. Topics include the
tensions between representative democracy, popular democracy, and market economies; the conditions for democracy and authoritarianism; the
sources and impact of revolution; the political impact of neo-liberal economic policies and the economic impact of state intervention; and the
role of the United States in the region.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Handlin
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Religion
RELG 003B. Varieties of Religious Experience in African Diaspora
This course explores varieties of Black Diaspora religion through the lens of religious experience -- or all those ways that Black ritual
foregrounds sensible encounters with Spirit as an aim of worship. Through reading discussions, lectures, multimedia sources, and social media
platform assignments, students will discover aspects of Black Spirit ritual through the domains of the five physical senses: touch, taste, sight,
smell, sound; choreography, kinaesthetics and embodied movement; and the Diasporic "sixth senses" of dreams, visions, divination, revelation,
spirit possession, trance, and ecstasy.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 007B. The Caribbean Carnival: Sacred Myth and Performance
From saint feast day processions and pilgrimages for Black Christ statues to Carnaval, Crop Over, and other Caribbean harvest festivals,
religious holidays in Latin America are occasions for celebration. This course focuses on religious festivals and ritual bodies to reveal the ways
these performances form mobile archives of history that yet testify both to the accumulated forces of colonialism, slavery, and capitalism that
shaped this region, as well as the power of choreography and other embodied movement as instruments and devices of popular insurgency.
Course materials include primary and secondary readings, multimedia sources such as ethnographic videos and audio recordings, material and
sartorial culture objects, and in-class lectures and discussions. Potential field trip to Philadelphia's El Carnaval de Puebla.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 045. Bob Marley's Setlist: Vibrations of a Rastafari Worldview and Ethos
On July 21, 1979, Bob Marley & the Wailers performed at Boston's Harvard Stadium as part of the Amandla Festival of Unity held in support of
the liberation of South Africa. Their 90-minute reggae music concert featured a sonic-rhythmic-choreographic kaleidoscope looping the audience
through 400 years of Rastafari mythic history and prophetic visions: although Africans were taken captive to Babylon (the American wilderness
of racial capitalism), Jah Rasatafi had prepared a homeland in Ethiopia for the return of all Jah people, if only they chant down Babylon's
destruction by preaching one love, good vibrations, and unity in I-and-I.
This class holds reggae music as a preeminent liturgical corpus of the Rastafari tradition, and investigates the Rasta worldview as performed by
Bob Marley & the Wailers during their legendary Amandla set. Through a combination of concert video footage and a set of secondary source
materials, students will place each Marley & the Wailers reggae anthem within its mystic Rastafari theological, aesthetic, and historic contexts.
Topics include Diasporic Ethiopianism, Black Diaspora-Jewish Diaspora typology, Afro-Jamaican spirit-ecstatic musical traditions (myal,
obeah, kumina, and burru), Rasta womanhood/gender, Caribbean resistance to slavery via marronage and fugitivity (Tacky's Rebellion), pan-
Africanism (Marcus Garvey's UNIA "Back to Africa" Movement).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 109. Afro-Atlantic Religions
This course investigates the Afro-Atlantic trope of spirit possession. The notion of "possession" contains a double meaning, referring in one
register to phenomena of trance, ecstasy, and other embodied engagements with Spirit(s), historically identified by religious studies scholars as
hallmarks of African Diasporic ritual traditions. In yet another register, the notion of "possession" chains Black religion to the history of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade and its logic of racial capital that sold Black bodies as commodities to be possessed by a master. By way of
ethnographic field reports, videos, films, and readings in critical race theory, kinesthetics, and phenomenology, students will untangle these
tropes of Black spirit and possession to discover what their alternative, Africanist perspectives might teach us about the nature of Being,
consciousness, materiality, and how to live well in ancestral community.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Spring 2022. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Sociology
SOCI 020D. Race in Latin America and the Caribbean
Is it the "one-drop rule," phenotype, or something else? Indeed, as a social construct, racial categories are created, codified, and contended
based on their unique sociopolitical histories. This course will introduce you to the sociological study of race and ethnicity throughout the
Americas-North, Central, and South. We will learn how white supremacy, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, and imperialism have shaped the
sociohistoric construction of race over time and space and its implications for racial inequality in respective societies. Central to this course, is
understanding comparative perspectives with how anti-Blackness and anti-indigeneity is constructed in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the
United States. The course invites us to consider how the legacies of European domination persist, and to think critically about how to move
forward.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Fall 2021. Veras.
Fall 2023. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 035D. Capitalism and Migration
The issue of transnational migration has been much debated by politicians, the media and laypeople alike. This is especially the case in the last
few years. Images of migrants making their way to the nearest border, families being separated through deportation and children being detained
in cages fill our screens. But, do we understand what causes people to migrate in the first place? To understand this, we need to analyze the root
causes of transnational migration as well as the politics involved in it. This will require engagement with issues of power, the legal system and
the production of migrant illegality, race, the nation-state, etc. Rather than only a survey of theories related to the topic, this class is designed to
provide you with a holistic approach to the study of migration from a critical sociological perspective.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, LALS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 035E. Immigration, Race, and the Law
"What part of 'illegal' don't you understand?" is perhaps the most common phrase that immigration restrictionists offer as a way to support their
opposition to undocumented migration while seemingly supporting the "rule of law." The phrase is usually an attempt to shut down debate
around the issue of undocumented migration by appealing to the perceived infallibility of the law. As we will learn in this class, however, there is
much that we don't understand when it comes to how the presence of certain groups of people in the country is rendered "illegal". We will also
examine how the notion of illegality is a profoundly racialized one, with some people's citizenship commonly viewed as suspect, regardless of
their legal status in the country. With the aid of theory and history, we will question the presumed neutrality and infallibility of the law and study
the inherent exclusionary nature of citizenship under capitalism.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Spanish
SPAN 012. Imágenes y contextos hispánicos
This course provides an introduction to the Hispanic world with an emphasis on its visual culture. The goal is to understand the key cultural
processes that have shaped Latin America and Spain. We will begin by examining early contact between Europeans and Amerindian civilizations.
We will analyze how the history of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions in Spain had a great impact on how the Spanish colonial empire
developed in the New World. We will then study the nation-building processes of the nineteenth century in Latin America, and continue on to
more recent topics, such as the periods of war and postwar in Spain and some Latin American countries.
Students will develop advanced skills in written Spanish by completing several written assignments over the course of the semester.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 015. First Year Seminar: Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 015S, ENGL 009F, LALS 015)
This course is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S. with emphasis on the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the
experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latino/a communities. We will focus particularly in works produced by the three major
groups of U.S. Latino/as (Mexican Americans or Chicanos, Puerto Ricans or Nuyoricans, and Cuban Americans). By analyzing works from a
range of genres including poetry, fiction, film, and performance, along with literary and cultural theory, the course will explore some of the
major themes in the cultural production of these groups. Topics to be discussed include identity formation in terms of language, race, gender,
sexuality, and class; diaspora and emigration; the marketing of the Latino/a identity; and activism through art.
Offered each fall. Taught in English.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, CPLT
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 023. Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana
This course introduces students to the richness of Latin American literature through the critical analysis of texts that represent many different
moments in the complex history of an extraordinary region.
Special emphasis will be placed on the shifting relationships between aesthetics, politics, and social change.
Students will be able to compare and contrast how major writers (Quiroga, Borges, Rulfo, García Márquez, Fuentes, Neruda) as well as
emerging ones confront one key question: "Who are we?" Students will analyze individual texts using appropriate literary terminology; and
engage critically in questions about Latin America's colonial legacy, nation-building; revolutionary processes; race and ethnicity; gender and
sexuality.
This is an ideal course for those students who want to strengthen their oral and writing proficiency in Spanish. Especially recommended for those
planning to study abroad.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, ESCH, CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 042. Borges: Aesthetics & Theory
(Cross-listed as LITR 042S)
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent reader. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly quoted. In his texts Borges not only anticipated but also discussed the major topics of
contemporary literary theory: the theory of intertextuality, the limits of the referential illusion, the relationship between knowledge and language,
and the dilemmas of representation and of narration. We will explore how Borges fictionalized these theoretical problems without ever allowing
the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance. We will also read Borges as a universal writer working inside all the cultural
traditions, and also as a writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, INTP, CPLT
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 043. Horror y maravilla en la literatura hispana
This course is an introduction to political and ideological uses of the fantastic genre and horror fiction in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia
during the Early Modern period. We will study texts such as short stories, novels, poetry, theater, painting, inquisition records, and films. The
course examines how texts that blur the lines between the real and the unreal, the natural world and the supernatural can be used as mechanisms
of social control that seek to propagate concerns, fears, and stigmas on racial minorities and marginalized groups. Students will learn about the
key sociopolitical, religious, and historical contexts of the era that will help us understand how the fantastic and horror fiction engage with their
society. We will explore themes such as the world of the witches, monsters and prodigies, religious miracles, and diabolical metamorphoses, or
the boundaries between life and death. Students will become familiar with the following terms: horror, fantastic, miracle, magic, diabolical,
metamorphosis, and sensationalism. At the end of the semester, students are expected to know how the popular imagination and the fiction of the
Early Modern period can help us understand the complex sociohistorical vision of that era.
Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Hernández.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 050. Afrocaribe: literatura y cultura visual
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination mainly through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts from the Hispanic Caribbean. We will analyze the political
and economical forces that have affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-
Caribbean philosophy, religion, music, and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will
pay special attention to ideas of colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation; myth and performativity; and transculturation,
syncretism and transvestism.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 051. Cuba contemporánea: utopía, revolución y reforma
This course will focus on Cuban literature and culture produced during the historical period of the Cuban Revolution. By reading varied-and
often opposed-literary accounts and artistic representations of those years, the course seeks to analyze the complex socio-economical, political,
and ideological processes that have informed Cuban society and culture since 1959 until the present day. Although it will use a panoramic and
chronological approach, emphasis will be given to works produced in the last three decades. Issues to be discussed include the relation between
national identity, ideology and political discourse; the politics of representation in terms of race, gender and sexuality; exile and diaspora, the
social role of the intellectual, ethics and aesthetics, and the current period of political and economic transition.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Díaz.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 052. Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 052S and LALS 052)
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts. We will analyze the political and economical forces that have
affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-Caribbean philosophy, religion, music,
and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will pay special attention to ideas of
colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation formation; transculturation and syncretism; and myth and performativity.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 055. Puerto Rico y su discurso literario
Puerto Rico is one of the last standing colonies in the world. Puerto Rican and Nuyorican artists and writers have faced their anachronistic
status with intelligence, inventiveness and humor. This class will study the Puerto Rican imagination through the analysis of a range of works,
including narrative, theater, creative essays, as well as film and the visual arts. We will focus particularly on 20th- and 21st- century works
produced by both mainland and diaspora creators. We will pay special attention to the relationship between aesthetics, nationalism and
colonialism, diaspora, race and gender.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 057. Performing Latinidad: Latinx Theater, Film, and Performance Art
(Cross-listed as THEA 007, LITR 057S and LALS 057)
This course will introduce students to Latinx performance in the U.S., from the mid- 20th century to today. Students will study different modes of
performances such as theater, film, the work of performance artists and everyday performances (such as political events) through various Latinx
lenses. Following a critical performative pedagogy, the class will combine seminar-style discussions with performance workshops. Topics
covered will include the representation and embodiment of gender and race, acts of decolonization, memory construction and diasporic
experiences, citizenship and community building, and the politics of latinidad. By analyzing these and other relevant issues through discussions
and performance exercises, we will be able to survey the state of contemporary Latinx performance in the U.S. while gaining a better
understanding of the connection between performance theory and practice, and the relevance of performance in everyday aesthetics and life.
This course is taught in English.
Prerequisite: No prerequisites required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 061. El "otro": voces y miradas múltiples
This course is an overview of literary and artistic expressions as a response of the presence of the "other", contributing to build a collective
cultural imaginary of a diverse society where immigration is a compelling influence. Migrant movements within and outside Spain, and their
impact on transforming Spanish society, will be studied in theatre, film and literature. The imaginary vision of the "other" will be unveiled as an
integral part of the imagined self-identity. Through different readings and visual art forms we will observe the challenge to identity definition
caused by an array of people from different races, cultures and religions.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 062. The Politics of Latinx Art and Activism
(Cross-listed as LITR 062S and LALS 062)
(Art)ivism, or the practice of social and political activism through art and artistic devices, has been fundamental for the development and
strengthening of Latinx communities in the US since the beginning of the Chicano movement until today when Latinx writers and artists are
actively involved in politically contentious issues such as racial discrimination, gender equality, immigration rights, environmental justice,
among others. In this course, we will explore and discuss the work of established and emergent Latinx writers and artists that engage in practices
of artivism trying to expose, better understand and fight the many forms of injustice and oppression faced by Latinx communities while promoting
practices of radical democracy. Artivists such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Guillermo Gómez Peña, Tania Bruguera, Favianna Rodriguez, Daniel
Alarcón, among others, use their art not only to raise awareness about social injustices and oppression; their works function also as
springboards for community building, solidarity, and political action that can have lasting impacts. The work of many artivists will also open the
door to discuss how non-traditional forms of literary and artistic expression such as street art, spoken word, performance art, and artistic
pedagogical projects are powerful forms of political intervention and citizenship participation. Furthermore, we will discuss issues such as the
relevance of art in the contemporary world, the reception and distribution of politically engaged art, the ethics of artivism, and the importance of
pedagogical practices based on a radical democracy model.
This course is taught in English.
Prerequisite: No pre-requisites required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2023. Díaz.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 075. Debates in Latinx Culture: Today and Tomorrow
Crosslisted with LITR 075S.
This advanced course on Latinx culture focuses on contemporary debates and polemical issues involving Latinx cultural production and
representation. In a colloquium and seminar style, students will discuss a wide range of thought-provoking topics such as social movements and
the political participation of Latinos; new trends in film and media; the politics of the literary market; social media presence; new linguistic and
bilingual developments; fashion, music, and the commodification of identity politics in popular culture; among other controversial topics that are
fundamentally shaping the presence and impact of Latinx in the US and the world, today and tomorrow.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
SPAN 079. García Márquez y su huella
This course examines the work of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014), and his literary influence on a younger generation
of Colombian writers.
García Márquez has been involved in many of the crucial literary, political and cultural issues of this era, in Colombia, Latin America and
globally. His work exemplifies these conflicts and ranges from so-called realismo mágico (Cien años de soledad) to historical fiction (El general
en su laberinto) and documentary writing (Relato de un náufrago).
We will also read works by Laura Restrepo, William Ospina, and Juan Gabriel Vázquez. The goal is not to trace the inheritance of the
Macondian imaginary world, but rather to reflect on a particular understanding of literary genres, and the power of fiction to represent social,
economic and political challenges.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2022. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 080. Los hijos de la Malinche: Representaciones culturales de la Revolución Mexicana
This course will examine the representations of the Mexican Revolution in novels, short stories, essays, theatre, films, and corridos by Mexican
authors and artists. We will pay attention to the complexity of perspectives generated by this sociopolitical upheaval, whose legacy has been
riddled with ambivalence. The objective is to gain a critical understanding of how and why the Revolution became such a fundamental part of
Mexican identity and culture. Topics include: political disenchantment, solitude, class division, gender roles, national myths, and identity
construction.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 084. México 1968: La violencia del Estado de ayer y hoy
This course will examine the cultural representations of violence in contemporary Mexico, from the 1968 student massacre in Tlatelolco to the
female homicides in Ciudad Juárez to the social unrest brought about by the war on drugs. The objective will be to understand not only the
dynamics of political and social violence in Mexico, but also the bearing that it has had on literature and film. We will analyze the ways in which
literary works, poetry, chronicles, and films contend with the issues of state terror, institutionalized oblivion, trauma, violence, and cultural
identity formation. In addition to film and literature, the course will incorporate the scholarly and theoretical interventions that will help make
sense of this crisis of violence plaguing Mexico.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 087. Cruzando fronteras: migración y neoliberalismo en el cine mexicano
This course studies the rich history of Mexican cinema. It begins by analyzing how the Golden Age of Mexican cinema fomented a national
identity that still prevails in culture today. We then move to contemporary transnational Mexican cinema to study the influences of globalization
and neoliberalism in internationally acclaimed Mexican directors such as Natalia Almada, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu,
and Guillermo del Toro, among others. This part of the course studies Mexican cinema as a transnational product of cosmopolitan filmmakers
who go beyond traditional ideas of national cinema in their quest for creativity, freedom of expression, and broader audiences. In addition to
studying films, the course will take into account the recent scholarship pertaining to Mexican cinema. Throughout the course, we'll examine
issues of displacement, nonbelonging, migration, class, race, gender identity, and social inequality.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Buiza.
Fall 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
SPAN 088. Pasados desgarradores: revolución y trauma en la literatura centroamericana
This course focuses on contemporary Central American literature. It begins with the revolutionary poetry, narrative of resistance, and testimonio
that emerged out of the sociopolitical turmoil of the isthmus during the decades of war, revolutions, and genocide. We will then study the
atmosphere of disenchantment during the postwar period and the aesthetic shift in representations of trauma, violence, and disaffection. We will
study novels, short stories, poems, films, music, and read scholarly articles to understand the sociohistorical and literary context of the war and
the postwar periods in Central America.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 103. Trauma y derechos humanos en la literatura centroamericana
This seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations
of human suffering, empathy, and pain.
The seminar explores the social disintegration and legacy of violence left by decades of civil wars, genocide, and revolution in the region, as well
as theories of trauma, memory, affect, aesthetics, philosophical cynicism, and human rights. These theoretical approaches will help us reflect on
the relation between literature and human rights; the sociopolitical upheavals and their cultural representations; and how cultural production
engages with issues of peace and conflict in the neoliberal era. We will pay special attention to representations of social disaffection, political
disillusionment, and survival in a postwar context shaped by socio-economic precarity. In addition to reading literary works by some of the main
authors in the region-such as Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, and Claudia Hernández-we will analyze scholarly debates
surrounding Central American literature, as well as watch films and performances that probe into the issues of ethics, historical truth, social
justice, reconciliation, and the human predicament in a postwar society.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Spring 2022. Buiza.
Spring 2024. Buiza.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 108. Jorge Luis Borges
This seminar focuses on one of the most influential writers of all time: Jorge Luis Borges, who devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but
also as an irreverent and subversive reader. His works have shaped all of modern and contemporary fiction, but also influenced fields as diverse
as critical theory, philosophy, film, and computer science.
We will study how Borges's short stories blend Latin American localism and universalism, often through philosophical parables, metafictional
commentaries, and detective fiction, without ever allowing the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance.
To help enrich our seminar discussions, each class session will be organized around one of Borges's major themes: labyrinths, infamy, crime
fiction, memory and time, fate and identity, among others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, INTP
Fall 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Linguistics
Faculty
THEODORE B. FERNALD, Professor and Chair
K. DAVID HARRISON, Professor
BROOK D. LILLEHAUGEN, Associate Professor (Tri-College)
EMILY A. GASSER, Associate Professor
5
JONATHAN N. WASHINGTON, Assistant Professor
KIRBY CONROD, Visiting Assistant Professor
RIKKER DOCKUM, Visiting Assistant Professor
PATRICIA L. IRWIN, Visiting Assistant Professor
NICTÉ FULLER MEDINA, Visiting Assistant Professor
MELANIE DROLSBAUGH, American Sign Language Instructor
JEREMY FAHRINGER, Laboratory Technologist
TARSIA DUFF, Administrative Assistant
DONNA JO NAPOLI, Professor of Linguistics and Social Justice, Faculty Member at Large,
Maurice Eldridge Faculty Fellow
5
Absent on leave, Fall 2021. Spring 2022.
What is Linguistics?
There are 7,000 languages in the world. Linguistics is the scientific study of language-we develop techniques to explore patterns that all human
languages have in common and investigate the ways in which each is unique. Our explorations yield insights not only about languages, but also
about the nature of the human mind.
The relevance of linguistics to the fields of anthropology, cognitive science, language study, philosophy, psychology, and sociology has been
recognized for a long time. Linguistics cross list courses from ten departments, reflecting the diversity of fields with strong relevance to our field.
The interdisciplinary nature of the field, and our program, further encourages students to broaden their horizons and interact with a wide variety
of students, scholars, and ideas.
What we hope students will get from studying Linguistics
Because the very nature of modern linguistic inquiry is to build arguments for particular analysis, the study of linguistics gives the student finely
honed argumentation skills, which stand in good stead in careers in law, business, and any other profession where such skills are crucial.
Linguistics at Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr College, and Haverford College
The Linguistics Department is a constituent in the Tri-College Linguistics Department, which includes courses at Bryn Mawr College and
Haverford College. Linguistics courses at Swarthmore College regularly include students from all three schools.
The Academic Program
The Linguistics Department offers a course major, a course minor, an honors major, and an honors minor. In addition, a special course major
and a special honors major are offered in linguistics and languages.
Course Major: Linguistics
The course major in linguistics consists of at least eight credits in linguistics, including all of the following:
1. Phonetics & Phonology: LING 45/H115.
2. Syntax: LING 50/H113.
3. Semantics: LING 40/H114.
4. A course in language, culture, and society from the following: LING 21 Anthropological Linguistics, LING 25/H125 Sociolinguistics,
LING 41 Dialects of American English, LING 44 Linguistic Discrimination, LING 46 / H146 Linguistic Diversity, LING/ANTH B281
Language in the Social Context. Other courses which are not being used to fulfil another major requirement may be used here with
approval of the chair.
5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language: typically LING 61 (Navajo), 67 (Wamesa), 68 (Kyrgyz), H282
(Chinese), or H215 (Colonial Valley Zapotec).
6. LING 100/H399/B399, in which students complete and defend a one-credit senior thesis. This course constitutes the comprehensive
requirement for the major.
7. Two additional electives in linguistics.
Special Course Major: Linguistics and Languages
The special course major in linguistics and languages consists of at least twelve credits: six credits in linguistics and three credits in each of two
languages. The languages can be ancient or modern. Students must complete each of the following:
1. A course in Phonetics & Phonology from the following list: LING 45.
2. A course in Syntax: LING 50.
3. A course in Semantics from the following list: LING 40.
4. A course in Language, Culture, & Society (see course major).
5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language (see course major).
6. LING 100, in which students complete and defend a one-credit senior thesis. This course constitutes the comprehensive requirement
for the major.
Contact the Modern Languages Department and the Classics Department to find out the necessary courses to complete the language part of this
special major.
Some work in each foreign language included in the major must be done in the student's junior or senior year.
If one or both of the foreign languages is modern, the student must study abroad for at least one semester in an area appropriate for one of the
foreign languages.
Course Minor
If a student is a course major in Linguistics as well as an honors minor in Linguistics, the thesis required for the course major constitutes the
portfolio for the honors minor.
Honors minors who are not course majors in Linguistics will satisfy the course minor and complete and defend their honors minor portfolio as
explained below.
[Add a Language, Culture, & Society track to the existing possibilities:]
Any two of LING 21 Anthropological Linguistics, LING 25/H125 Sociolinguistics, LING 41 Dialects of American English, LING 44
Linguistic Discrimination, LING 46/H146 Linguistic Diversity, LING/ANTH B281 Language in the Social Context, or LING 82
Sociolinguistics II.
One additional course on socio- or anthropological linguistics. This may be a third course from the list above, a First-Year Seminar,
or another relevant elective.
Two additional courses in linguistics.
Honors Major
The honors major in linguistics consists of ten credits in linguistics, and includes all of the following:
1. A course in Phonetics & Phonology: LING 45.
2. A course in Syntax: LING 50.
3. A course in Semantics: LING 40.
4. A course in language, culture, and society (see course major).
5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language: (see course major).
6. LING 195, in which students complete and defend a two-credit senior thesis. This course constitutes the comprehensive requirement
for the major.
7. Two electives in linguistics.
8. Complete and defend an honors major portfolio as explained below.
Honors Major Portfolio requirements:
Thesis: Students are required to write a two-credit thesis in LING 195 (Senior Honors Thesis) in the fall of their senior year. The thesis may be
on any topic in linguistics. It need not be related to course work. Work may be collaborative with one other student at the discretion of the
faculty. The oral examination will consist of a discussion of up to one hour with the external reader.
Research Papers: Students are required to write two research papers. The student will prepare for these research papers by taking at least four
credits of course work (two credits in each of the research paper areas). The areas will be selected from any combination of the following,
possibly in combination with other course work:
phonetics
phonology
morphology
syntax
semantics
historical and comparative
sociolinguistics
Students will take LING 199 (Senior Honors Study) for one credit in the spring of their senior year. The two research papers will be on topics
selected by the external readers and must be directly related to course work the student has taken.
Students will work independently on their research papers. The oral examination will consist of a forty-five minute discussion with the external
reader for each paper. The discussion will cover the papers and any other material pertinent to the two credits of course work offered in
preparation for the paper.
Honors Special Major Linguistics and Languages
The special honors major in linguistics and languages consists of the following Linguistics classes and three credits in each of two languages.
The languages can be ancient or modern. Students must complete each of the following:
1. A course in Phonetics & Phonology from the following list: LING 45.
2. A course in Syntax: LING 50.
3. A course in Semantics from the following list: LING 40.
4. A course in Language, Culture, & Society (see course major).
5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language (see course major).
6. LING 195, in which students complete and defend a two-credit senior thesis. This course constitutes the comprehensive requirement
for the major.
7. Complete and defend an honors major portfolio as explained below.
Honors Special Major Linguistics and Languages portfolio requirements:
Thesis: Students are required to write a two-credit thesis in LING 195 (Senior Honors Thesis) in the fall of their senior year. The thesis may be
on any topic in linguistics. It need not be related to course work. Work may be collaborative with one other student at the discretion of the
faculty. The oral examination will consist of a discussion of up to one hour with the external reader.
Research Papers: Students are required to write two research papers in linguistics and
complete one honors examination that is administered by the relevant language
department. The student will prepare for the linguistics research papers by taking at
least four credits of course work (two credits in each of the research paper areas). The
areas will be selected from any combination of the following, possibly in combination
with other course work:
phonetics
phonology
morphology
syntax
semantics
historical and comparative
sociolinguistics
The third research paper is administered by the relevant language department.
Students will take LING 199 (Senior Honors Study) for one credit in the spring of their senior year. The three research papers will be on topics
selected by the external readers and must be directly related to course work the student has taken.
Students will work independently on their research papers. The oral examination will consist of a forty-five minute discussion with the external
reader for each paper. The discussion will cover the papers and any other material pertinent to the two credits of course work offered in
preparation for the paper.
Honors Minor
If a student is a course major in Linguistics as well as an honors minor in Linguistics, the thesis required for the course major constitutes the
portfolio for the honors minor.
Honors minors who are not course majors in linguistics will satisfy the course minor and complete and defend their honors minor portfolio as
explained below.
Honors Minor portfolio requirements:
A single research paper will constitute the portfolio for honors. The areas will be selected from any combination of the following:
phonetics
phonology
morphology
syntax
semantics
historical and comparative
sociolinguistics
The program requires a one-half credit in LING 199 (Senior Honors Study) in the spring of the senior year. The oral examination will consist of
a discussion of up to one hour with the external reader.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
Every senior linguistics major or linguistics and language major must write a thesis during the fall semester of their senior year.
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
Please follow the process described by the Dean's Office and the Registrar's Office about how to apply for a major.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Linguistics does not accept AP/IB credit.
Transfer Credit
Linguistics does accept transfer credit. Please contact the department for more information.
Off-Campus Study
Students who special major in linguistics and languages and who focus on two modern languages must spend at least one semester abroad in an
area appropriate for one of the foreign languages.
Students planning on a semester abroad must consult with their adviser and the Linguistics Department. Upon return from study abroad, students
must present all written work to the department in order to have the course work considered for credit here, including class notes, syllabi,
examinations, and papers.
Sample Paths through Linguistics
There are many acceptable paths through the major. We urge students to talk with their advisers to find the one that is best suited to their
interests, bearing the following considerations in mind.
The end of the path is satisfaction of the requirements for the major. The most intricate of these is successful completion of the senior thesis.
While students are permitted to complete one or more of the core requirements (courses in sounds, forms, and meanings) during their senior
year, doing so will preclude writing a senior thesis in one of these areas. We strongly recommend completing these requirements by the end of the
junior year. Because students frequently develop thesis topics during their courses in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language, we also
recommend satisfying this requirement by the end of the junior year. Syntax (LING 050) and Phonetics and Phonology (LING 045) are
prerequisites for the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language (061, 067, 68 and at Haverford College: LINGH282, and LING215.), the
faculty urge students to take these courses by the end of the fall semester of the junior year.
Linguistics Courses
LING 001. Introduction to Language and Linguistics
Introduction to the study and analysis of human language, including sound systems, lexical systems, the formation of phrases and sentences, and
meaning, both in modern and ancient languages and with respect to how languages change over time. Other topics that may be covered include
first-language acquisition, sign languages, poetic metrics, the relation between language and the brain, and sociological effects on language.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Fuller Medina.
Spring 2022. Conrod. Fuller Medina.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 002. First-Year Seminar: Taboo
Taboo terms vary in topic across language communities: religion, sex, disease and death, and bodily effluents are common, but other topics can
appear, often depending on nonlinguistic factors (community size, demographics, and cultural beliefs). Taboo terms also vary in how they are
used: exclamations, name-calling, and maledictions are common, but other uses can appear, such as modifiers and predicates. Over time less
common uses tend to semantically bleach, so that historical taboo terms can be used without hint of vulgarity or rudeness. These less common
uses can fall together with slang in exhibiting linguistic behavior unique within that language, at the word level and the phrase and sentence
level, behavior that is telling with respect to linguistic theory. Each student will choose a language other than English to investigate.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 002B. First-Year Seminar: Creoles in the Caribbean
Creole languages are new language varieties arising out of contact between European languages and non-European languages (from the regions
of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean) during colonization. The primary focus will be on Anglophone Creoles of the Caribbean and the
Caribbean coast of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and Honduras. In addition to examining structural
features, we will examine the sociohistorical and linguistic circumstances leading to the formation of new language varieties as well as the
colonial ideologies which shape the study of Creoles and their status in Creolophone societies. Other aspects to be explored include: Creoles and
education, the commodification and spread of Creole languages (e.g. through Reggae), linguistic agency and resistance, the possible relationship
between Creoles and African American English (AAE), whether Creoles are autonomous languages and if they constitute one language family.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS.
Spring 2022. Fuller Medina.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 002A. First-Year Seminar: Gender and Language
In this course we will examine the way that language makes gender, and gender makes language. This includes examinations of gender marking
in the grammar of languages (such as grammatical gender, gendered nouns and pronouns, etc.); the way that linguistic performance can be
influenced by gendered embodiment and create gendered performance; and how gender influences linguistic interactions and their
interpretations.
Writing
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Fall 2021. Conrod.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 004. First-Year-Seminar: Indigenous Languages of the Americas
At least 300 languages were spoken in North America before the first contact occurred with Europeans. Most of the surviving languages are on
the verge of extinction. Students will learn about language patterns and characteristics of language families, including grammatical
classification systems, animacy effects on sentence structure, verbs that incorporate other words, and evidentials. Topics include how languages
in contact affect each other, issues of sociolinguistic identity, language endangerment and revitalization efforts, and matters of secrecy and
cultural theft.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 004A. First-Year Seminar: Discovering Language: A Scientific Approach
Everyone speaks a language, often more than one. But how do languages actually work? As a class, we'll work directly with a speaker of an
unfamiliar language to figure out how it's organized, while using it to shed light on Language more generally. We'll practice collaborative
linguistic fieldwork and language documentation, cover basic concepts in linguistic theory to help make sense of what we find, and counter some
common linguistic myths. We'll address a range of questions like: How different can languages be from one to another? How typical - or unusual
- is English? How does a language become endangered, and what can be done about it? And what are our responsibilities as researchers
towards the people we work with?
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: Linguistics
LING 004B. First-Year Seminar: Internet Linguistics
Despite claims to the contrary, it seems that the internet has not destroyed English. But how has the internet changed language use, and the study
of linguistics? This course will be an exploration of the various forms that language takes online and other digital formats, such as texting. We
will explore questions such as: Why do my parents insist on texting in full paragraphs? Is the internet good or bad for the future of indigenous
and minority languages?
Is there a difference in meaning between :), :-), ^_^,? What are the differences and similarities between face-to-face and online communication?
We will look at a range of sources and methods for investigating language use online, and use some of these methods in our own investigations of
internet language.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: Linguistics
LING 008A. Russian Phonetics
(Cross-listed as RUSS 008A)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the Modern Languages and Literatures Russian rubric and in social sciences under the
Linguistics rubric.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 011. American Sign Language I
Introduction to learning and understanding American Sign Language (ASL), and the cultural values and rules of behavior of the American Deaf
community. Includes receptive and expressive readiness activities; sign vocabulary; grammatical structure; facial expressions (emotional &
grammatical), body/spatial movement, gestures; receptive and expressive fingerspelling; and deaf culture do's and don'ts. Specific
concepts/topics include the number/letter/color/shape basics, identifying people, activities, transportation, cities, places, and family.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Drolsbaugh.
Spring 2022. Drolsbaugh.
Fall 2022. Drolsbaugh.
Spring 2023. Drolsbaugh.
Fall 2023. Drolsbaugh.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 012. American Sign Language II
In ASL II, students expand their conversational range from talking about themselves to talking about other people, and about activities inside and
outside the home along with time/calendar/sequencing concepts. Students also gain skill in reading and giving directions along with making
requests as well as agreeing to requests with conditions. Other concepts include opinions, qualities, and pricing. Students develop polite
conversation strategies to navigate Deaf space and to handle interruptions. Grammar topics include retelling and using role shifting in
narratives, agreement verbs, and negations.
Prerequisite: LING 011
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Drolsbaugh.
Spring 2023. Drolsbaugh.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 014. Old English/History of the Language
(Cross-listed as ENGL 014)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the English rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 016A. Forensic Linguistics
(Cross-listed as RUSS 016A)
This half-credit course provides an overview of linguistic approaches to the study of law and language. It combines a theoretical discussion of
selected issues with practical analysis of texts. Written texts will be analyzed for their stylistic features, spoken texts will point out the interaction
between discourse participants. The course will report on the findings of the newly developing discipline of forensic linguistics. At the end of the
course, students will be able to understand the role of the emerging discipline of forensic linguistics as well as understand the specificities of
various genres of legal English.
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Yordanova.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 018. Linguistic Evolution of English: From Prehistory to Present
This course will trace the evolution of English from its earliest Indo-European origins to its present-day dispersal around the globe. Students will
investigate the languages, cultures and histories of the linguistic ancestors of English, and will examine how peculiarities of modern English find
their origins in the unique and distinctive development of the language. Students will additionally gain familiarity with basic linguistic concepts
in articulatory phonetics and phonology, as well as historical and comparative linguistics. This course has no formal prerequisites.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 020. Natural Language Processing
(Cross-listed as CPSC 065)
This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts in natural language processing, the study of human language from a computational
perspective. The focus will be on creating statistical algorithms used in the analysis and production of language. Topics to be covered include
parsing, morphological analysis, text classification, speech recognition, and machine translation. No prior linguistics experience is necessary.
Group 3 course.
Prerequisite: CPSC 035 or the equivalent.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Caplan.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 022. Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
(Cross-listed as JPNS 022)
This course introduces various aspects of Japanese linguistics, such as Japanese phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.
Through obtaining theoretical insights on the structural organization of the Japanese language and examining linguistic data, the course aims to
broaden students' knowledge of the structural aspects of the language and to cultivate their ability to analyze linguistic facets of Japanese
communicative culture.
In class, we will go over the main concepts and data analyses from weekly readings and discuss relevant data, questions, and counter-examples,
while going over study questions and exercises. Students are encouraged to share their own experiences and compare the Japanese linguistic
structures and communicative practices with those of English and other languages.
Students who take this class will develop their understanding of the differing layers of the Japanese language by solving concrete linguistic
problems, enhance their ability to learn new grammatical structures in the Japanese language by analyzing them linguistically, and receive
guidance in producing an objective linguistic analysis of a facet of the Japanese language.
Readings and discussion will be in English.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 001 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Spring 2022. Bundschuh.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 024. Sanskrit Class on Paninian Grammar
(Cross-listed as CLST 024)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the classics rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social sciences
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 025. Sociolinguistics: Language, Culture, and Society
(Cross-listed as SOAN 040B)
This course is an introduction to the connection between language and social and identity as it is studied from a variety of methodologies and
perspectives, including ethnography, variationist sociolinguistics, and experimental sociolinguistics in the lab. Topics to be examined include the
following: How do we create our intersecting identities when we use language? How do social factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and
socioeconomic class influence the way people use language? How do individual speakers use language differently in different situations? How do
social and regional dialects differ from each other, and why? How does language change spread within and between communities? Students will
collect and analyze data from real-life speech to explore the social correlates of linguistic behavior, using both qualitative and quantitative
methods to analyze their data.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Fall 2021. Fuller Medina.
Spring 2022. Conrod.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 029. Sign Language Literature
(Cross-listed as CPLT 029 )
We look at sign language literature, comparing to spoken language literature with respect to: storytelling methods, definitions of rhyme, notions
of closure, role of paralinguistic features, relationship of storyteller to audience, and role of stories in their communities. We examine linguistic
creativity in storytelling, humor, poetry, and taboo language across modalities.
Social Sciences.
Writing.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese
(Cross-listed as CHIN 033)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the chinese rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 034. Psychology of Language
(Cross-listed as PSYC 034)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 035. Indigenous Languages of the Americas
At least 300 languages were spoken in North America before the first contact occurred with Europeans. Most of the surviving languages are on
the verge of extinction. Students will learn about language patterns and characteristics of language families, including grammatical
classification systems, animacy effects on sentence structure, verbs that incorporate other words, and evidentials. Topics include how languages
in contact affect each other, issues of sociolinguistic identity, language endangerment and revitalization efforts, and matters of secrecy and
cultural theft.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 040. Semantics
(Cross-listed as PHIL 040)
In this course, we look at a variety of ways in which linguists, philosophers, and psychologists have approached meaning in language. We
address truth-functional semantics, lexical semantics, speech act theory, pragmatics, and discourse structure. What this adds up to is an
examination of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in isolation and in context.
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the philosophy rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Irwin.
Spring 2022. Irwin.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 041. Dialects of American English
This course provides an introduction to dialect diversity in American English. Why are some dialect differences stigmatized, while others are
barely noticed? In addition to learning about the origin and current status of regional, social, and ethnic dialects of American English, students
will explore how dialects are expressed and represented in literature, poetry, and the popular media. This course will appeal to students with
interests in language ideology, the history of the English language, and the surprising role that dialect diversity plays in American politics and
culture.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 043. Morphology and the Lexicon
This course looks at word formation and the meaningful ways in which different words in the lexicon are related to one another in the world's
languages.
Prerequisite: LING 001 or LING 045.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 045. Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics explores the full range of sounds produced by humans for use in language and the gestural, acoustic, and auditory properties that
characterize those sounds. Phonology investigates the abstract cognitive system humans use for representing, organizing, and combining the
sounds of language as well as processes by which sounds can change into other sounds. This course covers a wide spectrum of data from
languages around the world and focuses on developing analyses to account for the data. Argumentation skills are also developed to help
determine the underlying cognitive mechanisms that are needed to support proposed analyses.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Washington.
Spring 2022. Dockum.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 047. Evolution of Language and Culture
The study of language and culture from an evolutionary perspective. We will think about how linguistic and cultural traits evolve, and how
changes can be "undone" with to reconstruct the past. This course applies computational methods originally developed for evolutionary biology
to language and culture.
No programming experience required. No formal prequisite, but at least one of the following is recommended: LING 001 , ANTH 001 , LING
052 , BIOL 034 , or an interest in quantitative and computational methods.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: Linguistics
LING 050. Syntax
The main objective of this course is to familiarize students with the scientific study of syntactic structure in human language as part of the
broader enterprise of the study of the human language faculty. Students learn the rudiments of syntactic analysis and argumentation within the
Principles & Parameters/Minimalist framework in generative syntactic theory. The course gives attention to the relevance of syntax to other
fields of study, including psychology (language acquisition, language processing), computer science, language reclamation and revitalization,
stigmatized dialects, and more.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Conrod.
Spring 2022. Irwin.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 052. Historical and Comparative Linguistics
This course is an introduction to the study of linguistic change. Various models of language change are explored to seek to understand how and
why languages change. This will be done by drawing from a wide range of languages to explore changes at all levels of the grammar
(phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, etc.) and the various factors that can contribute to linguistic change. We will learn how it is possible
to reconstruct linguistic systems that we have no direct record of, and will consider what it means for languages to diverge and converge. Major
themes of the course will be the comparative method and the relationship between socio-linguistics and historical linguistics. The topics of
language shift, language endangerment and death, language birth, and language planning will also be addressed, and assigned work and
projects will develop the skills to conduct historical linguistics research through exploitation of electronic and library resources.
Prerequisite: LING 045 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Dockum.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 053. Educating Emergent Bilinguals
(Cross-listed as EDUC 053)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, LALS
Fall 2021. Weinberg.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 054. How Children Talk to Each Other: Oral and Written Language
(Cross-listed as EDUC 054)
We examine children's dialogue and its rendering in children's literature, focusing on the voices of minority children within an American setting.
Each student will pick an age group to study. There will be regular fiction-writing assignments as well as (remote) primary research assignments
with children. This course is for linguists, writers of children's fiction, and anyone else interested in child development or reading skills. It is a
course in which we learn through doing. This is a 1 credit, ungraded course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 057. Hebrew for Text Study I
(Cross-listed as CLST 057 )
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the Classics rubric and in Social Sciences under the Linguistics rubric.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Plotkin.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: Linguistics
LING 059. Hebrew for Text Study II
(Cross-listed as CLST 059 )
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the Classics rubric and in Social Sciences under the Linguistics rubric.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
LING 061. Structure of Navajo
Navajo is an Athabaskan language spoken more commonly than any other Native American language in the United States. This course is an
examination of the major phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic structures of Navajo. The morphology of this language is
legendary. This course also considers the history of the language and its cultural context.
Prerequisite: LING 050 and LING 045 or LING 052 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, ESCH
Fall 2021. Fernald.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Fernald.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 063. Supporting Literacy Among Deaf Children
(Cross-listed at THEA 033 )
In this course, we will consider ways to promote literacy among young deaf children, including introducing them to sign language literature and
the visual vernacular and encouraging shared reading activities with their care-takers. This course is jointly offered at Gallaudet University. The
GALLY students will re-envision beloved picture books in a way that reflects deaf culture and video-record themselves telling those stories. The
SWAT students will give (remote) feedback on those videos and then produce the revised versions in the form of YouTube videos and ebooks for
the RISE Ebook project website. These bimodal-bilingual stories will be designed so that adults can share them with deaf children regardless of
their knowledge of a sign language (or lack thereof).
Prerequisite: A background in linguistics, theater, film, early childhood development, or education would be helpful.
Corequisite: Students taking the course remotely must have access to an Apple computer or iPad with iBooksAuthor and must have access to
film-editing programs. Students also need to have a rudimentary knowledge of a sign language (such as ASL) or concurrently take an attachment
in ASL language.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 067. Structure of Wamesa
Wamesa is a member of the under-studied South Halmahera-West New Guinea subgroup of the Austronesian language family, with roughly 5000
speakers in West Papua, Indonesia. It has a number of typologically rare morphological and syntactic features, such as infixation and Noun-Adj-
Det-Num word order. This course will investigate the major phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of the language using both
primary data and published sources. We will also look at the history of the language and its cultural/political context.
Prerequisite: LING 050 and LING 045 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 068. Structure of Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz is a Turkic language which is spoken throughout the Tien-Shan mountains and surrounding areas of Central Asia and has been
influenced by Mongolian, Persian, Arabic, and Russian.
Students will examine all main areas of Kyrgyz grammar, with a focus on the major phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of the
language. Some of the topics we'll look at in depth include vowel harmony, sonority effects across syllable boundaries, morphological and
syntactic strategies for using one part of speech as another, and intricate systems for marking tense, aspect, mood, voice, and evidentiality. We'll
also talk about historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts for the language.
Assignments and class activities will involve hands-on exploration of primary and secondary printed and digital materials and interaction with
Kyrgyz speakers, with the aim of building students' skills in linguistic analysis and reasoning, as well as their understanding of the range of
perspectives involved in linguistic study of a language and the community it's used in.
Prerequisite: Any two of LING 001, LING 045, LING 050, LING 052, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ASIA.
Spring 2022. Washington.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 070. Translation Workshop R
(Cross-listed as LITR 070R, RUSS 070)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the literature and russian rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 073. Computational Linguistics
(Cross-listed as CPSC 013 )
This course explores the possibilities for creating computational resources for languages for which vast collections of text don't exist. Students
will choose a language lacking in computational resources and develop tools for it. The focus will be on creating nuanced symbolic
representations of the language that can be employed by computers, to the benefit of both language researchers who wish to test grammatical
models, and language communities which lack the social capital to benefit from corporately developed resources. Topics covered include input
methods and spell-checking, morphological analysis and disambiguation, syntactic parsing, building corpora, and rule-based machine
translation, with an emphasis on anti-colonial methodologies and free/open-source technologies.
Prerequisite: LING 001 (or equivalent) or CPSC 021 (or equivalent), or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Washington.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 073Q. Computational Linguistics: Quantitative Approaches
This course surveys computational and quantitative approaches to the study of human language. We will cover methods for modeling and
understanding data in a variety of subfields of linguistics. Students will acquire skills to process linguistic data and implement simple algorithms
for key tasks in language analysis. Topics to be covered include aspects of Natural Language Processing, regular expressions, finite state
automata, quantitative historical linguistics, quantitative phonetics, data visualization, etc. No prior programming experience is required.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 075. Field Methods
In this course, students work directly with a speaker of an unfamiliar language to gather data and analyze the structures of that language.
Students develop inference techniques for eliciting, understanding, analyzing, and presenting complex linguistic data. We discuss and enact best
practices for working collaboratively with speech communities, including ethical training in Human Subjects research. Students also gain
practical experience using state-of-the-art digital recording, annotation, and archiving for scientific purposes. A different (typically non-
European) language will be investigated each time the course is taught.
Prerequisite: Familiarity with IPA transcription and any two of: LING 001 , LING 025 , LING 040 , LING 043 , LING 045 , LING 050 , or
permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, COGS
Fall 2021. Dockum.
Fall 2023. Dockum.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 080. Syntax II
This course builds on introductory syntax courses by delving more deeply into familiar topics through primary readings and by exploring new
areas that are not typically covered in introductory syntax. Possible topics include raising and control, applicatives, voice alternations,
ergativity, and non-configurational languages; advanced topics in A-bar syntax will be covered, such as islands, the left periphery, wh- in situ,
and relative clauses. Broader additional topics may include: experimental syntax, microsyntactic variation, working with data from grammars of
less-studied languages, topics in the syntax-semantics interface, and contributions from work outside the Minimalist/GB/P&P framework.
Prerequisite: LING 050
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Irwin.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 081. Semantics II
This course begins with the formal foundations of semantics and then switches to a seminar style of instruction for an examination of classical
and recent articles in the field.
Prerequisite: LING 040
Social Sciences
1 credit
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 082. Sociolinguistics II
This course builds upon foundational concepts in sociolinguistic theory to examine discourses of news and entertainment media, across science
fiction and politics. Drawing upon contributions in applied linguistics, media studies, cultural studies, and animal studies, we ask which realities
are mirrored in our everyday language and in the fictional and sensationalized worlds we engage in through the media we consume. What role
does science fiction play in our explorations of social difference, deviance, control, disability, sexuality, and normativity? Can science fiction
assist the goals of social justice and democracy? How does language surface in the biopolitics of human and non-humans? Together, we will
explore key film and television, and select novels by authors Max Brooks, Octavia Butler, Philip K. Dick, and George Orwell. Students will learn
advanced methods and theories in multimodal critical discourse analysis, ethnography of communication, and digital humanities.
Prerequisite: One course addressing foundational concepts of language in society, including LING 025, SOAN 040B .
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 085. Phonology II
This course is a sequel to LING 045--Phonetics and Phonology. It is designed to provide further training in formal phonology, in terms of both
data analysis and the fundamentals of phonological theory. Students will look deeply at both classic and later derivational versions of Optimality
Theory, as well as some alternatives to OT, such as Articulatory Phonology. Once a common theoretical foundation has been established we will
explore these topics through critical reading of major articles form the linguistic literature, as a way of exploring the details of the theories
discussed, their strengths and weaknesses, and the rich cross-linguistic data that underlie them.
Prerequisite: LING 045
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 090. Advanced Research Methods in Linguistics
This course covers the history, methodology, and notable debates in linguistics. Course readings include important primary works on topics
throughout the history of linguistics, from early philology, to generative linguistics, to experimental and cognitive approaches. This course is
intended for juniors and other advanced linguistics majors in preparation for conducting significant linguistics research, such as a senior thesis.
Prerequisite: Any two of LING 001, LING 025, LING 040, LING 045, and LING 050, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Dockum.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 091. Capstone: Interpreting Narrative through Creation with Clay and Language
Spring 2022 (Cross-listed as ARTT 800 and INTP 091)
LING 091, ARTT 800
This is a course using creative arts to bring into focus questions about the fundamental nature of narrative, about the analogies between different
types of creative arts, and even about what a creative art is. Students will create narratives and realize them through the media of clay and
language. Students will learn the basics of constructing with clay to create representations in shape and form in relation to their own linguistic
narrations.
Open to INTP seniors and juniors, and other juniors and seniors by approval of instructors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Napoli, Carpenter.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 100. Senior Thesis Seminar
All course majors in linguistics and linguistics/language must write their senior thesis in this seminar. Only seniors are admitted.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Washington.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 115. Linguistic Typology and Constructed Languages
Humans have long been driven to duplicate and manipulate the properties of natural language to create new languages for the purposes of
enhancing works of fiction, for aiding human communication, or even for pure intellectual curiosity. In this course, students will explore this
drive through development of their own constructed languages, guided by rigorous study of the typology of patterns observed in real human
languages. Topics to be covered include phoneme inventories, phonological rules, morphological classification, syntactic structure, language
change over time, dialectal variation, and writing systems. Students will also apply their knowledge of linguistic typology to critically assess the
design of existing constructed languages such as Esperanto and Klingon.
Prerequisite: LING 001 or LING 045 or permission of instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 120. Anthropological Linguistics: Endangered Languages
(Cross-listed as )
In this seminar, we address some traditional issues of concern to both linguistics and anthropology, framed in the context of the ongoing,
precipitous decline in human linguistic diversity. With the disappearance of languages, cultural knowledge (including entire technologies such as
ethnopharmacology) is often lost, leading to a decrease in humans' ability to manage the natural environment. Language endangerment thus
proves relevant to questions of the language/ecology interface, ethnoecology, and cultural survival. The seminar also addresses the ethics of
fieldwork and dissemination of traditional knowledge in the Internet age.
Prerequisite: One course in linguistics or anthropology or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 134. Psycholinguistics Seminar
(Cross-listed as PSYC 134)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LING 195. Senior Honors Thesis
All honors majors in linguistics and honors minors who are also course majors must write their thesis in this seminar.
2 credits.
Fall 2021. Harrison.
Fall 2023. Dockum.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
Mathematics and Statistics
Courses
Faculty
AIMEE S.A. JOHNSON, Professor and Chair
VICTOR BARRANCA, Associate Professor
LINDA CHEN, Professor
3
PHIL EVERSON, Professor
JOSHUA GOLDWYN, Assistant Professor
1
RALPH R. GOMEZ, Associate Professor
CHERYL P. GROOD, Professor
2
CATHERINE M. HSU, Assistant Professor
THOMAS J. HUNTER, Professor
AMANDA LUBY, Assistant Professor
NSOKI MAMIE MAVINGA, Associate Professor
ALLISON MILLER, Assistant Professor
LYNNE STEUERLE SCHOFIELD, Associate Professor
3
JANET C. TALVACCHIA, Professor
3
SUSANNE THORNTON, Assistant Professor
STEVE C. WANG, Professor
3
IAN WHITEHEAD, Assistant Professor
THOMAS CRAWFORD, Visiting Assistant Professor
MICHAEL J. DOUGHERTY, Visiting Assistant Professor
VITALY LORMAN, Visiting Assistant Professor
CAROLYN REINHART, Visiting Assistant Professor
LUCAS VAN METER, Visiting Assistant Professor
ROBERT VIATOR, Visiting Assistant Professor
LAURA DANDRIDGE, Academic Support Coordinator
STEPHANIE J. SPECHT, Administrative Assistant
1
Absent on leave, fall 2021.
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
Overview of Curriculum
Mathematics and statistics are among the great achievements of human intellect and at the same time powerful tools. As Galileo said, the book of
the universe "is written in the language of mathematics." The goal of the department is to enable students to appreciate these achievements and
use their power. To that end, majors and minors in the department receive a strong foundation in pure mathematics and the opportunity to apply
it to a variety of disciplines, including statistics, physical science, biological science, computer science, social science, operations research,
education, and finance.
By studying mathematics and statistics, majors and minors grow in:
Reasoning skills: logical argument and abstraction;
Formulation skills: developing mathematical models;
Communication skills: expressing mathematical ideas and information clearly and precisely on paper, orally, and electronically;
Comprehension skills: absorbing mathematical ideas and information presented on paper, orally, and electronically;
Computation skills: mental, by hand, and by machine, as appropriate.
Through core courses, students learn fundamental concepts, results, and methods. Through elective courses, they pursue special interests. In the
process, students develop a further appreciation for the scope and beauty of our discipline.
Graduates of the department follow many career paths. These paths lead to graduate school in mathematics, statistics, and other fields; to
professional schools; and to the workplace.
Introductory Courses
Many first-year students entering Swarthmore have had calculus while in high school and place out of at least one semester of Swarthmore's
calculus courses, whether they continue with calculus or decide, as is often best, to try other sorts of mathematics. See the discussion of
placement later. However, some entering students have not had the opportunity to take calculus or need to begin again. Therefore, Swarthmore
offers a beginning calculus course (MATH 015) and several courses that do not require calculus or other sophisticated mathematics experiences.
These courses are STAT 001 (Statistical Thinking, Fall semester), MATH 003 (Introduction to Mathematical Thinking, Spring semester), and
STAT 011 (Statistical Methods I, both semesters). MATH 003 is a writing course. MATH 029 (Discrete Mathematics, both semesters) also does
not require any calculus but is a more sophisticated course; thus, some calculus is a useful background for it in an indirect way. Once one has
had or placed out of two semesters of calculus, many other courses are available, such as linear algebra and several-variable calculus.
Placement and Credit on Entrance to Swarthmore
Placement Procedure
To gain entrance to mathematics or statistics courses at any time during one's Swarthmore years, students are expected to take at least one of the
following exams: the Advanced Placement (AP) or higher-level International Baccalaureate (IB) exams, Swarthmore's Calculus Placement
Exam, or Swarthmore's Math/Stat Readiness Exam. Students who take AP or IB exams may be required to take the departmental exams as well,
or parts thereof. In particular, students intending to take MATH 015 must take Swarthmore's Calculus Readiness Exam and those intending to
take MATH 28 must take Swarthmore's Calculus Placement Exam. Students who receive placement or credit for AP Calculus exams taken in the
spring of 2020 will be required to take the department's Calculus Placement Exam for more thorough placement information. Versions of the
Calculus Placement Exam and the Readiness Exam are available to entering first-year students over the summer, along with detailed information
about the rules for placement and credit.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Placement and credit mean different things. Placement allows students to skip material they have already learned well by starting at Swarthmore
in more advanced courses. Credit confers placement as well but also is recorded on the student's Swarthmore transcript and counts toward the
32 credits needed for graduation.
The Swarthmore Calculus Placement Exam is used for placement only, not credit. The credit awarded on the basis of the AP and IB exams was
updated during the 2018-2019 year and resulted in the following rules:
1 credit (for STAT 011) for a score of 4 or 5 on the Statistics AP Test of the College Board.
1 credit (for MATH 015) for a score of 4 or 5 on the AB Calculus AP Test of the College Board (or for an AB subscore of 4 or 5 on the
BC Test) or for a score of 6 or 7 on the Higher Level Mathematics Test of the IB.
2 credits (for MATH 015 and 025) for a main score of 4 or 5 on the BC Calculus AP Test.
Students who receive placement but not credit for a course occasionally make use of section 8.1 of the course catalog to arrange to take a course
without regular attendance. See section 8.1 for details. Students who are eligible on entrance for credit for a course, but who take the course
anyway, will lose the entrance credit.
First-year students seeking advanced placement and/or credit for calculus taken at another college or university must normally validate their
work by taking the appropriate external or Swarthmore placement examination, as described earlier. The department does not grant credit
directly for college courses taken while a student is in high school. For work beyond calculus completed before entering Swarthmore, students
should consult the departmental placement coordinator to determine the Swarthmore courses into which they may be placed and additional
materials they may need to present for this placement. The department will not normally award credit for work above the first-year calculus level
completed before entering Swarthmore.
The Academic Program
Major and Minor Application Process
Students apply for a major in the middle of the second semester of the sophomore year. Upon indication of intent to major (or minor) in the
department, students will be assigned a departmental sophomore plan advisor who will help them decide on a reasoned plan of study for their
last two years. This plan is then submitted to the department via their electronic Sophomore Plan. After the Sophomore Plan process is over,
students may apply to add or change a major (or minor) at any time, but applications will normally be held until the next time that sophomore
applications are considered (around March 1).
Course Major
Acceptance into the Major
The Department offers three different pathways to a course major: a course major without special emphasis, a course major with an emphasis in
statistics, and a course major with an emphasis in applied mathematics. The normal preparation for all majors in mathematics is to have
obtained credit for, or placement out of, at least four of the following five course groups by the end of the sophomore year: Calculus I (MATH
015), Calculus II (MATH 025 or 026), Discrete Mathematics (MATH 029), Linear Algebra (MATH 027 or 028), and Several Variable Calculus
(MATH 033, 034, or 035). In any event, all majors must complete the Linear Algebra and Several Variable Calculus requirement by the end of
the first semester of the junior year.
To be accepted as a major or a minor, a candidate normally should have a grade point average of at least C+ in courses taken in the department
to date, including courses in the fall term of the first year, for which we have shadow grades. (We do not have shadow grades from Spring 2020,
so those courses will not be included in the grade point average.) A candidate should have at least one grade at the B level. Students should be
aware that upper-level courses in mathematics are typically more demanding and more theoretical than the first-and second-year courses. This is
an important factor in considering borderline cases. In some cases, applicants may be deferred pending successful work in courses to be
designated by the department.
Requirements for the Course Major
Graduation Requirements for all Course Majors (see additional requirements below):
At least 10 credits in mathematics and statistics courses. (Certain courses - mostly numbered under 10 - do not count toward the
major. These are indicated under the individual course listings.)
Credit for, or placement out of, the following courses: MATH 015; MATH 025 or 026; MATH 027 or 028; and MATH 033, 034, or
035.
Credit for, or placement out of, Introduction to Real Analysis (MATH 63).
Credit for Senior Conference (MATH 97), the department's comprehensive requirement, which has a new format as of the 2021-22
academic year. Students must now take this zero-credit course in both the fall and spring of their senior year. This comprehensive will
have students engage with mathematicians and statisticians who present lectures on various topics, and will have students participate
in a range of departmental activities. Any student who will not be on campus during one of those semesters must replace that
semester's MATH 97 course with a department-approved substitution. The substitution should be approved during the sophomore
planning stage, or, if that is not possible, by speaking with their department advisor as soon as possible.
In the multivariate group (MATH 33, 34, or 35), it is strongly preferred that candidates for the major take 34 or 35, which are the versions that
assume a background in linear algebra.
Note that placement out of a course does not add to a student's credit total; students need to earn 10 credits of coursework in the department. If
you believe you are eligible for credit for courses taken before Swarthmore (because of AP or IB scores) but these credits are not showing on
your transcript, please address this matter immediately with the registrar. Your application to our department may be held up otherwise.
Each of the three pathways to the course major (without special emphasis, emphasis in Statistics, emphasis in Applied Mathematics) has its own
additional requirements, which are detailed below.
Course Majors without special emphasis must also:
Earn credit for, or placement out of, Introduction to Modern Algebra (MATH 67)
Earn at least 5 credits in mathematics and statistics courses for courses numbered over 40. At most one of these courses may be taken
CR/NC. No course numbered over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
Take at least one of MATH 63 or MATH 67 at Swarthmore.
The departmental schedule offers the two required core courses, Introduction to Real Analysis (MATH 63) and Introduction to Modern Algebra
(MATH 67), in alternate semesters (MATH 63 in the fall and MATH 67 in the spring). Because MATH 63 is only guaranteed to be offered in the
fall, students should plan to take it before the spring semester of senior year.
Course Majors with an emphasis in Statistics must also:
Earn credit for, or placement out of:
o Statistical Methods II (STAT 21)
o Probability (STAT 51)
o Mathematical Statistics I (STAT 61)
o Mathematical Statistics II (STAT 111)
o Computer Science 21. Students are advised to take CPSC 21 as early as possible, as it can be difficult to add this course in
the junior or senior year.
Earn at least 5 credits in mathematics and statistics courses numbered over 40 OR earn credit (not placement) for STAT 21 and at
least 4 credits in math/stat courses numbered over 40. At most one of these five credits may be taken CR/NC. No course numbered
over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
STAT 111 and at least one of STAT 51 or STAT 61 must be taken at Swarthmore.
Course majors with an emphasis in Applied Mathematics must also:
Earn credit for, or placement out of:
o Stochastic and Numerical Methods (MATH 66)
o Differential Equations (MATH 43 or MATH 44)
o At least one of
Partial Differential Equations (MATH 54)
Modeling (MATH 56)
o At least one additional course from the following:
Partial Differential Equations (MATH 54)
Modeling (MATH 56)
Probability (STAT 51)
Complex Analysis (MATH 103)
o Computer Science 21. Students are advised to take CPSC 21 as early as possible, as it can be difficult to add this course in
the junior or senior year.
Earn at least 5 credits in math/stat courses numbered over 40. At most one of these 5 credits may be taken CR/NC. No course
numbered over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
Take Math 66 at Swarthmore.
All majors are encouraged to study in some depth an additional discipline that makes use of mathematics or statistics. We also recommend that
they acquire some facility with computer programming.
Credit/No Credit Policy
At most one upper level course counted towards the major can be taken credit/no credit. This does not include courses which are only offered
credit/no credit, but does include courses for which the grade is uncovered after completion of the course. In any case, no seminars can be taken
credit/no credit.
Course Minor
Acceptance into the minors
The department offers three types of course minor: a course minor in mathematics, a course minor in statistics, and a course minor in applied
mathematics. Students may not have more than one minor in the department. The requirements for acceptance into any course minor, such as
prerequisite courses and grade average, are the same as for acceptance into the major.
Requirements for the Course Minor
Graduation Requirements for all Course Minors (see additional requirements below)
At least 6 credits in mathematics and statistics courses. Those courses offered by the Department that do not count towards the
course major also do not count towards the course minor.
Credit for, or placement out of, the following courses: MATH 015; MATH 025 or 026; MATH 027 or 028; and MATH 033, 034, or
035.
Course Minors in Mathematics must also:
Earn at least 3 credits in mathematics and statistics courses for courses numbered over 43. (Note the difference from the course major
requirement, which is 5 courses over 40.)
o At least 2 of these 3 credits must be taken at Swarthmore.
o One of these 3 credits must be either Introduction to Real Analysis (MATH 63) or Introduction to Modern Algebra (MATH
67)
o At most one of these 3 credits may be taken CR/NC. No course numbered over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
Course Minors in Statistics must also:
Earn credit for, or placement out of, each of the following courses: CPSC 21, Stat 21, Stat 51, Stat 61
Take at least one of Stat 51 or Stat 61 at Swarthmore College.
Earn at least 3 credits in mathematics and statistics courses numbered over 40 OR earn credit (not placement) for Stat 21 and at least
2 credits in math/stat courses numbered over 40.
o At most one of these 3 credits may be taken CR/NC. No course numbered over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
Course Minors in Applied Mathematics must also:
Earn credit for, or placement out of, each of the following: CPSC 21, MATH 43 or 44, MATH 66, and at least one additional course
from MATH 54, MATH 56, or STAT 51.
Take MATH 66 at Swarthmore.
Earn at least 3 credits in mathematics and statistics courses numbered over 40.
o At most one of these 3 credits may be taken CR/NC. No course numbered over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
Credit/No Credit Policy
For the math minor, at most one of the required upper level courses counted towards the minor can be taken credit/no credit. For the statistics
minor, only one of Stat 21, Stat 51, and Stat 61 may be taken credit/no credit. For the applied math minor, at most one of the 4 required courses
listed previously may be taken credit/no credit. This does not include courses which are only offered credit/no credit, but does include courses for
which the grade is uncovered after completion of the course. In any case, no seminar can be taken credit/no credit.
Honors Major
All current sophomores who wish to apply for Honors should indicate this in their Sophomore Plan and should work out a tentative Honors
Program with their departmental adviser.
Acceptance into the Honors Major
The requirements to be accepted as an honors major are the same as those to be accepted as a course major except that such students should
have a grade point average in mathematics and statistics courses to date of at least B+..
Requirements for the Honors Major
At least 10 credits in mathematics and statistics courses
Credit for, or placement out of, the following courses: MATH 015; MATH 025 or 026; MATH 027 or 028; and MATH 033, 034, or
035
Three preparations of two credits each, for a total of six distinct credits, in the following areas:
o Real Analysis (MATH 63 and 101) or Complex Analysis (MATH 63 and 103)
o Modern Algebra (MATH 67 and 102)
o One of:
Geometry (MATH 65 and MATH 105)
Statistics (STAT 61 and 111)
Topology (MATH 104, a 2-credit seminar)
At most one of the courses in the three preparations may be taken CR/NC. No course numbered over 100 may be taken CR/NC.
Each of the three preparations is subject to External Examination, including a 3-hour written examination and a 45-minute oral examination.
The External Examination component of the program is meant to prompt students to learn their core subjects well and to show the examiners that
they have done so - that is, show that they deserve Honors. However, no three fields cover everything a student would ideally learn as an
undergraduate. Honors majors should consider including in their studies a number of advanced courses and seminars beyond what they present
for Honors should their schedules allow it.
No course is allowed to count in two honors preparations, so it is not possible for a student to do honors preparations in both Real Analysis and
Complex Analysis.
Especially strong students who take many advanced courses may petition to substitute an advanced preparation for either Algebra or
Analysis. For instance, a student who has taken essentially all our seminars might petition to be examined in Algebra, Topology, and Geometry,
omitting an analysis examination. However, all honors students must take the algebra sequence and one of the analysis sequences, even if they
are given permission to be examined in something else.
Note that to be an Honors math major, a student is required to also have an Honors minor in another subject. Senior Honors Study or Portfolio is
not required or offered, and Honors majors do not need to take Senior Conference (MATH 97).
Honors Minor
All current sophomores who wish to apply for Honors should indicate this in their Sophomore Plan and should work out a tentative Honors
Program with their departmental adviser.
Acceptance into the Honors Minor
The requirements to be accepted as an honors minor are the same as those to be accepted as a course major except that such students should
have a grade point average in mathematics and statistics courses to date of at least B+
Requirements for the Honors Minor
Credit for, or placement out of, the following courses: MATH 015; MATH 025 or 026; MATH 027 or 028; and MATH 033, 034, or
035
One preparation consisting of two credits in one of the following areas:
o Real Analysis (MATH 63 and 101)
o Complex Analysis (MATH 63 and 103)
o Modern Algebra (MATH 67 and 102)
o Geometry (MATH 65 and 105)
o Statistics* (STAT 61 and 111)
o Topology (MATH 104, a 2-credit seminar)
All prospective minors who are majoring in a subject related to mathematics or statistics are encouraged to consult with a member of the
Department to see which preparation is most appropriate to their interests. Honors minors are encouraged to take at least one of MATH 63 and
67 even if it is not part of their Honors preparation. As mentioned before, no seminar may be taken credit/no credit.
* Students who are doing an Honors math minor with the Statistics preparation are required to take a data-driven statistics course as well (e.g.,
STAT 11 or 21).
Note that to be an Honors math minor, a student is required to also have an Honors major in another subject.
Transfer Credit
Courses taken elsewhere may count for the major. However, the number of upper-level transfer credits for the major is limited. Normally, at least
3 of the 5 upper-level courses used to fulfill the major must be taken at Swarthmore, including at least one of the core courses MATH 063 and
MATH 067. Exceptions should be proposed and approved during the Sophomore Plan process, not after the fact. Also, the usual College rules for
transfer credit apply: students must see the professor in charge of transfer twice: in advance to obtain authorization, and afterwards to get final
approval and a determination of credit. In particular, for MATH 063 and 067, students are responsible for the syllabus we use. If a course taken
elsewhere turns out not to cover our entire syllabus, the student will not get full credit (even though the transfer course was authorized
beforehand) and the student will not complete the major until they have demonstrated knowledge of
the missing topics.
Similarly, for honors preparations students are responsible for the syllabi we use; we will not offer special honors exams based on work done at
other institutions.
Off-Campus Study
Students planning to study abroad should obtain information well in advance about the courses available at the institution they plan to attend and
check with the department about selecting appropriate courses. It may be difficult to find courses abroad equivalent to our core upper-level
courses, or to our honors preparations, since curricula in other countries are often organized differently.
Teacher Certification
Swarthmore offers teacher certification in mathematics through a program approved by the state of Pennsylvania and administered by the
College's Educational Studies Department. For further information about the relevant set of requirements, please refer to the Educational
Studies section of the Bulletin. One can obtain certification either through a mathematics major or through a Special Major in Mathematics and
Education, in either case if taken with appropriate electives.
Mathematics and Statistics Courses
Note 1: For courses numbered under 100, the last digit indicates the subject matter, and the other digit indicates the level. In most cases, a last
digit of 1 or 2 means statistics, 3 to 6 means continuous mathematics (calculus and analysis), and 7 to 9 means noncontinuous mathematics
(algebra, number theory, and discrete math). Courses below 10 do not count for the major, 10 to 39 are first- and second-year courses, 40 to 59
are intermediate courses, 60 to 69 are core upper-level courses, 70 to 89 are courses that have one or more core courses as prerequisites, and 90
to 99 are independent reading courses.
Note 2: There are several sets of courses below from which a student may take only one for credit. For instance, see the descriptions of MATH
033, 034 and 035. In such cases, if a student does take more than one of them, each group is treated for the purpose of college regulations as if
they have the same course number. See the Repeated Course Rule in section 8.2.4
MATH 003. Introduction to Mathematical Thinking
Students will explore ideas and fundamental results from mathematics while we emphasize the thinking and problem-solving skills these ideas
stimulate. Class meetings will involve presentation of new material; group work on problems and puzzles; and lively, maybe even passionate
discussions about mathematics. This course is intended for students with little background in mathematics or those who may have struggled with
math in the past. It is not open to students who already have received credit on their Swarthmore transcripts for mathematics (including
Advanced Placement credit), who concurrently are taking another mathematics course, or who have placed out of any Swarthmore mathematics
course. (See "Placement Procedure" earlier.) Students planning to go on to calculus should consult with the instructor. This course does not
count toward a major in mathematics.
Prerequisite: Placement into this course through Swarthmore's Math/Stat Readiness Examination.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Van Meter.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 015. Single-Variable Calculus 1
A first-semester calculus course with emphasis on an intuitive understanding of the concepts, methods, and applications. Graphical and symbolic
methods will be used. The course will mostly cover differential calculus, with an introduction to integral calculus at the end, including the
fundamental theorem of calculus.
Prerequisite: Four years of traditional high school mathematics (precalculus) and placement into this course through Swarthmore's Math/Stat
Readiness Examination. Students with prior calculus experience must also take Swarthmore's Calculus Placement Examination (see "Placement
Procedure" section earlier).
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Gomez. Van Meter.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 015SP. Calculus STEM Scholars Program
MATH 015SP will provide an enriched experience designed for MATH 015 students who plan to take at least four other STEM courses during
their time at Swarthmore. During class, students work in small groups on challenging problems designed to promote deep understanding and
mastery of the material.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Students must apply for admission to this attachment. Admission will be determined by a commitment to both hard work and
excellence, rather than by high school GPA, math SAT scores, or past performance in math classes. Students must be concurrently enrolled in an
appropriate section of MATH 015.
Natural sciences and engineering.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Gomez.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 020. Mathematics and Social Justice
This course examines the roles that mathematics and mathematicians play in society, particularly through the lenses of equity and social justice.
Students will explore what it means to practice mathematics ethically and we will discuss mathematical influence in areas such as policing,
politics, healthcare, and the military-industrial complex.
Eligible for PEAC
Prerequisite: Placement out of, or credit for, either MATH 015 or STAT 011.
Natural sciences and engineering
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Miller.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 024. Numerical Methods-Engineering Applications
(Cross-listed as ENGR 019)
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Phillips.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 025. Single-Variable Calculus 2
The continuation of MATH 015, this course covers techniques and applications of integration, convergence properties of infinite sequences and
series, the approximation of functions by Taylor polynomials, and an introduction to differential equations.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 015 or placement by examination (see "Advanced Placement and Credit Policy" section).
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Reinhart. Dougherty.
Spring 2022. Johnson. Mavinga.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Grood. Lorman.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 027. Linear Algebra
This course covers systems of linear equations, matrices, vector spaces, linear transformations, determinants, and eigenvalues. Applications to
other disciplines are presented. This course is a step up from calculus: it includes more abstract reasoning, proofs, and structures. Students may
take only one of MATH 027 and MATH 028 for credit.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in some math course numbered 025 or higher or placement by examination (see "Advanced Placement and
Credit Policy" section).
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Barranca. Johnson. Lorman. Miller.
Spring 2022. Goldwyn. Viator.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Hsu. Hunter.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 028. Linear Algebra with Theory
This course includes the topics in MATH 027 but covered with more depth and with a more theoretical, abstract, and rigorous approach. MATH
028 is intended for students with exceptionally strong mathematical skills, especially if they are thinking of a mathematics major. Students may
take only one of MATH 027 and MATH 028 for credit.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in some math course numbered 025 or higher, or placement by examination, including both placement out of
calculus and placement into this course via Part IV of Swarthmore's Calculus Placement Exam (see "Placement Procedure" section).
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Grood.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 039. Discrete Mathematics with an Introduction to Proof
An introduction to noncontinuous mathematics. Topics will include mathematical induction and other methods of proof, basic set theory,
bijections, counting, and graph theory. Additional topics may include algorithms, recurrence relations, probability, voting methods, and other
topics at the discretion of the instructor. While it does not use any calculus, MATH 039 is a more sophisticated course than MATH 015 or MATH
025; thus success in a calculus course demonstrates the mathematical maturity needed for MATH 039. Previously called Math 029.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in Math 15, placement into or credit for Math 25, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Crawford.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 033. Basic Several-Variable Calculus
This course considers differentiation and integration of functions of several variables with special emphasis on two and three dimensions. Topics
include partial differentiation, extreme value problems, Lagrange multipliers, multiple integrals, line and surface integrals, Green's, Stokes', and
Gauss' theorems. The department strongly recommends that students take MATH 034 instead, which is offered every semester and provides a
richer understanding of this material by requiring linear algebra (MATH 027 or MATH 028) as a prerequisite and applying linear algebra
concepts in the course. Students may take only one of MATH 033, MATH 034, and MATH 035 for credit.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 025 or MATH 026 or placement by examination (see "Advanced Placement and Credit Policy"
section). Students who have taken linear algebra at Swarthmore or elsewhere may not take MATH 033 without the instructor's permission.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Lorman.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 034. Several-Variable Calculus
Same topics as MATH 033 except in more depth using the concepts of linear algebra. The department strongly recommends that students take
linear algebra first so that they are eligible for this course. Students may take only one of MATH 033, MATH 034, and MATH 035 for credit.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 025 or Math 026 and also MATH 027 or MATH 028, along with a grade of C or better in at
least one of the two previously mentioned math courses.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Hunter.
Spring 2022. Reinhart.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 035. Several-Variable Calculus with Theory
This course includes the topics found in MATH 034 but covered in a more theoretical, abstract, and rigorous manner. It is intended for students
with exceptionally strong mathematical skills. Students may take only one of MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035 for credit.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 025 , along with a grade of C or better in MATH 028 or a grade of B or better in MATH
027, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Hunter.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 043. Basic Differential Equations
This course emphasizes the standard techniques used to solve differential equations, covering the basic theory of the field with an eye toward
practical applications. Topics may include first-order equations, linear differential equations, series solutions, first-order systems of equations,
Laplace transforms, approximation methods, and some partial differential equations. Compare with MATH 044. Students may not take both
MATH 043 and MATH 044 for credit. The department prefers majors to take MATH 044.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 033, MATH 034 or MATH 035; or a grade of B or better in MATH 025 and currently enrolled in
one of MATH 034 or MATH 035; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Goldwyn.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 044. Differential Equations
An introduction to differential equations that has a more theoretical and rigorous flavor than MATH 043 and is intended for students who enjoy
delving into the mathematics behind the techniques. It introduces the key ideas of ordinary differential equations in a more conceptual, dynamical
as well as computational framework. Topics include existence and non-existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence of solutions on
data, qualitative behavior of solutions such as asymptotic behavior and stability, as well as boundary value problems and bifurcation. Numerical
and computational methods will be used throughout as appropriate. Linear and nonlinear systems will be considered. Additional topics
depend on the interests of the instructor and students. The department recommends that majors take MATH 044.
Prerequisite: Either credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028 and a grade of C or better in one of MATH 033, MATH 034, or
MATH 035; or a grade of B or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028 and concurrent enrolledment in one MATH 034 or MATH 035; or
permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Barranca.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 046. Theory of Computation
(Cross-listed as CPSC 046)
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 053. Topics in Analysis
Course content varies from year to year depending on student and faculty interest. Recent topics have included dynamical systems, Fourier
analysis, and analytic number theory. See also MATH 073.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in one of and MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035; placement by examination; or permission of the
instructor. Some experience reading and writing mathematical proofs is strongly recommended.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 054. Partial Differential Equations
An introduction to linear partial differential equations. Topics include first-order linear equations and second-order equations of elliptic,
parabolic, and hyperbolic type via the Laplace equation, the heat equation, and the wave equation. Solutions to these equations are studied from
analytical, qualitative, and numerical viewpoints. Additional topics depend on the interests of the students and instructor.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028; a grade of C or better in one of MATH 043, MATH 044; or permission
of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 055. Intermediate Topics in Geometry
Knot Theory
Tie a knot in a string then glue the ends together. Can this knot be untangled without cutting it open? This question and many others relating to
these "mathematical knots" have increasingly been studied by mathematicians, with many breakthroughs occurring in the past 20 years. In this
course we will discuss methods of knot tabulation, invariants (properties) of knots such as the bridge-number, surfaces associated to knots, ties to
Hyperbolic Geometry, Physics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, and other sciences, as well as open problems in the field. While our proof-based
approach will heavily feature drawing, artistic skill is not a prerequisite.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, one of MATH 027 or MATH 028 and also one of MATH 033 , MATH 034 , or MATH 035, along
with a grade of C or better in at least one of the two previously mentioned math courses; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 056. Modeling
(Cross-listed as ENVS 079)
An introduction to the formulation and analysis of mathematical models. This course will present a general framework for the development of
discrete and continuous models of diverse phenomena. Principles of modeling will be drawn from multiple areas, such as kinetics, population
dynamics, disease spread, traffic flow, particle mechanics, and network science. Mathematical techniques and theory useful for understanding
models will be emphasized, such as dimensional analysis, phase plane diagrams, stability analysis, bifurcation theory, conservation laws,
random walks, constitutive relations, chaos theory, and computer simulation. A primary goal of this course is to give insights into the connections
between mathematics and real-world problems, allowing students to apply the course concepts to applications that excite them.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028, and a grade of C or better in one of MATH 043 or MATH
044; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Spring 2022. Crawford.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 057. Topics in Algebra
Course content varies each year, depending on student and faculty interest. Recent offerings have included coding theory, groups and
representations, finite reflection groups, and advanced matrix theory. See also MATH 077.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 058. Number Theory
This course covers the fundamentals of elementary number theory, including divisibility, congruences, and prime numbers. Topics may include
Gaussian integers, sums of squares representations, and quadratic reciprocity.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in one of MATH 027 or MATH 028 .
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Hsu.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 063. Introduction to Real Analysis
This course concentrates on the careful study of the principles underlying the calculus of real valued functions of real variables. Topics include
continuity, compactness, connectedness, uniform convergence, differentiation, and integration. There is a strong emphasis on good mathematical
writing, especially on mathematical proofs. This course includes a required additional weekly problem session.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028 and also a grade of C or better in one of MATH 033, MATH 034, or
MATH 035.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Viator. Mavinga.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 065. Introduction to Geometry
The course content varies from year to year but is often either the differential geometry of curves and surfaces or the algebraic geometry of
conics and cubics.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, one of MATH 027 or MATH 028 and also one of MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035, along with
a grade of C or better in at least one of the two previously mentioned math courses; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 066. Stochastic and Numerical Methods
In mathematical problems that arise from real-world applications, exact solutions often cannot be obtained due to complicating characteristics,
such as nonlinearity, uncertainty, and randomness. This course will introduce theory and techniques to numerically approximate solutions to
these types of mathematical problems. This course will also survey the mathematical theory of stochastic processes. Additional topics may be
included, depending on the instructor.
Prerequisite: Credit for, or placement out of, MATH 027 or MATH 028 and a grade of C or better in MATH 043 or MATH 044.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Barranca.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 067. Introduction to Modern Algebra
This course is an introduction to abstract algebra and will survey basic algebraic systems-groups, rings, and fields. Although these concepts will
be illustrated by concrete examples, the emphasis will be on abstract theorems, proofs, and rigorous mathematical reasoning. There is a strong
emphasis on good mathematical writing, especially on mathematical proofs. This course includes a required additional weekly problem session.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028; or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Dougherty. Hsu.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 069. Combinatorics
This course continues the study of material begun in MATH 039. The primary topics are enumeration and graph theory. The first area includes,
among other things, a study of generating functions and Polya counting. The second area is concerned with relations between certain graphical
invariants. Additional topics may include one or more of the following: design theory, extremal graph theory, Ramsey theory, matroids,
matchings, codes, and Latin squares.
Prerequisite: Grades of C or better in MATH 039 and at least one other course in mathematics numbered 27 or higher; or permission of the
instructor. Students who have taken two or more mathematics courses numbered 50 or higher have taken this course without Math 39: please
discuss with the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 073. Advanced Topics in Analysis
An advanced version of MATH 053, sometimes offered instead, and requiring the core course in analysis.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 063.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 077. Advanced Topics in Algebra
An advanced version of MATH 057, sometimes given instead, and requiring the core course in algebra.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 067.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Dougherty.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 093. Directed Reading
Graded CR/NC.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 097. Senior Conference
Course majors in math/stat are required to take this zero-credit course in both the fall and spring of their senior year. This comprehensive will
have students engage with mathematicians and statisticians who present lectures on various topics, and will have students participate in a range
of departmental activities. Any student who will not be on campus during one of those semesters must replace that semester's Math 97 course
with a department-approved substitution. The substitution should be approved during the sophomore planning stage or, if that is not possible, by
speaking with their department advisor as soon as possible.
0 credit.
Fall 2021. Hunter.
Spring 2022. Hunter.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 001. Statistical Thinking
Statistics provides methods for collecting and analyzing data and generalizing from these results. Statistics is used in a wide variety of fields, and
this course provides an understanding of the role of statistics in these fields and in everyday life. It is intended for students who want an
appreciation of statistics, including the ability to interpret and evaluate statistical claims critically but who do not imagine they will ever need to
carry out statistical analyses themselves. (Those who may need to carry out statistical analyses should take STAT 011.) This course cannot be
counted toward a major in mathematics, is not a prerequisite for any other course, and cannot be taken for credit after or simultaneously with
any other statistics course, including AP Statistics and ECON 031.
Prerequisite: Placement into this course through Swarthmore's Math/Stat Readiness Examination.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 011. Statistical Methods I
This course prepares students to carry out basic statistical analyses using computer software. Topics include summary statistics and graphics,
design of surveys and experiments, one and two-sample t-tests and tests of proportions, and an introduction to simple linear regression. The
course is intended for students who want a practical introduction to statistical methods. Students may not receive credit for both Stat 011 and AP
Statistics.
Note that the material of STAT 011 overlaps with ECON 031 , but these courses have different emphasis.
Prerequisite: Four years of traditional high school mathematics (precalculus) and placement into this course through Swarthmore's Math/Stat
Readiness Examination.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Crawford. Thornton.
Spring 2022. Luby. Van Meter.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 021. Statistical Methods II
This is a second course in applied statistics that extends methods taught in STAT 011. Topics include multiple linear regression, analysis of
variance, and logistic regression.
Prerequisite: Credit for AP Statistics; a grade of C or better in STAT 011 or ECON 031; or a grade of B or better in STAT 001 with permission
of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Luby.
Spring 2022. Thornton.
Fall 2022. staff.
Spring 2023. staff.
Fall 2023. staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 041. Topics in Applied Statistics: Statistical Graphics & Data Visualization
Graphical displays of information can improve our understanding of both data and statistical models. Data Visualization has become a key
component in decision-making about everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to sports analytics to climate change. While these visualizations
can help synthesize complex phenomena into a single graph, we have also been inundated with maps, charts, and diagrams that often present
conflicting conclusions. Drawing heavily from contemporary examples including the COVID-19 pandemic and recent election results, this course
will cover common forms of data visualization and their uses and misuses.
In this course, you will learn how to create, critique, and present graphics in a concise and statistically sound way. Topics include: common data
types and visualizations in R; incorporating statistical concepts such as transformations, smoothing, and uncertainty into visualizations;
interactive graphics; and non-traditional types of data, which may include time series, maps, networks, or text.
You will leave the course having built a portfolio of static and interactive visualizations, statistical writing, and presentations. This is a project-
based course, and you are encouraged to bring additional ideas for datasets and research questions.
Prerequisite: STAT 021 or permission of the instructor.
Natural science and engineering.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 051. Probability
Introduction to the mathematical theory of probability. Topics include sample spaces and events, conditional probability and Bayes' theorem,
univariate probability and density functions, expectation and variance, moment generating functions, Binomial, Negative Binomial, Poisson,
Normal, t, Gamma and Beta distributions, joint, marginal and conditional distributions, independence, transformations, the multivariate Normal
distribution, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035; a grade of C or better in MATH 027 or MATH 028 and currently
enrolled in one of MATH 034 or MATH 035 ; or permission of the instructor.
Natural Science and Engineering
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Whitehead.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 061. Mathematical Statistics I
Introduction to the mathematical theory of frequentist and Bayesian statistical inference. Topics include parameter estimation, confidence
intervals and hypothesis testing, linear regression methods and Bayesian inference. Students needing to learn applied statistics and data analysis
should consider Stat 021 in addition to or instead of this course.
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in both STAT 051 and MATH 027 or MATH 028 ; or permission of the instructor. STAT 011 or the
equivalent and some experience with computing are strongly recommended.
Natural Science and Engineering
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Everson.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 093. Directed Reading
Graded CR/NC.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Seminars
MATH 101. Real Analysis II
This seminar is a continuation of Introduction to Real Analysis (MATH 063). Topics include the inverse and implicit function theorems,
differential forms, calculus on manifolds, measurability, and Lebesgue integration.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in MATH 063 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Gomez.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 102. Modern Algebra II
This seminar is a continuation of Introduction to Modern Algebra (MATH 067). Topics covered include field theory, Galois theory (including the
insolvability of the quintic), and the Sylow theorems. Other topics are usually chosen from the structure theorem for modules over principal ideal
domains, a theoretical development of linear algebra, or an introduction to representation theory. Additional topics may be studied depending on
the interests of students and instructor.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in MATH 067 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Grood.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 103. Complex Analysis
A brief study of the geometry of complex numbers is followed by a detailed treatment of the Cauchy theory of analytic functions of a complex
variable: integration and Cauchy's theorem, power series, residue calculus, conformal mapping, and harmonic functions. Various applications
are given, and other topics-such as elliptic functions, analytic continuation, and the theory of Weierstrass-may be discussed.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in MATH 063 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Whitehead.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 104. Topology
An introduction to point-set, combinatorial, and algebraic topology: topological spaces, classification of surfaces, the fundamental group,
covering spaces, simplicial complexes, and homology (including related algebra).
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in both MATH 063 and MATH 067, or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Hunter.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
MATH 105. Geometry II
The course content varies from year to year among differential geometry, differential topology, and algebraic geometry. In 2021, the topic was
algebraic geometry.
Alternate years.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or better in MATH 065 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
STAT 111. Mathematical Statistics II
This seminar is a continuation of STAT 051 and STAT 061. It deals mainly with statistical models for the relationships among variables. The
theory of linear regression models is examined in detail. Other topics may include theory for generalized linear models (including logisitic
regression), Bayesian inference, and nonparametric statistics.
Prerequisite: A grade of B- or better in STAT 061; credit or placement out of CPSC 021.
Natural science and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Everson.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Medieval Studies
Courses
Coordinator:
CRAIG WILLIAMSON (English), Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Tariq al-Jamil (Religion)
1
James Blasina (Music)
Steven Hopkins (Religion)
3
Rosaria V. Munson (Classics)
Benjamin Ridgway (Modern Languages & Literatures: Chinese)
Ellen M. Ross (Religion)
William Turpin (Classics)
1
Absent on leave Fall 2021
3
Absent on leave 2021-2022 Academic Year
Swarthmore's Medieval Studies Program offers students the opportunity to study in an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural fashion a variety of
often interrelated medieval civilizations-European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Islamic, South and West Asian-from the 4th to the 15th
centuries. The program draws upon a variety of critical and cross-disciplinary approaches to explore medieval cultures, their distinctive qualities
and historical connections, their material and spiritual productions, their artistic creations, and their relation to earlier and later cultures.
The heart of the Medieval Studies Program is its interdisciplinary approach. The faculty and students in this program believe that the medieval
period, its history, languages and literatures, art and architecture, religion and philosophy, music and meaning, are best studied from a variety
of critical perspectives in which discipline and dialogue go hand in hand, where each person's knowledge is tested and expanded by another's
approach, and where we come together in the words of Chaucer's Clerk to "gladly lerne and gladly teche."
The Academic Program
Students may major or minor in medieval studies in either the Course or Honors Program. Students must take work in a variety of medieval
subjects to be drawn from art history, history, literature, music, religion, and philosophy. Majors often do research abroad on college-sponsored
fellowships during the summer of their junior year and then write a thesis, which they present as seniors to an interdisciplinary Medieval Studies
Committee or a panel of honors examiners.
Requirements
All students who major or minor in medieval studies, either in honors or course, must fulfill the program's distribution requirements by taking
medieval courses from the following distribution areas: 1. art history 2. history 3. literature (English, classics, etc.) 4. music 5. religion or
philosophy. The list of Swarthmore medieval studies courses as well as medieval courses at Bryn Mawr and Haverford is regularly updated on
the program website.
Course Major
Course majors must take at least 8 credits in medieval subjects, including at least one medieval course in three of the five distribution areas, and
pass a senior comprehensive which includes a written and oral exam given by the student's instructors in her or his medieval courses. These
examinations are intended to be a culminating exercise to facilitate the review and integration of the various subjects and methods involved in the
interdisciplinary field of medieval studies.
Honors Major
Honors majors must take at least one medieval course in three of the five distribution areas. The Honors Program itself will include four double-
credit preparations in medieval subjects which reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the major and must include work in at least three of the
distribution areas. The preparations may be constituted by some combination of the following: seminars, preapproved two-course combinations,
courses with attachments, or a thesis. Senior Honors Study for honors majors in medieval studies will follow the policies of the individual
departmental preparations used in the program. Honors majors will have a 90- to 120-minute oral panel examination with all four examiners
present. These examinations are intended to be a culminating exercise to facilitate the review and integration of the various subjects and methods
involved in the interdisciplinary field of medieval studies. Honors major normally do not have a separate minor as part of their Medieval Studies
Honors Program, but they may apply one of their four honors preparations toward an honors minor. In such a case, a student must fulfill all the
requirements set by the relevant department or program of that honors minor.
Course Minor
Course minors must take 5 credits in medieval subjects in at least two distribution areas. Only one of these credits can also be in the department
of the student's major.
Honors Minor
Honors minors must take 5 credits in medieval subjects in at least two distribution areas. The honors preparation in a medieval subject should
reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the minor and may be satisfied by one of the following: a seminar, a preapproved two-course combination,
a course with an attachment, or in special cases a thesis. The minor preparation must be in a department distinct from the student's major. Senior
Honors Study and written and oral honors exams will follow the pattern of the department in which the preparation is offered.
Courses and seminars in the various departments which are counted as medieval studies courses are listed in the College Catalog and online.
Students may also take medieval courses at Bryn Mawr or Haverford as part of their program.
Medieval Studies Courses
The following medieval studies courses are currently offered at Swarthmore. Other courses may be considered on petition to the Medieval
Studies committee. Courses marked with an asterisk may count as a Medieval Studies course if the student chooses to focus on medieval
materials; see the instructor for details. Majors and minors are also allowed to include medieval courses from Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and the
University of Pennsylvania in their curriculum.
MDST 096. Thesis
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Medieval Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/medieval-studies
MDST 180. Senior Honors Thesis
1 - 2 credits.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Medieval Studies
ARTH 002. The Western Tradition
This course provides an introduction to Mediterranean and European art from prehistoric cave painting to the 18th century. We will consider a
variety of media-from painting, sculpture, and architecture to ceramics, mosaic, metalwork, prints, and earthworks. The goal of this course is to
provide a chronology of the major works in the Western tradition and to provide the vocabulary and methodologies necessary to analyze these
works of art closely in light of the material, historical, religious, social, and cultural circumstances in which they were produced and received.
We will give attention to the use and status of materials; the representation of social relations, gender, religion, and politics; the context in which
works of art were used and displayed; and the critical response these works elicited.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 003. Asian Art: Past and Present
This course provides a thematic introduction to the arts of India, China, Korea, and Japan from prehistoric times to the present. Through
explorations of select works of calligraphy, painting, prints, ceramics, sculpture, and architecture, this course aims to familiarize students with
artistic vocabularies and conventions, sociocultural contexts of production and consumption, and tools of art historical analysis. Particular focus
will be given to the interrelationships between art, religion, philosophy, and literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Lee.
Spring 2023. Lee.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 052. Global Renaissance
The "Global Renaissance," focuses on Europe's relations with Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East in the early era of colonization
and global expansion.
Students will explore what the visual arts can reveal about the transfer of ideas and the growth of global trade and cultural/religious conflict in
this era of increasing internationalism. We will focus on cross-cultural exchange in the 15
th
and 16
th
centuries, and consider these issues
primarily from the European perception of the expanding world. The theme of globalism will be addressed though the lens not only of painting,
sculpture and architecture, but also objects that are not typically considered "high art" such as maps, textiles, festival art, and ceramics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 072. Global History of Architecture: Prehistory to 1750 CE
This survey will provide an introduction to the history of the global built environment from the earliest human settlements to the middle of the
second millennium. Chronologically and geographically broad, we will examine selected works of architecture and urbanism from diverse
cultures around the world, commencing ca. 10,000 B.C.E. and ending around 1750 C.E. In doing so, we will interpret the built environment as
both a product of its social, political, and cultural contexts and a force that shapes those contexts. Despite a diversity of examples, common
themes--such as cultural interaction and exchange, religion and belief, transmission of knowledge, architectural patronage, spatial and aesthetic
innovation, and technological transformation--will emerge across the course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- Core, MDST
Fall 2022. Goldstein.
Fall 2023. TBA
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
CHIN 027. Nature and the Non-Human in Classical Chinese Tales of the Strange
(Cross-listed as LITR 027CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese
(Cross-listed as LING 033)
This is an introductory course on reading one of the world's great classical languages. Classical Chinese includes both the language of China's
classical literature as well as the literary language used for writing in China for well over 2 millennia until earlier this century. Complemented
with readings in English about Chinese characters and classical Chinese, this course imparts the principal structures of the classical language
through an analytical presentation of the rudiments of the language and close reading of original texts. It is not a lecture course and requires
active, regular participation on the part of the student, with precise translation into English an integral component. The course is conducted in
English. The course is open to all interested students and has no prerequisites; no previous preparation in Chinese is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Spring 2023. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 037. Text and Image: Classical Chinese Poetry and Painting
(Cross-listed as LITR 037CH)
Combining some of the greatest works of Chinese poetry with approaches and visual materials from the history of Chinese landscape painting, in
this course we will examine the changing use of landscape as a medium to express different philosophical and social meanings by competing
social groups across historical periods from early times to the 13th century. In the first half of this course, we will see how natural landscape in
poetry became a medium for conveying a range different ideals and problems: official service and reclusion in the countryside, Daoist liberation
and Buddhist enlightenment, the sorrows of war on the frontier or travel into exile. In the second half of this course, we then apply our
knowledge of Chinese poetry to interpreting a series of paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1279). This period is the golden age of Chinese
landscape painting. It saw the emergence of literati-painters who, much like the great painters of the Renaissance, argued that painting
possessed the same expressive power as poetry. We will explore the ways they employed painting to comment on an unprecedented range of
issues, including government affairs, the role of women in society, the relation of private to public life, as well as the experience of dynastic
collapse and war.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CLST 106. Classical Studies Capstone: Dante: Christianity and the Classical Tradition
CPLT 106
In the Divina Commedia, Dante adapts the Classical theme of the heroic journey to the Underworld to his task as a visionary poet and Christian
prophet. We will read the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso in English translation, exploring its different levels of meaning and Dante's
surprising reinterpretation of the ancient authors. We will reconstruct his world view in the broader context of Medieval culture: his thought on
life, death, love, language, the visual arts, politics and history.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
ENGL 010. Monsters, Marvels, and Mysteries: Beowulf to Paradise Lost
The first thousand years of English Literature with an emphasis on monsters like Grendel and Satan, marvels like a talking tree and a boy actor
playing a woman pretending to be a man, and mysteries like the moth that devours words and a green knight who offers a hero the chance to
chop off his head. Some modern retellings such as Gardner's Grendel and Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be included.
Major authors include Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.
Med/Ren
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Fall 2021. Williamson.
Fall 2022. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 014. Old English/History of the Language
(Cross-listed as LING 014)
A study of the origins and development of English-sound, syntax, and meaning-with an initial emphasis on learning Old English. Topics may
include writing and speech, changing phonology and morphology, wordplay in Chaucer and Shakespeare, pidgins and creoles, and global
English.
Med/Ren.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Prerequisite: This course may be taken without the usual Prerequisite course in English; however, it may not serve in the place of a Prerequisite
for other advanced courses.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Spring 2023. Williamson.
Spring 2024. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 016. Chaucer
Readings in Middle English of most of Chaucer's poetry with emphasis on The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde. The course attempts
to place the poetry in a variety of critical and cultural contexts which help to illuminate Chaucer's art. Medieval cultural readings include
Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, and Andreas Capellanus' The Art of Courtly Love.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 046. Tolkien and Pullman and Their Literary Roots
A study of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Pullman's His Dark Materials in the context of their early English sources. For Tolkien, this will
include Beowulf, Old English riddles and elegies, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For Pullman, this will include Biblical stories of the
Creation and Fall, Milton's Paradise Lost, and selected Blake poems. Some film versions will be included.
Med/Ren or 20th/21st.
GATEWAY English Literature.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, CPLT
Spring 2022. Williamson.
Spring 2023. Williamson.
Spring 2024. Williamson.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
LATN 014. Medieval Latin
Readings are chosen from the principal types of medieval Latin literature, including religious and secular poetry, history and chronicles, saints'
lives, satire, philosophy, and romances.
Prerequisite: LATN 011 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for Medieval Studies.
Catalog chapter: Classics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/classics
LING 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese
(Cross-listed as CHIN 033)
This course counts for distribution in humanities under the chinese rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics
LITR 037CH. Text and Image: Classical Chinese Poetry and Painting
(Cross-listed as CHIN 037)
Combining some of the greatest works of Chinese poetry with approaches and visual materials from the history of Chinese landscape painting, in
this course we will examine the changing use of landscape as a medium to express different philosophical and social meanings by competing
social groups across historical periods from early times to the 13th century. In the first half of this course, we will see how natural landscape in
poetry became a medium for conveying a range different ideals and problems: official service and reclusion in the countryside, Daoist liberation
and Buddhist enlightenment, the sorrows of war on the frontier or travel into exile. In the second half of this course, we then apply our
knowledge of Chinese poetry to interpreting a series of paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1279). This period is the golden age of Chinese
landscape painting. It saw the emergence of literati-painters who, much like the great painters of the Renaissance, argued that painting
possessed the same expressive power as poetry. We will explore the ways they employed painting to comment on an unprecedented range of
issues, including government affairs, the role of women in society, the relation of private to public life, as well as the experience of dynastic
collapse and war.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
MUSI 008C. Medievalism in Music and Media
From the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol to Disney's Frozen to video games such as The Witcher and Skyrim, fictionalized allusions to the
Middle Ages loom large in contemporary cultural and political landscapes. How are the Middles Ages presented and understood, and what is the
role of sound and music in the "invention" of the Middle Ages? This course explores the slippery distinction between the "real" and the "made"
musical Middle Ages (roughly defined as the fifth to the fifteenth centuries) through several case studies from the last two hundred years and
spanning across a variety of genres and media: video games, television, cinema, popular and folk musics, manuscript and print scores, and
opera. We will consider the musical strategies that performers, composers, and scholars have adopted to imagine the sound of the Middle Ages,
as well as the historical, political, and ideological motivations prompting them in doing so.
HU
1
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2022. Agugliaro.
MUSI 020. Medieval and Renaissance Music
A repertory based course that discusses the history of music in Europe from the beginnings of musical notation to the birth of opera. (c. 800 - c.
1600). Mus 20 considers this varied repertory through lenses of race, gender, and identity, nationalism and post-colonial theory. Topics include
musical rituals, music and magic, music and Elizabethan global politics, music, piety, & sacrilege, sexual discourse in music, relationships
between music and architecture, development of musical instruments, and history of theory.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 028. Sound, Sinners, and Saints in Medieval England
What did Medieval England sound like? What meanings did individuals attribute to sounds, heard and imagined? This course examines the
production and perception of sound and music in England from c. 1000 - c. 1500, considering their relationship to each other, and their roles as
vehicles for the transcultural exchange that contributed to formations of English national identity. Using the lenses of sound studies and
musicology, this course considers how sound and music could be tools of war and conquest in early English imperialism, as well as the impacts
of sound and music on English civic and religious life. In this vein topics include, but are not limited to, sound and criminality, executions, the
regulation of sound and music, English sanctity, kingship and queenship, the Crusades, vernacular song and dance, musical innovation, and
technologies of music recording. We will treat music on the same level as other kinds of sounds, including those represented in visual sources
and those made by inanimate objects (e.g.bells) and animals.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST.
Spring 2024. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 106. Winds of Pleasure: The Music and Writing of Hildegard of Bingen in Context and Revival
Celebrated for her prophetic powers, Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century composer, abbess, writer of three natural science and medicinal
texts, and a sought-after resource for contemporary political and religious leaders. This course examines the music, drama, sermons, letters, and
medicinal works written by the visionary and polymath, contextualizing Hildegard's compositional style within medieval genres. Special attention
will be given to liturgical drama, the recording and compilation of Hildegard's work during the Middle Ages, compositional aspects of
Hildegard's music, representations of gender, the body, and sexuality in her music and writing. The Hildegard revival of the 19th and 20th
centuries will provide case studies (ranging from Anonymous 4 to Swedish folk rock) to analyze contemporary performance practices.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Blasina.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
RELG 008B. The Qur'an and Its Interpreters
This is course will include detailed reading of the Qur'an in English translation. The first part of the course will be devoted to the history of the
Qur'an and its importance to Muslim devotional life. The first portion of the course will include: discussion of the history of the compilation of
the text, the methods used to preserve it, styles of Qur'anic recitation, and the principles of Qur'anic abrogation. Thereafter, attention will be
devoted to a theme or issue arising from Qur'anic interpretation. Students will be exposed to the various sub-genres of Qur'anic exegesis
including historical, legal, grammatical, theological and modernist approaches.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 011B. The Religion of Islam: The Islamic Humanities
This course is a comprehensive introduction to Islamic doctrines, practices, and religious institutions in a variety of geographic settings from the
rise of Islam in the seventh century to the present. Translated source materials from the Qur'an, sayings of Muhammad, legal texts, and mystical
works will provide an overview of the literary expressions of the religion. Among the topics to be covered are: the Qur'an as scripture and as
liturgy; conversion and the spread of Islam; Muhammad in history and in the popular imagination; concepts of the feminine; Muslim women;
sectarian developments; transmission of religious knowledge and spiritual power; Sufism and the historical elaboration of mystical communities;
modern reaffirmation of Islamic identity; and Islam in the American environment.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 014. Race, Gender, and Sex in the Bible
Is the Bible racist? Sexist? Homophobic? This course introduces students to the academic study of the Bible and critical theories about gender,
race, sexuality, and ethnicity. How is it that the Bible has been mobilized to support racist, homophobic, and misogynist ideologies and that the
same Bible has been used to subvert, undermine, and ultimately try to eradicate these same ideologies? Course readings focus on black feminist,
womanist, African American, Asian American, and Latinx biblical interpretations.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 020. Christian Mysticism
This course considers topics in the history of Christian mysticism. Themes include mysticism as a way of life, relationships between mystics and
religious communities, physical manifestations and spiritual experiences, varieties of mystical union, and the diverse images for naming the
relationship between humanity and the Divine. Readings that explore the meaning, sources, and practices of Christian mystical traditions may
include Marguerite Porete, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, and Dorothee Soelle.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 030. The Power of Images: Icons and Iconoclasts
This course is a cross-cultural, comparative study of the use and critique of sacred images in biblical Judaism; Eastern Christianity; and the
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions of India. Students will explore differing attitudes toward the physical embodiment of divinity, including
issues of divine "presence" and "absence"; icons, aniconism, and "idolatry"; and distinctions drawn in some traditions between different types of
images and different devotional attitudes toward sacred images, from Yahweh's back and bleeding icons to Jain worship of "absent" saints.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice
Social justice rhetoric and activism are often framed around the theme of a fight or a struggle -- however noble -- against the forces and powers
of oppression. This course takes a different tack and approaches social justice via perspectives of healing, wellness, and critical care practices.
This course places an emphasis upon praxis, and as such will center healing and social justice practitioners and their methodologies as our
primary curricular materials (via in-class visits and their social media footprints) to accompany more traditional classroom readings and
multimedia assignments. What happens to our notions of social justice if we view current-day global oppression chiefly as a problem of colonial
dis/ease -- a restless sickness wracking the social and political body, the encrusted layers of generational trauma and violence catalyzed by the
on-going and open-ended histories of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 037. Sex, Gender, and the Bible
The first two chapters of the biblical book of Genesis offer two very different ancient accounts of the creation of humanity and the construction of
gender. The rest of the book of Genesis offers a unique portrayal of family dynamics, drama and dysfunction, full of complex and compelling
narratives where gender is constantly negotiated and renegotiated. In this class, we will engage in close readings of primary biblical sources and
contemporary feminist and queer scholarship about these texts, as we explore what the first book of the Bible says about God, gender, power,
sexuality, and "family values."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 053. Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Islamic Discourses
An exploration of sexuality, gender roles, and notions of the body within the Islamic tradition from the formative period of Islam to the present.
This course will examine the historical development of gendered and patriarchal readings of Islamic legal, historical, and scriptural texts.
Particular attention will be given to both the premodern and modern strategies employed by women to subvert these exclusionary forms of
interpretation and to ensure more egalitarian outcomes for themselves in the public sphere. Topics discussed include female piety, marriage and
divorce, motherhood, polygamy, sex and desire, honor and shame, same-sex sexuality, and the role of women in the transmission of knowledge.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, GSST, ISLM, MDST
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RUSS 047. Russian Fairy Tales
(Cross-listed as LITR 047R)
Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their aesthetic,
historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts,
and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales
against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, though
students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Seminars
CPLT 106. Classical Studies Capstone: Dante: Christianity and the Classical Tradition
(Cross-listed as CLST 106)
In the Divina Commedia, Dante adapts the Classical theme of the heroic journey to the Underworld to his task as a visionary poet and Christian
prophet. We will read the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso in English translation, exploring its different levels of meaning and Dante's
surprising reinterpretation of the ancient authors. We will reconstruct his world view in the broader context of Medieval culture: his thought on
life, death, love, language, the visual arts, politics and history.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for MDST.
Catalog chapter: Comparative Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/comparative-literature
ENGL 102. Chaucer and Medieval Literature
A study of medieval English literature with an emphasis on Chaucer. Texts will include Beowulf, Old English poems, Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde, Margery Kempe's autobiography, selected mystery plays and Everyman, and
Arthurian materials. Some works will be in Middle English; others, in translation.
Med/Ren
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
MDST 180. Senior Honors Thesis
1 - 2 credits.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Medieval Studies
RELG 100. Holy War, Martyrdom, and Suicide in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
An examination of the concepts of martyrdom, holy war, and suicide in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. How are "just" war, suicide, martyrdom
presented in the sacred texts of these three traditions? How are the different perspectives related to conceptions of death and the afterlife within
each tradition? Historically, how have these three traditions idealized and/or valorized the martyr and/or the "just" warrior? In what ways have
modern post-colonial political groups and nationalist movements appropriated martyrdom and holy war in our time?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST, PEAC
Spring 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 101. Jesus in History, Literature, and Theology
This seminar explores depictions of Jesus in narrative, history, theology, and popular culture. We consider Jesus as historical figure, trickster,
mother, healer, suffering savior, visionary, embodiment of the Divine, lover, victorious warrior, political liberator, and prophet.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 108. Poets, Saints, and Storytellers: The Poetry and Poetics of Devotion in South Asian Religions
A study of the major forms of Hindu religious culture through the lenses of its varied regional and pan-regional literatures, with a focus on the
literature of devotion (bhakti), including comparative readings from Buddhist and Islamic traditions of India. The course will focus on both
primary texts in translation (religious poetry and prose narratives in epic and medieval Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Hindi, Pali, Sinhala,
Sindhi, and Urdu) as well as pertinent secondary literature on the poetry and poetics of religious devotion. We will also pay close attention to
specific literary forms, genres, and regional styles, as well as the performance (music and dance) and hagiographical traditions that frame the
poems of Hindu saint-poets, Buddhist monks, and Muslim mystics. Along with a chronological and geographical focus, the seminar will be
organized around major themes such as popular/vernacular and "elite" traditions; the performance and ritual contexts of religious poetry; the
place of the body in religious emotion; love, karma, caste, and family identity; asceticism and eroticism; gender and power; renunciation and
family obligations.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Fall 2023. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 114. Love and Religion
A comparative seminar that deals with ancient Greek, early and medieval Christian, medieval Jewish, "secular" troubadour, Hindu, South Asian
and East Asian (Japanese) Buddhist traditions on the transformations of "love" in religious devotional literatures. We focus on themes of erotic
and parental love; gender, sexuality, and the body; the emotions as ethical appraisal; individual love, loss, lament, and "ennobling virtue;" and
the enduring tensions between the particular and "universal" in discourses of and about love, the passions and their vicissitudes in the histories
of religion. Primary texts will range from Plato's Symposium, Gregory of Nyssa's Greek commentaries on the Song of Songs and his Bios
makrinou; the Occitan poetry of female Provençal troubadours, Dante's Vita nuova, selections from the Commedia, Angela di Foligno's Libello;
to early Buddhist women in the poetry and narratives of the Pāli Therīgāthā, the Sinhala narratives of the Buddha's wife Yasodharā and the
Buddha's two mothers, Bengali poetry to the Hindu goddess Kālī and to the divine lovers Krishna and Rādhā; Heian-period Japanese love poems
of Izumi Shikibu, and Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, MDST
Fall 2022. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 119. Islamic Law and Society
A survey of the history of Islamic law and its developments, with particular attention to the ways Islamic legal principles were formed, organized,
operated in practice, and changed over time. It will focus on issues in Islamic legal theory, methodology, constitutional law, personal law, and
family law that have had the greatest relevance to our contemporary world. This course functions as a basic introduction to the Islamic legal
system in its pre-modern and contemporary forms. The course will also provide comparative discussion of the contrasts between Islamic legal
theory and positive law and European and American legal and constitutional thought.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2024. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 127. Secrecy and Heresy
This seminar will explore religious literature, bodily practices, and social behaviors associated with the performance of secrecy in various
geographical, historical, and political contexts. Religious communities have often employed secrecy as a strategy for the maintenance of group
solidarity and religious identity when faced with allegations of heresy. Secrecy functions not only as a means to subvert and undermine the
marginalization of religious minorities but as a powerful tool for the creation of more egalitarian possibilities through preservation of privileged
knowledge and the presence of internally shared though externally undisclosed social and religious connections. What kinds of religious secrets
are meant to be safeguarded? What set of behaviors and strategies are required to keep these "secrets" or sustain adopted personas? Is religious
secrecy merely a tactic for ensuring survival in the context of social marginalization and political persecution? What is the relationship between
secrecy and suspicion? Is it necessary that what one wishes to conceal is inherently negative, pernicious or even heretical?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Modern Languages and Literatures:
Chair
WILLIAM GARDNER, Professor of Japanese
Staff
SUZANNE MCCARTHY, Administrative Assistant
BETHANNE SEUFERT, Administrative Assistant
The Academic Program
Our courses balance traditional objects of study with emerging interdisciplinary projects on topics such as urban modernity, gender and
sexuality, and media representations and manipulations of cultural values. Our curriculum engages the classics of world literature while also
adapting to reflect the latest redefinitions and debates occurring within the Humanities. The linguistic knowledge students acquire in our courses
enables them to speak and write confidently about texts and contexts, to go abroad and encounter the world and its residents in very different,
more informed and meaningful ways.
Along with demonstrated competence in the language, a foreign literature major will normally complete a minimum of 8 credits in courses in
advanced language, literature, or culture, and a culminating exercise such as a thesis, an oral or written comprehensive examination, or honors
examinations. Depending on the program, one or more courses for the major may be taken in English. The department encourages
interdisciplinary approaches and pertinent special majors. Students interested in more than one literature are encouraged to consider a major in
comparative literature. Students with strong interest in learning languages and their mechanics should also take note of the related major in
Linguistics and Languages. The department collaborates with Educational Studies to help students who wish to get teacher certification.
The Language Requirement
To receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, candidates must fulfill a foreign language requirement. The foreign language
requirement can be fulfilled by:
a. Successfully studying 3 years or the "block" equivalent of a single foreign language in grades 9 through 12 (work done before grade 9
cannot be counted, regardless of the course level);
b. Achieving a score of 600 or better on a standard achievement test of a foreign language;
c. Passing either the final term of a college-level, yearlong, introductory foreign language course or a semester-long intermediate
foreign language course; or
d. Learning English as a foreign language while remaining demonstrably proficient in another.
If you have fulfilled your language requirement, the department encourages you to use your time at Swarthmore to become truly proficient in that
language, or to discover a new one.
Students whose placement recommendation is above the language sequence should consider taking introductory and/or advanced courses, many
of which fulfill the College's writing requirement.
Placement Tests
The Modern Languages and Literatures Department offers placement tests so as to appropriately position students in language classes when they
arrive on campus. New students who have previously studied or have fluency in a language offered at Swarthmore should plan to take a
placement test either online (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian) or to meet with the section head (Arabic). Upperclass students
interested in taking a placement test should contact the Modern Languages & Literatures administrative office, mll@swarthmore.edu, Kohlberg
316.
Some placement tests will require a follow up interview and/or written essay. See https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-
literatures/language-placement-tests for more information.
Note: Placement Tests are not a substitute for an official standard achievement test of a foreign language (such as the College Board exam or the
International Baccalaureate). Therefore, they do not serve as proof of achievement for the purpose of fulfilling the language requirement. These
tests are only intended to assist instructors in placing students in the appropriate Swarthmore course.
Advancement Placement and International Baccalaureate Credit
The department will grant 1 credit for incoming students who achieved a score of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement Chinese, French, German,
Japanese or Russian examinations once they have successfully completed a one-credit course in that language at the College.
The department will grant 1 credit for incoming students who have achieved a score of 6 or 7 in a foreign language on the International
Baccalaureate once they have successfully completed a one-credit course in that language at the College.
Students who took an AP or IB exam should consult the department for more information.
Note: Students with French/German AP-IB scores are nonetheless required to take the online placement test.
Explanatory Note On First-and Second-Year Language Courses
Courses numbered 001-002, 003, and, in some languages also 004, carry 1.5 credits per semester. Four semesters in this sequence are equivalent
to two or sometimes more years of work at the college level.
These courses encourage development of communicative proficiency through an interactive task-based approach and provide students with an
active and rewarding learning experience as they strengthen their language skills and develop their cultural competency These courses meet
alternately as sections for grammar presentation and small groups for oral practice and may also require work in regular scheduled tutorials or
in the Language Resource Center.
Students who start in the 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001. However, students placing directly in 002 can receive
1.5 semester credits for that course. Please note that students must register for both lecture (T/TH) and drill (M/W/F) sections of the course in the
001-004 sequence.
Teacher Certification
We offer teacher certification in modern languages (French, German, and Russian) through a program approved by the state of Pennsylvania.
For further information about the relevant requirements, please refer to the Educational Studies section of the College Bulletin or see the
Educational Studies Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/educationalstudies.xml.
Off-Campus Study
Students on financial aid may apply that aid to designated programs of study abroad.
Study abroad is particularly encouraged for students of Arabic; academic credit (full or partial) is generally approved for participation in
programs of varying duration in different Arab countries that are recommended by the Arabic section. These include, but are not limited to,
universities and programs in Jordan, Morocco, and Oman.
Study abroad is particularly encouraged for students of Chinese; academic credit (full or partial) is generally approved for participation in
several programs of varying duration in the People's Republic of China and in Taiwan, recommended by the Chinese section. In the People's
Republic these include, but are not limited to, the Inter-University Program (IUP) Program at Tsing-hua University, the Associated Colleges in
China (ACC) Program, the CET Program in Harbin and the Middlebury program in Kunming. In Taiwan, these include the International
Chinese Language Program (ICLP) and the Mandarin Training Center in Taipei; and the Chinese Language Center, National Cheng Kung
University in Tainan.
All French/Francophone studies majors are required to complete a preapproved, semester-long study abroad program in a French-speaking
country. Minors are strongly encouraged to attend such semester-long programs and should at least attend a preapproved six-week summer
program in a francophone country.
Students of German studies are strongly encouraged to spend a semester in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Please see the Modern Languages
and Literatures: German Studies for vetted programs in German-speaking countries. Students should consider going abroad in the spring
semester. This will enable them to participate fully in the summer semester schedule of German and Austrian Universities that tend to run from
April through July. Do some online research first, then make an appointment with the German studies coordinator to go over your options.
Students of Japanese are strongly encouraged to participate in study abroad programs. Swarthmore College participates in a regular exchange
program with Tokyo University, and the Japanese Section has prepared a carefully selected list of other recommended programs in Kyoto,
Nagoya, and elsewhere. Students interested in study abroad should consult with the head of the Japanese Section for more information.
Students in Russian are strongly encouraged to spend at least one summer or semester studying in Russia or in other countries with strong
Russophone educational options, such as Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Ukraine. Consult with faculty in the Russian Section and with
the Off Campus Study Office for information about approved programs.
Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Courses
Faculty
KHALED AL-MASRI, Associate Professor, Section Head
BENJAMIN SMITH, Assistant Professor
MANAL AHMED, Lecturer
DIMA HANNA, Lecturer
The Arabic program at Swarthmore College offers a minor or special major, as well as an honors minor or honors special major. Arabic
coursework can also be used toward the interdisciplinary program in Islamic Studies and programs in anthropology, comparative literature,
history, linguistics, religion, sociology, peace and conflict studies, and other fields. Study of Arabic language through the third year and study
abroad are particularly recommended for students who want to develop proficiency for research or fieldwork. Interested students are urged to
begin studying the language early in their academic careers, to have time to develop a useful level of language proficiency and be prepared to
study in an immersive program abroad.
First-, second-, and third-year Arabic are offered every year; first-year Arabic has no prerequisites and is open to everyone except native
speakers. Native or heritage speakers of Arabic should consult with the Arabic faculty for placement. Courses in literature in translation, culture,
and film, when available, are also open to all students. Students of Arabic language are urged to take these courses and others related to the
Arab world in Islamic Studies, sociology and anthropology, history, political science, peace and conflict studies, and religion to gain perspective
on classical and contemporary Arab culture.
Introductory and Intermediate Arabic are intensive courses that carry 1.5 credits per semester. As noted above, study abroad is encouraged for
students of Arabic; academic credit (full or partial) is generally approved for participation in programs recommended by the Arabic section.
These include, but are not limited to, universities and non-university programs in Jordan, Morocco, and Oman.
The Academic Program
The Arabic Program offers a regular minor and an honors minor in Arabic Studies. Coursework in Arabic can also be part of a special major or
a special honors major.
Arabic is a central component of Swarthmore's Islamic Studies program, an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the diverse range of lived
experiences and textual traditions of Muslims as they are articulated in various countries and regions throughout the world.
Arabic is also a valuable addition to programs in Humanities and the Social Sciences and can be part of the major in Linguistics and Languages,
through the Linguistics Department.
Courses in Arabic Language, Literature, and Culture
As a Tri-College language program, Arabic is offered at the first- and second-year levels at Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford Colleges.
Third-year Arabic language, other advanced language courses, and introductory courses in Arabic literature and culture are offered at
Swarthmore. Other courses are available at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the Philadelphia area.
Minor in Arabic Studies
Students must complete a minimum of 5 credits in courses numbered 004 or above. Of the 5 minimum credits, at least 4 should be achieved in
courses taught in Arabic rather than in translation. Students may take one Arabic literature course (1 credit) in translation, or a relevant course
from another department, with the approval of the section. Only one course may overlap with a major or a second minor. A minimum of 3 credits
should be taken at Swarthmore. Students are strongly encouraged to study abroad in a section-approved program; two credits of pre-approved
study abroad transfer credit may be counted toward the minor. Students who wish to do an honors minor in Arabic Studies are encouraged to
discuss the requirements with the Arabic section head.
Special Major
Students may arrange to do a special major or an honors special major in Arabic Studies after consultation with the Arabic section head and the
department chair. Work abroad will be incorporated when appropriate.
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
1. Complete three credits numbered above 003
2. Courses in translation will not count towards fulfillment of the three-credit requirement
Application Process for the Major
Applicants for a Special Major in Arabic Studies must consult with the Arabic section head and be approved by the relevant faculty members and
the department of Modern Languages and Literatures.
International Baccalaureate Credit
Students presenting IB credit in Arabic language or literature should consult with the faculty in Arabic.
Transfer Credit
The Arabic faculty will assist students in estimating credit for study of Arabic language and related topics abroad. Transfer credit (from study
abroad or from courses taken at other institutions in North America) will be evaluated after students return to campus. Students should consult
with the faculty in Arabic to estimate credit before studying abroad.
Off-Campus Study
Study abroad is crucial to gaining proficiency in Arabic because it allows immersion and significant cultural exposure. Studying Arabic in an
environment where it is widely spoken exposes the student to natural language use outside the classroom. Modern Standard Arabic is the official
or co-official language of Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco,
Oman, the West Bank and Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Large numbers of
Arabic speakers also live in Iran, France, and Turkey. Students are urged to consult closely with the faculty in Arabic as well as the Off-Campus
Study Office in planning study abroad.
Research and Service-Learning Opportunities
Academic Year Opportunities
Some study abroad programs can arrange internships or other kinds of special opportunities for students.
Summer Opportunities
Like other programs in the Humanities, Arabic welcomes student proposals for guided summer research and will advise students applying for a
Humanities Research Fellowship at the College.
Life After Swarthmore
Career possibilities that utilize foreign language skills parallel the opportunities of liberal arts graduates in general, with a strong focus on
international or multicultural aspects. Obvious career paths for Arabic Studies Special Majors are the professions in which foreign language is a
primary skill, such as language teaching, academia, translation and interpretation, or working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
But as communication, travel, and business endeavors have expanded in the global marketplace, now even relatively small organizations may
need to communicate with partners, clients, or customers in other languages, in the U.S. as well as in other countries.
Arabic Courses
ARAB 001. Intensive Elementary Modern Standard Arabic
Students who start in the ARAB 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
The purpose of this course is to develop students' proficiency and communication in modern standard Arabic in the four basic language skills:
listening, speaking, reading (both oral and for comprehension), and writing. Cultural aspects are built into the course. These courses, as well as
subsequent Arabic-language courses, help students to advance rapidly in the language and prepare them for more advanced work in literary
Arabic, as well for employment, travel, or study abroad. By the end of this sequence, the majority of students are expected to reach a level of
intermediate low, according to the ACTFL proficiency rating.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Fall 2021. Hanna, Ahmed.
Fall 2022. Hanna, Ahmed.
Fall 2023. Hanna, Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 002. Intensive Elementary Modern Standard Arabic
Students who start in the ARAB 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
The purpose of this course is to develop students' proficiency and communication in modern standard Arabic in the four basic language skills:
listening, speaking, reading (both oral and for comprehension), and writing. Cultural aspects are built into the course. These courses, as well as
subsequent Arabic-language courses, help students to advance rapidly in the language and prepare them for more advanced work in literary
Arabic, as well for employment, travel, or study abroad. By the end of this sequence, the majority of students are expected to reach a level of
intermediate low, according to the ACTFL proficiency rating.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Spring 2022. Smith, Ahmed.
Spring 2023. Hanna, Ahmed.
Spring 2024. Hanna, Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 003. Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I
This course builds on skills in comprehension, listening, reading, writing, and speaking developed at earlier levels. Students will gain increased
vocabulary and understanding of more complex grammatical structures. They will begin to approach prose, fiction, and non-fiction written in the
language. Students will also increase their proficiency in the Arabic script and sound system, and widen their cultural and historic knowledge of
the Arab World and the modern Middle East.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Fall 2021. Smith, Ahmed.
Fall 2022. Hanna, Ahmed.
Fall 2023. Hanna, Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 004. Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II
This course is a continuation of ARAB 003. Because the material covered in this course relies heavily on the previous course, students are
expected to review and be familiar with the previous work in ARAB 001, ARAB 002 and ARAB 003.
Prerequisite: ARAB 003 or equivalent or permission of the department.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ISLM
Spring 2022. Hanna, Ahmed.
Spring 2023. Hanna, Ahmed.
Spring 2024. Hanna, Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 011. Advanced Arabic I
This course will: (1) conduct a quick review of the basic structures, grammar, and vocabulary learned in earlier courses, (2) introduce new
vocabulary in a variety of contexts with strong cultural content, (3) drill students in the more advanced grammatical structures of MSA, and (4)
train students to comprehend a variety of MSA authentic reading passages of various genres from Intermediate to Intermediate High on the
ACTFL scale.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ARAB 004 and permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Fall 2021. Al-Masri.
Fall 2022. Al-Masri.
Fall 2023. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 011A. Arabic Conversation
A conversation course concentrating on the development of intermediate skills in speaking and listening through the use of texts and multimedia
materials in Modern Standard Arabic. The aim of this course is for the student to acquire well-rounded communication skills and socio-cultural
competence. The selected materials seek to stimulate students' curiosity with the goal of awakening a strong desire to express themselves in the
language. Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials) and prepare assignments for discussion in class. Moreover,
students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in Arabic before they present them in class. This class is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Prerequisite: ARAB 011 (may be taken concurrently) or the equivalent
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Fall 2021. Ahmed.
Fall 2022. Ahmed.
Fall 2023. Ahmed.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 012. Advanced Arabic II
This course is a continuation of ARAB 011 and all previous course in the sequence. This course will begin with a quick review of advanced
grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students will continue to encounter a wide range of authentic texts and audiovisual materials to enhance
their competency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, with a special emphasis on vocabulary building.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ARAB 011 and permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Spring 2022. Hanna.
Spring 2023. Al-Masri.
Spring 2024. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 012A. Advanced Arabic Conversation
A conversation course concentrating on the development of intermediate skills in speaking and listening through the use of texts and multimedia
materials in Modern Standard Arabic. The aim of this course is for the student to acquire well-rounded communication skills and socio-cultural
competence. The selected materials seek to stimulate students' curiosity with the goal of awakening a strong desire to express themselves in the
language. Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials) and prepare assignments for discussion in class. This class is
conducted entirely in Arabic.
Prerequisite: ARAB 012 (may be taken concurrently) or the equivalent
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Spring 2022. Ahmed.
Spring 2023. Ahmed.
Spring 2024. Hanna.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 013. Levantine Arabic
The aim of this course is to introduce, develop, and cultivate Levantine Arabic (LA) speaking, listening, and reading skills. Emphasis is placed
on the similarities and differences in spoken Arabic used in everyday situations by Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian speakers.
Students will learn the phonological and syntactic rules of LA and acquire knowledge of the social and cultural elements embedded within LA, as
well as the contexts in which it is used. Students will be exposed to textual and audiovisual materials predominantly in LA.
Prerequisite: Two years of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or equivalent. Those who have completed one year of MSA and wish to enroll in this
course are encouraged to consult with the Arabic Program.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM.
Fall 2021. Hanna.
Fall 2023. Hanna.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 021. Topics in Modern Arab Literature
This course surveys the major writers, trends, themes, and experiences in Arabic literature from the 19th century to the present. Beginning with
the nahda (the Arab renaissance), we will explore the impact of intellectual debates and developments on the emergence of modern Arabic
literature. Through the study of a variety of different texts and authors, from a range of geographies and periods, we will investigate diverse
literary and cultural narratives. Common themes, such as the negotiation of modernity and tradition, social and political transformation, and the
changing role of women, will provide a structure for comparison. This course is taught in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Al-Masri.
Fall 2022. Al-Masri.
Fall 2023. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 022. Discourses of Oppression in Contemporary Arabic Fiction
Designed to meet the needs of students who have completed ARAB 021: Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature, this course provides an in-
depth look at major fictional representations of the institutionalized and non-institutionalized sites and structures of oppression explored by Arab
writers. Subtle and overt forms of political oppression are investigated, as well as experiences of hegemony related to gender, sexuality, class,
religion, and ethnicity. This course also examines the ways in which oppression is rethought, restructured, and challenged in Arabic fiction,
leading to new understandings and possibilities in reality. This course is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Al-Masri.
Spring 2023. Al-Masri.
Spring 2024. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 041. Self and Nation in Mahmoud Darwish's Poetry and Prose
As one of the greatest, most distinct voices in Arabic literature, Mahmoud Darwish has played a significant role in shaping Palestinian national
identity politics and cultural imaginations, while also offering thoughtful reflections on the human condition more broadly. This course explores
how Darwish's poetry and prose articulate themes like homeland, exile, displacement, dispossession, loss, love, nostalgia, death, and grief. Our
examinations of his prominent texts serve as a gateway to understanding the story of Palestine and to analyzing the tensions between individual
and national identity, history and mythology, memory and forgetfulness, and peace and conflict. Additionally, the course pays special attention to
Darwish's literary innovations and the stylistic features of his work, which grant him a central spot on the vast Arabic literary map. This course
is conducted entirely in Arabic. Advanced knowledge of Arabic is required to successfully complete this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM.
Spring 2022. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Al-Masri.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 095. Arabic Literature: Society and Scandal
Cross-listed as LITR 095A
Societal scandals and controversies surrounding Arabic literary works have arisen across the Middle East and North Africa throughout the 20th
and 21st centuries. The free expression fostered in the literary field frequently confronts the realities of state censors and other forces in society,
such as political ideologies or religious orthodoxies. In this course we aim to contextualize and study these scandals and controversies by closely
analyzing the literary works at their source, as well as the debates and transgressive acts they elicited. From intentional omissions in translation,
to debates surrounding the portrayal of homosexual characters, to assassination attempts on authors lives, this course will focus on a number of
important inflection points across the Middle East and North Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will study works by authors from Morocco
to Saudi Arabia, including Taha Hussein, Naguib Mahfouz, Mohamed Choukri, Nawal El Saadawi, Saud Alsanousi, Alaa Al Aswani, Rashid al-
Daif, Rajaa al-Sanea, amongst others. This course will be conducted in English, using texts translated from Arabic.
Prerequisite: This course is open to all students, no prerequisites are required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Smith.
Fall 2023. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Courses Not Currently Being Offered
ARAB 023. Identity and Culture in Arab Cinema
This course offers an in-depth study of the cultural politics and poetics of Arab Cinema. Students will analyze and critique films produced in the
20th and 21st centuries from a variety of different periods, styles, and genres. Through these films, the course will explore topics such as
colonialism; ethnic, religious, and national identities; civil conflicts; oppression and censorship; gender and sexuality; poverty; and the rural
and the urban. Students will read critical essays and book chapters on the screened films and related themes. This course is conducted entirely in
Arabic. Advanced knowledge of Arabic is required to successfully complete this course.
Prerequisite: Three years of Arabic or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL - Paired
Spring 2024. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 025. War in Arab Literature and Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 025A)
This course will explore literary and cinematic representations of war in the Arab world, focusing on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Lebanese
Civil War, and the Iraq wars. We will look at poetry, fiction, memoir, prison narratives, film, and experimental texts. Through the examination of
a variety of experiences, genres, and perspectives, we will ask questions like: How do narratives of war contribute to the formation of national,
local, and Arab identities? How has the experience of war impacted understandings of religion, masculinity, gender, and domestic violence? We
will identify common themes and images and investigate how these patterns change and develop in different spatial and temporal contexts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 029. Arabs Write the West
(Cross-listed as LITR 029A)
Drawing on historical, fictional, and autobiographical narratives, this course investigates Arab representations of the Occident. These texts
explore cultural encounters, both at home and abroad, border crossings, hybridity, experiences of colonialism and neocolonialism, the
psychology of Orientalism and Occidentalism, processes of assimilation and resistance, and the question of contact zones. Differences in
geography, period, context, and positionality will provide a variety of perspectives on the theme. Works by Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jabarti, Rifa'a Al-
Tahtawi, Yahya Haqqi, Sulaiman Fayyad, Tayyib Salih, Leila Ahmed, and Fadia Faqir will be discussed. This course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 030. Writing America in Arabic
This course will explore how Arab writers have fictionalized and narrated their experiences in America since the first major wave of Arab
immigration to the United States in the late 19
th
century until the present day. Readings will be primarily drawn from literary texts, such as
excerpts from novels, short stories, and poetry, but also include autobiographical and editorial pieces. Debates concerning minority status,
women's rights, individual and community identification, tradition versus assimilation, Orientalist and Occidentalist stereotyping, and political
engagement will animate our discussions. Works by Afifa Karam, Abd al-Masih Haddad, Yusuf Idris, Radwa Ashour, Sunallah Ibrahim, Miral al-
Tahawi, Alaa al-Aswani, and others, will be studied. This course is conducted entirely in Arabic.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Fall 2023. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
ARAB 045. Contemporary Thought in the Arab World
(Cross-listed as LITR 045A)
This survey course will trace some of the main themes, problems and issues that have been debated among Arab thinkers and intellectuals since
the latter part of the 19th century. The course will start with the 19th century but emphasize discussions following the military defeat of 1967 and
the ensuing cultural and political crisis. Discussions related to "turath" (heritage), the different strategies of its reading and interpretation, and
the possibilities of using these readings to confront contemporary challenges will be the center of attention of the course. Readings will comprise
three types of texts: those providing historical and social background, translations by the different thinkers under discussion, and articles and
essays that interpret and critique these thinkers.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Courses
Faculty
WOL A KANG, Senior Lecturer
HAILI KONG, Professor and Section Head
CLAIRE LI, Visiting Assistant Professor
BENJAMIN RIDGWAY, Assistant Professor
KIRSTEN E. SPEIDEL, Senior Lecturer
CAIJU WEN, Lecturer
The Academic Program
Students may major or minor in Chinese in both the Course and Honors Programs. The Chinese major contains components of language,
literature and culture. Study abroad is strongly encouraged and supported, and contributes directly to a major or minor in Chinese. Students of
Chinese also may choose a special major in interdisciplinary Chinese studies (see below), or a major in Asian studies (see under Asian Studies),
where Chinese language courses above the first-year level as well as Chinese literature and culture courses and credit for study abroad normally
may be counted toward the major.
Students interested in majoring or minoring in Chinese should consult with the section head of Chinese as soon as possible.
First- through fourth-year Chinese language courses are offered each year, as is an introductory course on reading Classical Chinese. First-year
Chinese and the Introduction to Classical Chinese have no prerequisites and are open to the entire student community. Literature, culture, and
film courses in translation also are offered each year and are open to all students. Students of Chinese are particularly urged to take these
classes as a means of gaining perspective on traditional and modern Chinese literature and culture over more than two millennia, from early
times into the contemporary. Seminars welcome students not majoring or minoring in Chinese, with permission of the instructor.
Introductory and intermediate Chinese language courses are intensive and carry 1.5 credits per semester. Students should plan to take these
courses as early as possible so that studying in China can be incorporated into their curriculum.
Course Major in Chinese
1. A minimum of nine credits in courses numbered 003 and above.
2. Mandatory completion of the following courses: 020, 021, 033 or equivalent; at least one course or seminar on modern Chinese
literature/film in translation, and at least one course or seminar on pre-modern literature/culture in translation.
3. Study abroad in a program approved by the section is strongly recommended; transferred credits normally may be counted toward the
major.
4. A minimum of six credits of work must be completed at Swarthmore.
5. A culminating exercise, honors seminar, or thesis.
6. Senior Colloquium.
Course Minor in Chinese
1. A minimum of five credits of work in courses numbered 004 and above.
2. At least two credits in Chinese language courses numbered 004 and above.
3. At least two credits in classical or modern literature/culture/film.
4. A minimum of three credits of work must be completed at Swarthmore.
5. Study abroad in a program approved by the section is strongly recommended; transferred credits normally may be counted toward the
minor.
6. Senior Colloquium.
Honors Major in Chinese
The Honors Major in Chinese Studies consists of a minumum of ten (10) credits (including four honors preparations). The four preparations in
an Honors Program must be drawn from at least two different disciplines. Requirements for the honors major in Chinese essentially are the same
as those for the course major, excepting the culminating exercise. An honors major in Chinese will consist of examinations in Chinese language,
literature and culture. Work done abroad may be incorporated, where appropriate. Honors preparations in Chinese consist of 2-credit seminar;
designated pairs of courses (or 1-credit attachment to designated 1-credit course); or a 2-credit thesis. Senior honors study is mandatory and
normally is done in the spring semester of the senior year. Work is arranged on an individual basis, and candidates may receive up to one credit
for completion of the work. Honors examinations normally will consist of three 3-hour written examinations and a 30-minute oral for each
examination.
Honors students of Chinese may also consider a special major in interdisciplinary Chinese studies that is coordinated by the section head of
Chinese, or an honors major in Asian studies (see under Asian Studies).
Honors Minor in Chinese
It is possible to prepare for an honors minor in Chinese in either Chinese language or in Chinese literature in translation. Requirements for the
honors minor in Chinese essentially are the same as those for the course minor. The honors preparation will consist of a 2-credit seminar, or a
designated pair of courses (or a 1-credit attachment to a designated 1-credit course). Senior honors study is mandatory and normally is done in
the spring semester of the senior year; work is arranged on an individual basis, and candidates will have the option of receiving 0.5 credit for
completion of the work. The Honors examination normally will consist of one 3-hour written examination and a 30-minute oral examination.
A Chinese Studies Honors Major need not declare a minor in another field. However, a student may designate one of his or her preparations as
an Honors Minor. In that case, the student must fulfill all the requirements set by the relevent department or program for the Honors
Minor. Students of Chinese may also consider an honors minor in Asian studies (see under Asian Studies).
Special Major in Interdisciplinary Chinese Studies
1. A minimum of 10 credits in courses numbered 003 and higher.
2. Must complete the following courses: 012/012A or higher; at least three additional courses on language/literature/culture/film, at
least one of these concerning the modern period and at least one concerning the pre-modern period.
3. Study abroad in a program approved by the section is strongly recommended; transferred credits normally may be counted toward the
major.
4. A minimum of six credits must be completed at Swarthmore.
5. At least one and up to three credits can be earned from other departments on China-related subjects, such as linguistics, sociology,
history, economics, political sciences, environmental studies, art history, etc., with the approval of the Chinese section.
6. A culminating exercise, honors seminar or thesis to complete the degree requirements.
7. Senior Colloquium.
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
1. Complete three credits numbered above 004
2. One of the three credits must be Chinese 033 (classical Chinese)
Off-Campus Study
Study abroad is particularly encouraged for students of Chinese; academic credit (full or partial) is generally approved for participation in
several recommended programs of varying duration in the People's Republic of China and in Taiwan. In the People's Republic, these include, but
are not limited to, the Inter-University Program (IUP) Program at Tsing-hua University, the Princeton in Beijing Program (PIB), the Associated
Colleges in China (ACC) Program, the CET Program in Harbin, and the Middlebury program in Kunming. In Taiwan, these include the
International Chinese Language Program (ICLP) and the Mandarin Training Center in Taipei; and the Chinese Language Center, National
Cheng Kung University in Tainan.
Chinese Courses
CHIN 001. Introduction to Mandarin Chinese
Students who start in the CHIN 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
An intensive introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on oral Chinese practice. Designed to impart an active
command of basic grammar. Introduces 350 to 400 characters and develops the ability to read and write in simple modern Chinese.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Fall 2021. Kang, Speidel.
Fall 2022. Kang, Speidel.
Fall 2023. Kang, Speidel.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 002. Introduction to Mandarin Chinese
Students who start in the CHIN 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
An intensive introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on oral Chinese practice. Designed to impart an active
command of basic grammar. Introduces 350 to 400 characters and develops the ability to read and write in simple modern Chinese.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Spring 2022. Kang, Speidel.
Spring 2023. Kang, Speidel.
Spring 2024. Kang, Speidel.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 003. Second-Year Mandarin Chinese
Designed for students who have mastered basic grammar and 350 to 400 characters. Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading
in the modern language. Emphasis is on rapid expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and thorough understanding of grammatical
patterns. Prepares students for advanced study at the College and in China.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Li, Wen.
Fall 2022. Li, Wen.
Fall 2023. Li, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 004. Second-Year Mandarin Chinese
Designed for students who have mastered basic grammar and 350 to 400 characters. Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading
in the modern language. Emphasis is on rapid expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and thorough understanding of grammatical
patterns. Prepares students for advanced study at the College and in China.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Li, Wen.
Spring 2023. Li, Wen.
Spring 2024. Li, Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 005. Chinese for Advanced Beginners I
Designed for students of Chinese heritage who are able to communicate in Chinese on simple daily life topics and perhaps read Chinese with a
limited vocabulary (about 100 characters). An intensive introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on the development
of reading and writing ability. Prepares students for advanced studies at the College and in China.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 006. Chinese for Advanced Beginners II
Designed for students of Chinese heritage who are able to communicate in Chinese with a command of basic grammar and a vocabulary (about
800 characters). An intensive introduction at the intermediate level to Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on the development of reading and
writing ability. Prepares students for advanced studies at the College and in China.
Prerequisite: CHIN 005 or CHIN 002 or equivalent language skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 007. Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy
(Cross-listed as JPNS 007)
Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting. This course will introduce students to the importance of calligraphy in East Asian Culture. In
addition to being a valuable cultural skill, calligraphy is also a process of self-cultivation and self-expression, which reflects the mind-set of the
writer. Thus, students will have the opportunity to learn Chinese/Japanese characters not only as linguistic symbols but also as cultural emblems
and as an art form. Course objectives include learning to appreciate the beauty of Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, experiencing calligraphy by
writing with a brush and ink, and studying various philosophies of calligraphy. In addition to learning several different calligraphic scripts,
students will be introduced to the origin, evolution, and aesthetic principles of the Chinese and Japanese writing systems, as well as calligraphy's
close connections with painting and poetry. Persistent hands-on practice will be required of all students; course work will include in-class
practice, individual/group instruction, reading assignments, and take-home assignments. This class is open to all students and has no language
requirement. Due to the course's practicum component, enrollment will be limited by lottery to 10 students.
The course can be repeated for credit.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 008. First-Year Seminar: Literary and Cinematic Presentation of Modern China
(Cross-listed as LITR 008CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 011. Third-Year Chinese
Concentrates on strengthening and further developing skills in reading, speaking, and writing modern Chinese, through a diversity of materials
and media.
Classes are conducted in Chinese, with precise translation also a component.
Prerequisite: CHIN 004 or equivalent language skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Ridgway.
Fall 2022. Ridgway.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 011A. Third-Year Chinese Conversation
This course meets once a week for 75 minutes and concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through multimedia
materials (including selected movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and
prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in
Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN 004 or equivalent language skills.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Wen.
Fall 2022. Wen.
Fall 2023. Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 012. Advanced Chinese
A multimedia course concentrating on greatly expanding skills in understanding and using modern Chinese in a broad variety of cultural and
literary contexts, through a diversity of authentic materials in various media, including the Internet.
Prerequisite: CHIN 011 or equivalent language skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Li.
Spring 2023. Li.
Spring 2024. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 012A. Advanced Chinese Conversation
This 0.5-credit course meets once a week for 75 minutes and concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through
multimedia materials (including movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and
prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in
Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN 011 and/or CHIN 011A or equivalent language skills.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Wen.
Spring 2023. Wen.
Spring 2024. Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 015. Intro to East Asian Humanities
(Cross-listed as ASIA 015, LITR 015CH)
This course is a survey of East Asian literatures and cultural histories from antiquity to around 1800. The primary purpose is to provide students
with a basic literacy in East Asian cultures and literatures with substantive emphasis on topics common across East Asia, such as the classical
traditions and cosmology, the Chinese script, Buddhism, the civil service examination, folklore, theater, literature, and medicine. This course is a
colloquium designed to meet the needs of students just beginning their study of China, Japan and Korea, who would like to explore the region
broadly; and those who have already done substantial study of China or Japan and welcome the chance to situate it within the larger context of
traditional East Asia. This course will provide students with information and approaches to analyze primary sources in translation through
assigned postings and short writing assignments.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 020. Readings in Modern Chinese
This course aims to perfect the student's Mandarin Chinese skills and at the same time to introduce a few major topics concerning Chinese
literature and other types of writing since the May Fourth Movement. All readings, writing, and discussion are in Chinese.
Prerequisite: Three years of Chinese or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Fall 2022. Kong.
Fall 2023. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 020A. Chinese Business Conversation
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/Chinese
CHIN 021. Reading and Writing in Modern Chinese
Reading and examination of individual authors, selected themes, genres, and periods, for students with strong Chinese-language proficiency. All
readings, writings, and discussions are in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN 020 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Kong.
Spring 2023. Kong.
Spring 2024. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 021A. Business Conversation in Chinese
This course is aimed to enhance students' language skills in a business context and to promote their understanding about business environment
and culture in contemporary China. The text is developed from real business cases from real multinational companies that have successfully
embarked on the Chinese market. Class will be conducted in Chinese. In addition to the course textbook, students will learn to read business
news in Chinese selected from various sources including Wall Street Journal.
Prerequisite: CHIN 012
CHIN 012A
Equivalent language skills.
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Wen.
Spring 2023. Wen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 023. Modern Chinese Literature: A New Novelistic Discourse (1918-1948)
(Cross-listed as LITR 023CH)
Modern Chinese literary texts created between 1918 and 1948, presenting a series of political, social, cultural, and ideological dilemmas
underlying 20th-century Chinese history. The class will discuss fundamental issues of modernity and new literary developments under the impact
of the May Fourth Movement. All texts are in English translation, and the class is conducted in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 024. History of Chinese Literature: Fiction and Drama
(Cross-listed as LITR 024CH)
This course surveys major narrative and genres, forms and works from the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) through the early twentieth century with an
emphasis on fiction and drama. Readings consist of both primary texts in English translation and secondary critical works. Issues to be
emphasized include print history and format (including illustration), performance context, the relationship between oral and written, vernacular
and classical storytelling, the invention of Chinese literary history as a discipline in the Republican period.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 027. Nature and the Non-Human in Classical Chinese Tales of the Strange
(Cross-listed as LITR 027CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese
(Cross-listed as LING 033)
This is an introductory course on reading one of the world's great classical languages. Classical Chinese includes both the language of China's
classical literature as well as the literary language used for writing in China for well over 2 millennia until earlier this century. Complemented
with readings in English about Chinese characters and classical Chinese, this course imparts the principal structures of the classical language
through an analytical presentation of the rudiments of the language and close reading of original texts. It is not a lecture course and requires
active, regular participation on the part of the student, with precise translation into English an integral component. The course is conducted in
English. The course is open to all interested students and has no prerequisites; no previous preparation in Chinese is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Spring 2023. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 034. Appreciation of Tang-Song Poetry in Chinese
This course will lead students to learn how to read, comprehend, and analyze classical Chinese poetry from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-
1279) dynasties in its original language. Our goals will be to discuss and write about some of the landmark works of classical Chinese literature
in modern Chinese and to become familiar with English language scholarship on major themes in middle-period literary history. We will explore
two key genres of poetry (shi poetry and ci or song lyrics) and the major writers who have had an enduring impact on the Chinese cultural
tradition. Students will learn how to read closely and intensively and how to analyze each work in terms of its formal conventions, it cultural and
historical context, and its relation to other forms or to other individual pieces. Regular assignments include short papers and presentations in
modern Mandarin about classical Chinese poetry, translations of classical Chinese into English, and a final presentation/paper that synthesizes
knowledge of a classical Chinese genre, poet, or theme with the English/Chinese language scholarship on that topic.
Prerequisite: Four years of Chinese or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 036. Women's Literature in Premodern China
(Cross-listed as LITR 036CH)
Contrary to our stereotypes about the silent, invisible woman of premodern China, women actually wrote and published their work in
unprecedented numbers from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. This course will explore the literary and historical significance of
this output, which mainly took the form of poetry and prefaces to poetry collections, letters, some drama, and novels in verse, and which was
produced primarily by gentry women (e.g. women from elite families), courtesans, and nuns. A central theme will be the place and problem of
women's poetry in a male-dominated literary tradition and society. Topics to be addressed include the social function of poetry and women's
literary networks, women's relationship to the publishing market as writers, editors, and readers, the forces driving male interest in women's
writing at certain historical moments, and the changing ideas about what kinds of styles of past poets should be offered to boudoir poets as a
repertoire of available choices to read and imitate.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 037. Text and Image: Classical Chinese Poetry and Painting
(Cross-listed as LITR 037CH)
Combining some of the greatest works of Chinese poetry with approaches and visual materials from the history of Chinese landscape painting, in
this course we will examine the changing use of landscape as a medium to express different philosophical and social meanings by competing
social groups across historical periods from early times to the 13th century. In the first half of this course, we will see how natural landscape in
poetry became a medium for conveying a range different ideals and problems: official service and reclusion in the countryside, Daoist liberation
and Buddhist enlightenment, the sorrows of war on the frontier or travel into exile. In the second half of this course, we then apply our
knowledge of Chinese poetry to interpreting a series of paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1279). This period is the golden age of Chinese
landscape painting. It saw the emergence of literati-painters who, much like the great painters of the Renaissance, argued that painting
possessed the same expressive power as poetry. We will explore the ways they employed painting to comment on an unprecedented range of
issues, including government affairs, the role of women in society, the relation of private to public life, as well as the experience of dynastic
collapse and war.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST, ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 055. Contemporary Chinese Cinema: The New Waves (1984-2005)
(Cross-listed as LITR 055CH, FMST 055)
Cinema has become a special form of cultural mirror representing social dynamics and drastic changes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan since the mid-1980s. The course will develop a better understanding of changing Chinese culture by analyzing cinematic texts and the
new wave in the era of globalization. All films are English subtitled, and the class is conducted in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 086. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as LITR 086CG, ENVS 052)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerable food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more ecologically
friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more traditional diets and
redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR and US food
conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class (Environmental
Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Recommended: some knowledge of Chinese culture or language
Prerequisite: The course has no prerequisite; some knowledge of Chinese culture or language is preferred but not required.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 086A. Attachment: Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
Attachment course for students reading in Chinese enrolled in CHIN 086.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 087. Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.
(Cross-listed as POLS 087, ENVS 037)
Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21
st
century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing
and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users,
between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh
water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution;
groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management;
wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. What role do governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs and grassroots
citizens' movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management.
Chinese language ability desirable but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 087A. Attachment: Policies and Issues of Fresh Water Resources in China/Taiwan
(Cross-listed as ENVS 037A)
This is an attachment to CHIN 087. Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work
will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professor Nackenoff and another faculty member, and will include specific Chinese language
training in vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 088. Governance and Environmental Issues in China
(Cross-listed as POLS 088A )
This course examines China's environmental challenges and the range of governmental policies and institutions that have an impact on those
challenges. Topics include air pollution, food supply, energy consumption, urbanization, and environmental activism. Special attention will be
given to the transformation of Beijing and other major cities, to China's policy-making process, and the role of environmental NGOs and global
institutions in shaping domestic policy outcomes. Literary works (Chinese novels and short stories) and feature films/documentary films
reflecting environmental issues will be combined with readings from social science and environmental science to provide an interdisciplinary
perspective
All required readings/screenings are in English or English translation/subtitled. Chinese language ability is preferred, but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 088A. Attachment: Governance and Environmental Issues in China
(Cross-listed as POLS 088A )
This is an attachment to CHIN 088. Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work
will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professors Kong and White, and will include specific Chinese language training in
vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 089. Tea in China: Cultural and Environmental Perspectives.
Tea is a longstanding and vital constituent of Chinese culture, and also has had a marked and pervasive presence in other parts of the world.
This course will focus on "Tea in China" through three major aspects: the cultural, social, and historical; tea cultivation and the natural
environment; and the economies of tea. Literary writings and films will be combined with other relevant readings and audio-visual materials for
the class. Tea experts and professionals will offer guest lectures to enhance our understanding of tea from bio-ecological and botanical
perspectives. As a component of this interdisciplinary cultural course, students will have the chance to participate in"sipping culture," and will
taste major kinds of tea from Mainland China and Taiwan during the semester.
All required readings/screenings are in English or English translation/subtitled. Chinese language ability will be an asset, but it is not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 089A. Attachment: Tea in China: Cultural and Environmental Perspectives
This is an attachment to CHIN 089. Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work
will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professors Kong and Berkowitz, and will include specific Chinese language training in
vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 090. Practicum in Bridging Swarthmore and Local Chinese Communities
This is a service-learning course. Students are required to provide community service to our neighboring immigrant community-Philadelphia's
Chinatown-through an internship with a NPO in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Asian American diaspora and their social issues in
the context of contemporary global migration. Besides the mandatory community-based service (a minimum of 3 hours per week, excluding
transportation time), students will also read academic literature, keep an internship journal and write reflection papers to integrate their
learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. The outcome project for this course is to build a digital archive to document the
community, individual immigrants and residents, social activities and changes around Philadelphia's Chinatown. The working language in the
local NPO office is English, but knowledge of Mandarin or regional dialects is a plus for working with the Chinese American community.
Graded CR/NC.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 091. Special Topics in English
(Cross-listed as LITR 091CH)
Special Topics
Fall 2022 Topic: Representing Colonial Taiwan: Public Space in Print
Fall 2023 Topic: Movement and Migration
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT, PEAC
Fall 2021. Li.
Fall 2022. Li.
Fall 2023. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 093. Directed Reading
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 096. Thesis
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 099. Senior Colloquium
0.5 - 1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Kong.
Spring 2023. Li.
Spring 2024. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Seminars
CHIN 103. Lu Xun and His Legacy in 20th- Century China
This seminar is focused on topics concerning modernity, political/social change, gender, and morality through close examination of intellectuals'
responses to the chaotic era reflected in their literature writings in 20th-century China. Literary forms, styles, and changing aesthetic principles
are also included for discussion. Literary texts, chosen from Lu Xun to Gao Xingjian, will be analyzed in a social and historical context. All texts
are in English translation, and the seminar is conducted in English.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2023. Kong.
Spring 2024. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 105. Chinese Theater Seminar
This seminar introduces history of Chinese theater from its emergence as a full-fledged art form in the 10th-11th centuries (the Northern Song)
up through its incorporation into modern urban life and nationalist discourse in the first decades of the 20th century (the Republican period). In
addition to reading selections from masterpieces of Chinese dramatic literature, we will pay particular attention to the different types of venues,
occasions, and performance practices at different moments in time. A central theme will be the cultural meaning associated with acting. All texts
to be read in English translation, but students with reading knowledge of Chinese are encouraged to read items in the original. (*At least one
special workshop training students in traditional performing art will be arranged.)
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 108. The Remaking of Cinematic China: Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee
The seminar focuses on three leading filmmakers, Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee, and their cinematic products, which have not only
won international praises but also fundamentally reconstructed the national/regional cinemas and tremendously challenged the international film
industry. Through Zhang's magic lens, Wong's avant-garde imagination, and Lee's transnational vision, their bold cinematic reconfigurations
have been speeding up the transformation of Chinese cinema, and at the same time China itself has been represented in a new light on the world
stage. The seminar will explore their impact on the formation of the new wave of Chinese-language films after the mid-1980s and its recent new
developments. More importantly, we will cultivate our critical thinking skills and research abilities; and train our eyes to able to read cinematic
messages and decode cinematographic patterns.
All discussions will be conducted in English, and all films have English subtitles and readings are in English. Knowledge of China and basic film
theory are preferred, but not required.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST.
Fall 2022. Kong.
Fall 2023. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 137. Senior Seminar: Love & Illusion in Dream of the Red Chamber
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: https://swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 199. Senior Honors Study
0.5
Spring 2022. Kong.
Spring 2023. Kong, Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Chinese Courses Not Currently Offered
CHIN 008. First-Year Seminar: Literary and Cinematic Presentation of Modern China
(Cross-listed as LITR 008CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 016. Substance, Shadow, and Spirit in Chinese Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 016CH)
This course will explore the literary and intellectual world of traditional Chinese culture through original writings in English translation,
including both poetry and prose. Topics to be discussed include Taoism, Confucianism, and the contouring of Chinese culture; immortality, wine,
and allaying the mundane; and the religious dimension, disengagement, and the appreciation of the natural world. The course also will address
cultural and literary formulations of conduct and persona, and the expression of individualism in an authoritarian society.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 025. Contemporary Chinese Fiction: Mirror of Social Change (1949-2005)
(Cross-listed as LITR 025CH)
The purpose of this course is to introduce to students some fundamental questions underlying contemporary Chinese history through examining
literary narratives created from Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong since 1949, mainly those written between the mid-1980s and the 1990s. The
selected stories and novels, the most representative and provocative, articulate the historical specificity of ideological dilemma and cultural
dynamics, in the imaginary process of dealing with love, politics, sex, morality, economic reform, and feminist issues. Through our textual
analysis and discussion, the students will have a better understanding of contemporary Chinese society as well as new developments in
literature. All lectures and discussions will be conducted in English, and all readings are in English translation, and no previous preparation in
Chinese is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 056. History of Chinese Cinema (1905- 2005)
(Cross-listed as LITR 055CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
CHIN 071. Invaded Ideology and Translated Modernity: A Comparative Study of Modern Chinese and
Japanese Literatures at Their Formative Stages (1900-1937)
(Cross-listed as LITR 071CH)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Courses
Faculty
JEAN-VINCENT BLANCHARD, Professor
ALEXANDRA GUEYDAN-TUREK, Associate Professor
2
MICHELINE RICE-MAXIMIN, Associate Professor
CARINA YERVASI, Associate Professor and Section Head
ANNE-SOPHIE JUBIN, Lecturer
ARNAUD COURGEY, Visiting Lecturer
2 Absent on leave, spring 2021.
In French and Francophone Studies, you will learn French and acquire global competence in the Francophone world. You are introduced to
modern France and a variety of French-speaking countries such as Algeria, Belgium, Haiti, and Senegal. You can develop an in-depth critical
and comparative understanding of the textual, filmic, and cultural productions of each of these regions. Our courses also pay careful attention to
the major historical, social, and political developments that have shaped France, and its former colonies, thus providing an opportunity to
understand the forces underlying these various cultures, literatures, and films. You will also expand your knowledge of the diversity of French-
speaking countries. In our program, you can explore interests as diverse as critical theory, film studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, or
the Islamic world, and work directly with primary sources in their original language.
The Academic Program
French and Francophone Studies is offered as a major or minor in the Course Program and as a major or minor in Honors. The prerequisite to
take upper-level courses (numbered 20 and higher) for both course and honors students is FREN 014 or FREN 015, the equivalent, or evidence
of special competence.
All French and Francophone Studies majors and minors, including students preparing a secondary school certificate, should complete a study
abroad program in a French-speaking country.
Majors and minors in the Course and Honors Programs are expected to be proficient in spoken and written French, and to do the larger part of
their work in French, i.e., discussions and papers in courses and seminars and all oral and written examinations, including oral defense of the
senior paper and Honors examinations.
Learning Goals
The French and Francophone Studies Program seamlessly articulates the acquisition of French linguistic skills with cultural and literary
knowledge and sensitivity throughout our 4-year curriculum. We provide students with global competence in the Francophone world through an
innovative curriculum that combines national and transnational Francophone literatures, cultures and histories, with an emphasis on modern
and contemporary periods. Students build a cross-cultural understanding with the goal of participating in an increasingly interconnected world.
Starting with our French language courses (Fr 1 through 14), students are introduced to modern France and a variety of French-speaking
countries such as Algeria, Belgium, Haiti and Senegal. In our advanced courses (Fr 40 and above), students develop an in-depth, critical and
comparative understanding of the textual, filmic, and cultural productions of each of these regions. We aim to:
(A) Make students proficient in the four fundamental language competencies (listening, reading, speaking and writing), as well as develop a fifth,
cultural competency, through explorations of culture and society in France and the Francophone World. This is a substantial element in
achieving global competence as described above.
Fr 1 through Fr 14: In the intensive French language sequence (Fr 1 through 14), students develop an advanced proficiency in the five
competencies delineated above. For further details on the language sequence, how it relates to internationally recognized standards,
and proficiency as it relates to study abroad, contact the French section head.
Fr 15 W and Fr 16: These written and aural/oral competencies are further refined. Students develop a sensibility to literary, filmic,
cultural, and socio-political questions in modern French and Francophone societies. They learn to produce coherent, logical and
persuasive arguments from a variety of texts and films, and learn to adopt different formats for that purpose (explication de texte,
rédaction, research paper, and opEd).
Fr 40 and above: Students demonstrate an extensive and intentional grappling with the topic of the course. They are further introduced
to comparative methodologies and scholarly criticism, and learn to consistently articulate their reflection in persuasive ways and
support their opinions through evidence.
Seminars Fr 100 and above: Students master critical thinking and demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the course topic through student-
led discussions and research papers.
Capstone Fr 91 W: Majors and minors demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the mechanics of scholarly research (develop a valid
research question and a rigorous and coherent argument, craft an abstract, investigate secondary sources, develop a bibliographical
apparatus). The goal of this competency includes the writing in French of an original, independent research paper of 20/30 pages on a
topic chosen in discussion with the senior colloquium professor.
(B) Expand student's knowledge of the diversity of French-speaking cultures by:
1. Developing an appreciation of literary value and filmic expression.
2. Developing an appreciation of how French and Francophone writers and artists continue a rich tradition, which has brought the
world some of its most influential literary, philosophical, critical, and cinematographic works.
(C) Sharpen knowledge and understanding of the major historical, social, and political developments that have shaped France and other
Francophone countries, thus providing an opportunity to understand the forces underlying these various cultures, literatures, and films.
Course Major
Requirements
1. Complete eight advanced courses or seminars numbered 014 or above for a minimum of 8 credits. Note that AP and IB credits will not
count toward the major. FREN 016 can only count once to fulfill the major's requirement. French and Francophone Studies also
offers courses in French literature in translation, but no more than one such course may count to satisfy the requirements in the
major.
2. Off-campus study is required for all majors. Students who participate in preapproved programs may only count 3 credits toward their
major. See the "Off-Campus Study" section for rules on transfer of credit.
3. Take Senior Colloquium (FREN 091) in the senior year. This includes the writing of an original, independent research paper of 30
pages on a topic chosen in discussion with the senior colloquium professor and adviser or one other professor in the program. The
defense of the paper with the entire French and Francophone faculty takes place at the end of the spring semester.
To graduate with a major in French and Francophone Studies, students must have a grade average of C or better within the discipline, have
studied in a French-speaking country, and have completed our culminating exercise (FREN 091 ), described above.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a course major, students must have taken French 014 or the equivalent, earning grades no less than a C.
Course Minor
Requirements
1. Complete 5 credits in courses or seminars numbered 014 or above. Three of these credits must be completed on the Swarthmore
campus (See #2 below). Note that AP and IB credits will not count toward the minor. FREN 016 can only count once to fulfill the
minor's requirement. French and Francophone Studies also offers courses in French literature in translation, but no more than one
such course may count to satisfy the requirements in the minor.
2. Minors are strongly encouraged to complete at least a six-week summer program of study in a French-speaking country. Students who
participate in preapproved programs may only count two credits toward their minor. See the "off-campus study" section for rules on
transfer of credit.
3. Complete Senior Colloquium (FREN 091) in the senior year, which includes the writing of an original, independent research paper of
20 pages on a topic chosen in discussion with the senior colloquium professor.
To graduate with a minor in French and Francophone studies, you must have a grade average of C or better within the discipline, studied in
French-speaking country, and have completed FREN 091 Senior Colloquium.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a course minor, you must have taken French 014 or the equivalent, earning grades no less than a C.
Honors Major
Requirements
Majors in the Honors Program are expected to complete the requirements of majors in course, including taking Senior Colloquium (FREN 091)
in the senior year.
1. Complete eight advanced courses or seminars numbered 014 or above for a minimum of 8 credits. Note that AP and IB credits will not
count toward the honors major. FREN 016 can only count once to fulfill the Honors major's requirement.
2. Off-campus study in a francophone country, for one semester is required for all honors majors. See the "off-campus study" section for
rules on transfer of credit.
3. Complete one advanced course with a Francophone component.
4. Complete Senior Colloquium (FREN 091) in the senior year. This includes the writing of an original, independent research paper of
30 pages on a topic chosen in discussion with the senior colloquium professor and adviser or one other professor in the program. The
defense of the paper with the entire French and Francophone faculty takes place at the end of the spring semester.
Complete at least one advanced course (above FREN 015) before taking a seminar.
Work on three preparations, two of which must be done through seminars while the third may be a seminar, a two-credit thesis, or an approved
paired course preparation.
French and Francophone Studies also offers courses in French literature in translation but no more than one such course may count to satisfy
the requirements in the honors major.
The Honors Exam for Majors and Preparations
Majors in the Honors Program must do three preparations (consisting of six units of credit). Two of the preparations should be done through
seminars chosen from the list below. The third preparation may be a seminar, a two-credit thesis, or an approved paired course preparation.
Mode of Examination:
A three-hour written examination, and a one-half hour oral examination, both in French, will be required for each preparation.
Acceptance Criteria
Candidates are expected to have a "B" average in course work both in the department and at the College, have taken FREN 014 or the
equivalent, and have demonstrated interest in and aptitude for the study of literature or culture in the original language.
Honors Minor
Requirements
Minors in the Honors Program are expected to complete the requirements of minors in course, including taking Senior Colloquium (FREN 091)
in the senior year.
1. Complete 5 credits in courses or seminars numbered 014 or above. Three of these credits must be completed on the Swarthmore
campus. Note that AP and IB credits will not count toward the Honors minor. FREN 016 can only count once to fulfill the Honors
minor's requirement. French and Francophone Studies also offers courses in French literature in translation but no more than one
such course may count to satisfy the requirements in the honors minor.
2. Complete at least a six-week program of study in a French-speaking country. It is strongly recommended that honors minors spend at
least one semester abroad. See the "off-campus study" section for rules on transfer of credit.
3. Complete Senior Colloquium (FREN 091) in the senior year, which includes the writing of an original, independent research paper of
20 pages on a topic chosen in discussion with the senior colloquium professor.
4. Complete at least one advanced course (above FREN 015) before taking a seminar.
5. Work on one two-credit seminar preparation or an approved paired course preparation.
The Honors Exam for Minors and Preparations
Minors must complete a single, two-credit seminar preparation (consisting of two units of credit) or an approved paired course preparation.
Mode of Examination
A three-hour written examination, and a one-half hour oral examination, both in French, will be required for the preparation.
Acceptance Criteria
Candidates are expected to have a "B" average in course work both in the department and at the College, have taken FREN 014 or the
equivalent, and have demonstrated interest in and aptitude for the study of literature or culture in the original language.
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
1. Complete three credits numbered 014 or above
2. Two of the three credits must be completed on the Swarthmore Campus. Note that AP and IB credits will not count toward the credit
requirement and FREN 016 can only be counted once.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
The culminating exercise in French and Francophone studies consists of completing FREN 091 Senior Colloquium in which you will write an
independent research thesis of 20-30 pages and defend it in front of a panel of faculty members.
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
To apply for a major or minor in French and Francophone Studies, speak with the chair or one of your professors in French and Francophone
Studies to discuss your options and then follow the process described by the Dean's and Registrar's Offices for your Sophmore Plan.
If after applying you are deferred, you may apply again in the spring by addressing the reasons for your deferral.
Off-Campus Study
NB. Due to COVID-19 and related issues, we are fully aware of the difficulties of undertaking off-campus study in a Francophone country, we
will adapt our expectations of the off-campus study requirement for the major and minor accordingly by asking students to select a project in lieu
of study abroad.
Please contact the French and Francophone Studies section head: Prof. Carina Yervasi, cyervas1@swarthmore.edu
Study abroad programs are vital to the French and Francophone program. Majors may count up to 3 credits toward their French major. Minors
may count 2 of these credits toward their French minor. Any student who wishes to receive more than one credit from study abroad must take a
1- or 2- credit advanced course in French and Francophone Studies numbered 40 or higher in the semester in which they return to
campus. Students should contact a French faculty member to obtain the current list of preapproved programs. Students wishing to seek credit
from other disciplines must consult the rules in the appropriate credit-granting department. There are also other options to study abroad
available to students who have completed course work above the equivalent of fourth semester.
Any student attending a preapproved program in a non-francophone country, and planning to enroll in a French course there, may petition for
one credit upon their return to campus. To earn this credit, students must take a one-credit French course in the semester immediately following
their return to campus.
Preapproved Summer Programs
Any student may study in a preapproved summer program that is at least 6 weeks long and earn 1 credit in MLL (French). Only Minors in
French and Francophone studies may have this credit count towards the completion of their course requirements.
Research and Service-Learning Opportunities
Both independent research and service-learning student-teaching are important ways to continue using your language and critical analysis skills.
Summer Opportunities
Students are encouraged to use the summer to travel to Francophone countries and explore research for their senior thesis papers. Please speak
with French and Francophone studies faculty to find out about options for doing this summer work.
Teacher Certification
Students may choose to use French and Francophone studies as a specialization in a teacher certification program or for a special major in
educational studies. Although students may develop their own course of study, they must complete FREN 015, or the equivalent, and study
abroad for at least one semester in a French-speaking country.
Life After Swarthmore
Opportunities for a major/minor in French and Francophone studies after graduation are varied. Our curriculum provides students with
valuable skills in cultural analysis, communication in another language, and the ability to understand and adapt to cross-cultural situations.
Many majors and minors in French and Francophone studies continue their research with Fulbright awards, go to graduate school, law school,
medical school, and follow diverse career paths in teaching, journalism, business, and NGOs. Recent French and Francophone alumni who are
Fulbright recipients are continuing their studies in France, Africa, and the Middle East; those who have gone to graduate school are studying
French, library science, comparative literature, ethnomusicology, history, educational policy, public policy, and public health. Many alumni are
in the arts, education, journalism, medicine, law, business, and international affairs, among other fields.
French and Francophone Studies Courses
The following courses are taught in French. For courses on French and Francophone content taught in English, see the section on Modern
Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation.
FREN 001. Elementary French 1
This course sequence (FREN 001-002) is intended for students who begin French in college. FREN 001 meets three days per week. Designed to
impart an active command of the language, this course is taught in French and combines the study of grammar with listening, writing, reading
and oral practice (speaking). The speaking practice and pronunciation workshops (FREN 013 courses: Atelier and Phonétique) are required
attachments to this course. Introduction to literary and expository prose, films, and other authentic media are used to enhance students' language
acquisition skills as well as to develop an understanding of the diverse cultures of the French-speaking world. FREN 001 is offered in the fall
semester only.
Prerequisite: Students who start in the FREN 001-002 sequence must complete FREN 002 to receive credit for FREN 001.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Jubin, Gueydan-Turek.
Fall 2022. Courgey.
Fall 2023. Jubin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 002. Elementary French 2
This course is intended for students who may have had a little French prior to college or who are continuing from FREN 001. FREN 002 meets
three days per week. Designed to further develop an active command of the language, this course is taught in French and combines the study of
grammar with listening, writing, reading and oral practice (speaking). The speaking practice and pronunciation workshops (FREN 013 courses:
Atelier and Phonétique) are required attachments to this course. Introduction to literary and expository prose, films, and other authentic
media are used to enhance students' language acquisition skills as well as to develop an understanding of the diverse cultures of the French-
speaking world. FREN 002 is offered fall and spring semesters.
Prerequisite: Students who start in the FREN 001-002 sequence must complete FREN 002 to receive credit for FREN 001.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Courgey.
Spring 2022. Courgey.
Fall 2022. Courgey.
Spring 2023. Courgey.
Fall 2023. Courgey.
Spring 2024. Courgey.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 003. Intermediate French
This third semester course is designed to build on the structures learned in elementary FREN 001 and FREN 002 or for students who have
studied French prior to college. FREN 003 meets three days per week. It is taught in French. It combines grammar with oral practice (speaking),
listening, writing, and reading toward the goal of proficiency. The speaking practice and pronunciation workshops (FREN 013 courses: Atelier
and Phonétique) are required attachments to this course. Literature, articles, film, music, and other authentic media produced in French are used
to hone language skills and improve communication as well as to provide contexts for understanding the diverse cultures of the French-speaking
world. FREN 003 is offered fall and spring semesters.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Courgey.
Spring 2022. Jubin.
Fall 2022. Courgey.
Spring 2023. Jubin.
Fall 2023. Courgey.
Spring 2024. Jubin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 006. Elementary French Conversation
An elementary conversation course concentrating on developing students' ability to speak French. Only open to students who have had or are
currently enrolled in FREN 001, 002, 003, or 014. May be taken twice. Does not count to fulfill major/minor credit requirements.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Jubin
Spring 2022. Jubin
Fall 2022. Courgey.
Spring 2023. Jubin.
Fall 2023. Blanchard.
Spring 2024. Courgey.
FREN 013. L'Atelier: French Oral Production Workshop
"L'Atelier" (FREN 13.001, 13.002, 13.003) is a mandatory recorded speaking practice workshop attachment to all elementary and intermediate
French-language courses that takes place once every two weeks. Several 60-minute sessions will be offered to maximize student participation. It
is designed with a dual purpose of reinforcing grammatical structures and thematic vocabulary being studied in the main course and with a view
to long-term benefits in terms of enhanced fluency, pronunciation and intonation practice, phonetic accuracy, and general speaking and listening
skills. These include increased confidence and autonomy in spoken communication, both in the form of one-way speaking and two-way
interaction since many activities simulate real-life dialogues. After being provided with a different online worksheet each time, students will
record themselves when ready and submit their recordings electronically. Each student's audio file will then be graded, and feedback will be
provided for content, grammar, and phonetic review. FREN 013 is offered fall and spring semesters.
Humanities.
0 credit.
Fall 2021. Courgey.
Spring 2022. Courgey.
Fall 2022. Courgey.
Spring 2023. Courgey.
Fall 2023. Courgey.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 013A. Phonétique
"Phonétique" is a mandatory pronunciation workshop attachment to all elementary and intermediate French-language courses. Sessions meet
several times over the course of the semester. Students in advanced courses who want help with pronunciation may also register for this
workshop as an attachment. Sessions reinforce speaking with phonetic accuracy and correct pronunciation and intonation with the goal of
enhanced fluency in communication. FREN 013A is offered fall and spring semesters.
Humanities.
0 credit.
Fall 2021. Courgey
Spring 2022. Jubin
Fall 2022. Courgey
Spring 2023. Jubin
FREN 014. Advanced French I: La France et le monde francophone contemporain
This course gives students the opportunity to develop French language skills through explorations of culture and society in France and the
Francophone World. Particular attention will be paid to oral communication, grammar review, and analytical skills in written French. FREN
003 or placement required.
This class is the first part of the two-part sequence: French 14. Advanced French I - French 15. Advanced French II.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Jubin.
Spring 2022. Jubin.
Fall 2022. Jubin.
Spring 2023. Jubin.
Fall 2023. Jubin.
Spring 2024. Jubin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 015. Advanced French II: La France et le monde francophone contemporain (W course)
This course gives students the opportunity to further develop French language skills through the study of articles, essays, and images. Engage in
reading, discussing, and writing about cultural and visual texts selected from ads, newspapers, literature, television shows, comic strips, videos,
and film from France and the Francophone World. Controverses (textbook) will be used for learning in-depth the art of writing in French.
Particular attention will be paid to oral and written communication and cultural analysis. FREN 014 or placement required.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Spring 2022. Robison.
Fall 2022. Robison.
Spring 2023. Yervasi.
Fall 2023. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 016. French Conversation: Special Topics
An intermediate to advanced-level conversation course concentrating on improving students' ability to speak French through the discovery of
topics relevant to the contemporary Francophone world. May be taken twice with a different instructor, but may only count once to fulfill
major/minor credit requirements.
Prerequisite: For students previously enrolled in FREN 014 or above.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Robison.
Spring 2022. Jubin.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Yervasi.
Fall 2023. Robison.
Spring 2024. Jubin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 017C. First Year Seminar: Contemporary French Graphic Novels
(Cross-listed as LITR 017FC)
This course examines how contemporary graphic novels in French and their aesthetic innovations have helped translate and magnify serious and
pressing questions that continue to shape political and social life in France and the world at large.
Our readings will address themes ranging from the colonial legacy and the wars in the Middle East to the quest for visibility by immigrants and
LGBTQ individuals. Finally, we will analyze how visual adaptations-whether cinematic adaptations of graphic novels or graphic adaptations of
movies and novels-reshape their original sources and adapt them to a new purpose.
(Conducted in English. Texts in Translation.)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Fall 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 017D. First Year Seminar: The French Philosophical Novel
(Cross-listed as LITR 017FD)
From the eighteenth century to the present day, French literature has a rich tradition of authors who are at once novelists and philosophers.
From the Enlightenment tales of Voltaire and Diderot, to the materialist metaphysics underlying Balzac's Realism, to the existentialist works of
Sartre and Beauvoir, to the relational ontology of Glissant's postcolonial literary universe, several of the central figures of French letters have
turned to the novel both as a platform for showcasing their philosophical systems and as a vessel to give shape and meaning to these very
systems. The following course proposes to study the interdependence between the novelistic and philosophical enterprises of these authors in
order to explore fundamental questions tied to knowledge, identity, and justice. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Balzac, Gide, Camus, Sartre,
Beauvoir, Glissant.
(Conducted in English. Texts in Translation.)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Spring 2023. Robison.
Fall 2023. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 041. Guerre et paix dans la littérature française
Through a study of the representations of war and peace in French literature from the 19th and 20th centuries, this course examines the evolving
attitudes that intellectuals have held towards pacifist ideologies and violent conflicts, as well as the ethical and aesthetic influences that mass
violence has had on their writings. The class will approach this topic from a variety of critical perspectives, including (1) studies of the emotional
consequences of trauma, mourning, and shame, (2) a study of the interconnection of societal constructions of gender with representations of
conflict and peace, and (3) a discussion of the rise of intellectuals in the face of injustice. Works covered will include testimonies, memoirs,
fictional literature and popular culture, bringing together authors such as Balzac, Zola, Camus, Sartre, Duras, and Tardi. Taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST
Fall 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/academic-program
FREN 045A. Le monde fancophone: Littératures afro-caribéennes
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or placement required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 045B. La France et le Maghreb
This course examines the relationship between France and the Maghreb, two cultural spaces that are simultaneously united and divided by their
common violent colonial history. Through the study of novels, films, art work and theoretical texts, we will trace the evolution of this conflicted
relationship from the 1950's to present times. We will focus, in particular, on the following topics: (post) colonialism and nationalism, diglossia
and Francophonie, gendered representation, immigration and exile, transculturation and globalization.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 045C. Etonnante Haïti: littérature et cultures.
Studying the literary and cultural traditions of Haiti is the point of departure to examine the historical place of the first independent black
Republic and its successful slave revolt, with particular attention to its impact on the French Antilles and the world. Parallel readings of works
by CLR James, Césaire, Fanon, Glissant among others.
Has a Francophone component.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 045D. Le monde francophone: Cinémas africains
This course is an introduction to the filmmakers and history of Francophone West African cinemas, including film, video, and new media.
Students will study the history and culture of this region, be introduced to key film concepts, and develop their ability to do in-depth film analysis.
Students must attend weekly screenings.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, FMST, GLBL-paired
Spring 2024. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 049. Le roman psychologique du 19è siècle
The French novel witnessed a series of formal innovations throughout the nineteenth century that went hand in hand with developments in the
fields of psychology and psychiatry. In the first half of the century, novelists like Stendhal and Honoré de Balzac revolutionized the novel in ways
that allowed for new levels of psychological depth, placing an emphasis on inner monologues, the sometimes-conflicting impulses motivating
their characters, and detailed observations of the minutiae of everyday behavior. Building off these aesthetic innovations, novelists of the second
half of the century pushed these psychological studies still further, turning directly to (and sometimes against) the work of psychiatrists,
neurologists, and criminologists for inspiration-explicit and implicit references to the theories of Charcot, Lombroso, and Krafft-Ebing abound in
the pages of the Realist, Naturalist, and Decadent authors constituting the corpus of this class. The following course will explore the dialogue
that takes place between literature and psychology throughout the nineteenth century, tracking the novel's shift from broad depictions of madness
to more nuanced psychiatric diagnoses and even sympathetic depictions of various psychological states that speak to contemporary discussions
around neurodiversity. Authors include: Chateaubriand, Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Maupassant, Baudelaire, Rachilde (in addition to
excerpts from primary sources of nineteenth-century psychology).
Taught in French.
Prerequisite: Fr 15 or with instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 050. Nature/Culture
This course will examine a collection of literary and cinematic works that explore the idea of a nature/culture dichotomy, calling into question
both what it means to be human and what it means to be natural. Topics include: the interplay between human beings and their environment;
animal studies/animal ethics; the idea of human nature (and its critics). Authors and directors include: Rousseau, Hugo, Zola, Maupassant,
Vivien, Huysmans, Colette, Truffaut, Bresson, among others. Taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Robison.
Spring 2024. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
FREN 051. Littérature et médecine
We will study portrayals of doctors and their interactions with patients in works by authors such as Molière, Flaubert, and Proust-hence,
this course also functions as a general introduction to French literature. What is at stake when physicians interact with patients? How can
patients exist both as human beings and as objects of science? We will seek to understand how the dialogue between doctors and patients exists
as a text, and how literature can be understood as therapeutic. At the end of the semester, students will meet with a "real," practicing physician to
draw further conclusions from their readings.
Taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or with instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Blanchard.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 071. Frictions: Francophone Literature from the Arab World
We will examine novels from the Arab World, written in French, in order to explore and question francophone literature's ability to reflect,
bolster, and interrogate the postcolonial nation. We will discuss (1) evolving notions of diglossia, Francophonie and world literature, and the
role that French has come to play in voicing socio-cultural dissatisfaction, (2) how the changing realities of transnational migration challenge
the postcolonial nation-state, (3) and the extent to which oppositional discourses run the risk of being commodified and participate in the
'postcolonial exotic.' Readings will be drawn from across the Maghreb, with particular attention paid to new voices that were catalyzed by
periods of political unrest, including the Algerian war of Liberation, its decade-long civil war, the "Lead years" in Morocco and the 2011
Tunisian revolution.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 073. Postwar France: French New Wave
Crosslisted with FMST 052.
This course is an in-depth exploration of the development and evolution of the French New Wave in postwar France. We will concentrate on the
history of the New Wave in France from the 1950s through the late 1960s by the close study of the styles of individual filmmakers, the "film
movement" as perceived by critics, and the New Wave's contribution to modernizing France. The primary emphasis will be on the stylistic, socio-
political, and cultural dimensions of the New Wave,
and the filmmakers and critics most closely associated with the movement. Directors who were once all film critics for the magazine Cahiers du
Cinéma will be studied along side other important filmmakers of the era.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 074. The Shadow of the Enlightenment
(Cross-listed as LITR 074F)
The following course offers a critical examination of the central ideas guiding the French Enlightenment, paying particularly close attention to
the notion of "otherness" underlying the Enlightenment project-that is, that which is facilely left out in the eighteenth century's valorization of
reason. In opposition to the Enlightenment idea of the rational man is the irrational animal, a binary that materialist thinkers like La Mettrie and
Condillac are quick to blur; in opposition to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (the crowning civil rights document from the
French Revolution) is Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, a text that criticizes eighteenth-century
gender inequalities; in opposition to the Enlightenment's enormous blind spots surrounding race is Claire de Duras' Ourika, a novel that decries
the pervasive racism of the eighteenth century. Throughout the semester, we will study the novels, essays, and dialogues that shape the major
ideas of the Enlightenment (and the revolutionary modes of thinking that accompany it), while also studying that which lies in the shadow of the
Enlightenment. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Condillac, La Mettrie, Gouges, Duras.
(Conducted in English. Texts in translation.)
Students with knowledge of French may read the works in the original. There is a 0.5 credit French Attachment FREN 074A for students reading
in French.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 074A. Attachment: The Shadow of the Enlightenment
Crosslisted with FREN 074.
This is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French who are taking LITR 074F.
Humanities
0.5 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 091. Senior Capstone (W course)
This course will be dedicated to discussions of the various topics chosen by majors and minors for their senior thesis. Although this course is
required of French/Francophone majors and minors, it is open to other advanced students.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Robison.
Spring 2023. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 093. Directed Reading
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 096. Thesis
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 104. Honors Seminar: La littérature et les sciences de la vie au 19e siècle
This course will explore the 19th-century French novel's manifold engagement with contemporaneous life sciences in order to track how the
literary practices of the period were shaped by the century's rapidly shifting biological paradigms. The course material is threefold: 1) it will
consider primary sources of 19-century life sciences (from Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck's early evolutionary model of transformism, to Claude
Bernard's experimental physiology, to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection); 2) it will draw from a collection of novelists, all of whom
made extensive implicit and explicit references to the sciences of their day (texts by Saint-Pierre, Sand, Balzac, Zola, Rachilde, and Flaubert);
and 3) it will rely upon a wide range of critical lenses coming from present-day scholarship in ecocriticism/ecofeminism, animal studies,
postmodern philosophy, and critical histories of science (excerpts of texts by Foucault, Deleuze, Haraway, Latour, Thiher, and Weil). Taught in
French.
Prerequisite: Advanced content course in French or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 109. Honors Seminar: Queering North African Subjectivities
This seminar will explore the ways in which literary, visual and cultural representations of sexual difference and gender roles disrupt the cultural
imagination of everyday life in North Africa and its Diasporas in France. Special attention will be given to representations of Arab women and
queer subjectivities as sites of resistance against dominant masculinity. We will analyze the ways in which representations of gender have
allowed for a redeployment of power, a reconfiguration of politics of resistance, and the redrawing of longstanding images of Islam in France.
Finally, we will question how creations in French that straddle competing cultural traditions, memories, and material conditions can queer
citizenship.
Advanced content course or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, GSST
Fall 2021. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
LITR 017FC. First Year Seminar: Contemporary French Graphic Novels
(Cross-listed as FREN 017C)
This course examines how contemporary graphic novels in French and their aesthetic innovations have helped translate and magnify serious and
pressing questions that continue to shape political and social life in France and the world at large.
Our readings will address themes ranging from the colonial legacy and the wars in the Middle East to the quest for visibility by immigrants and
LGBTQ individuals. Finally, we will analyze how visual adaptations-whether cinematic adaptations of graphic novels or graphic adaptations of
movies and novels-reshape their original sources and adapt them to a new purpose.
(Conducted in English. Texts in Translation).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Fall 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures/courses-taught-english-0
LITR 017FD. First Year Seminar: The French Philosophical Novel
(Cross-listed as FREN 017D)
From the eighteenth century to the present day, French literature has a rich tradition of authors who are at once novelists and philosophers.
From the Enlightenment tales of Voltaire and Diderot, to the materialist metaphysics underlying Balzac's Realism, to the existentialist works of
Sartre and Beauvoir, to the relational ontology of Glissant's postcolonial literary universe, several of the central figures of French letters have
turned to the novel both as a platform for showcasing their philosophical systems and as a vessel to give shape and meaning to these very
systems. The following course proposes to study the interdependence between the novelistic and philosophical enterprises of these authors in
order to explore fundamental questions tied to knowledge, identity, and justice. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Balzac, Gide, Camus, Sartre,
Beauvoir, Glissant.
(Conducted in English. Texts in Translation.)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Spring 2023. Robison.
Fall 2023. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures/courses-taught-english-0
LITR 074F. The Shadow of the Enlightement
Crosslisted with FREN 074.
The following course offers a critical examination of the central ideas guiding the French Enlightenment, paying particularly close attention to
the notion of "otherness" underlying the Enlightenment project-that is, that which is facilely left out in the eighteenth century's valorization of
reason. In opposition to the Enlightenment idea of the rational man is the irrational animal, a binary that materialist thinkers like La Mettrie and
Condillac are quick to blur; in opposition to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (the crowning civil rights document from the
French Revolution) is Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, a text that criticizes eighteenth-century
gender inequalities; in opposition to the Enlightenment's enormous blind spots surrounding race is Claire de Duras' Ourika, a novel that decries
the pervasive racism of the eighteenth century. Throughout the semester, we will study the novels, essays, and dialogues that shape the major
ideas of the Enlightenment (and the revolutionary modes of thinking that accompany it), while also studying that which lies in the shadow of the
Enlightenment. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Condillac, La Mettrie, Gouges, Duras.
Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 074A).
Humanities
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 078F. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with FMST 058 .
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Seminars
FREN 104. Honors Seminar: La littérature et les sciences de la vie au 19e siècle
This course will explore the 19th-century French novel's manifold engagement with contemporaneous life sciences in order to track how the
literary practices of the period were shaped by the century's rapidly shifting biological paradigms. The course material is threefold: 1) it will
consider primary sources of 19-century life sciences (from Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck's early evolutionary model of transformism, to Claude
Bernard's experimental physiology, to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection); 2) it will draw from a collection of novelists, all of whom
made extensive implicit and explicit references to the sciences of their day (texts by Saint-Pierre, Sand, Balzac, Zola, Rachilde, and Flaubert);
and 3) it will rely upon a wide range of critical lenses coming from present-day scholarship in ecocriticism/ecofeminism, animal studies,
postmodern philosophy, and critical histories of science (excerpts of texts by Foucault, Deleuze, Haraway, Latour, Thiher, and Weil). Taught in
French.
Prerequisite: Advanced content course in French or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 106. La Modernité
In this course, we will examine poetry of modernity and the city. We will examine how the city's complexities--its development, cultures,
revolutions, and inhabitants--contribute to a poetic vision that is reflected in the texts of 19th- and 20th-century major and minor writers of the
French-speaking world. Poets include Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, and the Surrealists, among others.
This course can be taken for 1 credit.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 111. Désir (post)colonial
This course addresses how the colonial encounter has shaped modern perceptions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through the
production, circulation and consumption of deformed images of its colonial subjects. From noble savages and whimpering slaves to hideous
monsters and seductive harem girls, we will examine the dynamics of representation embedded in colonial narrations and visual constructions of
the "Other," focusing on conceptualizations of power as they relate to race, sexual politics and the gendering of the colonial subject. Primary
texts include literature of the slave trade, orientalist fictions and photographs, colonial films, museum exhibitions and world's fairs, and
contemporary works of fiction that deal with the legacy and sometimes continue the colonial desire.
Has a Francophone component. May be taken for 1 credit with permission from the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, ISLM, GSST, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 115. Honors Seminar: Representation of Blackness in Francophone
Taught in French.
Prerequisite: Advanced content course in French or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 116. La Pensée géographique
Cartography, psychogeography, rhizomes, and so much more! How and why do philosophical and critical thinkers rely on spatial and
geographical metaphors to work through some of their more complex ideas? How might some of these metaphors become models for
understanding and analyzing texts? In this course, we will explore some of the central ideas behind this spatial turn in theory and criticism in
conjunction with the study of French and Francophone texts: from medieval explorers and maps of early France and French empire to
Situationism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism.
May be taken for 1 credit with permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 180. Honors Thesis
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 199. Senior Honors Study
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
French Courses and Seminars Not Currently Offered
FREN 040. Panorama de la Littérature française
This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of French literature, from the Renaissance to the present. Among the authors
included on the syllabus are: Corneille, Graffigny, Balzac, Proust and Genet. Students will read works in their entirety, discuss their significance
in class, and listen to short lectures to situate the readings in a historical and cultural context.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 046. Poésies d'écritures françaises
Has a Francophone component.
Humanities.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 056. Ces femmes qui écrivent/Reading French Women
Humanities.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 057. Bande dessinée, nouvelle Manga et romans graphiques
The bande dessinée, the Francophone analog to comics, has evolved alongside contemporary youth culture to become a locus for expressions of
sociocultural and aesthetic changes, as well as antiestablishment discourses. In the context of issues such as social class, cultural diversity, and
feminity/masculinity, this course will connect canonical comics (such as Asterix and Tintin) with more current cutting-edge forms including la
nouvelle Manga and graphic novels from Rwanda, Algeria, Lebanon and Iran.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 058. The Representation of Alterity in French Literature and Cinema
Has a Francophone component.
Humanities.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 072. The French Novel in Translation: Balzac, Flaubert, Proust
(Cross-listed as LITR 072F)
This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of French literature, from before the Revolution to the present. Among the
authors included on the syllabus are: Molière, Voltaire, Balzac, Baudelaire, Proust, Camus and Sartre. Students will read works in their entirety,
discuss their significance in class, and listen to short lectures to situate the readings in a historical and cultural context. There is a 0.5 credit
French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 072A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 072A. Attachment: The French Novel in Translation: Balzac, Flaubert, Proust
This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of French literature, from before the Revolution to the present. Among the
authors included on the syllabus are: Molière, Voltaire, Balzac, Baudelaire, Proust, Camus and Sartre. Students will read works in their entirety,
discuss their significance in class, and listen to short lectures to situate the readings in a historical and cultural context.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
FREN 073A. Attachment: Postwar France: French New Wave
Attachment course for students reading in French enrolled in LITR 073F.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 108. Littérature et cinéma moderne et contemporain: La question de représentation
Humanities.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 109. Honors Seminar: Queering North African Subjectivities
This seminar will explore the ways in which literary, visual and cultural representations of sexual difference and gender roles disrupt the cultural
imagination of everyday life in North Africa and its Diasporas in France. Special attention will be given to representations of Arab women and
queer subjectivities as sites of resistance against dominant masculinity. We will analyze the ways in which representations of gender have
allowed for a redeployment of power, a reconfiguration of politics of resistance, and the redrawing of longstanding images of Islam in France.
Finally, we will question how creations in French that straddle competing cultural traditions, memories, and material conditions can queer
citizenship.
Advanced content course or instructor's approval.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, GSST
Fall 2021. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 110. Histoires d'îles
Has a Francophone component.
Humanities.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
FREN 112. Le Monde comique de Molière
This seminar is designed to acquaint students with the major works of Molière and 17th-century culture. We will investigate: Molière's political
relationship with Louis XIV at Versailles, the discourse of early modern feminism of the précieuses and the femmes savantes; the critique of
religious hypocrisy, and the influence of early modern notions of anthropology, notably medicine, on Molière's notions of selfhood. These aspects
will be brought forward through close attention to the poetics of comedy and the art of the comedian.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies
LITR 072F. The French Novel in Translation: Balzac, Flaubert, Proust
This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of French literature, from before the Revolution to the present. Among the
authors included on the syllabus are: Molière, Voltaire, Balzac, Baudelaire, Proust, Camus and Sartre. Students will read works in their entirety,
discuss their significance in class, and listen to short lectures to situate the readings in a historical and cultural context. Taught in English; and
there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 072A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 078F. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with FMST 058 .
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Courses
Core Faculty
SUNKA SIMON, Professor
2
HANSJAKOB WERLEN, Professor and Program Coordinator
MADALINA MEIROSU, Visiting Assistant Professor
CHRISTOPHER SCHNADER, Senior Lecturer
2 Absent on leave, spring 2022
Affiliated Faculty
Peter Baumann, Professor (Philosophy)
Tamsin Lorraine, Professor (Philosophy)
Robert Weinberg, Professor (History)
Thomas Whitman, Associate Professor (Music)
The German Studies Program offers students a wide variety of courses in language, literature, film and culture taught in German, as well as
classes in anthropology and sociology, art, history, music, philosophy, and political science. Stressing the interrelatedness of linguistic
competency and broad cultural literacy, German studies classes cover a wide range of literary periods, intellectual history, and film and visual
culture. The diverse approaches to German culture(s) prepare students for graduate work in several academic disciplines, as well as for a variety
of global careers. German studies can be pursued as course major or minor or as a major and minor in the Honors Program.
Students are expected to be sufficiently proficient in the German language to use it for written and oral work. To this end, we strongly advise
students to spend an academic semester-preferably spring semester-in a German-speaking country before their senior year.
Students wishing to major or minor or do honors in German Studies should plan their program in consultation with the program coordinator.
The Academic Program
All German courses numbered 50 and above taught in the target language are open to students after successful completion of GMST 020 or to
students with level-appropriate proficiency in reading and writing German (German placement test results or instructor permission). To enroll
in GMST courses taught in English that are cross-listed with LITR or another program, please consult the individual entry requirements in the
course catalogue. Since not all advanced German courses or seminars are offered every year, students wishing to major or minor in German
Studies should consult the sophomore paper plan and discuss their plan of study with the program coordinator.
Course Majors Requirements
Majors must complete a minimum of 8 credits in courses numbered 003 and above.
Majors in course are required to take Topics I and II in German Studies (GMST 020, GMST 091) in progression and, for Topics III,
enroll in a class above 100. Up to 3 credits may be taken in English from among the courses #50s and #60s relevant to German
studies listed in the catalog under literature in translation (e.g., LITR 054G or LITR 066G) or from courses listed as eligible for
German studies (see list below).
Comprehensive requirement: seniors in course are required to submit a bibliography of 20 works to form the basis of a discussion and
an extended, integrative paper (approximately 15 double-spaced pages in length) on a topic agreed to by the program coordinator.
This paper, due by May 1, is complemented by a discussion of the paper with members of the program, in German, in mid May.
Students are strongly encouraged to spend a semester in Germany or at least participate in a summer program in a German-speaking
country. Of the classes taken abroad, a maximum of 2 credits will normally count toward the major. In cases of double majors, this
number might be increased in consultation with the German studies coordinator. After studying abroad, majors must take at least one
additional German studies class.
Typical Course of Study:
*denotes options at either end:
GMST 003 (Fall Year 1 or 2)
GMST 008 (Spring Year 1 or 2)
GMST 020 Topics in German Studies I (Fall Year 2 or 3)
GMST cross-listed course #40s-60s (in English) (Fall Year 2 or 3)
GMST 091 Topics in German Studies II (Spring Year 3 or 4)
GMST cross-listed course #40s-60s (in English) (Spring Year 3 or 4)
GMST100+ Topics in German Studies III (Topic changes every year) (Fall Year 4)
Independent Study or Thesis (Spring Year 4)*
See the annually updated list of eligible cross-listed courses on the GMST website
Course Minors Requirements
Of these courses, Topics in German Studies I (GMST20) and Topics in German Studies II (GMST91) are required.
Up to two credits can come from courses eligible for German studies, usually numbered in the #40s-60s.
Students are strongly encouraged to spend a semester in Germany or at least participate in a summer program in a German-speaking
country. Of the classes taken abroad, a maximum of 2 credits will normally count toward the minor. In case of double majors, this
number can be increased in consultation with the German Studies coordinator.
Typical Course of Study:
*denotes options at either end
FYS First Year Seminar*
GMST 003 (Fall Year 1 or 2)
GMST 008 (Spring Year 1 or 2)
GMST 020 Topics in German Studies I (Fall Year 1 or 2)
GMST cross-listed course #50-60 (in English) (Year 1 o 2)
GMST 091 Topics in German Studies II (Spring Year 2 or 3)
GMST cross-listed course #50-60 (in English)* (Year 2 or 3)
GMST 100+ Topics in German Studies III* (Fall Year 4)
Honors Major and Minor in German Studies
All majors and minors in honors are strongly advised to spend one semester or at least a summer in a German-speaking country. Honors majors
and minors are encouraged to apply for GMST program funds to supplement their study abroad.
Preparations
Honors Major Preparations
While requirements for Honors Majors are generally identical to the course major requirements (minimum of 8 credits above GMST 003), a set
of special requirements applies to Honors:
All honors majors must include Topics in German Studies I (GMST20) and II (GMST91) in their course of study.
In coordination with the German Studies coordinator, Honors majors in German studies need to combine three upper level GMST
courses (e.g. Special Topics in German Studies I, II and III) and three taught in English from affiliated programs numbered in the
#40s-60s (e.g. FMST 51 or 54). Alternatively, eligible independent studies or thesis courses can be combined with regular upper level
GMST courses for honors preparations. Honors majors can further petition GMST faculty members for an honors attachment to any
upper level GMST course.
Honors students participate in the external examination process required of all Swarthmore honors students and the Senior Honors
Study (SHS) process explained below.
Honors Minor Preparations
Honors Minors prepare for their examination in German studies by following the course minor requirements (minimum of 5 credits above GMST
003). A set of special requirements applies to Honors Minors:
All honors minors must include Topics in German Studies I (GMST20) and II (GMST91) in their course of study.
All honors minors must complete Senior Honors Study (described below)
Senior Honors Study (SHS) and Mode of Examination
For SHS, students are required to present an annotated bibliography of criticism - articles or books - concerning at least five of the texts in each
advanced course or seminar used as honors preparations for external examination. Students are required to meet with the respective instructor(s)
of the advanced courses or seminars being examined by Feb. 15 to discuss their planned bibliography and to meet with the instructors for a
second time when the approved bibliography is handed in by May 1. The annotated bibliography, which carries no credit, will be added to course
syllabi in the honors portfolio. The honors examination will take the form of a 3-hour written examination based on each seminar and its SHS
preparation as well as a 1-hour oral panel examination based on the three written examinations for majors or a 30- to 45-minute oral
examination for minors.
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
1. Complete three credits numbered 008 or above
2. Complete GMST 008, 020, 091
3. In place of GMST 091, a seminar may be taken
Off-Campus Study
All German majors and minors are strongly advised to spend one semester or at least a summer in a German-speaking country. Majors and
minors are encouraged to apply for GMST program funds to supplement their study abroad. There are several excellent opportunities to
participate in an approved program, such as the Columbia Consortium Program in Berlin, Duke University in Berlin, the Macalester College
German Study Program in Berlin/Vienna, or the Dickinson College Program in Bremen. Students should consider going abroad in the spring
semester. This will enable them to participate fully in the semester schedule of German and Austrian Universities.
Courses
Not all advanced courses or seminars are offered every year. Topics in German Studies I, II, III (GMST 20, 91 and 100) change their topics every
year, please check the webpage for the most current information on each course's content. Students wishing to major or minor in German should
plan their program in consultation with the section. All courses numbered 050 and above are open to students after GMST 020. (See note on
enrolling in seminars.)
GMST 001. Intensive Elementary German
Students who start in the GMST 001-GMST 002 sequence must complete GMST 002 to receive credit for 001.
For students who begin German in college, this course is designed to develop active use of the language. The class combines intensive practice in
listening, speaking, writing and reading with the study of grammar. Authentic materials (texts, videos, music) familiarize students with the
culture of German-speaking countries.
This 1 credit class is team-taught and meets on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Students are also expected to attend the weekly
German language table each Wednesday.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Meirosu. Schnader.
Fall 2022. Werlen, Schnader.
Fall 2023. Werlen, Schnader.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 002. Intensive Elementary German
This class is the continuation of GMST 001 and also for students who placed into the second semester.
Second semester German continues to develop core language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Regular engagement with
authentic texts, videos, and music from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria further enhances cultural competency.
This 1 credit class is team-taught and meets on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with an optional individual tutorial on Wednesdays. Students
are also expected to attend the weekly German language table each Friday.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Werlen, Schnader.
Spring 2023. Werlen, Schnader.
Spring 2024. Werlen, Schnader.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 003. Intensive Intermediate German
This class is for students who completed the GMST 001-GMST 002 sequence and those who place into the third semester.
Expanding and reviewing core language skills, the course integrates intermediate-level reading, listening, and viewing materials with more
advanced writing practice.
This 1 credit class is team-taught and meets on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with an additional optional individual tutorial on
Wednesdays. Students are also expected to attend the weekly German language table each Friday.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Simon, Schnader.
Fall 2022. Simon, Schnader.
Fall 2023. Simon, Schnader.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 005. German Conversation
Through discussion of German films and presentations on student-selected topics, this course develops students' speaking skills. Content changes
every semester and students can enroll in this class multiple times.
Prerequisite: GMST 003 or Placement Test Score between 425-525.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Schnader.
Fall 2022. Schnader.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 006. German Conversation
Through discussion of German films and presentations on student-selected topics, this class develops students' speaking skills. Content changes
every semester and students can enroll in this class multiple times.
Prerequisite: GMST 003 or Placement Test Score between 425-525.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Schnader.
Spring 2023. Schnader.
Spring 2024. Schnader.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 007. Hot off the Press: Current Headlines from a German Perspective
(Cross-listed as LITR 007)
This half-credit course invites students to explore the urban culture of Berlin, a European hotspot for politics, the arts, media, high-tech start-
ups, and clubbing. Venturing beyond the capital, students then examine facets of Germany's contemporary cultural, social, and political
landscape.
Students will help select specific topics for readings, discussions, and presentations, and participants interested in developing their German
language skills will have the opportunity to engage with relevant texts and media in German. Taught in English.
.5 credit.
Eligible for LITR
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 008. Texts in Context: Topics in German Culture and Society from the Reformation until Today
This fourth-semester course is designed to advance linguistic skills through engagement with a specific topic. Studying literary, artistic,
journalistic, and historical sources, students enhance their analytical, writing, and communication skills. This course is the gateway to all upper
level courses in the German Studies curriculum. Topics alternate every year.
Topic for S'22 and S'23: Freundschaft/Friendship
Ready to further develop your German language skills and prepare for study abroad? Discover German culture - past and present - through the
lens of friendship. Critical engagement with literary texts, music, film, news, and social media will not only enhance your analytical and
communication skills, but also allow you to examine how concepts of friendship have helped shape German-speaking communities. Explore how
concepts of friendship - from German classicism and romanticism, through urban modernism and even the "11 Freunde" on today's soccer fields
- intersect with issues of gender and sexuality, and how "freundschaftliche" relationships continue to be crucial for creative, intellectual,
economic, and political innovations. Along with a review and expansion of German grammar, this fourth-semester course serves as a gateway to
all upper level courses in the German Studies curriculum.
Prerequisite: GMST 003 or Placement Test Score between 425-525.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Schnader.
Spring 2023. Schnader.
Spring 2024. Schnader.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 017. First Year Seminar: Testimonial Literature
(Cross-listed as LITR 017G)
This course explores the notion of testimony as an important aspect of a literature of resistance. We investigate how testimony intertwines with
questions of writing and truth, and creates a response to cultural violence. Students read theories and literature of resistance and testimony in a
wide-ranging selection of time periods and cultures, from the formation of a philosophical and religious idea of testimony in antiquity (Greek and
Judeo-Christian traditions) to its later development in the theories of Emmanuel Levinas. We will also study the emergence of the literary notion
of testimony by analyzing works of poetry, narrative, and film, with a particular focus on Jewish responses to the Shoah, and Latin American and
Latino responses to political and social repression.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 020. Topics in German Studies I
Topic F'22:
Literature and Cultural Context
This fifth semester class explores key moments in the literary history of Germany (and other German-speaking countries) by reading a series of
canonical texts within their socio-cultural and historical context. The class emphasizes reading and writing skills and critical engagement with
and
questioning of the texts read in the class.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or Placement Test Score of 550 and above.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Werlen.
Fall 2023. Werlen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 026. Popular Music and Media
(Cross-listed as FMST 026, LITR 026, MUSI 005E)
Is Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) the Stop Making Sense (1984) of this generation? How does YouTube compare to Indie records? What's similar
and what's different? What is the relationship between social media and commercial means of distribution, and what is its effect on fandom? This
team-taught course investigates the histories, structures and cultural connections between popular music and other media. How do musical
expressions and genres interact with medium specificity? How can we understand changing exhibition formats (stadium vs. lounge vs. club) and
distribution venues (record store vs. Spotify)? How does celebrity culture then and now impact what is popular and how does it affect the music
industry and vice versa? What lies at the intersection of national, socio-political and fan cultures?
Providing a grounding in music and media history and theory, we will research and analyze mainstream and independent case studies in radio,
film, theater, television and social media in order to better understand and engage with the complex webs that characterize contemporary media,
its production, and its consumption.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Simon, Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 029. The Theater of Intervention: After Shakespeare and Müller
(Cross-listed as THEA 011C )
In this course students will read selected texts by William Shakespeare and Heiner Müller, identify relevant contemporary themes and then create
their own performances. The goal of the class is for the student to create work without distinctions between writing, acting and directing-the
director as performer, the actor as the author of their own expression. This work also seeks to remove any separation between the artist and the
citizen, political thinker, and activist. How can theater function as a performative political statement? How can a theater artist intervene in
making social change? Readings will include Titus Andronicus, Macbeth, and Hamlet, both Shakespeare's original versions and Müller's
contemporary adaptations. Open to all students without prerequisite. Taught by Cornell Visiting Professor Barbara Wysocka.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 037. The Holocaust: History, Representation, and Culture
(Cross-listed as HIST 037 and LITR 037G)
Seventy-five years after the Holocaust, and despite an enormous amount of research and testimony, the genocide of European Jewry continues to
generate compelling interpretive questions. This course is a multidisciplinary exploration of the Holocaust with special attention paid to forms of
memory, commemoration, and artistic representations through the study of fiction, poetry, film, memoirs, and historical scholarship
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 051. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as FMST 051, LITR 051G)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
FMST 051. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 051G, GMST 051)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Film and Media Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/film-media-studies
LITR 051G. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as FMST 051, GMST 051)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, FMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
GMST 054. German Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 054G, FMST 054)
This course is an introduction to German cinema from its inception in the 1890s until the present. It includes an examination of early exhibition
forms, expressionist and avant-garde films from the classic German cinema of the Weimar era, fascist cinema, postwar rubble films, DEFA films
from East Germany, New German Cinema from the 1970s, and post 1989 heritage films. We will analyze a cross-match of popular and avant-
garde films while discussing mass culture, education, propaganda, and entertainment as identity- and nation-building practices.
Fulfills national cinema requirement for FMST.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 056. Outbreak Narratives: A Medical Humanities Exploration of Literature on Germs, Vampires, and
Other Plagues
(Cross-listed as LITR 056G)
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze German literature
depicting contagious outbreaks, life in isolation, and explore the ethics of cure and human experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self, to explore the intriguing possibility of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly
shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of shared vulnerability. Using German literature in
English translation to explore literature on the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well on as vampires, we will consider how race, gender,
class, and historical époques shape illness stories. In particular, we will look at the power dynamics that code contagions either as negative
(where it refers, for instance, to a potentially deadly disease) or as positive (where it refers to contagious affects or an exchange of
ideas). Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfreide Jelinek, Thomas Mann, J. W. Goethe, Fanny Lewald, Heinrich Heine, Franz
Kafka, Bertha von Suttner.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 091. Topics in German Studies II
Topic for Fall 2022: German Voices: Identity and Multilingualism in German Culture
In this advanced sixth semester course we will read contemporary literature and autobiographical prose from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
in order to learn about authors' relationship with language in general, and with the German language in particular. We will look at identity
construction for bilingual and multilingual authors, as well as the ways in which writers grapple with finding language to express ideas of gender
and dis/ability as they contest cultural barriers.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or GMST 020.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Meirosu.
Fall 2022. Meirosu.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 100. Topics in German Studies III
The GMST senior seminar focuses on interdisciplinary research done within German Studies and between German Studies and its adjacent
disciplines (e.g. Art, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology). Since
all work is done in German, GMST 90: Topics in GMST II or an equivalent course taken abroad is a requirement for the seminar. Topics change
annually. Past topics have included: The Age of Goethe, German Romanticism, Wien und Berlin 1900, Uncomfortable Classics, German Media
Culture.
Spring '22 Topic: Uncomfortable Classics - from Goethe to Grass
When reading texts long established in literary canons, whether national or "World Literature," the inherent conservativism of the
selections often occludes their revolutionary socio-historical and aesthetic nature. In the context of their problematic content and
reception, we will read texts from the late 18th century to the present. Authors include Goethe, Büchner, Hauptmann, Wedekind, Brecht,
Grass, Keun, Özdamar.
Spring '23 Topic: Time and Narrating the Self
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2022. Werlen.
Spring 2023. Meirosu.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Eligible Courses in German Studies
ARTH 005. Modern Art in Europe and the United States
This course surveys Western European and American art from the late 18th century to the 1960s. It introduces significant artists and art
movements in their social and political contexts and also focuses attention on art historical approaches that have been developed to interpret this
art, including socio-economic and feminist perspectives.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Fall 2022. TBA.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 019. Contemporary Art
This survey class introduces students to key developments within art practice in Western Europe and the United States since 1950.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
ARTH 153. Modern Architecture and Urbanism: Honors Seminar
This honors seminar examines the broad array of designed and built works, makers, sites, and texts that constitute modern architecture and
urbanism. Students will interpret the many facets of modernism through key historical readings-both primary and secondary, canonical and
revisionist; analysis of examples; and consideration of their makers, both well-known and less so. A guiding assumption is that modernism was
never only one thing and had different-even sometimes opposite-intentions, manifestations, and consequences in different contexts. Yet we will
follow one persistent question as a link across the semester: how did modern architects and urbanists seek to create a better world? The
motivations behind and answers to this defining question of modernism were never consistent across our period of study. While centering
designed objects, then, we will interrogate how people have experienced modernism differently, depending on their identities, subject positions,
geographic locations, and social roles.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Goldstein.
Spring 2023. Goldstein.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art
GMST 020. Topics in German Studies I
Topic F'22:
Literature and Cultural Context
This fifth semester class explores key moments in the literary history of Germany (and other German-speaking countries) by reading a series of
canonical texts within their socio-cultural and historical context. The class emphasizes reading and writing skills and critical engagement with
and
questioning of the texts read in the class.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or Placement Test Score of 550 and above.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Werlen.
Fall 2023. Werlen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 051. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as FMST 051, LITR 051G)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 054. German Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 054G, FMST 054)
This course is an introduction to German cinema from its inception in the 1890s until the present. It includes an examination of early exhibition
forms, expressionist and avant-garde films from the classic German cinema of the Weimar era, fascist cinema, postwar rubble films, DEFA films
from East Germany, New German Cinema from the 1970s, and post 1989 heritage films. We will analyze a cross-match of popular and avant-
garde films while discussing mass culture, education, propaganda, and entertainment as identity- and nation-building practices.
Fulfills national cinema requirement for FMST.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 091. Topics in German Studies II
Topic for Fall 2022: German Voices: Identity and Multilingualism in German Culture
In this advanced sixth semester course we will read contemporary literature and autobiographical prose from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
in order to learn about authors' relationship with language in general, and with the German language in particular. We will look at identity
construction for bilingual and multilingual authors, as well as the ways in which writers grapple with finding language to express ideas of gender
and dis/ability as they contest cultural barriers.
Prerequisite: GMST 008 or GMST 020.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Meirosu.
Fall 2022. Meirosu.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
GMST 100. Topics in German Studies III
The GMST senior seminar focuses on interdisciplinary research done within German Studies and between German Studies and its adjacent
disciplines (e.g. Art, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology). Since
all work is done in German, GMST 90: Topics in GMST II or an equivalent course taken abroad is a requirement for the seminar. Topics change
annually. Past topics have included: The Age of Goethe, German Romanticism, Wien und Berlin 1900, Uncomfortable Classics, German Media
Culture.
Spring '22 Topic: Uncomfortable Classics - from Goethe to Grass
When reading texts long established in literary canons, whether national or "World Literature," the inherent conservativism of the
selections often occludes their revolutionary socio-historical and aesthetic nature. In the context of their problematic content and
reception, we will read texts from the late 18th century to the present. Authors include Goethe, Büchner, Hauptmann, Wedekind, Brecht,
Grass, Keun, Özdamar.
Spring '23 Topic: Time and Narrating the Self
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2022. Werlen.
Spring 2023. Meirosu.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
HIST 003A. Modern Europe, 1789 to 1918: Revolutionaries, Citizens, and Subjects in Europe's Long 19th
Century
This course surveys European history from the French Revolution to the aftermath of World War I. We will explore the European revolutionary
tradition, the extension of citizenship, the emergence of nationalism, and the territorial expansion of Europe. The course will hone your primary
source analysis skills.
Recommended for teacher certification.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Fall 2021. Brown.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 034. Varieties of Zionist Thought: Judaism, Nationalism, Antisemitism, and the Jewish Question
(Cross-listed as RELG 060)
This course focuses on political expressions of Jewish identity since the late nineteenth century through an exploration of the central texts of
Zionist thought. It integrates biblical, rabbinic, and medieval Jewish texts about Jerusalem, the idea of Zion, and the centrality of the Land of
Israel to provide historical context and background. We ask: what are the ways select Jewish sources from antiquity to modernity have grappled
with varied attitudes toward land, political sovereignty, and national identity in the Diaspora.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST.
Fall 2021. Kessler. Weinberg.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 037. The Holocaust: History, Representation, and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 037G, GMST 037)
This course explores the roots of Nazism, the implementation of the Final Solution, the legacy of the Holocaust on European society, and the
representation of the Holocaust through an interdisciplinary approach that relies on primary sources, historical scholarship, memoirs, poetry,
painting, and film.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, PEAC
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 116. European Intellectual History: Rethinking the Scientific Revolution
Centered on the Scientific Revolution, this course will explore how politics, culture, religion and empire shaped the intellectual history of Europe
from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
MUSI 006B. Music and War
This course will explore the various contexts and motivations for music making during the Holocaust and World War II era. In the universe of the
Nazi ghettos and concentration camps, music was a vehicle for transmitting political rumors, controversies, stories, and everyday events as well
as a form of spiritual resistance. In the broader context of war, it was used for political and nationalist agendas. This course will draw on a wide
range of music, from folk songs and popular hit tunes to art music intended for the concert stage.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Milewski.
Fall 2022. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 007B. Beethoven and the Romantic Spirit
An introduction to Beethoven's compositions in various genres. We will consider the artistic, political, and social context in which he lived and
examine his legacy among composers later in the 19th century (Berlioz, Chopin, the Schumanns, Brahms, Wagner, and Mahler).
No prior knowledge of music is assumed.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 022. 19th-Century European Music
This survey considers European art music against the background of 19th-century Romanticism and nationalism. Composers to be studied
include Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Berlioz, Robert and Clara Schumann, Wagner, Verdi, Brahms, Dvorak, Musorgsky, and Chaikovsky.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or the equivalent.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
PHIL 039. Existentialism
In this course, we will examine existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus to explore themes
of contemporary European philosophy, including the self, responsibility and authenticity, and the relationships between body and mind, fantasy
and reality, and literature and philosophy.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 049. Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
This course will examine the work of three 19th century "philosophers of suspicion" who instigated modern exploration into what conditions our
reality, thus raising questions about how the embodied, human subject emerges out of and experiences a social reality that informs the subject in
specific ways. Their investigations into one's understanding of reality as impacted by class position (Marx), one's understanding of truth as the
effect of will-to-power (Nietzsche), and consciousness as the effect of unconscious forces (Freud) provide an important background to
contemporary questions about he nature of reality, human identity, and social power.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GMST
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 139. Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Poststructuralism
In this course, we will examine the themes of reality, truth, alienation, authenticity, death, desire, and human subjectivity as they emerge in
contemporary European philosophy. We will consider thinkers such as Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, Irigaray, and Deleuze to place
contemporary themes of poststructuralist thought in the context of the phenomenological and existential tradition out of which they emerge.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP, GMST
Spring 2023. Lorraine.
Fall 2023. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)
This course, taught in Philadelphia, offers an introduction to the causes and consequences of international migration and examines the political
responses of different national communities to the phenomenon. In the first part of the course we will explore why and how people move from one
country to another and analyze the strategies through which states attempt to manage mobility and exercise control over their territories.
Students will learn about patterns of regular and irregular migration, including economic and undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers. We will also interrogate the efficacy of border walls and other strategies of containment and control. In the second part of the course we
consider how migration transforms both sending and receiving countries and evaluate how countries accommodate (or fail to accommodate)
newcomers to their territories. The growing ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity generated by international migratory flows has spawned
fierce debates over national identity, social cohesion, and political stability. In order to make sense of these debates, we will analyze different
regimes of immigrant integration, incorporation, and assimilation and evaluate the meaning of citizenship, social membership, and belonging.
Classroom meetings will be supplemented with outside lectures and field trips in Philadelphia to observe immigration hearings and to meet with
NGOs and community organizations working on issues surrounding migrant rights and refugee re-settlement. This course will be taught in
Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core; INTP eligible; PEAC eligible
Spring 2022. Balkan
Fall 2022. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 059. Middle East Politics (CP)
This course offers an introduction to the politics of the Middle East and North Africa from World War I to the present. As a region that is
popularly perceived as an arena for intractable ethnic and religious conflict, authoritarian political regimes, and social and economic
underdevelopment, the Middle East has long been a critical site in global affairs. Recent events such as the toppling of long-standing
governments in places like Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya during the so-called "Arab Spring," the electoral successes of Islamist political parties in
countries with a history of secular rule such as Turkey, and the repercussions of the on-going civil war in Syria, including the displacement of
millions of persons, renewed bids for Kurdish autonomy, and the rise of ISIS have raised new and pressing questions about the future of the
region. This course aims to help students contextualize and better understand the current political climate by tracing the roots of these conflicts
to the longer history of state and nation formation in the Middle East. Throughout the semester students will learn about political, economic,
social, and cultural developments within a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Topics covered include colonialism,
imperialism, and nationalism, political Islam, revolutions and social movements, the Arab Spring, and U.S. involvement in the region. No prior
knowledge of the Middle East is necessary.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 079. Islam, Race, and Empire (CP)
Since 9/11, Muslims in Europe and the United States have been at the center of contentious political debates about the meaning of secularism,
citizenship, and democracy. From Donald Trump's Muslim Ban to feminist critiques of the Islamic headscarf, politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum have questioned Islam's compatibility with Western values and ways of life. These disputes belie longer and messier histories
of empire, colonialism, and the War on Terror, through which categories such as "Islam" and "Muslims" have been racialized into a monolithic
brown Other in contrast to the "West." Drawing on a range of intellectual traditions, including postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, anthropology,
and critical race studies, this course examines how imperial legacies and enduring ideas about racial, religious, and ethnic difference structure
contemporary debates about Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America. Over the course of the semester, we will read works by prominent
theorists such as Wendy Brown, Frantz Fanon, Lila Abu-Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak, and discuss how Islam
figures into public conversations about anti-Semitism, citizenship and democracy, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, national identity,
secularism, tolerance, and political violence. Through our readings and discussions, students will learn about the diversity of lived experiences of
Muslims in Western societies and explore the connections between race, religion, and the afterlives of empire.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, GMST, ISLM, INTP, GSST
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Seminars
German seminars (Topics in German Studies III, GMST 100+) are scheduled on an annually rotating schedule. Preparation of topics for honors
may be done by particular courses plus attachments only when seminars are not available. Recurring Topics of German Studies Seminars
include: Age of Goethe, Wien und Berlin 1900, German Television, German Romanticism, Die deutsche Romantik, German Short Prose,
Uncomfortable Classics - from Goethe to Grass
Note. Students enrolling in a seminar are expected to have done the equivalent of at least one course beyond the GMST 020 level.
GMST 100. Topics in German Studies III
The GMST senior seminar focuses on interdisciplinary research done within German Studies and between German Studies and its adjacent
disciplines (e.g. Art, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film and Media Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology). Since
all work is done in German, GMST 90: Topics in GMST II or an equivalent course taken abroad is a requirement for the seminar. Topics change
annually. Past topics have included: The Age of Goethe, German Romanticism, Wien und Berlin 1900, Uncomfortable Classics, German Media
Culture.
Spring '22 Topic: Uncomfortable Classics - from Goethe to Grass
When reading texts long established in literary canons, whether national or "World Literature," the inherent conservativism of the
selections often occludes their revolutionary socio-historical and aesthetic nature. In the context of their problematic content and
reception, we will read texts from the late 18th century to the present. Authors include Goethe, Büchner, Hauptmann, Wedekind, Brecht,
Grass, Keun, Özdamar.
Spring '23 Topic: Time and Narrating the Self
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2022. Werlen.
Spring 2023. Meirosu.
Spring 2024. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Courses
Faculty
JOHN BUNDSCHUH, Visiting Assistant Professor
WILLIAM O. GARDNER, Professor, Section Head
YOSHIKO JO, Senior Lecturer
ATSUKO SUDA, Senior Lecturer
The Academic Program
Courses in Japanese language, literature, and culture may be combined with courses taken at Haverford, Bryn Mawr and with study abroad
toward a special major or a minor in Japanese or may be counted toward a major or minor in Asian studies (see Asian Studies). Interested
students should consult with the section head of Japanese or with the chair of Asian studies.
First Course Recommendations
JPNS 001. First-Year Japanese. JPNS 001 is the beginning of our language sequence and open to all students; no previous experience is
necessary and students are encouraged to begin JPNS 001 in their Freshman year. A placement exam is not required to register for JPNS 001.
JPNS 018. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fiction is a good entry point for students
interested in Japanese cultural studies and wishing to gain experience in narrative and visual analysis. No background in Japanese language is
required.
JPNS 022. Introduction to Japanese Linguistics is a good course for students seeking to deepen their knowledge of the structure of Japanese
language and explore various aspects of Japanese linguistics. Completion of JPNS 001 or instructor's permission is required.
JPNS 024. Japanese Film and Animation introduces the fundamentals of film analysis and explores both the history of Japanese film and
animation and their broader historical and cultural context. Students will gain experience in both written film analysis and in-class
presentations. No background in Japanese language is required.
Special Majoring and Minoring in Japanese
Students may construct a special major in Japanese, featuring intensive study in Japanese language, literature, and culture. Japanese special
majors will complete their coursework through a combination of study at Swarthmore, courses at Haverford or Bryn Mawr, and study abroad.
Students interested in a Japanese special major or minor should consult with the section head of Japanese as soon as possible.
Students seeking a broader exposure to East Asian society and culture may consider a Japanese concentration within the Asian studies major.
Students who wish to concentrate on linguistics rather than Japanese literature and culture may construct a special major in Japanese Language
and Linguistics, or use Japanese as one of the two languages counting towards the Special Major in Linguistics and Languages as described
below. Students wishing to pursue this possibility should consult with the Japanese section head.
Special Major in Japanese Language, Literature and Culture
At least 10 total credits starting with 001, including at least one credit outside the department, are required for a special major in Japanese.
Special majors should complete the following sequence of language courses: JPNS 001, 002, 003, 004, 012, 012A, 013, 019, 020 or their
equivalent. Japanese special majors are strongly encouraged to study abroad in a program approved by the section; transfer credits normally
may be counted toward the special major.
Special majors should complete at least two courses on Japanese literature and culture of level 015 and higher (in addition to JPNS 019 and
020), and at least two additional courses of level 30 and higher, or their equivalent in coursework outside the department. Students are
encouraged to combine their study of Japanese literature and culture with coursework in Japanese linguistics, history, anthropology and
sociology, religion, art, music, economics, political science, education, comparative literature, and other related fields within the tri-college
consortium. At least two courses on Japanese literature and culture should normally be taken within the department, including courses
on Japanese linguistics offered within the department.
All special majors will complete a culminating project.
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
1. Complete the Linguistics course requirements outlined by the Linguistics Department.
2. For students using Japanese as one of their two languages for this special major, complete one course numbered 004 or above and two
courses numbered 011 or above. No 0.5 credit courses may be counted towards this requirements. The language of instruction for courses filling
this requirement should be Japanese.
Minor in Japanese
A minimum of 5 credits numbered 004 and above is required for the course minor. At least one credit must be taken in Japanese literature,
linguistics, film or culture in translation, either in coursework offered by the Japanese section or its equivalent in coursework outside of
Swarthmore, with the approval of the section. A minimum of 3 credits should be taken at Swarthmore.
The section strongly encourages study abroad in a section-approved program; transferred credits normally may be counted toward the minor.
One credit may be earned from another department on a Japan-related subject with the approval of the section.
Honors Special Majors and Minors in Japanese
Honors study for qualified students may be substituted for the culminating project in the major. Students are encouraged to consult with the
Japanese section head to discuss Honors special majors and honors minors.
Japanese Courses
JPNS 001. First-Year Japanese
Students who start in the JPNS 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
This intensive introduction to Japanese develops the four language skills of speaking, writing, listening, and reading. The spoken component will
cover both formal and casual forms of speech; the written component will introduce the hiragana and katakana syllabaries; and about 200 kanji
characters.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 002. First-Year Japanese
Students who start in the JPNS 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
This intensive introduction to Japanese develops the four language skills of speaking, writing, listening, and reading. The spoken component will
cover both formal and casual forms of speech; the written component will introduce the hiragana and katakana syllabaries; and about 200 kanji
characters.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Spring 2022. Gardner. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 003. Second-Year Japanese
Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading in the modern language. The course attempts to increase students' expressive ability
through the introduction of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions. The course will introduce approximately 300 new
kanji characters in addition to the 200 covered in JPNS 001-JPNS 002.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff, Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 004. Second-Year Japanese
Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading in the modern language. The course attempts to increase students' expressive ability
through the introduction of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions. The course will introduce approximately 300 new
kanji characters in addition to the 200 covered in JPNS 001-JPNS 002.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Bundschuh. Jo.
Spring 2023. Staff. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 007. Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy
(Cross-listed as CHIN 007)
Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting. This course will introduce students to the importance of calligraphy in East Asian Culture. In
addition to being a valuable cultural skill, calligraphy is also a process of self-cultivation and self-expression, which reflects the mind-set of the
writer. Thus, students will have the opportunity to learn Chinese/Japanese characters not only as linguistic symbols but also as cultural emblems
and as an art form. Course objectives include learning to appreciate the beauty of Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, experiencing calligraphy by
writing with a brush and ink, and studying various philosophies of calligraphy. In addition to learning several different calligraphic scripts,
students will be introduced to the origin, evolution, and aesthetic principles of the Chinese and Japanese writing systems, as well as calligraphy's
close connections with painting and poetry. Persistent hands-on practice will be required of all students; course work will include in-class
practice, individual/group instruction, reading assignments, and take-home assignments. This class is open to all students and has no language
requirement. Due to the course's practicum component, enrollment will be limited by lottery to 10 students. Students who are also enrolled in
ARTH 034 (Colloquium: East Asian Calligraphy) will receive priority in the lottery.
Can be repeated for credit.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 008. Extensive Reading in Japanese
This course will offer students an opportunity to develop their Japanese readings skills through free readings of Japanese materials (stories, non-
fiction, manga, etc.) gathered at McCabe Library. The course will follow the Extensive Reading or Graded Reading methodology, which
encourages students to build their reading ability through exposure to a broad variety of texts with minimal use of dictionaries, with the
assistance and supervision of the Japanese instructor. The course is open to all students of Introduction to Japanese (JPNS 002) level and above.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Jo.
Spring 2023. Jo.
Spring 2024. Jo.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 010. Topics in Japanese: Japanese Food Cultures
This course is designed to help students at the intermediate and advanced levels of Japanese acquire greater proficiency in Japanese language
while gaining knowledge of Japan through food culture. In addition, this course aims to help students acquire skills to become independent
learners who can continue their study of Japanese independently. We will study aspects of Japanese food culture such as the differences between
food in East Japan and West Japan and the history of the lunch box. Moreover, students interested in cooking can learn to cook some Japanese
food on their own. This course is for students who are currently enrolled in or have completed JPNS 004 or its equivalent.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2023. Naito.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 012. Third-Year Japanese
These courses aim to lead Japanese students into the intermediate-advanced level, deepening students' exposure to Japanese culture through the
study of authentic materials and the application of language skills in diverse linguistic contexts. They will combine oral practice with reading,
viewing, and discussion of authentic materials including newspaper articles, video clips, and literary selections. Students will continue to develop
their expressive ability through use of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions, and will gain practice in composition and
letter writing. These courses will introduce approximately 300 new kanji characters in addition to approximately 500 covered in first- and
second-year Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 004 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the Placement Exam.
Recommended: Concurrently with JPNS 012A; provides additional opportunities for application and extension of newly acquired skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 012A. Japanese Conversation
This course aims to improve students' command of spoken Japanese at the intermediate level.
Can be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 004 or permission of the instructor.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 013. Third-Year Japanese
These courses aim to lead Japanese students into the intermediate-advanced level, deepening students' exposure to Japanese culture through the
study of authentic materials and the application of language skills in diverse linguistic contexts. They will combine oral practice with reading,
viewing, and discussion of authentic materials including newspaper articles, video clips, and literary selections. Students will continue to develop
their expressive ability through use of more advanced grammatical patterns and idiomatic expressions, and will gain practice in composition and
letter writing. These courses will introduce approximately 300 new kanji characters in addition to approximately 500 covered in first- and
second-year Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 012 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the placement exam.
Recommended: Concurrently with JPNS 013A; provides additional opportunities for application and extension of newly acquired skills.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Suda.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 019. Fourth-Year Japanese
This fourth-year level course aims to develop students' advanced language proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, through
examination and discussion of a variety of authentic materials on selected topics such as literature, language, history, education and society.
Readings and discussion will be in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 013 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the placement exam.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 020. Fourth-Year Japanese
This fourth-year level course aims to develop students' advanced language proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, through
examination and discussion of a variety of authentic materials on selected topics such as literature, language, history, education and society.
Readings and discussion will be in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPNS 019 or students must pass a placement exam to establish equivalent language skills. They should contact the instructor or the
Japanese Section Head to arrange to take the placement exam.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Spring 2022. Jo.
Spring 2023. Jo.
Spring 2024. Jo.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 022. Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
(Cross-listed as LING 022)
This course introduces various aspects of Japanese linguistics, such as Japanese phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.
Through obtaining theoretical insights on the structural organization of the Japanese language and examining linguistic data, the course aims to
broaden students' knowledge of the structural aspects of the language and to cultivate their ability to analyze linguistic facets of Japanese
communicative culture.
In class, we will go over the main concepts and data analyses from weekly readings and discuss relevant data, questions, and counter-examples,
while going over study questions and exercises. Students are encouraged to share their own experiences and compare the Japanese linguistic
structures and communicative practices with those of English and other languages.
Students who take this class will develop their understanding of the differing layers of the Japanese language by solving concrete linguistic
problems, enhance their ability to learn new grammatical structures in the Japanese language by analyzing them linguistically, and receive
guidance in producing an objective linguistic analysis of a facet of the Japanese language.
Readings and discussion will be in English.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 001 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Bundschuh.
Spring 2024. Bundschuh.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 024. Japanese Film and Animation
(Cross-listed as LITR 024J, FMST 057)
This course offers a historical and thematic introduction to Japanese cinema, one of the world's great film traditions. Our discussions will center
on the historical context of Japanese film, including how films address issues of modernity, gender, and national identity. Through our readings,
discussion, and writing, we will explore various approaches to film analysis, with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of formal and
thematic issues. A separate unit will consider the postwar development of Japanese animation (anime) and its special characteristics. Screenings
will include films by Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Imamura, Kitano, and Miyazaki.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 025. Contemporary Japanese Literature and Film.
Cross-listed as LITR 025J
This course will explore the confluence of literary and cinematic imagination with contemporary Japanese social and historical currents through
an examination of works by Japanese writers and filmmakers active today--primarily works created in the 21st Century. Themes considered will
include youth culture and urban life; precarity and social critique through the lenses of class, ethnicity, and gender; and disaster and dystopia.
Writers encountered will include Murakami Haruki, Kirino Natsuo, Kawakami Mieko, Murata Sayaka, Ogawa Yôko, and Tawada Yôko;
filmmakers will include Koreeda Hirokazu, Anno Hideaki, Sono Sion, and Shinkai Makoto. No prerequisites; the class will be conducted in
English and all works will be available in English translation or with English subtitles.
HU.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 036. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as PEAC 036, ENVS 047)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 041. Fantastic Spaces in Modern Japanese Literature
(Cross-listed as LITR 041J)
As Japanese society has transformed rapidly in the 20
th
century and beyond, a number of authors have turned to the fantastic to explore the
pathways of cultural memory, the vicissitudes of interpersonal relationships, the limits of mind and body, and the nature of story-telling itself. In
this course we will consider the use of anti-realistic writing genres in Japanese literature from 1900 to the present, combining readings of novels
and short stories with related critical and theoretical texts. Fictional works examined will include novels, supernatural tales, science fiction, and
mysteries by such authors as Tanizaki Junichirô, Edogawa Rampo, Kurahashi Yumiko, and Murakami Haruki. Readings are in English; no
previous background in Japanese language or culture is required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 053. Classical Japanese Literature and Language Change.
This course serves as an introduction to both Classical Japanese literature and the history of the Japanese language. Students will read
selections of Classical Japanese texts in English with optional modern and classical Japanese renditions provided. Each class we will first
discuss the content and relevance of the assigned reading before delving into passages from the original text to examine the linguistic structures
of earlier Japanese and consider how the language has changed over time.
Prerequisites: JPNS002 or permission from instructor.
HU.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Bundschuh.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 073. Transnational Japanese Literature: Diversity and Diaspora in Modern Japanese Literature
Cross-listed with LITR 073J
This seminar-style course will challenge the myths of Japanese ethnic homogeny and cultural isolation and will explore how modern "Japanese"
literature crosses national and cultural borders. Topics to be examined include Japanese authors writing from abroad, colonial and postcolonial
literatures, migration and writing in the Japanese diaspora, and the writings of ethnic minorities in Japan, including writers from Okinawa and
Japan's resident Korean community. Readings and discussion will be in English but students with reading knowledge of Japanese will be
encouraged to read works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, ASIA, INTP, GLBL-paired.
Fall 2021. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 094. Independent Study
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 096. Japanese Thesis
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Japanese Courses Not Currently Offered
JPNS 018. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as LITR 018FJ, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 022. Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
(Cross-listed as LING 022)
This course introduces various aspects of Japanese linguistics, such as Japanese phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.
Through obtaining theoretical insights on the structural organization of the Japanese language and examining linguistic data, the course aims to
broaden students' knowledge of the structural aspects of the language and to cultivate their ability to analyze linguistic facets of Japanese
communicative culture.
In class, we will go over the main concepts and data analyses from weekly readings and discuss relevant data, questions, and counter-examples,
while going over study questions and exercises. Students are encouraged to share their own experiences and compare the Japanese linguistic
structures and communicative practices with those of English and other languages.
Students who take this class will develop their understanding of the differing layers of the Japanese language by solving concrete linguistic
problems, enhance their ability to learn new grammatical structures in the Japanese language by analyzing them linguistically, and receive
guidance in producing an objective linguistic analysis of a facet of the Japanese language.
Readings and discussion will be in English.
Prerequisite: Completion of JPNS 001 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Bundschuh.
Spring 2024. Bundschuh.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 051. Japanese Poetry and Poetics
(Cross-listed as LITR 051J)
Japanese poetic forms such as haiku, renga, and tanka have had a great impact on modern poetry across the world, and have played a central
role in the development of Japanese literature and aesthetics. This course will examine Japanese poetry from its roots in ancient oral tradition
though the internet age. Topics include the role of poetry in courtship, communication, religion, and ritual; orality and the graphic tradition; the
influence of poetic models from China and the West; social networks and game aesthetics in renga linked poetry; and haiku as a worldwide
poetic form. Course projects will include translation and composition in addition to analytical writing. Readings will be in English, and there are
no language requirements or other prerequisites; however, the course will include a close examination of Japanese poetic sound, syntax, meter,
and diction, or how the poems "work" in the original language.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 074. Japanese Popular Culture and Contemporary Media
(Cross-listed as LITR 074J)
Japanese popular culture products such as manga (comics), anime (animation), television, film, and popular music are an increasingly vital
element of 21st-century global culture, attracting ardent fans around the world. In this course, we will critically examine the postwar
development of Japanese popular culture, together with the proliferation of new media that have accelerated the global diffusion of popular
cultural forms. Engaging with theoretical ideas and debates regarding popular culture and media, we will discuss the significance of fan
cultures, including the "otaku" phenomenon in Japan and the United States, and consider how national identity and ethnicity impact the
production and consumption of popular cultural products. We will also explore representations of technology in creative works, and consider the
global and the local aspects of technological innovations, including the internet, mobile phones, and other portable technology. Readings and
discussion will be in English. The course will be conducted in a seminar format with student research and presentations comprising an important
element of the class. Previous coursework in Japanese studies or media studies is recommended but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 075. Japanese Modernism
(Cross-listed as LITR 075J)
A lively and cosmopolitan modernist literature and art scene thrived in early 20th Century Japan, as cities such as Tokyo and Osaka grew
rapidly, and writers and artists established connections with their counterparts across the globe. During the same decades, stylish "modern girls"
and "modern boys" in Japanese cities were hailed in the press as avatars of newly liberated lifestyles and fashions, or derided by conservatives
as the dupes of corrupt Western influences. This course will explore Japanese modernist literature, its global connections, and its social context,
using a seminar format. Topics include: Japanese avant-garde literature, film, and art; gender, sexuality, and modernism; the politics and
aesthetics of "modern" life and lifestyles; socialist and anarchist literature; "ero-guro-nonsense" as subversive literature; wartime censorship
and propaganda; and Japanese influences on global modernisms. Readings and discussion will be in English; students with
advanced Japanese reading ability are encouraged to read the texts in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
JPNS 083. War and Postwar in Japanese Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 083J)
What was the Japanese experience of World War II and the Allied Occupation? We will examine literary works, films, and graphic materials
(photographs, prints, advertisements, etc.), together with oral histories and historical studies, to seek a better understanding of the prevailing
ideologies and intellectual struggles of wartime and postwar Japan as well the experiences of individuals living through the cataclysmic events of
midcentury. Issues to be investigated include Japanese nationalism and imperialism; women's experiences of the war and home front; changing
representations and ideologies of the body; war writing and censorship; the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japanese responses to
the Occupation; and the war in postwar memory. The course readings and discussions will be in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Literatures in Translation
Students who are already proficient in a particular foreign language are urged to select an appropriate literature/culture course taught in the
original language. LITR courses provide students with the opportunity to study cultural material that they cannot read in the original and often to
study literature in a comparative context.
In some language programs, these courses cannot be substituted for the introductory course sequence between 010 and 020 to satisfy
departmental prerequisites for a major or minor in the original languages, but many of these courses can satisfy the 8 credit requirement of a
foreign literature/studies major as each section specifies.
Literatures in Translation Courses
LITR 005R. First Year Seminar: Back to the Future: Contemporary Russian Culture and Society
(Cross-listed as RUSS 005)
Hailed as the "end of history" and "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century," the fall of the Soviet Union forced Russia to reconcile a
past that had long been suppressed with a present reality full of possibility. We'll discuss works that address contemporary issues (Putinism,
protests, refugees, corruption) and resurrect historical traumas (WWII, Stagnation, Soviet anti-Semitism, the Leningrad Siege) to understand
Russia today. We will also have the opportunity to speak with some of the authors we'll be reading.
FYS and W. Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
W
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://swarthmore.edu/russian
LITR 007. Berlin and Beyond: Cultural Trends and Current Affairs
(Cross-listed as GMST 007)
This half-credit course invites students to explore the urban culture of Berlin, a European hotspot for politics, the arts, media, high-tech start-
ups, and clubbing. Venturing beyond the capital, students then examine facets of Germany's contemporary cultural, social, and political
landscape.
Students will help select specific topics for readings, discussions, and presentations, and participants interested in developing their German
language skills will have the opportunity to engage with relevant texts and media in German. Taught in English.
.5 credit.
Eligible for GMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 013R. The Meaning of Life and the Russian Novel
(Cross-listed as RUSS 013)
This course surveys the nineteenth-century Russian novel and some of its main themes.
Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian language or culture required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for RUSS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 014R. The Russian Novel: Revolution, Terror and Resistance
(Cross-listed as RUSS 014)
What does a culture look like after it undergoes a series of revolutions-sexual, linguistic, political-in short succession? To answer this question,
this course surveys the Russian novel from the years leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution, through the Soviet period, and into the post-Cold
War era. We will consider literary, social, and historical contexts and will address such issues as revolution, repression, emigration, trauma,
forms of resistance, and the artist's role in society. Works include Zamiatin's We, Olesha's Envy, Nabokov's The Gift, Bulgakov's Master &
Margarita, Tertz's The Trial Begins, Sokolov's Between Dog & Wolf, Petrushevskaya's Time: Night, and Shishkin's Maidenhair. Taught in
translation. No previous knowledge of Russian language or culture required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 015R. First Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation
(Cross-listed as RUSS 015)
Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers
with the purpose of appreciating the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent,
and outstanding cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing and discussion in English; qualified students may do some
readings in the original language(s).
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 017CH. History of Chinese Theater
(Cross-listed as CHIN 017)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 017FA. First Year Seminar: Literature and Medicine
(Cross-listed as FREN 017A)
Portrayals of doctors provide a great opportunity to discover some classic works of French Literature, including Molière's The Imaginary
Invalid, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Proust's Swann's Way, and Albert Camus' The Plague. Other authors studied are Montaigne and Diderot.
Students focus their discussions on the relationship with patients when these are seen as both humans beings and objects of science. Another
topic of interest is how literature can be viewed as therapeutic. Throughout the seminar, we try to understand what had made these works
original in their times and a source of admiration up to our days. Texts and discussions in English.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 017FB. First-Year Seminar: Forms of Exile in the Francophone World
(Cross-listed as FREN 017B)
Exile can be a multi faceted transnational, cultural, political, social journey, which often affect the vision of the here and there of individuals and
populations seeking a better life, some type of asylum, a change of landscape, etc. Through readings of (poems, prose, plays, songs, etc.) French
writers and artists from the Hexagon and beyond, we will examine issues such as freedom, resistance, social identity, dreams, hopes, differences,
transfer of roles, displacement, abandonment, borders, memory, creation, etc., as expressed by Apollinaire, Baudelaire, DuBellay, Césaire,
Hugo, Kacimi, Lahens, Levi-Strauss, Ollivier, Saint-John-Perse, Schwarz-Bart, Tadjo, Verlaine, among others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, BLST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/courses
LITR 017FC. First Year Seminar: Contemporary French Graphic Novels
(Cross-listed as FREN 017C)
This course examines how contemporary graphic novels in French and their aesthetic innovations have helped translate and magnify serious and
pressing questions that continue to shape political and social life in France and the world at large.
Our readings will address themes ranging from the colonial legacy and the wars in the Middle East to the quest for visibility by immigrants and
LGBTQ individuals. Finally, we will analyze how visual adaptations-whether cinematic adaptations of graphic novels or graphic adaptations of
movies and novels-reshape their original sources and adapt them to a new purpose.
(Conducted in English. Texts in Translation).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Fall 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Spring 2024. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures/courses-taught-english-0
LITR 017FD. First Year Seminar: The French Philosophical Novel
(Cross-listed as FREN 017D)
From the eighteenth century to the present day, French literature has a rich tradition of authors who are at once novelists and philosophers.
From the Enlightenment tales of Voltaire and Diderot, to the materialist metaphysics underlying Balzac's Realism, to the existentialist works of
Sartre and Beauvoir, to the relational ontology of Glissant's postcolonial literary universe, several of the central figures of French letters have
turned to the novel both as a platform for showcasing their philosophical systems and as a vessel to give shape and meaning to these very
systems. The following course proposes to study the interdependence between the novelistic and philosophical enterprises of these authors in
order to explore fundamental questions tied to knowledge, identity, and justice. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Balzac, Gide, Camus, Sartre,
Beauvoir, Glissant.
(Conducted in English. Texts in Translation.)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Spring 2023. Robison.
Fall 2023. Robison.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures/courses-taught-english-0
LITR 017G. First Year Seminar: Testimonial Literature
(Cross-listed as GMST 017)
This course explores the notion of testimony as an important aspect of a literature of resistance. We investigate how testimony intertwines with
questions of writing and truth, and creates a response to cultural violence. Students read theories and literature of resistance and testimony in a
wide-ranging selection of time periods and cultures, from the formation of a philosophical and religious idea of testimony in antiquity (Greek and
Judeo-Christian traditions) to its later development in the theories of Emmanuel Levinas. We will also study the emergence of the literary notion
of testimony by analyzing works of poetry, narrative, and film, with a particular focus on Jewish responses to the Shoah, and Latin American and
Latino responses to political and social repression.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
LITR 017R. First-Year Seminar: Love and Sex in Russian Literature
(Cross-listed as RUSS 017)
Best known for political priorities and philosophical depth, Russian literature has also devoted many works to the eternal concern of love and
sex. We will read significant and provocative works from traditional folk tales through the 21st century to discuss their construction of these most
"natural" impulses-and how they imagine the relationship of human attraction to art, politics and philosophy.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 018FJ. Manga, Bande Dessinée, and the Graphic Novel: A Transnational Study of Graphic Fictions
(Cross-listed as JPNS 018, FREN 018)
This course provides an introduction to the study of three of the most important contemporary graphic literary forms - manga, bandes dessinées,
and the graphic novel - and the national and transnational traditions with which they have become associated. Through a careful study of major
artists and key works from Japan and the Francophone world, we explore the particular histories, aesthetic evolutions, and social impact of these
sequential art forms, both in their specific places of origin and across the globe. We consider how these graphic fictions have managed to mirror
and refract major issues of historical trauma, technology and violence, as well as how they question representations of gender, class, race and
ethnicity, even as they wield a form of "soft power." The transnational impact that some works have played will also be explored through a
comparative analysis of local and global dissemination, transnational fan communities, non-Japanese-language manga, and transindustrial
exchanges. Texts and discussions in English. Students with knowledge of French and/or Japanese may read the works in the original.
There is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 018A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 021G. Artificial Humans in German Culture
This fifth semester course explores the uneasy relationship of humans with technology, including the most prominent forms of artificial
intelligence present throughout centuries of cultural production in German-speaking territories: golems, alrauns, homunculi, automata, clones,
cyborgs, artificial humans. Students will learn that many of the current challenges posed by technological developments, and particularly by
artificial intelligence, are not unique to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Class discussions, as well as short class presentations, will
support students' efforts to learn and correctly use the necessary vocabulary. Weekly language games will help students retain vocabulary,
review grammar, and learn new structures. Students will learn how to write an essay by producing several drafts and improving them. Students
will engage literature, music, visual art and media, as well as current newspaper articles. This course serves as the introduction to the
interdisciplinary field of German Studies.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2023. Meirosu.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 021GA. Artificial Humans in German Culture-Attachment
.5 credit.
Fall 2023. Meirosu.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 021R. Dostoevsky (in Translation)
(Cross-listed as RUSS 021)
Writer, gambler, publicist, and visionary Fedor Dostoevsky is one of the great writers of the modern age. His work inspired Nietzsche, Freud,
Woolf, and others and continues to exert a profound influence on thought in our own society to the present. Dostoevsky confronts the "accursed
questions" of truth, justice, and free will set against the darkest examples of human suffering: murder, suicide, poverty, addiction, and obsession.
Students will consider artistic, philosophical, and social questions through texts from throughout Dostoevsky's career. Students with knowledge
of Russian may read some or all of the works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 023CH. Modern Chinese Literature: A New Novelistic Discourse (1918-1948)
(Cross-listed as CHIN 023)
Modern Chinese literary texts created between 1918 and 1948, presenting a series of political, social, cultural, and ideological dilemmas
underlying 20th-century Chinese history. The class will discuss fundamental issues of modernity and new literary developments under the impact
of the May Fourth Movement. No previous preparation in Chinese required. All texts are in English translation, and the class is conducted in
English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 023R. The Muslim in Russia
(Cross-listed as RUSS 023)
The long and strong relationship of Russia and Islam has been neglected in scholarship until recently. This course will examine texts (and films)
spanning more than a thousand years, to introduce actual interactions of Russians and Muslims, images of Muslims in Russian literature (and a
few Muslim images of Russia), the place of Muslim writers in Soviet literature, and the current position of Muslims in Russia and in Russian
discourse.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 024CH. History of Chinese Literature: Fiction and Drama
(Cross-listed as CHIN 024)
This course surveys major narrative and genres, forms and works from the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) through the early twentieth century with an
emphasis on fiction and drama. Readings consist of both primary texts in English translation and secondary critical works. Issues to be
emphasized include print history and format (including illustration), performance context, the relationship between oral and written, vernacular
and classical storytelling, the invention of Chinese literary history as a discipline in the Republican period.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 025A. War in Arab Literature and Cinema
(Cross-listed as ARAB 025)
This course will explore literary and cinematic representations of war in the Arab world, focusing on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Lebanese
Civil War, and the Iraq wars. We will look at poetry, fiction, memoir, prison narratives, film, and experimental texts. Through the examination of
a variety of experiences, genres, and perspectives, we will ask questions like: How do narratives of war contribute to the formation of national,
local, and Arab identities? How has the experience of war impacted understandings of religion, masculinity, gender, and domestic violence? We
will identify common themes and images, and also investigate how these patterns change and develop in different spatial and temporal contexts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 025J. Contemporary Japanese Literature and Film.
Cross-listed as JPNS 025
This course will explore the confluence of literary and cinematic imagination with contemporary Japanese social and historical currents through
an examination of works by Japanese writers and filmmakers active today--primarily works created in the 21st Century. Themes considered will
include youth culture and urban life; precarity and social critique through the lenses of class, ethnicity, and gender; and disaster and dystopia.
Writers encountered will include Murakami Haruki, Kirino Natsuo, Kawakami Mieko, Murata Sayaka, Ogawa Yôko, and Tawada Yôko;
filmmakers will include Koreeda Hirokazu, Anno Hideaki, Sono Sion, and Shinkai Makoto. No prerequisites; the class will be conducted in
English and all works will be available in English translation or with English subtitles.
HU.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Gardner.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
LITR 026. Popular Music and Media
(Cross-listed as GMST 026, FMST 026, MUSI 005E)
Is Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) the Stop Making Sense (1984) of this generation? How does YouTube compare to Indie records? What's similar
and what's different? What is the relationship between social media and commercial means of distribution, and what is its effect on fandom? This
team-taught course investigates the histories, structures and cultural connections between popular music and other media. How do musical
expressions and genres interact with medium specificity? How can we understand changing exhibition formats (stadium vs. lounge vs. club) and
distribution venues (record store vs. Spotify)? How does celebrity culture then and now impact what is popular and how does it affect the music
industry and vice versa? What lies at the intersection of national, socio-political and fan cultures?
Providing a grounding in music and media history and theory, we will research and analyze mainstream and independent case studies in radio,
film, theater, television and social media in order to better understand and engage with the complex webs that characterize contemporary media,
its production, and its consumption.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Simon, Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 026R. Russian and East European Science Fiction
(Cross-listed as RUSS 026)
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and Eastern Europe, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Karel Čapek,
Mikhail Bulgakov, and Evgenii Zamiatin. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction provided a refuge from stultifying official
Socialist Realism for authors like Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers. This course will concentrate on 20th-century science fiction
(translated from Czech, Polish, Russian and Serbian) with a glance at earlier influences and attention to more recent works, as well as to
Western parallels and contrasts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 027CH. Nature and the Non-Human in Classical Chinese Tales of the Strange
(Cross-listed as CHIN 027)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT
Spring 2022. Ridgway.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 029A. Arabs Write the West
(Cross-listed as ARAB 029)
Drawing on historical, fictional, and autobiographical narratives, this course investigates Arab representations of the Occident. These texts
explore cultural encounters, both at home and abroad, border crossings, hybridity, experiences of colonialism and neocolonialism, the
psychology of Orientalism and Occidentalism, processes of assimilation and resistance, and the question of contact zones. Differences in
geography, period, context, and positionality will provide a variety of perspectives on the theme. Works by Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jabarti, Rifa'a Al-
Tahtawi, Yahya Haqqi, Sulaiman Fayyad, Tayyib Salih, Leila Ahmed, and Fadia Faqir will be discussed. This course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 033J. Tokyo Central: The Metropolis in Modern Japanese Literature and Film
(Cross-listed as JPNS 033)
This course aims to equip students to recognize and contextualize changing concepts of self and individual identity, family, community, and labor
as represented in literature and film narratives depicting the urban center of modern Japan: Tokyo. Brief lectures on literary historical and
historical contexts will precede guided discussions of literary texts and films. Students will be asked to consider, compare, and contrast
representations of Tokyo and its inhabitants over time, using close reading, historicization, and visual critical strategies from film studies. In
discussions we will also treat Tokyo's relationship to the nation of Japan, other Japanese regions, East Asia, and the world. We will further
assess how the course texts represent shifting views and experiences of the urban populace regarding family roles, romance, marriage, gender
roles, socio-economic class and social status, social responsibility, consumerism, and leisure over the course of Japan's modern history, from the
late 19th century through to the present.
Humanities
1 credit
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literature: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 033R. Propagandize This: LGBTQ Russia, Past and Present
(Cross-listed as RUSS 033)
In 2013, the Russian government passed a law forbidding the "promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors" - that is, restricting and
potentially criminalizing any open discussion of LGBTQ identities or direct acknowledgment of the existence of queer people in Russia.
Homophobic Russian rhetoric emphasizes the supposedly recent and foreign nature of LGBTQ identity and ideas - an idea at odds with the
diverse sexuality and gender legacies of Russia and the USSR explored in this course. We will consider the authors represented in this course,
which covers the 19th century through the present, as participants in legacies, but also as individual creators, and sometimes theorists, of queer
strategies of survival, as well as LGBTQ thought and art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Nikulin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
LITR 035J. Narratives of Disaster and Rebuilding in Japan
(Cross-listed as JPNS 035)
This course will explore documentary and fictional representations of the modern Japanese landscape and cityscape in crisis, with special
attention to the role of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster as a catalyst for change in contemporary Japan.
Documentaries and fictionalizations of the 2011 "triple disaster" reignited debates over cultural trauma and the ethics of representing disaster.
Through the study of literature, film, and critical discourse, we will examine the historical and cultural implications of such famous 20th-century
disaster narratives as Godzilla and Japan Sinks, as well as the latest writing and films from Japan, in the context of public debates about safety,
sustainability, and social change after the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. Readings and discussion will be in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 036CH. Women's Literature in Premodern China
(Cross-listed as CHIN 036)
Contrary to our stereotypes about the silent, invisible woman of premodern China, women actually wrote and published their work in
unprecedented numbers from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. This course will explore the literary and historical significance of
this output, which mainly took the form of poetry and prefaces to poetry collections, letters, some drama, and novels in verse, and which was
produced primarily by gentry women (e.g. women from elite families), courtesans, and nuns. A central theme will be the place and problem of
women's poetry in a male-dominated literary tradition and society. Topics to be addressed include the social function of poetry and women's
literary networks, women's relationship to the publishing market as writers, editors, and readers, the forces driving male interest in women's
writing at certain historical moments, and the changing ideas about what kinds of styles of past poets should be offered to boudoir poets as a
repertoire of available choices to read and imitate.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 037G. The Holocaust: History, Representation, and Culture
(Cross-listed as GMST 037 and HIST 037)
Seventy-five years after the Holocaust, and despite an enormous amount of research and testimony, the genocide of European Jewry continues to
generate compelling interpretive questions. This course is a multidisciplinary exploration of the Holocaust with special attention paid to forms of
memory, commemoration, and artistic representations through the study of fiction, poetry, film, memoirs, and historical scholarship.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.ed/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 037R. Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Captivity and Incarceration
(Cross-listed as RUSS 037)
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." - Dostoevsky. While the Gulag remains the most infamous aspect of
the Soviet justice system, Russia has a long history of inhumane punishment on a terrifying scale. This course explores narratives of
incarceration, punishment, and captivity from the 17th century to the present day. In discussing (non-)fiction, history, and theory, we will
consider such topics as justice, violence and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in
suffering. Readings include works by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, Nabokov, Solzhenitsyn, Pussy Riot, Foucault, Arendt, and
Sontag, among many others. For more information or the syllabus, please contact the instructor (jvergar1). Taught in translation; no knowledge
of Russian required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, INTP, GLBL-Paired, ESCH
Fall 2023. Vergara.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 041J. Fantastic Spaces in Modern Japanese Literature
(Cross-listed as JPNS 041)
As Japanese society has transferred rapidly in the 20th century and beyond, a number of authors have turned to the fantastic to explore the
pathways of cultural memory, the vicissitudes of interpersonal relationships, the limits of mind and body, and the nature of storytelling itself. In
this course, we will consider the use of anti-realistic writing genres in Japanese literature from 1900 to the present, combining readings of novels
and short stories with related critical and theoretical texts. Fictional works examined will include novels, supernatural tales, science fiction, and
cyber-fiction by authors such as Tanizaki Junichirô, Abe Kôbô, Kurahasi Yumiko, and Murakami Haruki.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for JPNS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 043R. Chernobyl: Nuclear Narratives and the Environment
(Cross-listed as RUSS 043)
What really happened on April 26, 1986? This course will introduce students to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, its consequences, and its
representations across a range of cultures. Texts will be drawn from (non-)fiction, poetry, film, TV, video games, VR, and other media, as we
consider the labyrinth of Chernobyl's mythology through a comparative lens and as a global phenomenon. Culture meets ecology, science,
history, and politics. Fields trips and guest speakers. The final class project will involve an installation at McCabe Library. Taught in translation.
No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 045A. Contemporary Thought in the Arab World
(Cross-listed as ARAB 045)
This survey course will trace some of the main themes, problems and issues that have been debated among Arab thinkers and intellectuals since
the latter part of the 19th century. The course will start with the 19th century but emphasize discussions following the military defeat of 1967 and
the ensuing cultural and political crisis. Discussions related to "turath" (heritage), the different strategies of its reading and interpretation, and
the possibilities of using these readings to confront the contemporary challenges of a globalized world will be the center of attention of the
course.
Readings for the course will comprise three types of texts: historical and social background, translations of texts by the different thinkers under
discussion, and articles and essays that interpret and critique these thinkers.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 047R. Russian Fairy Tales
(Cross-listed as RUSS 047)
Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their esthetic,
historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts,
and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales
against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, although
students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 051G. European Cinema
(Cross-listed as FMST 051, GMST 051)
Setting out from the cornerstones of aesthetics, history and memory, this course introduces you to post-war directors from Italian Neo-Realism,
British and French New Waves, Eastern European Cinema, Post-New Wave Italian auteurs, Spanish cinema after Franco, New German Cinema,
Swedish and Danish cinema. The course addresses key issues and concepts in European cinema such as realism, authorship, art cinema, and
political modernism, with reference to significant films and filmmakers and in the context of historical, social, and cultural issues.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, FMST, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 051J. Japanese Poetry and Poetics
(Cross-listed as JPNS 051)
Japanese poetic forms such as haiku, renga, and tanka have had a great impact on modern poetry across the world, and have played a central
role in the development of Japanese literature and aesthetics. This course will examine Japanese poetry from its roots in ancient oral tradition
through the internet age. Topics include the role of poetry in courtship, communication, religion, and ritual; orality and the graphic tradition; the
influence of poetic models from China and the West; social networks and game aesthetics in renga linked poetry; and haiku as a worldwide
poetic form. Course projects will include translation and composition in addition to analytical writing. Readings will be in English, and there are
no language requirements or other prerequisites; however, the course will include a close examination of Japanese poetic sound, syntax, meter,
and diction, or how the poems "work" in the original language.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 052CH. Chinese Opera and Performing Art
(Cross-listed as CHIN 052)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 053R. The End of History: Contemporary Russian Culture
(Cross-listed as RUSS 053)
Hailed as the "end of history" and "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century," the fall of the Soviet Union forced Russia to reconcile a
past that had long been suppressed with a present reality full of possibility. We'll discuss works that address contemporary issues (Putinism,
protests, refugees, corruption) and resurrect historical traumas (the Civil War, the Stalin years, the Leningrad Siege, Chernobyl) to understand
Russia today. This course features a wide range of texts: fiction, non-fiction, oral histories, poetry, art, performance, and film. We will also have
the opportunity to speak with some of the figures whose work we'll examine. No knowledge of Russian required.
Humanities.
Writing Course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 054G. German Cinema
(Cross-listed as GMST 054, FMST 054)
This course is an introduction to German cinema from its inception in the 1890s until the present. It includes an examination of early exhibition
forms, expressionist and avant-garde films from the classic German cinema of the Weimar era, fascist cinema, postwar rubble films, DEFA films
from East Germany, New German Cinema from the 1970s, and post 1989 heritage films. We will analyze a cross-match of popular and avant-
garde films while discussing mass culture, education, propaganda, and entertainment as identity- and nation-building practices.
Fulfills national cinema requirement for FMST.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 055CH. Contemporary Chinese Cinema: The New Waves (1984-2005)
(Cross-listed as CHIN 055, FMST 055)
Cinema has become a special form of cultural mirror representing social dynamics and drastic changes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan since the mid-1980s. The course will develop a better understanding of changing Chinese culture by analyzing cinematic texts and the
new wave in the era of globalization. All films are English subtitled, and the class is conducted in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Kong.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 056G. Outbreak Narratives
(Cross-listed as GMST 056)
This Medical Humanities course invites students to pause and think about the contradiction inherent in human contact: on the one hand, we need
it in order to flourish, while on the other hand, it poses potential risks. Informed by a theoretical framework that draws on insights from fields
such as Disability Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze German literature
depicting contagious outbreaks, life in isolation, and explore the ethics of cure and human experimentation.
As part of a larger focus on the ways in which cultural representations of contagion are informed by cultural norms and how, in their turn, these
representations have an impact on shaping and building cultural communities, students will be asked to consider the many connotations and
valences of the term "contagion." Most simply, the word "contagion" denotes a risk of contamination, a potentially lethal danger to the exposed
subject. This course invites students to go beyond this literal interpretation of the word in order to contemplate the ways in which contagion
challenges the notion of an isolated, self-contained self, to explore the intriguing possibility of a self with fluid boundaries that is constantly
shaped by a community, and to cultivate empathy for other community members in the face of shared vulnerability. Using German literature in
English translation to explore literature on the plague, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV, as well on as vampires, we will consider how race, gender,
class, and historical époques shape illness stories. In particular, we will look at the power dynamics that code contagions either as negative
(where it refers, for instance, to a potentially deadly disease) or as positive (where it refers to contagious affects or an exchange of
ideas). Authors include Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Elfreide Jelinek, Thomas Mann, J. W. Goethe, Fanny Lewald, Heinrich Heine, Franz
Kafka, Bertha von Suttner.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies
LITR 063R. Roots of Feminism & Radicalism in Russia
(Cross-listed as RUSS 063)
From the earliest engagements with socialism in the Russian Empire to Russian Jewish émigré anarchism in the United States, radical visions for
the transformation of society in Russian intellectual history were intertwined with the question of the social position of women. In this writing
intensive course we will trace interlocking questions of social transformation and gender equality through literary and philosophical works by
authors including: Tolstoy, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexandra Kollontai, Emma Goldman, and many others. This course is
writing intensive.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Spring 2022. Stuhr-Rommereim.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 065CH. Peking Opera and Globalization
(Cross-listed as CHIN 065)
By using cultural globalization as an explanatory framework built on the foundation of historical studies, this course enables students to conduct
critical and interdisciplinary analysis of Peking opera, a living theatrical tradition commonly considered to be the "national theater" of China.
The central question we ask is: How have the cultural dimensions of globalization-transnational flows of technology, media, and popular culture-
intensified Peking opera's connection to urban culture, archival digitalization, visual arts, politics of style, Chinese nationalist ideology and
intercultural influences in America? Students not only engage with scholarly literature that cuts across different disciplines and
genres (including theater anthropology, cultural history, cinema, music, literature, and art history), but also are introduced to a rich body of
sources, ranging from photographs to opera films and documentaries. They have the opportunity to learn some basics of singing and movement
and conduct field trips to study with Peking opera troupes in the Chinese community in Philadelphia.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 070R. Translation Workshop
(Cross-listed as LING 070, RUSS 070)
This workshop in literary translation concentrates on translation theory and practice, working in poetry, prose, and drama as well as editing.
Students will participate in an associated series of bilingual readings and will produce a substantial portfolio of work. Students taking the course
for LING credit will write a final paper supported by a smaller portfolio of translations.
Excellent knowledge of a language other than English (equivalent to a 004 course at Swarthmore or higher) is highly recommended or, failing
that, access to at least one very patient speaker of a foreign language.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, RUSS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 071F. Beyond Tintin: Contemporary French Graphic novels
This course examines how contemporary graphic novels in French and their aesthetic innovations have helped translate and magnify serious and
pressing questions that continue to shape political and social life in France and the world at large. Our readings will address themes ranging
from the haunting colonial legacy and the wars in the Middle East to the quest for visibility by immigrants and LGBTQ individuals. Finally, we
will analyze how visual adaptations-whether cinematic adaptations of graphic novels or graphic adaptations of movies and novels-reshape their
original sources and adapt them to a new purpose.
Taught in English. 0.5 credit attachment for students reading in French.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 072F. The French Novel in Translation: Balzac, Flaubert, Proust
This course is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of French literature, from before the Revolution to the present. Among the
authors included on the syllabus are: Molière, Voltaire, Balzac, Baudelaire, Proust, Camus and Sartre. Students will read works in their entirety,
discuss their significance in class, and listen to short lectures to situate the readings in a historical and cultural context. Taught in English; and
there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 072A).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FREN
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 073F. Postwar France: French New Wave
(Cross-listed as FMST 052)
This course is an in-depth exploration of the development and evolution of the French New Wave in postwar France. We will concentrate on the
history of the New Wave in France from the 1950s through the late 1960s by the close study of the styles of individual filmmakers, the "film
movement" as perceived by critics, and the New Wave's contribution to modernizing France. The primary emphasis will be on the stylistic, socio-
political, and cultural dimensions of the New Wave, and the filmmakers and critics most closely associated with the movement. Directors who
were once all film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma will be studied along side other important filmmakers of the era.
Taught in English. 0.5 credit attachment for students reading in French.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 074F. The Shadow of the Enlightement
Crosslisted with FREN 074.
The following course offers a critical examination of the central ideas guiding the French Enlightenment, paying particularly close attention to
the notion of "otherness" underlying the Enlightenment project-that is, that which is facilely left out in the eighteenth century's valorization of
reason. In opposition to the Enlightenment idea of the rational man is the irrational animal, a binary that materialist thinkers like La Mettrie and
Condillac are quick to blur; in opposition to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (the crowning civil rights document from the
French Revolution) is Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, a text that criticizes eighteenth-century
gender inequalities; in opposition to the Enlightenment's enormous blind spots surrounding race is Claire de Duras' Ourika, a novel that decries
the pervasive racism of the eighteenth century. Throughout the semester, we will study the novels, essays, and dialogues that shape the major
ideas of the Enlightenment (and the revolutionary modes of thinking that accompany it), while also studying that which lies in the shadow of the
Enlightenment. Authors include: Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Condillac, La Mettrie, Gouges, Duras.
Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading in French (FREN 074A).
Humanities
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 074J. Japanese Popular Culture and Contemporary Media
(Cross-listed as JPNS 074)
Japanese popular culture products such as manga (comics), anime (animation), television, film, and popular music are an increasingly vital
element of 21st-century global culture, attracting ardent fans around the world. In this course, we will critically examine the postwar
development of Japanese popular culture, together with the proliferation of new media that have accelerated the global diffusion of popular
cultural forms. Engaging with theoretical ideas and debates regarding popular culture and media, we will discuss the significance of fan
cultures, including the "otaku" phenomenon in Japan and the United States, and consider how national identity and ethnicity impact the
production and consumption of popular cultural products. We will also explore representations of technology in creative works, and consider the
global and the local aspects of technological innovations, including the internet, mobile phones, and other portable technology. Readings and
discussion will be in English. The course will be conducted in a seminar format with student research and presentations comprising an important
element of the class. Previous coursework in Japanese studies or media studies is recommended but not required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST, JPNS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 075J. Japanese Modernism
(Cross-listed as JPNS 075)
A lively and cosmopolitan modernist literature and art scene thrived in early 20th Century Japan, as cities such as Tokyo and Osaka grew
rapidly, and writers and artists established connections with their counterparts across the globe. During the same decades, stylish "modern girls"
and "modern boys" in Japanese cities were hailed in the press as avatars of newly liberated lifestyles and fashions, or derided by conservatives
as the dupes of corrupt Western influences. This course will explore Japanese modernist literature, its global connections, and its social context,
using a seminar format. Topics include: Japanese avant-garde literature, film, and art; gender, sexuality, and modernism; the politics and
aesthetics of "modern" life and lifestyles; socialist and anarchist literature; "ero-guro-nonsense" as subversive literature; wartime censorship
and propaganda; and Japanese influences on global modernisms. Readings and discussion will be in English; students with
advanced Japanese reading ability are encouraged to read the texts in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 077F. Reading While Crossing Three Continents
(Cross-listed as FREN 077 )
You are invited to a cross-cultural exploration of various populations of the Francophone world, through the study or different media and topics,
relevant to contemporary societies in France, West Africa and Central America. Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment
for students reading in French (FREN 077A ).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL - Core
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 078F. Film and Place: West African Filmmakers at Home and Abroad
Crosslisted with FMST 058 .
The moving image, it is often argued, has a special relationship to time and space, and in this class, we will explore how West African filmmakers
explore and represent space by emphasizing place(s), both real and imagined. Using the lens of critical issues in postcolonial film studies, we
will consider how to analyze these places by focusing our observations on the built-environment and the natural world; homelands and
hostlands; mobility and stillness. Filmmakers studied include Mati Diop (France/Senegal), Sembène Ousmane (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako
(Mali/Mauritania), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon), Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (Senegal), among others. This
course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Yervasi.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 079F. Course in Translation: French Detective Fiction and Film
(Cross-listed as FREN 079 , FMST 053 )
Detective fiction has a long history in the urban literary and cinematic imagination of France and other French-speaking countries. This course
focuses on several points of convergence: the history of urban detectives in various Francophone contexts; theories of genre; and stylized
representations of the city, its architecture and populations. Taught in English; and there is a 0.5 credit French Attachment for students reading
in French (FREN 079A ).
Humanities
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures/courses-taught-english-0
LITR 083J. War and Postwar in Japanese Culture
(Cross-listed as JPNS 083)
What was the Japanese experience of the World War II and the Allied Occupation? We will examine literary works, films, and graphic materials
(photographs, prints, advertisements, etc.), together with oral histories and historical studies, to seek a better understanding of the prevailing
ideologies and intellectual struggles of wartime and postwar Japan as well as the experiences of individuals living through the cataclysmic events
of midcentury. Issues to be investigated include Japanese nationalism and imperialism, women's experiences of the war and home front;
changing representations and ideologies of the body, war writing and censorship, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese
responses to the occupation, and the war in postwar memory.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 086CG. Chinese Food Culture and Farming: Traditions and Transitions
(Cross-listed as CHIN 086, ENVS 052)
While the challenging problem of feeding one fifth of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land remains a priority
in Chinese agricultural policy, extensive environmental degradation and innumerous food scandals have shifted the primary concern of food
supply to issues of food safety, from quantity to quality. The class will focus on the challenges and successes of such a turn to a more ecologically
friendly agricultural production and food processing industry. In addition, rapid changes in food preferences displace more traditional diets and
redirect agricultural production, especially towards production of meat, bringing in foreign private equity firms like KKR and US food
conglomerates like Tyson Foods. These changes also affect traditional regional food cultures. This interdisciplinary class (Environmental
Studies, Economics, Sociology, Biology, humanities and Chinese Studies) will explore the following key topics:
From food security to food safety - the ecological turn in China's agriculture
Organic farming in China - challenges and successes of state and private organic farm initiatives
Ministry plans and China's new farmers
Regional food traditions
The role of restaurants in Chinese culture
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 091CH. Special Topics in English: Taiwan in Transition under Japanese Colonial Rule: Literature,
Material Culture, and Social Movements
(Cross-listed as CHIN 091)
Special Topics
Fall 2021 Topic: Taiwan in Transition under Japanese Colonial Rule: Literature, Material Culture, and Social Movements
Fall 2022 Topic: Representing Colonial Taiwan: Public Space in Print
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT, PEAC
Fall 2021. Li.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 094. Independent Study
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Fall 2023. Meirosu.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 095A. Arabic Literature: Society and Scandal
Cross-listed as ARAB 095
Societal scandals and controversies surrounding Arabic literary works have arisen across the Middle East and North Africa throughout the 20th
and 21st centuries. The free expression fostered in the literary field frequently confronts the realities of state censors and other forces in society,
such as political ideologies or religious orthodoxies. In this course we aim to contextualize and study these scandals and controversies by closely
analyzing the literary works at their source, as well as the debates and transgressive acts they elicited. From intentional omissions in translation,
to debates surrounding the portrayal of homosexual characters, to assassination attempts on authors lives, this course will focus on a number of
important inflection points across the Middle East and North Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will study works by authors from Morocco
to Saudi Arabia, including Taha Hussein, Naguib Mahfouz, Mohamed Choukri, Nawal El Saadawi, Saud Alsanousi, Alaa Al Aswani, Rashid al-
Daif, Rajaa al-Sanea, amongst others. This course will be conducted in English, using texts translated from Arabic.
Prerequisite: This course is open to all students, no prerequisites are required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures/courses-taught-english-0
LITR 096. Thesis
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 180. Honors Thesis
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Courses
Faculty
SIBELAN FORRESTER, Professor and Section Head
3
LEV NIKULIN, Visiting Assistant Professor
HELEN STUHR-ROMMEREIM, Visiting Assistant Professor
TSVETELINA YORDANOVA, Lecturer
3 Absent on leave, 2021-2022
The Academic Program
The major in Russian language and literature covers the rise and development of Russian literature and culture up to the present. Students will
encounter critical theory and develop skill in critical analysis, approaching Soviet and Russian literature and culture in relationship to historical
and social forces. Our courses emphasize culture as well as literature: indeed, understanding Russian literature and other arts is impossible
without some background in the history and civilization. Because Russian is a small program, we are very responsive to student demand and can
develop courses almost to order, if there is sufficient interest. Students interested in a combined Russian language and linguistics major may
develop a program with advanced courses and seminars in the language offered at Bryn Mawr or the University of Pennsylvania and the
Linguistics Department at Swarthmore College.
Russian in Combination with Other Programs
In the Course Program, Russian contributes to majors in comparative literature, film and media studies, and linguistics and to the concentrations
in interpretation theory and gender and sexuality studies. Thematic courses in Russian culture can support majors or minors in history, music,
philosophy, and political science and concentrations in Asian studies, Environmental studies, Global studies, Islamic studies and Peace and
Conflict studies. A Russian honors minor fits well with an honors major in the humanities or social sciences, and nicely rounds out majors in
engineering or the natural sciences. In the Honors Program, Russian contributes to the major or minor in comparative literature or linguistics
and languages. By including advanced coursework at Bryn Mawr College, Russian can be part of a special major in educational studies for
teacher certification.
There is no distinction between qualification for the Russian Course Program and for the Honors Program. We recommend a minimum of one
semester or summer of study in Russia. Majors and minors are urged to build and maintain fluency by taking Russian Conversation (RUSS
006A), and to support their work in the field with courses in anthropology, art, cognitive science, film and media studies, history, music,
philosophy, political science, religion, sociology, theater, and other literatures.
RUSS 091, the seminar attachment, may be added to any course numbered 020 or above to convert it to a seminar, for a total of two credits. The
additional work is done in the original language and supported by regular meetings with the professor, readings, discussions, and significant
writing assignments in Russian. We anticipate that most seminar work will be done in this format. If there is sufficient student demand, we can
offer advanced seminars in any of the following areas:
First Course Recommendations
Although it is often possible to take intensive Russian courses over the summer, students interested in majoring or minoring in Russian, including
Russian in a major in Comparative Literature or Linguistics and Languages, or using the language for research in other fields should begin
study with RUSS 001 and RUSS 002 in their first year.
Course Major
Requirements
A minimum of eight credits, which must include:
1. RUSS 004 (unless placed higher)
2. RUSS 010 and/or RUSS 011, RUSS 012, RUSS 018, RUSS 019 (or equivalent course taken in Russia)
3. One survey course: RUSS 013 or RUSS 014
4. Four content credits: RUSS 013-RUSS 086. At least one full content credit may be earned through: two half-credit attachments to
these in-translation courses; the attachments include RUSS 091 (Seminar Attachment), RUSS 093 (Directed Reading), or RUSS
094 (Independent Study). Credit from study abroad may be used toward 3 of these credits.
5. One two-credit seminar: RUSS 100 and above.
For students who choose not to emphasize literature, a Russian history course may be used to fulfill one content credit. Possible courses include
HIST 001Q , HIST 038, and HIST 039. Students should consult Russian Section Faculty if they wish to arrange attachments to these courses.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a major or minor, you must have earned a minimum grade of "B" in Russian language and literature courses taken at
Swarthmore and present linguistic ability and clear potential for sophisticated study in the original literature, criticism, and cultural history of
imperial Russia, the Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Russia.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
The culminating exercise for a course major in Russian is one three-hour written examination (answering two questions in Russian, one in
English), scheduled after the end of regular exams in the spring semester of senior year.
Course Minor
Requirements for a minor in course in Russian
A minimum of five credits, which must include:
1. RUSS 004 (unless placed higher)
2. RUSS 010 or RUSS 011, RUSS 012, RUSS 018 or RUSS 019 (or equivalent course taught in Russia)
3. One survey course: RUSS 013 or RUSS 014
4. Two content credits: RUSS 013-RUSS 086 or one content credit (RUSS 013-RUSS 086) plus an attachment.
(Credit from study abroad may be used toward all content credits.)
5. One two-credit seminar: RUSS 100 and above or the equivalent: a content course with the Seminar Attachment, RUSS 091.
Honors Major
Prerequisites for Majors:
A minimum of eight credits, which must include:
1. RUSS 004 (unless placed higher)
2. RUSS 010 and/or RUSS 011, RUSS 012, RUSS 018 or RUSS 019 (or equivalent course in Russia)
3. One survey course: RUSS 013 or RUSS 014
4. Four content credits: RUSS 013-RUSS 086. At least one full content credit must be earned through: RUSS 091 (Seminar Attachment);
RUSS 093 (Directed Reading), RUSS 094 (Independent Study), and regular half or full credit course attachments may also count
here. Credit from study abroad may be used toward 3 of these credits. For student who choose not to emphasize literature, one
Russian history course may be used to fulfill one content credit. Possible courses include HIST 038 and HIST 039. Students should
consult Russian Section Faculty regarding attachments to these courses.
5. At least one two-credit seminar: RUSS 100 and above.
6. The minimum grade for acceptance into the Honors Program is "B" level work in Russian language courses taken at Swarthmore and
in RUSS 011 or its equivalent.
7. The selection of coursework for Honors Preparation will be decided in consultation with Russian Section Faculty.
At least one semester of study in Russia is strongly encouraged.
Senior Honors Study
Please see the information on seminars and seminar attachments, above.
At the beginning of the final semester, seniors will meet with the Russian section head.
1. Honors majors write three 3,000-3,500 word papers in Russian, one for each honors preparation, or else one 6,000-word paper which
integrates the three honors preparations. These three papers (or one long paper) become part of the portfolio presented to the
external examiners, along with the syllabi of the three (2-credit) honors preparations and any other relevant material.
2. Minors will be expected to write one 3,000-3,500-word paper in Russian. This paper will become part of the portfolio presented to the
examiner along with the syllabus of the (2-credit) honors preparation and any other relevant material.
3. Majors will take three three-hour written examinations in Russian prepared by external examiners, plus one half-hour oral exam for
each, based on the contents of the written examination and materials submitted in the portfolio. Minors will take one three-hour
written examination prepared by an external examiner and one half-hour oral examination based on the written examination and
materials submitted in the portfolio.
Honors Minor
Prerequisites for Minors:
A minimum of five credits, which must include:
1. RUSS 004 (unless placed higher)
2. RUSS 010 or RUSS 011, RUSS 012, RUSS 018, RUSS 019 (or equivalent course in Russia)
3. One survey course: RUSS 013 or RUSS 014
4. One content credit (RUSS 013-RUSS 086) plus an attachment
(Credit from study abroad may be used toward all content credits)
5. One two-credit seminar: RUSS 100 and above.
6. Selection of coursework for the Honors preparation will be decided in consultation with Russian Section Faculty.
The minimum grade for acceptance into the Honors Program is "B" level work in language courses taken at Swarthmore and in RUSS 011 or its
equivalent.
At least one semester of study in Russia is strongly encouraged. See item 2 above for Senior Honors Study Paper.
Special Major
Courses in Russian language, literature, and culture may be integrated into special majors of a variety of kinds, for example: Russian area
studies, Russian cinema, or Russian and East European literature and/or culture.
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
1. Complete three credits numbered above RUSS 004
2. One of the three credits must be RUSS 010 or RUSS 011, RUSS 012, RUSS 018, RUSS 019 (and both may be counted)
3. Students are especially encouraged to include a seminar at Swarthmore and/or advanced language course taught at Bryn Mawr College
Off-Campus Study
Study abroad is strongly encouraged for students of Russian. We recommend four programs (ACTR, CIEE, Middlebury, and the Smolny Institute)
for semester and academic-year study in Russia. Credit may also be available for study through other programs, with appropriate
documentation. Consult your professor for more information on programs and sources of funding support.
Summer Opportunities
Besides summer abroad study or internships, and the possibility of arranging for summer humanities research under the supervision of Russian
program faculty, students interested in summer language study in Russia or in summer programs in the U.S. may apply for financial support from
the Olga Lamkert Fund.
Russian is certified as a critical language by U.S. government agencies, meaning that for both summer study and study abroad there is funding
available to support students of Russian, especially if they are working to reach a high level of proficiency. Ask us for information on this
financial assistance, and for support in applying.
Life After Swarthmore
A major or minor in Russian can enhance a variety of career choices: strong language skills bolster any other program of work, research or
study, while knowledge of literature and culture offers subtle or obvious advantages in business, politics, science and medicine. Like other less
commonly taught languages, Russian on your college transcript suggests to potential employers or graduate school admissions committees that
you are smart and adventurous, willing to try a challenging new subject of study and able to master it by completing a major or a minor.
Graduate School and Other Study
Recent Russian majors and minors have completed area studies M.A. degrees at Harvard University and elsewhere; others have entered the
Flagship Program, which aims to bring students to the highest levels of language proficiency for subsequent work in politics, scholarship, or
NGOs. Students with majors in Russian Literature have gone on to doctoral work in History and Political Science. Others have done graduate
study in Linguistics, English Literature, Creative Writing and Comparative Literature. The systematic nature of Russian grammar makes it no
surprise that some of our majors and minors go on to medical school or to graduate work in Physics and Astronomy. One graduate received a
Fulbright fellowship to study Russian authors who covered the Spanish Civil War as journalists and how their writing influenced the later
development of Soviet literature; another received a Fulbright to study plant genetics in southern Russia and Kazakhstan, and a third received a
Fulbright to study the experience of Africans in Russia.
Career Options/Opportunities
As the paths of study above suggest, Russian can be combined with almost any field. Whether immediately after graduation or later, our alumni
have found work as editors or English teachers in Russia. Some have gone into the State Department or have become medical doctors, data
analysts or political activists. Graduate study may lead to careers as college and university professors or directors of university Title VI centers.
Whatever your career choice, we can put you in touch with alumni of Swarthmore's Russian program who will be able to offer you advice,
support, and connections in the field.
Russian Courses
Not all advanced courses or seminars are offered every year. Students wishing to major or minor in Russian should plan their program in
consultation with department faculty.
Seminars in Russian are only offered when there is sufficient demand, RUSS 010 likewise. Otherwise students who wish to use a literature course
in translation for seminar credit must register for a Seminar Attachment (1 additional credit), adding an A to the course number: 21A, 33A, 41A,
etc. Courses numbered under 20 cannot be taken as seminars.
RUSS 001. Intensive Russian
Students who start in the RUSS 001-002 sequence must complete and pass 002 in order to receive credit for 001.
For students who wish to begin Russian in college or who did not move beyond an introduction in high school. Designed to impart an active
command of the language. Combines the study of grammar with intensive oral practice, work on phonetics, writing, web materials, and readings
in literary and expository prose. Conducted primarily in Russian; normally followed by RUSS 004, RUSS 011 and ideally by RUSS 010, and
RUSS 008A.
See the explanatory note on language courses in the first section of modern languages and literatures.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Fall 2021. Nikulin. Yordanova.
Fall 2022. Staff, Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 002. Intensive Russian
Students who start in the RUSS 001-002 sequence must complete and pass 002 in order to receive credit for 001.
For students who wish to begin Russian in college or who did not move beyond an introduction in high school. Designed to impart an active
command of the language. Combines the study of grammar with intensive oral practice, work on phonetics, writing, web materials, and readings
in literary and expository prose. Conducted primarily in Russian; normally followed by RUSS 004, RUSS 011 and ideally by RUSS 010, and
RUSS 008A.
See the explanatory note on language courses in the first section of modern languages and literatures.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Spring 2022. Nikulin. Yordanova.
Spring 2023. Staff, Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 003. Intermediate Intensive Russian
For students who wish to begin Russian in college or who did not move beyond an introduction in high school. Designed to impart an active
command of the language. Combines the study of grammar with intensive oral practice, work on phonetics, writing, web materials, and readings
in literary and expository prose. Conducted primarily in Russian; normally followed by RUSS 004, RUSS 011 and ideally by RUSS 010, and
RUSS 008A.
See the explanatory note on language courses in the first section of modern languages and literatures.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Fall 2021. Stuhr-Rommereim. Yordanova.
Fall 2022. Staff, Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 004. Intermediate Intensive Russian
For majors and those interested in reaching advanced levels of proficiency in the language. Advanced conversation, composition, translation,
and stylistics. Considerable attention to writing skills, phonetics, and spontaneous speaking. Readings include short stories, poetry, newspapers,
and the Russian web.
Humanities.
1.5 credits.
Spring 2022. Stuhr-Rommereim. Yordanova.
Spring 2023. Staff, Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff, Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 005. First Year Seminar: Back to the Future: Contemporary Russian Culture and Society
(Cross-listed as LITR 005R)
Hailed as the "end of history" and "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century," the fall of the Soviet Union forced Russia to reconcile a
past that had long been suppressed with a present reality full of possibility. We'll discuss works that address contemporary issues (Putinism,
protests, refugees, corruption) and resurrect historical traumas (WWII, Stagnation, Soviet anti-Semitism, the Leningrad Siege) to understand
Russia today. We will also have the opportunity to speak with some of the authors we'll be reading.
FYS and W. Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
W
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 006A. Russian Conversation
This course meets once a week for 1.5 hours. Students will read newspapers, explore the Internet, and watch videos to prepare for conversation
and discussion. Each student will design and complete an individual project based on his or her own interests and goals.
Can be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite: RUSS 004 in the current or a previous semester or by permission of the instructor.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Yordanova.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 008A. Russian Phonetics
(Cross-listed as LING 008A)
This course does not require any previous knowledge of Russian. It was originally conceptualized as an opportunity for students of Russian to
develop their pronunciation; however, it will also allow linguists to put theory into practice with the pursuit of the acquisition of Russian
phonetics. This is ultimately a practical course; therefore, attention will be focused on resetting the default positions of the tongue, jaw and lips
(or, as the Russians have it, the "articulation foundation"). Work on the production of the individual phonemes will be followed by the study of
phonetic rules, which govern the production of consecutive sounds in word and phrases, and by the study of intonational constructions.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 010. Advanced Russian
The course includes practice in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Russian through the use of authentic Russian language materials,
including film. Students will consolidate previous knowledge of Russian grammar, and will significantly increase their vocabulary and improve
their level of coherent language and writing. Students will acquire conscious knowledge of the meanings of the grammatical forms applied to
discourse, i.e. to specific verbal situations, based not only on the underlying linguistic phenomena, but also on the content of lingua-cultural
situations.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 011. Introduction to Russian Culture
This advanced intensive writing course will reinforce previous stages of work in Russian and will focus on composition rather than translation
from English. Students will develop advanced skills in comprehension and active use of the written language through the use of authentic Russian
language materials. The course will concentrate on contemporary Russian culture and also on changes in the Russian language-with a wide
variety of materials from fiction, newspapers, journals and other media sources.
Conducted in Russian.
Prerequisite: RUSS 004 or permission from the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 012. Russian Culture through Film
The purpose of this course is to study the ways in which Russian filmmakers have used the medium of cinema to explore history, culture, politics,
and social issues prevalent in the Russian society at different periods of its development. The course will follow the development of Soviet and
Russian cinema from the Golden Age of silent films, through the periods of Socialist Realism, WWII, the Thaw, Stagnation, Perestroika, and
finally - the Russian Federation up to the present day.
In addition to exploring Russian history and culture, in this course special attention will be paid to the medium itself - cinema. As storytelling
device, as historical document, as expression of imagination, as artistic object, there is no form more capable of capturing our interest and
provoking the senses. Therefore, some of the main objectives in this course will be:
To understand the nature and process of film production
To learn how to "read" and analyze film
To explore the major aesthetic trends in the history of cinema and familiarize ourselves with the main theoretical and critical
approaches to film theory.
The films and readings assigned for each class meeting are selected because of their relevance to the theories for the week (often this relevance
will be implicit rather than explicit) - for instance: The Photographic Image and Sound, The Cinematic Narrator, Reality and Film, The Film
Spectator, Film Genre, etc. The goal of the course is not to focus on any single theory or group of theories, but rather to review a large selection
of theories, and allow the students to practice applying these theories to film, so that by the end of the course each student will have the critical
tools to provide an informed verbal and written film analysis, and be able to discuss how various aesthetic and ideological approaches to
filmmaking influence cinema practice over time.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Yordanova.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 012A. Attachment: Russian Culture Through Film
.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 013. The Meaning of Life and the Russian Novel
(Cross-listed as LITR 013R)
This course surveys the nineteenth-century Russian novel and considers its major themes: the meaning of life in the face of death; love, marriage,
and adultery; women's fate in a patriarchal society; the individual, the collective, and the experience of modernity; the ideology of Empire;
crime, punishment, and redemption; and the danger and promise of utopian thought. Our approach will be 1) to read and closely analyze a series
of texts that became the foundation for the Russian novelistic tradition within their own contexts and 2) to explore how these texts speak to
contemporary issues, our lives, and eternal questions that all of humanity faces. Authors will include Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov,
Karolina Pavlova, Ivan Turgenev, Fedor Dostoevksy, and Lev Tolstoy.
Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian language or culture required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stuhr-Rommereim.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 013A. Attachment: The Russian Novel
Attachment course for students reading in Russian enrolled in RUSS 013.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 014. The Russian Novel: Revolution, Terror and Resistance
(Cross-listed as LITR 014R)
What does a culture look like after it undergoes a series of revolutions-sexual, political, linguistic-in short succession? To answer this question,
this course surveys the Russian novel and its contexts from the years following the Bolshevik Revolution, through the Soviet period, and into the
post-Cold War era.
A battle of values in the early USSR between a rebel and a sausage maker. First love and the Russo-Japanese war through the eyes of a child. A
dystopian, Kafkaesque tale of an individual awaiting his execution. Stalin's purges, Gulag labor camps, and the women who fight for their sons.
A murder-mystery in the depths of the Russian provinces. The fall of the Soviet Union and the tragedy of those it left behind. A time traveler born
in 1900 who awakens in 1999 and must reconstruct the Russian 20th Century.
All are welcome. Taught in translation. No previous knowledge of Russian language or culture required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-paired
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 014A. Attachment: The Russian Novel
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 015. First-Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation
(Cross-listed as LITR 015R)
Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers
to appreciate the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent, and outstanding
cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing, and discussion in English; students who are able may do some readings in the
original languages.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, CPLT
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 016A. Forensic Linguistics
Cross-listed as LING 016A
This half-credit course provides an overview of linguistic approaches to the study of law and language. It combines a theoretical discussion of
selected issues with practical analysis of texts. Written texts will be analyzed for their stylistic features, spoken texts will point out the interaction
between discourse participants. The course will report on the findings of the newly developing discipline of forensic linguistics. At the end of the
course, students will be able to understand the role of the emerging discipline of forensic linguistics as well as understand the specificities of
various genres of legal English.
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Yordanova.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 017. First-Year Seminar: Love and Sex in Russian Literature
(Cross-listed as LITR 017R)
Best known for political priorities and philosophical depth, Russian literature has also devoted many works to the eternal concern of love and
sex. We will read significant and provocative works from traditional folk tales through the 20th century to discuss their construction of these most
"natural" impulses -and how they imagine the relationship of human attraction to art, politics and philosophy.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Nikulin
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 018. Reading the Russian Media
The Russian media (средства массовой информации) offer a wide range of political positions, language styles, and thematic interests. In this
course we will read and watch widely, following both current events and particular student interests. Projects will emphasize all areas of
language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and may contribute to your work in other courses.
Prerequisite: RUSS 004 or permission of the instructor.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Yordanova.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 019. Russian Culture Through Music
(Cross-listed as MUSI 004C)
Music has always played a central role in Russian cultural life. By shaping and responding to various cultural, social, and political changes, it
has served as a space for the construction and negotiation of individual and national identity. This course will begin with a brief historical
survey, touching upon the folk tradition and the beginning of Russian classical music and opera - Glinka, Musorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich,
etc. We will also examine the development of Russian music through different historical periods, concentrating on an area of common interest for
the specific group of students enrolled in the course. Some of the questions this course will pose, and hopefully answer, at least partially, are:
How does a piece of music reflect the ideological and political situation of its time? How does it reveal the aesthetic sensibilities and aspirations
of the composers, their listeners, and society at large? How has music's function as breeding ground for social and cultural values changed in
post-Soviet times?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 021. Dostoevsky (in Translation)
(Cross-listed as LITR 021R)
Writer, gambler, publicist, and visionary Fedor Dostoevsky is one of the great writers of the modern age. His work influenced Nietzsche, Freud,
Woolf, and others and continues to exert a profound influence on thought in our own society to the present. Dostoevsky confronts the "accursed
questions" of truth, justice, and free will set against the darkest examples of human suffering: murder, suicide, poverty, addiction, and obsession.
Students will consider artistic, philosophical, and social questions through texts from throughout Dostoevsky's career. Students with knowledge
of Russian may read some or all of the works in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 023. The Muslim in Russia
(Cross-listed as LITR 023R)
The long and strong relationship of Russia and Islam has been neglected in scholarship until recently. This course will examine texts (and films)
spanning more than a thousand years, to introduce actual interactions of Russians and Muslims, images of Muslims in Russian literature (and a
few Muslim images of Russia), the place of Muslim writers in Soviet literature, and the current position of Muslims in Russia and in Russian
discourse.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 026. Russian and East European Science Fiction
(Cross-listed as LITR 026R)
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and Eastern Europe, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Karel Čapek,
Mikhail Bulgakov, and Evgenii Zamiatin. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction provided a refuge from stultifying official
Socialist Realism for authors like Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers. This course will concentrate on 20th-century science fiction
(translated from Czech, Polish, Russian and Serbian) with a glance at earlier influences and attention to more recent works, as well as to
Western parallels and contrasts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 033. Propagandize this: LGBTQ Russia, Past and Present
(Cross-listed as LITR 033R)
In 2013, the Russian government passed a law forbidding the "promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors" - that is, restricting and
potentially criminalizing any open discussion of LGBTQ identities or direct acknowledgment of the existence of queer people in Russia.
Homophobic Russian rhetoric emphasizes the supposedly recent and foreign nature of LGBTQ identity and ideas - an idea at odds with the
diverse sexuality and gender legacies of Russia and the USSR explored in this course. We will consider the authors represented in this course,
which covers the 19
th
century through the present, as participants in legacies, but also as individual creators, and sometimes theorists, of queer
strategies of survival, as well as LGBTQ thought and art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Nikulin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 037. Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Captivity and Incarceration
(Cross-listed as LITR 037R)
"Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!" - Solzhenitsyn. While the Gulag remains the most infamous aspect of the Soviet justice system,
Russia has a long history of inhumane punishment on a terrifying scale. This course explores narratives of incarceration, punishment, and
captivity from the 17th century to the present day. In discussing (non-)fiction, history, and theory, we will consider such topics as justice, violence
and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in suffering.
Authors include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Kropotkin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Pussy Riot, Navalny, Michel Foucault, Susan Sontag, and
Angela Davis, among others.
We'll also have the opportunity to speak with two of our writers, Ali Feruz (jailed Uzbek journalist + LGBTQ+ rights activist) and Oleg
Navalny (served 3.5 years on false charges + brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny).
Taught in translation; no knowledge of Russian language or culture required. All are welcome.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, INTP, GLBL-Paired, ESCH
Fall 2023. Vergara.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 043. Chernobyl: Nuclear Narratives and the Environment
(Cross-listed as LITR 043R)
What really happened on April 26, 1986? This course will introduce students to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, its consequences, and its
representations across a range of cultures. Texts will be drawn from (non-)fiction, poetry, film, TV, video games, VR, and other media, as we
consider the labyrinth of Chernobyl's mythology through a comparative lens and as a global phenomenon. Culture meets ecology, science,
history, and politics. Fields trips and guest speakers. The final class project will involve an installation at McCabe Library. Taught in translation.
No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 047. Russian Fairy Tales
(Cross-listed as LITR 047R)
Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their aesthetic,
historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts,
and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales
against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, though
students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 047A. Attachment: Russian Fairy Tales
.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 053. The End of History: Contemporary Russian Culture
Hailed as the "end of history" and "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century," the fall of the Soviet Union forced Russia to reconcile a
past that had long been suppressed with a present reality full of possibility. We'll discuss works that address contemporary issues (Putinism,
protests, refugees, corruption) and resurrect historical traumas (the Civil War, the Stalin years, the Leningrad Siege, Chernobyl) to understand
Russia today. This course features a wide range of texts: fiction, non-fiction, oral histories, poetry, art, performance, and film. We will also have
the opportunity to speak with some of the figures whose work we'll examine. No knowledge of Russian required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 063. Roots of Feminism & Radicalism in Russia
(Cross-listed as LITR 063R)
From the earliest engagements with socialism in the Russian Empire to Russian Jewish émigré anarchism in the United States, radical visions for
the transformation of society in Russian intellectual history were intertwined with the question of the social position of women. In this writing
intensive course we will trace interlocking questions of social transformation and gender equality through literary and philosophical works by
authors including: Tolstoy, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexandra Kollontai, Emma Goldman, and many others. This course
is writing intensive.
Humanitiies
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST.
Spring 2022. Stuhr-Rommereim.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 070. Translation Workshop
(Cross-listed as LING 070, LITR 070R)
This workshop in literary translation will concentrate on both theory and practice, working in poetry, prose, and drama as well as editing.
Students will participate in an associated series of bilingual readings and will produce a substantial portfolio of work. Students taking the course
for linguistics credit will write a final paper supported by a smaller portfolio of translations. No prerequisites exist, but excellent knowledge of a
language other than English (equivalent to a 004 course at Swarthmore or higher) is highly recommended or, failing that, access to at least one
very patient speaker of a foreign language.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2022. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 079. Advanced Translation Project
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 091. Special Topics
For senior course majors. Study of individual authors, selected themes, or critical problems.
Offered on demand.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stuhr-Rommereim
Spring 2022. Stuhr-Rommereim
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 093. Directed Reading
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 094. Independent Study
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Seminars
Seminars in Russian are offered when there is sufficient demand. The Russian section webpage includes descriptions of possible seminar topics.
RUSS 101. Tolstoy
Novelist, Christian philosopher, pacifist, and educator, the monumental Lev Tolstoy's thought inspired communities of "Tolstoyans" and
influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Tolstoy's treatment of moral and historical issues in literature continues to move readers to our
day. Students in this course will examine Tolstoy's idea and art in the harmonious Russian style of the original.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 102. Russian Short Story
Counterpoint to the sprawling Russian novel, the short story in Russia possessed a long and distinguished pedigree. Russian writers have used
the genre to create polished and brilliant gems demonstrating the possibilities of character development, voice, plot, and the right exposition of
ideas in prose. This seminar will explore a selection of examples from the likes of Pushkin, Chekhov, Zoshchenko, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Tolstaya,
and others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 103. Pushkin and Lermontov
This course will acquaint students with two of the seminal figures of 19th-century Russian literature, Aleksandr Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov,
looking at their criticism, dramatic works, poetry and prose, as well as their cultural and literary context.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 104. Dostoevsky
Students will read the works of this compelling visionary in the original Russian. The course will survey key works from Dostoevsky's oeuvre,
examining Dostoevsky's use of language and his literary style. Dostoevsky's art and ideas will be discussed in the context of major critical works
by Mikhail Bakhtin and others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 105. Literature of the Soviet Period
This course treats the literature associated with one of the most remarkable social experiments in human history. Students will examine the
relation of literature to ideology and social reality based on a selection of works reflecting the avant-garde experimentation of the 1920s, the
official doctrine of Socialist Realism, underground and émigré literature, and/or literature addressing the historical situation and the legacy of
Stalinism.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 106. The Culture of Dissent in Russia
This Russian-language seminar will explore artistic and non-fictional expressions of dissent throughout the last 100 years. Texts will be
considered in their cultural and historical contexts as we examine dissent not only as a political act, but also as a highly personal and existential
one. Readings will be selected partly in consultation with students before the semester begins.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 107. Russia and Its Others
As multinational states, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union included populations of huge ethnic variety, as does Russia today. This class
will survey a variety of non-Russian Russophone writers and ethnic Russians writing about the other populations of their state. As usual for
Russian literature, this enterprise will reveal universal human truth as well as sharply depicted particulars.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 108. Russian Modernism
The period spanning roughly 1890-1925 is often referred to as the Silver Age of Russian literature. This course will survey the rich achievements
of Russian culture in the fin-de-siècle, with opportunities to study particular topics in more depth according to students' interests and
preferences.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 109. Chekhov
Readings from Chekhov's dramatic works and stories, with attention to the rich body of scholarship on the author in Russian and in English.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 110. Bulgakov
Doctor, dramatist and dissident, Mikhail Bulgakov is one of the most significant prose authors of the Soviet period. His writings embody
scrupulous honesty, recognition of moral complexity, deeply thoughtful awareness of political, religious and philosophical traditions, and the life
affirming force of humor. We will read from his short stories, feuilletons and dramatic works, ending the semester with his masterpiece, Master i
Margarita, arguably the most fun novel of the 20th century.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 111. Tsvetaeva & Mayakovsky.
Poetic, dramatic and prose works of the "hysterical poets," Marina Tsvetaeva and Vladimir Mayakovsky-two of the greatest Russian writers of
the 20th century. Focus on their volcanic poetic development, interactions, and creative responses to gender, decadence, revolution, civil war,
emigration and Soviet repression, as well as the inspirations and tragedies of their personal lives.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 112. Akhmatova and Mandelstam
Several great Russian 20th-century poets belonged to a group called "Acmeists" for their emphasis on verbal clarity, specificity of imagery, and
attitude of "nostalgia for world culture." Osip Mandel'shtam spent years in "internal exile" for overly honest writing and died in a camp in 1938.
Anna Akhmatova, the Russian poet perhaps most translated into English, witnessed all the horrors of Stalinism but survived to mentor a new
generation of poets in the 1960s. The course will concentrate on these two poets, with attention to their literary and cultural context.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 113. Russian and Soviet Cinema
Examples from Soviet avant-garde, High Stalinist, Thaw Era, Perestroika and Post-Soviet Cinema, considering the role of film as both ideology
and entertainment.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 114. Folklore in Russian Literature
Folklore is both an enormous field of human culture, and a rich source of literary plots, genres, ideas and materials for writers, scholars, and
theorists of all directions. In this course we will read works of Russian literature in which folklore plays a significant role, as well as exploring
several of the areas of Russian folklore that have most influenced literature.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 115. Dissidence in Russian Literature
This course will explore one of the most appealing components of Russian literature, reading controversial Russian literary and publicistic texts,
written from the early 18th century through the beginning of the 21st century. The works carry hidden meanings that reward deep reading and
multiple readings, and they convey a wealth of information and opinion about historical, moral, political, and existential questions. We will read
the very best of these dissident writers, and each student will write a substantial research paper based on individual interests. The reading list
will include Chaadaev, Bulgakov, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Aksenov, Brodsky, Shenderovich, Bykov, and others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 116. The Petersburg Myth in Russian Literature
This course examines the importance of St. Petersburg in Russian history, society, and culture. These themes and developments have been crucial
for understanding Russia as a whole over the course of the city's vibrant, often turbulent, 300-plus-year existence. Themes include the discourse
of East versus West in defining Russian national identity; reform and modernization in Russian history; death and suffering in Russian history;
and the relationship between center and periphery in the Russian and Soviet context.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 117. The Russian Literary Anecdote
This course explores the nature and evolution of the Russian anecdote that originated in ancient times. From Ivan the Terrible through Peter the
Great, the anecdote, like other oral genres, persisted in spite of governmental censorship. The heyday of the Russian literary anecdote was the
first half of the nineteenth century. We will read anecdotes and stories from chronicles and diaries of contemporaries of the Russian tsars, short
stories of Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy that were based on real facts and transformed into anecdotes. We come full circle to the chronicles of
Soviet and post-Soviet times by Dovlatov and Veller.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 118. Jews in Russia: Culture, Film, Literature
As the Russian Empire expanded over time, it absorbed territories with large Jewish populations. Jews have played crucial roles in Russian and
Soviet history and culture, be it as political radicals and revolutionaries, moral thinkers and philosophers, or some of Russia's best poets, artists,
and film directors. Depending on student interest for its emphases, this course will read the likes of Lev Shestov, Liubov Gurevich, S. Ansky,
Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelstam, Isaac Babel, Evgeniia Ginzburg, Lev Grossman, Elena Shvarts, and perhaps translations of a few Russian-
Jewish writers now working in American English.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 119. Russian Women Writers
Why devote a seminar specifically to Russian women writers? Because they are brilliant and neglected-though we will also read some who have
not been neglected. From empresses and princesses to trans cavalry officers, poets and novelists, literary critics, singer-songwriters and yet more
poets, we will read a wide variety of Russian women in their cultural and literary context.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 120. Russian Science Fiction & Fantasy
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and the Soviet Union, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Evgenii
Zamiatin and Mikhail Bulgakov. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction was a refuge from stultifying official Socialist Realism
for authors like Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Since the end of Soviet literary censorship, speculative fiction has continued its important role in
public discourse, while fantasy (formerly banned from official publication) has emerged as an important genre in both young adult and
mainstream literature.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 121. Nabokov
As any reader of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov knows, his Russian background is essential to understanding of his writing and career. This
class will concentrate on his Russian novels, stories and a few examples of poetry, written before his second emigration from Europe to the US.
That beautiful style, caressing the divine details, is just as beautiful in the original!
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 122. Russian Avant-Garde Culture
The early 20th century in Russia witnessed amazing artistic, cultural and intellectual ferment as well as artistic crossover and interdisciplinary
cross-fertilization. This course will consider topics drawn from the following areas: art, architecture, ballet, film, folklore, linguistics, literature,
music, theater. All readings, discussion and writing will be in Russian.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Forrester.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Russian Courses Not Currently Offered
RUSS 012A. Attachment: Russian Culture Through Film
.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 016A. Forensic Linguistics
Cross-listed as LING 016A
This half-credit course provides an overview of linguistic approaches to the study of law and language. It combines a theoretical discussion of
selected issues with practical analysis of texts. Written texts will be analyzed for their stylistic features, spoken texts will point out the interaction
between discourse participants. The course will report on the findings of the newly developing discipline of forensic linguistics. At the end of the
course, students will be able to understand the role of the emerging discipline of forensic linguistics as well as understand the specificities of
various genres of legal English.
Humanities.
.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Yordanova.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 024. Russian and East European Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 024R)
This course will introduce students to cinema from "the other Europe." We will begin with influential early Soviet avant-garde cinema and survey
the traditions that developed subsequently with selections from Caucasian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Yugoslav cinema.
Screenings will include films by Eisenstein and Tarkovsky, Wajda, Kusturica and Paradzhanov, among others. Students will hone critical skills in
filmic analysis while considering the particular cultural, national and political forces shaping the work of filmmakers in this "other Europe" from
the early 20th to the early 21st century.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 025. The Poet and Power
(Cross-listed as LITR 025R)
This course will explore Russian literature in its cultural and historical contexts. In Russia, a poet has always been a voice, a herald of freedom
or non-conformism, if not an envoy of the regime. The poet is also a philosopher and a thinker. Students will read Russian literary texts from the
early 18th century through the beginning of the 21st century. The circle will begin with Lomonosov, whose poetry glorified the Tsarinas. We will
continue with censored works by Pushkin, Griboedov, Chaadaev, Gogol, Akhmatova, Chukovskaya, Solzhenitsyn and others who underwent
political or social pressure from the Russian or Soviet state. We finish with postmodernist Pelevin, who was neither harassed nor arrested for his
prose in a new phenomenon for Russia: during the last two decades literature has come to exist independently from power, in a parallel world.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 033. Propagandize this: LGBTQ Russia, Past and Present
(Cross-listed as LITR 033R)
In 2013, the Russian government passed a law forbidding the "promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors" - that is, restricting and
potentially criminalizing any open discussion of LGBTQ identities or direct acknowledgment of the existence of queer people in Russia.
Homophobic Russian rhetoric emphasizes the supposedly recent and foreign nature of LGBTQ identity and ideas - an idea at odds with the
diverse sexuality and gender legacies of Russia and the USSR explored in this course. We will consider the authors represented in this course,
which covers the 19
th
century through the present, as participants in legacies, but also as individual creators, and sometimes theorists, of queer
strategies of survival, as well as LGBTQ thought and art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2022. Nikulin.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 041. War and Peace in Russian Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 041R)
This course explores Russian literary and cinematic responses to the ravages of war and revolution, heroic and bloody conflicts that repeatedly
devastated the country throughout its tumultuous history. We will read a variety of texts dealing with wars in the Middle Ages, the Napoleonic
invasion, the Crimean War, the Revolution of 1917, the Civil War, World War II, and various recent conflicts to explore how individual writers
portray the calamity of war and its devastating effect on people's lives, while expressing hope for ever-elusive peace and prosperity. Works to be
read include Tolstoy's War and Peace (of course), Bulgakov's White Guard, Babel's Red Cavalry, Grossman's Life and Fate, and Akhmatova's
Poem Without a Hero. Films will include Alexander Nevsky, Battleship Potemkin, Ballad of a Soldier, My Name is Ivan, and Prisoner of the
Mountains. All readings and discussions will be in English, and films will be screened with English subtitles.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 042. Revolutionary Theater
(Cross-listed as LITR 042R)
We start with Konstantin Stanislavsky's founding of the Moscow Art Theatre, whose revolutionary approach to acting, directing and set design
exerts a profound effect on Western theater to this day. Concurrently we will examine Anton Chekhov's four major plays and their integral part in
the success of the Moscow Art Theatre. We then examine the effect of the Soviet revolution on Russian theater from two viewpoints. On the one
hand, we will follow the arc of directors and playwrights such as Vsevelod Meyerhold who embraced the Soviet revolution and reflected this
embrace in their radically innovative and futuristic productions and set designs. On the other hand, we will follow the tragic arc of playwright
Mikhail Bulgakov and his stormy relationship with the Moscow Art Theater and the Soviet regime by reading his plays and his bitingly funny
satire Black Snow.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 045. Poetry in Translation/Translating Poetry
(Cross-listed as LITR 045R)
This course will study the history, practice, and politics of poetic translation from antiquity to the present, including works from a variety of
languages. The course has a strong practical component: all students will work on translations of their own throughout the semester (from
languages they know or by working with native speakers or literal versions), and the final project may include a portfolio of translations.
Especially suitable for students interested in comparative literature or creative writing.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 067. Jews in Russia: Culture, Film, Literature
(Cross-listed as LITR 067R)
As the Russian Expire expanded over time, it absorbed territory with large Jewish populations. Jews have played crucial roles in Russian and
Soviet history and culture, be it as political radicals and revolutionaries, as moral tinker or philosophers, or as some of the world's best poets,
artists, and film directors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
RUSS 075. Comedy, Satire, Humor
(Cross-listed as LITR 075R)
Laughter is one of the basic human experiences, but in different theories and manifestations it can mean aggression, festivity, freedom, a release
of nervous tension or complicity. This course will concentrate on someof the funniest literature from the Russian tradition, be it lighthearted or
scalding, fantastic or down-to-earth. Besides the pleasures of laughter, we wil explre what you need to know to get the joke and what this humor
means.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Music and Dance: Dance
Courses
Faculty
PALLABI CHAKRAVORTY, Professor of Dance and Chair
OLIVIA SABEE, Assistant Professor of Dance
JOSEPH SMALL, Assistant Professor of Dance
CHANDRA MOSS-THORNE, Lecturer, Dance (part time)
BETHANY FORMICA BENDER, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
AQEEL BHATTI, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
KYLE CLARK, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
SHIVA DAS, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
LADEVA DAVIS, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
JUNGEUN KIM, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
JEANNINE OSAYANDE, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
WESLEY RAST, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
LINGYUAN ZHAO, Associate in Dance Performance (part time)
SUSAN GROSSI, Administrative Coordinator
At Swarthmore, dance is a global discourse. The dance and music programs share an integrated approach to composition, history, performance,
and theory in lecture/discussion and studio practice courses. We believe this is central to the understanding of dance as an artistic, intellectual,
and social inquiry within a liberal arts context.
The Academic Program
The mission of the program is to offer students dance experiences that privilege a merging of embodied practice and history/theory in relation to
more than one situated perspective (those listed above). Some courses concentrate on one cultural context only (this is true generally in history,
repertory, and technique). Others put a variety of perspectives in conversation (choreographic laboratories, improvisation, history, repertory,
and theory).The role of dance as an agent of social change is also present in Swarthmore dance offerings. All dance studies courses engage
students in an investigation of the relationship of dance to other arts and areas of thought.
The study of Dance as a liberal art requires an integrated approach to theory, history, and performance, with experience in all three areas being
essential to its understanding as an artistic and intellectual pursuit. There is no required GPA to be accepted into the program as majors and
minors, but acceptance is through consensus among the faculty, and students should complete the requirements for admission to the major or
minor in the first two years of study. The program offers three different areas of focus: Choreography, Dance Studies, and Individually Created
(Special Major). If a student has not completed all the requirements for admission to the major or minor at the time of application but has done
good work in one or more courses in the program, the student may be accepted on a provisional basis.
Dance Studies
At Swarthmore, dance students are encouraged to consider the links between aesthetics and politics, delving deeply into history or current
practices to engage with dance as a global discourse. All courses in the program, whether in Dance Studies or Choreography, engage students in
an investigation of the relationship between dance and other arts and areas of thought. Many of our Dance Studies courses (which are intensive
reading and writing courses) are cross-listed with Music, Anthropology, Asian Studies, French and Francophone Studies, Gender and Sexuality
Studies, Religion, Peace and Conflict Studies, Theater, and Comparative Literature, as well as eligible for Interpretation Theory and Global
Studies. Individual research projects allow a student to focus on their chosen area of study, deepening investigation under the direction of a
faculty mentor.
Choreography/Dance Making
At Swarthmore, students make dances and become choreographers by developing embodied knowledge and conceptual frameworks central to
creating movement dialogues and design. Choreographers learn how to craft movement in relation to space, time, and energy dynamics as well
as emotional and political content. Dance Lab (I and II): Making Dance, and Improvisation courses in our program examine how these
principles apply across different dance forms and encourage experimentation with new media. Global dialogues that embrace a variety of dance
histories and critical perspectives strengthen the study of choreography from cross-cultural and inter-cultural perspectives. We encourage
students to develop their individual projects, find their own voice, explore cross-disciplinary collaborations, and refine their artistic statements.
The Major/Minor requirements for Dance were revised in 2021 and apply to the class of 2023 and beyond. Majors and Minors in the classes of
2021 and 2022 should refer to the 2019-2020 College Bulletin or consult with their advisor for guidance.
Course Major
The goal of the course major in Dance is to expose a student to the broad scope of the field. The distribution of required courses for the major
provides students with an introduction to Dance Studies, Choreography, and Performance, and allows them to direct their final credit(s) in the
major toward a specific focus: Choreography, Dance Studies, or an Individually Created focus (Special Major). Majors will be required to
develop an extended paper or a significant dance performance piece as part of their focus. All dance majors are strongly encouraged to
participate in technique and repertory classes each semester.
All Majors will design their programs in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Requirements for Admission to the Major (to be completed in the first two years of study):
1. Overall average of C or better in all courses taken during the two semesters preceding the time of application.
2. Completion of one course in dance studies at Swarthmore with a grade of B or better.
3. Completion of one course (Dance Lab I for Choreography focus and Dance Lab I or one additional dance studies course for Dance Studies
focus) at Swarthmore with a grade of B or better
4. Completion of at least one .5 credit course in Dance Technique or Repertory/Ensemble
*Although Technique and Repertory courses can be repeated for credit, a student can only apply a course once towards the Major requirements.
The dance faculty encourages students to pursue a senior project/thesis that incorporates a comparison or integration of dance with some other
creative or performing art (creative writing, music, theater, or visual art), with a community-based learning component, or with another
academic discipline of the student's interest.
Dance Studies
Requirements for the Major - Dance Studies focus:
1. Five Dance Studies courses
a. One course from: DANC 021 or 022
b. One course from: DANC 004 or 025
c. Three Dance Studies elective courses
2. Four .5 credit Dance Technique and/or Repertory/Ensemble courses*
a. One course from: DANC 040, 041, 049A, 049E, 050, 051, 051A, 060, 061, 061A, or 070
b. One course from: DANC 043, 044, 049B, 049C, 049K, or 054
c. One course from: DANC 042, 046, 049D, 049F, 056, or 057
d. One course from: DANC 040-070
3. General Electives (Choose 1 credit)
a. DANC 011. Dance Lab I: Making Dance
b. One Dance Studies course
c. Two Dance Technique and/or Repertory/Ensemble courses from DANC 040-070
4. DANC 095 and/or 096. Senior Thesis
Total credits for Major - Dance Studies focus: 9-10
Choreography
Requirements for the Major - Choreography focus:
1. DANC 011. Dance Lab I: Making Dance
2. DANC 012. Dance Lab II: Making Dance
3. DANC 045. Dance Technique: Yoga
4. Three Dance Studies courses
a. One course from: DANC 021 or 022
b. One course from: DANC 004 or 025
c. One Dance Studies elective course
5. Three .5 credit Dance Repertory/Ensemble courses*
a. One course from: DANC 049A or 049E
b. One course from: DANC 049B, 049C, or 49K
c. One course from: DANC 049D or 049F
6. Three .5 credit Dance Technique courses*
a. One course from: DANC 040, 041, 050, 051, 051A, 060, 061, 061A, or 070
b. One course from: DANC 043, 044, or 054
c. One course from: DANC 042, 046, 056, or 057
7. One Dance Technique and/or Repertory/Ensemble course from DANC 040-070
8. DANC 094. Senior Project
Total credits for Major - Choreography focus: 10
Note: Majors with a focus in Choreography are also strongly encouraged to enroll in THEA 003. Fundamentals of Design for Theater
Performance and THEA 004B. Lighting Design.
Course Minor
The goal of the course minor in dance is to expose a student to the broad scope of the field. The distribution of required courses for the minor
provides students with an introduction to Dance Studies and Choreography and allows them to direct their final credit(s) in the minor toward one
of these two areas. Minors will be encouraged, but not required, to develop an extended paper or a dance performance piece as part of their
program. All dance minors are strongly encouraged to participate in technique and repertory classes each semester.
All Minors will design their programs in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Requirements for Admission to the Minor (to be completed in the first two years of study):
1. Overall average of C or better in all courses taken during the two semesters preceding the time of application.
2. Completion of one course in dance studies at Swarthmore with a grade of B or better.
3. Completion of at least one .5 credit course in Dance Technique or Repertory/Ensemble
*Although Technique and Repertory courses can be repeated for credit, students can only apply a course once towards the Minor requirements.
Dance Studies
Requirements for the Minor - Dance Studies focus:
1. Three Dance Studies courses
a. One course from: DANC 021 or 022
b. One course from: DANC 004 or 025
c. One Dance Studies elective course
2. Additional elective courses (totaling 2.5 credits) proposed by the student and approved on an individual basis by the faculty from a
combination of dance studies, choreography, technique, and repertory/ensemble courses.*
Total credits for Minor - Dance Studies focus: 5.5
Choreography
Requirements for the Minor - Choreography focus:
1. DANC 011. Dance Lab I: Making Dance
2. Two Dance Studies courses
a. One course from: DANC 004, 021, 022, or 025
b. One Dance Studies elective course
3. One .5 credit Dance Repertory/Ensemble course
4. Two .5 credit Technique courses from two of the three categories below (totaling 1 credit):
a. DANC 040, 041, 050, 051, 051A, 060, 061, 061A, or 070
b. DANC 043, 044, or 054
c. DANC 042, 046, 056, or 057
5. Additional elective courses (totaling 1 credit) proposed by the student and approved on an individual basis by the faculty from a combination
of dance studies, choreography, technique, and repertory/ensemble courses.*
Total credits for Minor - Choreography focus: 5.5
Performance
Requirements for the Minor - Performance focus:
The Minor - Performance focus is currently on hold. Minors in the classes of 2021 and 2022 should refer to the 2019-2020 College Bulletin or
consult with their advisor for guidance.
Honors Major
Majors in the Honors Program must have received a grade of B+ or better in all dance courses before admission. The choice of focus for a
student's major will be determined in consultation with an adviser from the dance faculty.
The Dance Major in Honors is identical to the Dance Course Major in its basic coursework requirements.
Additional Requirements for the Honors Major:
All dance majors in the Honors Program must do three preparations of two credits each:
1. Dance Studies: two dance studies courses
2. Choreography: DANC 012. Dance Lab II: Making Dance and one dance studies course
3. Either Senior Project or Senior Thesis:
Senior Project (Choreography)
DANC 092. Independent Study (Fall)
DANC 094. Senior Project (Spring)
Senior Thesis with a literature review (Dance Studies):
DANC 095. Senior Thesis (Fall)
DANC 096. Senior Thesis (Spring)
Students' choice of which courses to include in their preparations is subject to faculty approval. Syllabi, papers, and videos of student
choreography from these courses will be submitted to external examiners as part of students' Honors Portfolio. Students should be prepared to
submit their final senior project or thesis proposal at the start of their junior year.
Honors Minor
Students in the Honors Program who are presenting a major in another discipline and a minor in dance must do one two-credit preparation in
dance, in either Choreography or Dance Studies.
The Dance Minor in Honors is identical to the Dance Course Minor in its basic coursework requirements.
Additional Requirements for the Honors Minor:
Choreography:
1. One dance studies course
2. DANC 012. Dance Lab II: Making Dance or DANC 094. Senior Project
Dance Studies:
1. One dance studies course
2. DANC 095. Senior Thesis
Students' choice of which courses to include in their preparations is subject to faculty approval. Syllabi, papers, and videos of student
choreography from these courses will be submitted to external examiners as part of students' Honors Portfolio. Students should be prepared to
submit their final senior project or thesis proposal at the start of their junior year.
Special Major
The program for a Special Major comprises a minimum of five credits in dance coursework. The two disciplines in this major may be
philosophically linked or may represent separate areas of the student's interest. The faculty encourages students to consider the philosophical
links between the two disciplines. Examples of past special majors include: Dance and Anthropology, Dance and Art, Dance and Biology, Dance
and Education, and Dance and Psychology. Special Majors are encouraged to take at least one dance class before applying.
All Special Majors will design their programs in consultation with a faculty adviser.
Dance Studies Focus
1. Four Dance Studies courses
a. One course from: DANC 021 or 022
b. One course from: DANC 004 or 025
c. Two Dance Studies elective courses
2. DANC 095. Senior Thesis
Choreography Focus
1. DANC 011. Dance Lab: Making Dance I
2. DANC 012. Dance Lab: Making Dance II
3. DANC 045. Dance Technique: Yoga
4. One Dance Studies course from DANC 004, 021, 022, or 025A
5. DANC 092. Independent Study
6. DANC 094. Senior Project
Additional Information Regarding the Dance Program
Dance Technique Courses
In a typical semester, more than 30 hours of dance technique classes are offered on graded levels presenting a variety of movement styles.
Technique courses may be taken for academic credit, to fulfill physical education requirements, or for 0 credit. Advanced dancers should consult
with instructors or attend placement for level II or III technique classes. A total of no more than 8 full credits (16 0.5-credit courses) in dance
technique and repertory classes and in music performance classes may be counted toward the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of
Science. No retroactive credit is given for technique and repertory/ensemble classes.
Off-Campus Study
Given the Dance Program's emphasis on the cross-cultural study of dance, we strongly encourage students to pursue study abroad opportunities.
The possibility to study dance in another country gives students the opportunity to hone their technique in a different cultural setting (in many
cases in a different language!) as well as to explore dance studies and choreography from new perspectives and styles. In recent years, students
from the Dance Program have studied in countries including England, France, Australia, Cuba, Ghana, India, and Japan as well as pursuing
intensive dance study through domestic off-campus study programs. Swarthmore has a special affiliation with the University of Ghana, where
students have the opportunity to study traditional dances from a wide variety of ethnic groups and regions of Ghana as well as drumming and
singing.
Majors and minors interested in off-campus study should contact their faculty advisor for assistance in identifying an appropriate program. The
Dance Program also offers funding to majors and minors wishing to study a dance form in Philadelphia if it is not offered on campus.
Dance Courses
Introductory Courses
DANC 001A. Introduction to Dance Studies: Bodies, Power and Resistance
In this course we will use the themes of power and resistance as a lens to focus on the ways in which gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, and
politics affect dance creation, performance, and participation. Through critical analysis of sources such as written texts, videos, and live
performances, students will learn to view dance critically and to write about dance in context. We will watch and read about different styles of
theatrical and social dance in a wide range of historical periods ranging from hip hop to court ballet. Video examples of dance genres and
particular dance works mentioned in assigned texts will be viewed in class.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 003. Taiko & Asian Amer Experience
MUSI 002C
In this course we will examine the origins of Taiko drumming in Japan and consider how the tradition has developed in North America over the
past four decades. We will discuss the role of Taiko drumming in the Asian American Movement, explore different styles of contemporary Taiko
in Asian America, and gain basic drumming competency. Through the integration of academic and performance study we will consider and
experience Taiko drumming as a prominent and dynamic Asian American performing art. Open to all students without prerequisite. No prior
performance or musical background is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Spring 2022. Ouyang.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 004. Arts in Action
(Cross-listed as MUSI 006)
What is art and what constitutes action? The course will explore these questions in two ways: First, we will look at the interconnections between
culture, art, and community through rigorous intellectual inquiry by orienting students to some key ideas through selected readings. Second, we
will engage in situated learning with local and international arts communities. We will have community leaders from our local communities as
guest speakers in addition to two webinars planned for the class on the intersections of the arts, citizenship, and justice: one focusing on the U.S
and Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and the other focusing on India and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Our areas of foci will be
local (Philadelphia)and international (India) for cross-cultural engagements with the arts and the burning issues of the times. Both webinars
will have renowned academics and artists/activists from the U.S and India as well as emerging artists and scholars to make them rich and
intergenerational conversations. As a required activity for the class you will be asked to volunteer your time as interns with the Lang center
community partners. Class requirements include readings, video viewing, and discussions, participating in webinars, keeping a regular journal,
volunteer work, and doing a final project to be discussed in class.
This course is open to all students. This course fulfills a prerequisite requirement for dance majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH, GLBL-core
Fall 2023. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 007. FYS: The Mass Ornament
What does it mean for a group of bodies to move as one? When did this become a valued element of ensemble dancing in western theatrical
dance? In this course, students will examine mass dancing as an idea, through theories of the chorus and the mass, as well as in practice,
through viewings of mass dancing ranging in contexts ranging from the corps de ballet to the chorus line to the flashmob.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
Dance Studies Courses
DANC 021. Performance in Early Modern Europe
( Cross-listed as CPLT 021 )
How do we define performance in early modern Europe? This course explores multi-
genre traditions through forms including court ballet, comedy-ballet, opera, bourgeois
drama, and ballet d'action in order to raise questions that are equally relevant for us
today: How do we study something that is fleeting? What is the relationship between
"text" and performance? This course explores the hybrid genres of dance, mime, music,
and drama from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in order to analyze their
present relevance as "art." Artists and theorists studied will include Diderot, Noverre,
Molière, Garrick, Goldoni, Sulzer, and others.
A version of this course has been offered in the past as a First-Year Seminar, Dance
002. If you have taken Dance 002, you are not able to enroll in DANC 021.
This course fulfills a requirement for Music or Dance majors and minors.
Open to all students.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, CPLT, FRST
Fall 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: Music and Dance: Dance
DANC 022. Ballet & Modern Dance in Europe & North America 1789-1960
(Cross-listed as MUSI 026)
This survey examines the history of ballet and modern dance in Europe and North America from 1789 to the late twentieth century in context with
concurrent social and political developments. Using sources including film, text, and performance, we will study the works of choreographers
including George Balanchine, Katherine Dunham, Martha Graham, and Marius Petipa.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 023. Contemporary Performance
This course interrogates issues surrounding twenty-first-century movement-based performance including cultural hybridity and the relationship
between movement and text. Using aesthetic theory and methodologies developed by performance studies and dance studies, we will ask what
gets performed, where, and why.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2023. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 023A. Defying categorization: Contemporary dance and sign language performance
INTP 091
This course interrogates issues surrounding late twentieth and twenty-first-century movement-based performance focusing on dance, storytelling,
and sign poetry including cultural hybridity and the relationship between movement and text. Jumping off from the history of aesthetics and
methodologies developed by performance studies and dance studies, as well as sociological distinctions of in-group/out-group, we will ask what
gets performed, where, and why.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Sabee. Napoli.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 025A. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as ANTH 020J)
How do we locate competing claims of globalization, place-ness, and hybridization of cultural identity in a single frame? Dance offers an
unconventional but powerful frame for studying such competing claims of identity formation. This course will explore the interrelated themes of
performance, gender, personhood, and migration in the context of diasporic experiences. By focusing on specific dance forms from Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, we will examine the trajectories of the global and the local in constructing identity and difference. Students will engage with
theories on nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, as well as embodiment and experience. Broadly, the course will investigate the
interlocking structures of aesthetics and politics, economics and culture, and history and power, all of which inform and continue to reshape
these cultures and their dance forms.
The primary goal for this course is to develop an understanding of cross-cultural identity and difference through the study of dance in
contemporary society. The readings will introduce students to the constructed nature of cultural traditions and the contested nature of cultural
identities. The writing goals are to teach students how to read critically and write within the disciplines of Anthropology, Dance/Culture Studies,
Black Studies, and Global Studies. This course is eligible for credit towards a major or minor in Black Studies.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 026. Dancing Blackness
This course explores intersections in African diaspora dance studies and black performance theory. Topics covered include: philosophies of
blackness and identity; intersections of gender and sexuality with race and dancing bodies; the role of embodiment in historical black liberation
struggles; global transmissions and transformations of dance practices; black articulations of social and concert dance; and questions about the
relationship between agency and movement. Key theorists such as Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Stuart Hall, E. Patrick Johnson, Saidiya Hartman,
and Thomas DeFrantz will be discussed. Students will gain familiarity with connections between practice and theoretical discourse through
written exercises, oral presentations, lecture, video analysis, movement studies, and group discussion. The goal of this course is three-fold: (1) to
explore the political implications of dancing blackness in performances of everyday life and onstage (2) to understand how diasporic dance
practices are bodily enactments of specific historical, cultural and political developments and (3) to investigate different approaches to writing
about their significance in order to develop critical perspectives as thinkers and potential dance makers. Formal dance training or experience is
welcome, but not required.
HU
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 027. Hip Hop: Dancing Diaspora from the Local to the Global
This course focuses on hip hop as a dance form, from its origins in the South Bronx to its current status as a global phenomenon. It will explore
hip hop culture in the broader framework of the African diaspora, as a way to envision worldwide connections among people and cultures of
African descent, while also considering extensions of hip hop into other dance forms, such as house and voguing, foregrounding questions of
gender and sexuality. Key theorists such as Joseph Schloss, Imani Kai Johnson, and Thomas DeFrantz will be discussed. The goal of this course
is two-fold: (1) to understand how dance practices are bodily enactments of specific historical, cultural and political developments and (2) to
investigate different approaches to writing about their significance to develop critical perspectives as thinkers and dancers.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 032. The Mass Ornament
What does it mean for a group of bodies to move as one? When did this become a valued element of ensemble dancing in western theatrical
dance? In this course, students will examine mass dancing as an idea, through theories of the chorus and the mass, as well as in practice,
through viewings of mass dancing ranging in contexts ranging from the corps de ballet to the chorus line to the flashmob.
Humanities.
1 credit
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 038. Performing Ecstasy Dancing the Sacred
(Cross-listed as RELG 042)
By locating the sacred in the experiences of ecstatic dance and music, the course will specifically examine the evolution of Bhakti (Hindu) and
Sufi religious practices from ritual to performance art. By exploring the sacred in relation to social processes of culture and their
transformations, it will connect the sacred not only to history, tradition, ritual, spirituality and subjectivity but also to national identity,
commodity and tourism in contemporary culture.
This is a reading and writing intensive course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 077B. Anthropology of Performance
(Cross-listed as ANTH 077B)
This course will introduce various approaches to the study of visual anthropology as it relates to movement, body, culture, and power. It will
examine theoretical approaches ranging from semiotics of the body, communication theory, and phenomenology to the more recent approaches
drawing on performance, postcolonial, post-structural, and feminist theories. It will also examine how anthropological issues in dance or
performance are closely tied to issues of modernity, regional and national identity, gender, and politics. Various ethnographies and literature
from dance studies, media and film studies, and feminist studies will be included in the course material. It will also require students to view
videos to engage in visual analysis.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 079. Dancing Desire in Bollywood Films
(Cross-listed as ANTH 079B)
This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the
dance sequences in Bollywood. We will examine the place of erotic in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to
desires for commodity. The primary focus will be centered on approaches to the body from anthropology and sociology to performance, dance,
and film and media studies.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 079A. Screening Bollywood Film
Recent shifts in the representation of the "erotic" in Bollywood dances have transformed the past representations of gender and sexuality in
Bollywood cinema. The course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions from national to transnational symbols through the
songs and dances (item numbers) in Bollywood cinema and its most visible media platform, T.V Reality Shows. We will explore this through
viewing and analyzing select screen performances in three parts: First, we will examine the place of the erotic in reconstructing gender and
sexuality from past notions of romantic love (associated with ghazal songs or classical and folk dances) to desires for commodity. Second, we will
explore the aesthetic shifts from the traditional song and dance repertoire to trendy MTV-inspired moves. We will examine how transnational
images of commodity production intersect with sexuality, desire, spirituality, and modernity in these screen dances. This course will explore the
song and dance sequences through video-viewing and studio work (with a Bollywood choreographer) as well as reading a few key texts. The list
of videos will be included in the final syllabus.
This is a half semester course begining the second half of the semester.
0.5 Credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Spring 2022. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Choreography and Design Courses
DANC 011. Dance Lab I: Making Dance
This course will explore how you might use dance to tell a story, express an emotion, respond to music or sound, or make a political statement,
just to name a few possibilities. Students will use movement assignments as a way to challenge their ideas about texture and rhythm, experiment
with improvisation as a way of generating material, and engage with a research-based approach to choreography. This course will feature
special guest artists.
Prerequisite: None. All are welcome, including students with dance experience, and those without any movement experience whatsoever.
Corequisite: Course in dance technique, taiko, or movement techniques with instructor's permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Osayande.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Small.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 011A. Dance Production Practicum
By individual arrangement with the dance faculty for rehearsal and performance of work in conjuction with dance program courses; DANC 012,
DANC 092, or DANC 094.
P.E.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 012. Dance Lab II: Making Dance
This course focuses on developing an individual practice and approach based on their interests and questions. This course emphasizes the
creative process, how our choreographic practice happens in relation to technology and ways to expand our notions of dance making. We engage
in interdisciplinary practices involving new media and look closely at different artists and their processes. Students will expand their ideas of
choreography through participating in compositional exercises including video shooting and framing, discussions and critical feedback sessions
while creating choreography of their own.
Students share bi-weekly regarding their practices and a final performance for the public is required.
Students with whom the choreographer works and who commit to 3 hours weekly, may receive PE credit under DANC 011A. Dance Production
Practicum.
Prerequisite: DANC 011
Corequisite: A course in dance technique must be taken concurrently.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kim.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Dance Technique and Repertory/Ensemble Courses
Note: Technique courses (040-048, 050-053, 060, and 061) and Repertory courses (049 [all sections], 071 and 078) may be taken for 0.5
academic credit or may be taken for physical education credit. All dance technique courses numbered 040 to 048 are open to all students without
prerequisite. Courses numbered 050 to 058 and 060 to 061 have a prerequisite of either successful completion of the introductory course in that
style or permission of the instructor.
DANC 040. Dance Technique: Contemporary Modern I
Bethany Formica Bender uses her multi-company performance experience and eclectic skill base in a class designed to build up ideas and break
down contemporary/modern dance technique. One need not be afraid to sweat, laugh, or fall over. This introductory dance class is accessible
and aerobic, so humor and high energy are all that are required. Contemporary Modern I is designed to put participants in touch with their
bodies, help them focus, connect, and collaborate, while allowing every individual's voice to be heard. This course encourages a sense of playful
humanism, evoking new ways of thinking and moving, problem-solving and multitasking. The dance playing field is leveled, and the value of play
and laughter enlivens the body in completely unexpected ways. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are
required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Bender.
Spring 2022. Bender.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 041. Dance Technique: Ballet I
An introduction to the fundamentals of classical ballet vocabulary with a focus on anatomically correct alignment, movement quality, and
musicality. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance, two short papers, and a vocabulary test are required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Moss-Thorne.
Spring 2022. Moss-Thorne.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Sabee.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 043. Dance Technique: African Diasporic Traditions
This course is an exploration of Diasporic West African dance and drum traditions through kinesthetic engagement and selected philosophical
and aesthetic perspectives. This course will explore selected dance and drum traditions and their associated cultural functions as a way to enter
an embodied dialogue in African Diasporic dance traditions. Primary focus will be placed on dance and drum traditions from Mali, Senegal,
Guinea and Ghana as many of those dance and drum traditions have gained exposure in the West through National Dance Company tours.
Dancers and drummers from these companies have relocated to the States and teach the repertory of their national dances for the last 60 years.
The Philadelphia Diasporic dance and drum community is part of this rich legacy. The Swarthmore College Music and Dance Department
commemorates 25 years of Diasporic African dance and drum traditions. Be part of the legacy.
Students enrolled in DANC 043 for academic credit are required to write several detailed journals and a short final reflection paper.
Open to all students.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2021. Osayande.
Spring 2022. Osayande.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 044. Dance Technique: Tap
This course is available to all tappers, from beginning to advanced. Such forms as soft-shoe, waltz-clog, stage tap, and "hoofin" will be
explored. There will be research and discussions of renowned tap dancers. Opportunities for discovering historical facts about tap will be made
throughout the course. If taken for academic credit, concert performance and two short papers are required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Spring 2022. Davis.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 045. Dance Technique: Yoga
This course is meant to provide students with a consistent opportunity to develop a more conscious connection with their minds, bodies and
spirits through the ancient, traditional Vedic practice of Hatha Yoga. This ancient methodology is designed to balance the polarity in all aspects
of the human experience creating a deep sense of inner peace and presence.
Each class includes a short lesson on yogic philosophy to provide students with a deeper understanding of what yoga is; including its aims,
practices, and the results of regular practice. Following that there is a physical practice which includes asana (Yogic postures), pranayama
(yogic breathing techniques) and meditation (mindfulness focus and concentration). Students will acquire a practical knowledge of body
alignment, experience the regenerative effect of the physical and mental relaxation that hatha yoga practices produce and a deep understanding
of ancient philosophy which underpins all yogic practices. These teaching provide a foundational and practical approach for a healthy lifestyle
that can reach well beyond the college experience and can play a significant role in coping with the challenges of life.
If taken for academic credit, three short papers are required.
Students are required to supply their own yoga mats.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Shiva Das.
Spring 2022. Shiva Das.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Shiva Das.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 046. Dance Technique: Kathak
This class introduces the hot rhythms (/talas/) and the cool emotions (/rasa/s) of the Indian classical dance art: Kathak. The dancing involves
high energy, rapid turns, and fast footwork as well as movement of eyes, hands, neck, and fingers. This syncretic dance style from north India
draws on Hindu and Muslim cultural traditions (Bhakti and Sufi) and forms the raw material for the global-pop Bollywood dance. Students who
are enrolled for academic credit will be required to write papers and/or create performance texts or choreographies.
Open to all students. No prior dance experience is required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ISLM, ASIA
Fall 2021. Green.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 048. Dance Technique: Special Topics in Technique
Intensive study of special topics falling outside the regular dance technique offerings. Topics may include Alexander technique, contact
improvisation, jazz, Pilates, and musical theater dance. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and one or two short papers are
required.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049. Dance Performance: Repertory
The various sections of this course offer opportunities for study of repertory and performance practice. Students are required to perform in at
least one scheduled dance concert during the semester. Three hours per week. A course in dance technique should be taken concurrently.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049B. Dance Performance Repertory: Tap
Open to students with some tap experience, this class draws on the tradition of rhythm tap known as "hoofin'." A new dance is made each
semester, working with the varying levels of skill present in the student ensemble. Students will be expected to attend additional ensemble
rehearsals.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Davis.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Davis.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049D. Dance Performance Repertory: Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble
T
Taiko is an energetic neo-folk drumming art stemming from Japan and its postwar diaspora. Emphasizing choreographic, embodied approaches
to Taiko, as an ensemble we learn contemporary and folk-based repertory from Japan and the international Taiko community, culminating in
end-of-semester performances. Through Taiko, we hone intense physicality and musicianship, perseverance, mindfulness, cooperation,
responsibility, creativity, and an appreciation for Japanese and Asian American cultures.
No prior experience required.
A dance technique course, such as DANC057 Taiko I, taken concurrently is highly encouraged but not necessary.
Video viewings, readings, and performance participation.
2 PE or 0.5 academic credit (1~2 short papers)
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Small.
Spring 2022. Small.
Fall 2022. Small.
Spring 2023. Small.
Fall 2023. Small.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049A. Dance Performance Repertory: Modern
Contemporary Modern Repertory is a performance course that investigates ideas in contemporary modern dance. Students will take part in a
creative process, generating original material through guided improvisation and composition exercises. The work will be presented at the end of
the semester in the Swarthmore Fall Dance Concert.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 060 or instructor permission
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Bender.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049C. Dance Performance Repertory: African Diasporic Traditions
Auditions for admission to this course will be held at the first class meeting. Additional information regarding the course is available from the
instructor. Resulting choreography will be performed in the spring student concert. Students will be expected to attend additional ensemble
rehearsals.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Osayande.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049E. Dance Performance Repertory: Ballet
This class will offer students experience with learning and performing contemporary ballet, while also being part of the creative process of new
choreography. Choreography will be performed in Spring Dance Concert. Auditions will be held at the first class.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 061 or instructor permission.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Spring 2022. Moss-Thorne.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Moss-Thorne.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049F. Dance Performance Repertory: Kathak
This is a moderate level technique course on Kathak. We will work on teen tala or metrical scale of sixteen beats to learn complex rhythmical
structures called bols. The various patterns of bols such as tukra, tehai and paran will also be explored. The two aspects of Kathak technique
nrtta (abstract movement) and nritya (expressive gestures) will be used for a final composition.
The final composition will be presented in a scheduled student dance concert.
A dance technique course taken concurrently is highly recommended.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 046 or prior knowledge of any classical Indian dance forms.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049H. Dance Performance Repertory: Movement Theater Workshop
(Cross-listed as THEA 008)
Prerequisite: THEA 001 or 002, any dance course 040 to 044, or consent of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 049K. Dance Repertory: Hip-Hop
We will delve into the art of story telling, an African diasporic tradition and staple in Hip Hop Culture, using dance forms under the Hip Hop
Dance umbrella. Together, we will explore our range of artistry using codified techniques and freedoms of self-expression. Together, we will
trailblaze what it means to make art on this new frontier of Virtual Art Making.
GRADED CR/NC
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Clark.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 050. Dance Technique: Contemporary Modern II
Maggie Zhao's CHI modern class focuses on bodily dualistic investigation and practice: physical and spiritual, somatic and performative, inside
out and outside in, and the relationship of internal and external energy, time and space. The concept of maintaining the dualities while dancing is
inspired by Maggie's cross-cultural life and spiritual experiences and pedagogical research, the West and East. In particular, the class
intertwines with the traditional Eastern essential movement practice method CHI (the different uses of breath and energy) in martial arts, Tai
Chi, Chinese Classical dance, etc. and the Western Release Technique and Cunningham Technique. The class instruction flows with the
progression from simplicity to sophistication by cultivating and inviting dancers to embody Buddhist and Taoist philosophies throughout their
practice. If taken for academic credit, two short papers are required.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 040 or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Kim.
Spring 2022. Zhao.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff..
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 051. Dance Technique: Ballet II
Intermediate-level course building on skills developed in Ballet I. Additional vocabulary and increased center work will be introduced with a
focus on building stamina, increasing technical proficiency, and refining performance quality. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance,
two short papers, and a vocabulary test are required.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 041 or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Sabee.
Spring 2022. Moss-Thorne.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Moss-Thorne.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 051A. Dance Technique: Ballet II with Pointe
Intermediate-level course building on skills developed in Ballet I and/or pointework. Course will be adapted to meet the needs of both students
continuing in the ballet technique sequence and with advanced proficiency in ballet and a focus on pointe technique. Additional vocabulary and
increased center work will be introduced with a focus on building stamina, increasing technical proficiency, and refining performance quality.
Pointe work is not required for enrollment; beginning pointe students may not enroll without instructor permission. If taken for academic credit,
video viewings, two short papers, and a vocabulary test are required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 053. Dance Technique: African Diasporic Traditions II
African dance II encourages experienced students to expand their understanding and technical execution of African dance forms. The course will
use the Umfundalai technique along with other neo-traditional African Dance vocabularies to enhance students' visceral and intellectual
understanding of African dance. Students who take African Dance II for academic credit should be prepared to explore and access their own
choreographic voice through movement studies.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 043 or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 055. Mat Pilates
A Pilates mat class based upon the classical teaching methods of Joseph Pilates. Students will build core strength and improve posture,
flexibility, coordination, and balance. The class will accommodate all levels from beginner to advanced. By the end of the semester, students
will understand and be able to demonstrate the order of a classical mat class, have a basic understanding of anatomy, and be familiar with the
history of Joseph Pilates and his principles and philosophies. If taken for academic credit, three short papers are required.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 054. Dance Technique: Hip Hop
This course is an introduction to Hip Hop and street dance culture. There will be a strong focus on the movement technique, foundation and
aesthetic of each style including: Hip Hop Social, House, and Locking. It's origins and it's contributions to the culture at large. Students will be
encouraged to find their personal artistic voice within the technique to develop basic improvisational skills within each style. The goal of this
course is to understand Hip Hop dance and culture more clearly as it relates to their body and individual journey. If taken for academic credit,
three short papers are required.
Graded CR/NC
0.5 credit or P.E.
Spring 2022. Clark.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 056. Dance Technique: Tabla:The Drums of North India and Pakistan
This course is a study of tabla history and playing techniques. Students will be introduced to the basic syllables/language of the drums and hand
placement followed by complex phrases and compositions. The course contains an introduction to basic rhythms and compositions such
as Paishkar, Kaida, Reala, Gat tora, and Tukra.
Students enrolled for academic credit are required to write two short papers.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Spring 2022. Bhatti.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Bhatti.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 057. Dance Technique: Taiko I
Taiko I introduces us to Taiko drumming, an energetic neo-folk art stemming from Japan and its postwar diaspora. Taiko emphasizes drumming
as choreographic and embodied. Through games, drills, and repertory excerpts focused on kata/form and upper-lower body coordination, we will
simultaneously cultivate physical and musical skills grounded in Japanese and international Taiko culture and history.
Possible video viewing and performance attendance.
2 PE or .5 academic credit (2 short papers)
Graded CR/NC.
Recommendations: Students already enrolled in DANC 049D. Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble (also known as Dance Repertory: Taiko) are highly
encouraged wherein possible to take this course concurrently, or, as a means of maintaining proficiency if intending to re-enroll in the ensemble
course in a later semester.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Small.
Spring 2022. Small.
Fall 2022. Small.
Spring 2023. Small.
Fall 2023. Small.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 058. Dance Technique: Movement for Wellness
This course offers students an immersive somatic experience. Each class will guide the students through a physical practice in Yoga or Pilates
mat and meditation, a posture clinic and experiential anatomy exercise. The aim is to teach Movement for Wellness from various entry points to
create the potential for understanding our bodies, and how and why they move. All bodies and levels of experience welcome!
Graded CR/NC
0.5 credit
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 060. Dance Technique: Contemporary Modern III
Bethany Formica Bender uses her multi-company performance experience and eclectic skill base in a class designed to build up ideas and break
down contemporary/modern dance technique. One need not be afraid to sweat, laugh, or fall over. This class is accessible and aerobic; humor
and high energy are important. This advanced level contemporary dance course builds on skills developed in Modern I & II. Additional
vocabulary and increased floor work including inversions will be introduced with a focus on building stamina, increasing technical proficiency,
and beginning to work on performance quality. We will also be viewing a variety of contemporary dance artists to deepen and discuss our
relationship with dance. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short reflection papers are required.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: DANC 050 or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Bender.
Spring 2022. Bender.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 061. Dance Technique: Ballet III
Advanced-level course building on skills developed in Ballet II and requiring a strong background in ballet technique. Challenges students to
grasp advanced movement sequences with a high level of technical proficiency and performance quality. If taken for academic credit, concert
attendance and two short papers are required.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite:
DANC 051 or DANC 051A or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Moss-Thorne.
Spring 2022. Sabee.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 061A. Dance Technique: Ballet III with Pointe
Advanced-level course building on skills developed in Ballet II and requiring a strong background in ballet technique. Challenges students to
grasp advanced movement sequences with a high level of technical proficiency and performance quality. If taken for academic credit, concert
attendance and two short papers are required. Pointe work is not required for enrollment; students wishing to participate in the pointe portion of
class must have prior experience with pointe work.
Graded CR/NC
Prerequisite: DANC 051. or DANC 051A. or permission from instructor.
0.5 credit or P.E. credit
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/dance
DANC 070. Dance Technique: Pointe and Partnering
Course introducing or developing ballet pointe technique and partnering skills, and improving overall strength and conditioning. Class includes
barre work, center work, pointe technique, and basic partnering with a focus on artistry, musicality, strength, and stamina. Possible performance
opportunity in the end of semester dance concert. If taken for academic credit, a short paper is required.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Previous pointe work or instructor permission required.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Fall 2021. Sabee.
Spring 2022. Sabee.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 071. Salsa Dance/Drumming
(Cross-listed as MUSI 071)
This course provides an opportunity to learn both the dance and basis for drumming of Cuban salsa, Dominican merengue and Brazilian samba
with an emphasis on salsa. Students will gain an understanding and practice of pulse, meter and the polyrhythmic structure underlying
Afro/Caribbean music generally; hand techniques for conga; and improvisation and composition for both the dance and drumming. We will use a
form of "street" notation in order to write/read/remember the various rhythms.
No experience in dance or music necessary.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 078. Dance/Drum Ensemble
A repertory class in which students will learn, rehearse and perform traditional Ghanaian dances and drumming, and a contemporary
movement/rhythm piece consisting of both 'found' percussion 'discovered' movement. Participants will be encouraged to both play the rhythms
and learn the dance/movement. Students will be expected to attend additional ensemble rehearsals.
Performance: LPAC main stage, first week of December as part of the fall student dance concert.
0.5 credit or P.E.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Osayande. Rast.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 092. Independent Study
Available on an individual or group basis, this course offers students an opportunity to do special work with performance or compositional
emphasis in areas not covered by the regular curriculum. Students will meet with supervising faculty on a weekly basis and present performances
and/or written reports to the faculty supervisor, as appropriate.
Interested students must submit a short written proposal to the Program's Administrative Coordinator prior to the preregistration period. This
proposal will be presented to the Program Chair and faculty for approval and permission to register.
Students with whom the student choreographer works and who commit to 3 hours rehearsal time weekly, may receive PE credit under DANC
011A Dance Production Practicum. The project culminates in a public performance.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 093. Directed Reading
Available on an individual or group basis, this course offers students an opportunity to do special work with theoretical or historical emphasis in
areas not covered by the regular curriculum. Students will meet with a faculty supervisor weekly and present written reports to the faculty
supervisor.
Interested students must submit a short written proposal to the Program's Administrative Coordinator prior to the preregistration period. This
proposal will be presented to the Program Chair and faculty for approval and permission to register.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 094. Senior Project
Intended for seniors pursuing the special major or the major in course or honors, this project is designed by the student in consultation with a
dance faculty adviser. The major part of the semester is spent conducting independent rehearsals in conjunction with weekly meetings under an
adviser's supervision. The project culminates in a public presentation and the student's written documentation of the process and the result. An
oral response to the performance and to the documentation follows in which the student, the adviser, and several other members of the faculty
participate. In the case of honors majors, this also involves external examiners. Proposals for such projects must be submitted to the dance
faculty for approval during the semester preceding enrollment.
Students with whom the choreographer works and who commit to 3 hours weekly, may receive PE credit under DANC 011A. Dance Production
Practicum.
Prerequisite: Previous or concurrent enrollment in an advanced-level technique course or demonstration of advanced-level technique.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 095. Senior Thesis
Intended for senior majors or minors, the thesis is designed by the student in consultation with a dance faculty adviser. The major part of the
semester is spent conducting independent research in conjunction with weekly tutorial meetings under an adviser's supervision. The final paper is
read by a committee of faculty members or, in the case of honors majors, by external examiners who then meet with the student for evaluation of
its contents. Proposals for a thesis must be submitted to the dance faculty for approval during the semester preceding enrollment.
1 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
DANC 096. Senior Thesis
Intended for senior majors or minors, the thesis is designed by the student in consultation with a dance faculty adviser. The major part of the
semester is spent conducting independent research in conjunction with weekly tutorial meetings under an adviser's supervision. The final paper is
read by a committee of faculty members or, in the case of honors majors, by external examiners who then meet with the student for evaluation of
its contents. Proposals for a thesis must be submitted to the dance faculty for approval during the semester preceding enrollment.
1 credits.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Music and Dance: Music
Courses
Faculty
LEI X. OUYANG, Associate Professor of Music and Chair
SIEL AGUGLIARO, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music (part time)
JONATHAN KOCHAVI, Associate Professor of Music
GERALD LEVINSON, Professor of Music
2
BARBARA MILEWSKI, Associate Professor of Music
JAMES BLASINA, Assistant Professor of Music
1
TRACEY STEWART, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music
ANDREW HAUZE, Senior Lecturer in Music
QUINN COLLINS, Visiting Instructor in Music
THOMAS WHITMAN, Professor (part time)
MARCANTONIO BARONE, Associate in Performance (part time)
JOSEPH GREGORIO, Associate in Performance (part time)
ANDREW NEU, Associate in Performance (part time)
I NYOMAN SUADIN, Associate in Performance (part time)
MOLLY FLOYD, Administrative Coordinator
JEANNETTE HONIG, Director of Concert Programming, Production and Publicity
1
Absent on leave, Fall '21 and Spring '22
2
Absent on leave, Spring '22
The study of music as a liberal art requires an integrated approach to theory, history, and performance, experience in all three fields being
essential to the understanding of music as an artistic and intellectual achievement. Theory courses train students to understand and hear how
compositions are organized. History courses introduce students to methods of studying the development of musical styles and genres and the
relationship of music to other arts and areas of thought. The department encourages students to develop performing skills through private study
and through participation in the chorus, the chinese music ensemble, gamelan, jazz ensemble, orchestra, wind ensemble, and the Fetter Chamber
Music Program, which it staffs and administers.
The department assists instrumentalists and singers to finance the cost of private instruction. (See "Individual Instruction" under the heading
"Credit for Performance.")
The Academic Program
Course Major
The music major curriculum normally includes the following components. Every student's program is subject to approval by music faculty, taking
into consideration the student's background and goals. We welcome individualized proposals, which are evaluated and approved on the basis of
consultations with the music faculty. We emphasize the importance of depth and mastery of musical skills and understanding, and we also
recognize the value of studying the diversity of musical cultures.
A. Required. 4 courses in Music Theory plus Musicianship sections (MUSI 040). MUSI 040 may be taken for 0.0 or 0.5 credit at the student's
option.
MUSI 011 and 040A
MUSI 012 and 040B
MUSI 013 and 040C
One additional upper level Music Theory course (MUSI 014, MUSI 115, or other advanced course in theory) and MUSI 040D
Majors are strongly advised to take 5 Music Theory courses if possible.
B. Required. 2 courses in Music History and Literature from among the following
MUSI 020 (Medieval and Renaissance)
MUSI 021 (Baroque and Classical)
MUSI 022-W (19th-Century Europe)
MUSI 023-W (20th Century)
C. Required. Ethnomusicology. 1 course from among the following
MUSI 002C (Taiko and the Asian American Experience)
MUSI 005A (Music and Dance Cultures of the World)
MUSI 006C (Music and the Battle Between Good and Evil)
MUSI 008A (Music & Mao: Music and Politics in Communist China)
MUSI 008B (Music, Race and Class)
MUSI 029 (Africa through Musical Ethnography)
D. Required. 1 elective.
This may be an additional course --- at any level, introductory or advanced --- in Music History and Literature; in Ethnomusicology or World
Traditions; or in Music Theory; Conducting and Orchestration; or Composition. Alternatively, with permission of the music faculty, it could be
an academic course in Theater or Dance if relevant to the student's interests.
E. Required. 1 course to fulfill the Senior Comprehensive requirement.
MUSI 094: Senior Research Topics
During their senior year, majors in the Course Program will take the departmental comprehensive examination, which normally consists of the
study of a single musical work or cultural style (selected in advance by the student, subject to the approval of the department) which
demonstrates skills in the three areas of analysis, historical or socio-cultural research, and performance. Majors in course will enroll in MUSI
094 (Senior Research Topics in Music) in the spring semester of their senior year to prepare for their senior comprehensive examination.
F. Required. Additional Requirements for Course Majors:
Keyboard Skills Exam
Department ensemble for at least four semesters
The following is a description of these additional requirements:
Keyboard skills. This program is designed to develop keyboard proficiency to a point where a student can use the piano effectively as a tool for
studying music. Students learn to perform repertoire and, in addition, play standard harmonic progressions in all keys. The department offers
free private lessons to all majors and minors who need support in this area. No academic credit is given for these lessons. All music majors are
expected to be able to perform a two-part Invention of J. S. Bach (or another work of similar difficulty) by their senior year.
Department ensemble. The department requires majors and minors to participate in any of the departmental ensembles (Orchestra, Chorus, Wind
Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Chinese Music Ensemble, and Gamelan). We also recommend that students participate in other activities, such as
playing in Chamber Music ensembles or seeking out service-learning experiences that incorporate music.
Course Minor
A. Required. At least two courses in Music Theory plus Musicianship sections (MUSI 040). MUSI 040 may be taken for 0.0 or 0.5 credit at the
student's option.
MUSI 011 and 040A
MUSI 012 and 040B
B. Required. At least two courses in Music History and Literature, and/or in Ethnomusicology, from among the following:
MUSI 002C (Taiko and the Asian American Experience)
MUSI 005A (Music and Dance Cultures of the World)
MUSI 006C (Music and the Battle Between Good and Evil)
MUSI 008A (Music & Mao: Music and Politics in Communist China)
MUSI 008B (Music, Race and Class)
MUSI 020 (Medieval and Renaissance)
MUSI 021 (Baroque and Classical)
MUSI 022-W (19th-Century Europe)
MUSI 023-W (20th Century)
MUSI 029 (Africa through Musical Ethnography)
Any other Music History course numbered above 023
C. Required. 1 elective.
This may be an additional course --- at any level, introductory or advanced --- in Music History and Literature; in Ethnomusicology or World
Traditions; or in Music Theory. Alternatively, with permission of the music faculty, it could be an academic course in Theater or Dance if
relevant to the student's interests.
D. Additional Requirements
Department ensemble for at least two semesters; and at least one of the following, subject to departmental approval of a written
proposal:
Keyboard Skills Exam
Service-learning project in music
Senior recital
Special project in music
Honors Major
Summary: The music major in honors is identical to the music major in course in its prerequisites, required coursework, and requirements for
keyboard skills, and Department Ensemble membership. In addition, honors majors do three honors preparations in music.
Three Honors Preparations:
1. Required Honors Preparation: Senior Research Project. This consists of MUSI 094 (Senior Research Topics) in combination with
one course in Music History and Literature, in Music Theory, or in Ethnomusicology.
2., 3. Elective Honors Preparations, normally one of the following:
Music Theory. A 2-credit honors preparation in Music Theory is normally based on MUSI 115 in combination with one lower-
level Music Theory course.
Music History. A 2-credit honors preparation in Music History may be based on any music seminar numbered 100 or higher
or on any other Music History course when augmented by concurrent or subsequent additional research, directed reading, or
tutorial, with faculty approval.
Composition. At least two semesters of MUSI 019 (Composition)
Senior Honors Recital. A Senior Honors Recital preparation is available only to students who have distinguished themselves
as performers. It is normally limited to those who have won full scholarships through MUSI 048. Students who wish to pursue
this option must follow all of the steps listed in the departmental guidelines for senior recitals (see department website) and
obtain approval of their program from the music faculty during the semester preceding the proposed recital. They should
register for MUSI 099: Senior Honors Recital. This full credit, together with at least another full credit of relevant coursework
in music, will constitute the 2-credit honors preparation. One faculty member will act as head adviser on all aspects of the
honors recital. As part of the honors recital, the student will write incisive program notes on all of the works to be performed.
This work will be based on substantive research -- including analytical as well as historical work -- and will be overseen by
one or more members of the music faculty.
Senior Thesis.
Students are encouraged to propose honors preparations in any areas that are of particular interest, whether or not formal seminars are offered
in those areas. The music faculty will assist in planning the most appropriate format for these interests.
Oral examinations are given for all honors preparations in music. Written examinations, in addition to oral examinations, are given for those
preparations based on courses or seminars, not for theses, performances, and composition portfolios.
Honors Minor
A. Required. Two courses in Music Theory plus Musicianship sections (MUSI 040). MUSI 040 may be taken for 0.0 or 0.5 credit at the student's
option.
MUSI 011 and 040A
MUSI 012 and 040B
B. Required. At least two courses in Music History and Literature, and/or in Ethnomusicology, from among the following:
MUSI 002C (Taiko and the Asian American Experience)
MUSI 005A (Music and Dance Cultures of the World)
MUSI 006C (Music and the Battle Between Good and Evil)
MUSI 008A (Music & Mao: Music and Politics in Communist China)
MUSI 008B (Music, Race and Class)
MUSI 020 (Medieval and Renaissance)
MUSI 021 (Baroque and Classical)
MUSI 022-W (19th-Century Europe)
MUSI 023-W (20th Century)
Any other Music History course numbered above 023
C. Required. 1 elective.
This may be an additional course --- at any level, introductory or advanced --- in Music History and Literature; in Ethnomusicology or World
Traditions; or in Music Theory. Alternatively, with permission of the music faculty, it could be an academic course in Theater or Dance if
relevant to the student's interests.
D. One honors preparation.
See Honors Major for descriptions of possible Honors Preparations.
E. Additional Requirements.
Keyboard Skills Exam
Department ensemble for at least two semesters
Special Major
The department welcomes proposals for special majors involving music and other disciplines. Recent examples include the following:
Special Major in Music and Education
Special Major in Ethnomusicology
Other special majors are possible. For more information, contact the department chair.
Off Campus Study/Language Study
Students are encouraged to seek possibilities for off campus study, in accordance with their particular interests, in consultation with the music
faculty and the off-campus study adviser.
Students are advised that many graduate programs in music require a reading knowledge of at least two languages, with one most commonly
being either German or French.
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
We do not have a minimum grade point average (GPA) for admission as a major or minor. In its
place is a consensus of music faculty that the student can do good work in the discipline. We do
consider the likelihood of a student's ability to complete the Senior Comprehensive Project.
Students applying for admission as majors in the Honors Program should have demonstrated
high-quality work in the department by spring of their sophomore year and should have shown
strong self-motivation.
Prerequisites for acceptance into the program:
For acceptance as a music major: MUSI 011/040A and one Music History/Ethnomusicology course from the list below.
For acceptance as a music minor: MUSI 002B or MUSI 011/040A or one Music History/ Ethnomusicology course from the list below.
If a student has not completed these prerequisites at the time of an application for a major/minor, but has done good work in one or more courses
in the department, acceptance may be granted on a provisional basis.
Music History/Ethnomusicology courses that can be applied towards acceptance into the program: MUSI 002C, MUSI 004A, MUSI 004B, MUSI
005A, MUSI 005B, MUSI 005C, MUSI 006A, MUSI 006B, MUSI 006C, MUSI 008A, MUSI 008B, MUSI 020, MUSI 021, MUSI 022, MUSI 023,
MUSI 027, MUSI 028 MUSI 031, MUSI 035.
Additional Resources
Special scholarships and awards in music include the following (see 17 Distinctions, Awards, and Fellowships):
The Renee Gaddie Award
Music 048 Special Awards
The Boyd Barnard Prize
The Peter Gram Swing Prize
The Melvin B. Troy Prize in Music and Dance
Credit for Performance
Note: All performance courses are for half-course credit per semester. No retroactive credit is given for performance courses.
Individual Instruction (MUSI 048)
Academic credit and subsidies for private instruction in music are available to students at intermediate and advanced levels. For further details,
consult the MUSI 048 guidelines on the Music Program website.
Orchestra, Chorus, Wind Ensemble, Chinese Music Ensemble, Gamelan, Chamber Music, Jazz
Ensemble
Students may take Performance Chorus (MUSI 043), Performance Garnet Singers (MUSI 050, co-requisite MUSI 043 required), Performance
Orchestra (MUSI 044), Performance Jazz Ensemble (MUSI 041), Performance Wind Ensemble (MUSI 046), Performance Chinese Music
Ensemble (MUSI 042), Performance Chamber Music (MUSI 047), or Performance Gamelan (MUSI 049A) for credit with the permission of the
department member who has the responsibility for that performance group. The amount of credit received will be a half-course in any one
semester. Students applying for credit will fulfill requirements established for each activity (i.e., regular attendance at rehearsals and
performances and participation in any supplementary rehearsals held in connection with the activity). Students are graded on a credit/no credit
basis.
Students wishing to take Chamber Music (MUSI 047) for credit must submit to the chamber music coordinator at the beginning of the semester a
proposal detailing the repertory of works to be rehearsed, coached, and performed during the semester. It should include the names of all student
performers and the proposed performance dates, if different from the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program performance dates. One
semester in a Department Ensemble is a prerequisite or co-requisite for each semester of MUSI 047. This applies to all students in each Fetter
Chamber group. It is expected that Fetter students in Department Ensembles will play the same instrument/voice in both activities.
A student taking MUSI 047 for credit will rehearse with his or her group or groups at least 2 hours every week and will meet with a coach
(provided by the department) at least every other week. All members of the group should be capable of working well both independently and
under the guidance of a coach. It is not necessary for every person in the group to be taking MUSI 047 for credit, but the department expects that
those taking the course for credit will adopt a leadership role in organizing rehearsals and performances. Note: MUSI 047 ensembles do not
fulfill the ensemble requirement for lessons under MUSI 048.
Music Courses and Seminars
Introductory Courses without Prerequisite
MUSI 001A. 1000 Years of Musical Firsts
Music 001A is an overview of Western musical history, examining 13 pieces of music as works of art and as moments of cultural history through
a detailed study of their premiere performances. Case studies date from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, and special attention is given
to techniques in musical listening. Each week we will study in detail the premiere performance of a specific musical work. Our focus will be
distributed between discussions of the musical sonorities as a primary text and the socio-historical circumstances that gave rise to these works. In
this vein, our course is equally a history course, and as the semester progresses you will increasingly see the difficulty in truly separating the
"music itself" from its cultural contexts. Indeed, these cultural contexts are as much a part of the texts and the way they were created and heard,
as the notes on the page.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Agugliaro.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 002B. Reading and Making Music: The Basics of Notation
An introduction to the elements of music notation, theory (clefs, pitch, and rhythmic notation, scales, keys, and chords), sight singing, and
general musicianship. Recommended for students who need additional preparation for MUSI 011 or to join the College chorus.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Hauze.
Fall 2022. Blasina.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 002C. Taiko & Asian American Experiences
(cross-listed as DANC 003 )
In this course we will examine the origins of Taiko drumming in Japan and consider how the tradition has developed in North America over the
past four decades. We will discuss the role of Taiko drumming in the Asian American Movement, explore different styles of contemporary Taiko
in Asian America, and gain basic drumming competency. Through the integration of academic and performance study we will consider and
experience Taiko drumming as a prominent and dynamic Asian American performing art. Open to all students without prerequisite. No prior
performance or musical background is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, Lang Engaged Scholarship
Spring 2022. Ouyang.
Spring 2023. Ouyang.
Spring 2024. Ouyang.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 003A. Introduction to Music Technology
An exploration of introductory concepts in music technology including audio production, MIDI sequencing, sampling, synthesis, and other
pertinent topics through creative projects using Logic Pro X software. Creative projects will include short "etudes" which focus on specific tasks
meant to cultivate the above skills, along with more open-ended final and midterm projects, which will be inclusive of all musical styles and focus
on each student's individual compositional voice. Other activities will consist of group discussion, student presentations of their work in class,
and the study of repertoire in many musical genres including but not limited to musique concrète, acousmatic music, drone, noise, electronic
dance music, hip-hop, Plunderphonics, electroacoustic improvisation, and vaporwave. This course is open to every student without prerequisite,
regardless of their previous experience with music or technology.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Collins.
Spring 2023. Collins.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 003B. Listening to Jazz: Culture, Place, and Sound
In this introductory course, students will learn about the origins and development of Jazz music, starting from its beginnings in New Orleans, to
its growth as "America's music," and now as art form appreciated worldwide. We will engage with issues not only of history and location, but
also of sound and musical innovation, with a spotlight on improvisation as a hallmark practice of the genre. Students will develop engaged
music listening skills applicable to all musical genres as we learn more about Jazz music and the story that has been told about it. There are no
prerequisite courses necessary to enroll.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Klingenberg.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 004A. Zombie Art: Why Opera Will Never Die
Do you sometimes enjoy insatiable lust, crazed debauchery, a bit of madness? How about the thrill of revenge, exquisite music, demented theater,
and hunchbacks? Please read on....
This class explores the exhilarating musical, dramatic and cultural tightrope walk that is opera. Before there was Justin Timberlake there was
Farinelli, and way before today's trans movement there was normalized gender bending. We will examine key works from opera's 400-year
history and take a closer look at the unfolding of this deeply human, monumental art form and the forces that have tried, unsuccessfully, to kill it
over the last century. This class is intended to demystify what is often seen as an elitist music, and requires no pretentiousness or previous
operatic experience.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 004B. The Symphony
This course will examine the history of the symphony from its beginnings in music of the late Baroque period to the end of the 20th century. We
will examine a number of important symphonic works by such composers as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Chaikovsky, Mahler,
Shostakovich, and Gorecki in order to discuss issues of genre, form, and performance forces in the context of shifting historical and social trends.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 004C. Russian Culture through Music
(Cross-listed as RUSS 019)
Music has always played a central role in Russian cultural life. By shaping and responding to various cultural, social, and political changes, it
has served as a space for the construction and negotiation of individual and national identity. This course will begin with a brief historical
survey, touching upon the folk tradition and the beginning of Russian classical music and opera - Glinka, Musorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich,
etc. We will also examine the development of Russian music through different historical periods, concentrating on an area of common interest
for the specific group of students enrolled in the course. Some of the questions this course will pose, and hopefully answer, at least partially, are:
How does a piece of music reflect the ideological and political situation of its time? How does it reveal the aesthetic sensibilities and aspirations
of the composers, their listeners, and society at large? How has music's function as breeding ground for social and cultural values changed in
post-Soviet times?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 005. U.S. Pop Music History
A survey of American popular music from the late 19th century to the present day based on discussions of individual case studies of music,
musicians, and genres in the context of American history. Emphasis is on understanding musical developments with respect to American race
and gender relations, structures of musical production, youth cultures, urban and rural musical cultures, immigration and emigration, war and
violence, audiences and reception, and fan communities. Topics include blackface minstrelsy, tin pan alley, early blues, crooners, rock 'n' roll,
girl groups, the "British Invasion", heavy metal, glam rock, divas, hip hop, file sharing and iTunes, social media, and live performances vs. studio
recording.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 005A. Music and Dance Cultures of the World
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020D)
In this course we take an ethnomusicological approach to examine music and dance cultures from around the world. We will
consider music and dance both in and as culture with attention to social, political, and historical contexts. Topics will include identity, race,
ethnicity, gender, class, religion, memory, migration, globalization, tourism, and social and political movements. The course will provide an
opportunity to develop critical listening and analytical skills to discuss sound and movement.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Core
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Fall 2022. Stewart.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 005B. Popular Music and Masculinities from Rock 'n' Roll to Boy Bands
This course examines the ways in which varying masculinities have been articulated, performed, and marketed in American popular music from
the 1950s to the present day. Musical case studied include Rock 'n' roll, boy bands, and contemporary Hip Hop. It examines how popular music
has facilitated a challenge to gender and sexual norms, or alternatively, how it has served to model or reinforce norms. Particular focus will be
given to the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity
, class, and ability. This course includes musical analysis, music video analysis,
scholarly articles in musicology, and theoretical readings in gender studies. It is therefore both a history of popular music and a history of
gender and sexuality.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2024. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 005C. Traditional Musics of World Cultures
Introduction to world music and ethnomusicology via a set of case studies on traditional music and music-making practices. This course stresses
music as an integral to--constitutive of, rather than separate from--the culture in which it is rooted. Within this framework we will discuss how
the concept of "tradition" does not necessarily imply historical fact, but can be more influenced by understandings of and nostalgic feelings about
"the past" as commentary and critique of the present. The course's final project will consist of individual ethnographic projects, in which students
engage with a local community group or musicians involved in some form of traditional music practice.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 005D. The Art of the American Musical
(Cross-listed as ENGL 095A , THEA 005B )
The triumph of Hamilton: An American Musical, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, over Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921
and All That Followed, by George C. Wolfe, at the 2016 Tony Awards is a metaphor for the racial amnesia concerning art by and about blacks
who are not useful to neoliberal public policy. This course applies #blacklivesmatter to the American musical--between the all-black-cast revival,
Beyoncé, biological versus social origins of race, black culture in a "post-soul" era, blackface versus black-on-black minstrelsy, the chitlin
circuit, color-blind versus conceptual casting, genre, gospel, and reviews of Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and DuBose
Heyward, in black daily newspapers and black monthly and weekly magazines--taking seriously Wolfe's claim about intellectual history that
"given the dynamics of this country, you may find yourself at a point where your story is no longer valuable, acute or attractive, and if it hasn't
been recorded, if you haven't recorded it or if you haven't put into motion people to record it, then it won't be there." These topics require
students to conduct research into the African-American experience in the musical as well as listen to sound recordings of Broadway, Off-
Broadway, regional/tour, and West End stage works and watch film, television, video, and video clips on YouTube.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 005E. Popular Music and Media
LITR 026 FMST 026
Is Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) the Stop Making Sense (1984) of this generation? How does YouTube compare
to Indie records? What's similar and what's different? What is the relationship between social
media and commercial means of distribution, and what is its effect on fandom? This team-taught
course investigates the histories, structures and cultural connections between popular music
and other media. How do musical expressions and genres interact with medium specificity?
How can we understand changing exhibition formats (stadium vs. lounge vs. club) and
distribution venues (record store vs. Spotify)? How does celebrity culture then and now impact
what is popular and how does it affect the music industry and vice versa? What lies at the
intersection of national, socio-political and fan cultures?
Providing a grounding in music and
media history and theory, we will research and analyze mainstream and independent case
studies in radio, film, theater, television and social media in order to better understand and
engage with the comp
lex webs that characterize contemporary media, its production, and its
consumption.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Blasina. Simon.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 005F. Black Popular Music: From "Race Music" to the Mainstream
Black popular music today sits at the center of the American mainstream, but it was not always so. In this course, we will chart the emergence
and development of Black popular music over the 20th and into the 21st century and examine the contexts that place it ever closer to the heart of
American music and as a continued reflection of Black life in America. Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Kendrick
Lamar, and Childish Gambino will all play a role as we listen to America through the soundscape of Black Pop. There are no prerequisites for
this course.
Prerequisite: None
1 credit
Eligible for BLST
MUSI 006. Arts in Action
(Cross-listed as DANC 004)
This course aims to bring together students with an interest in investigating and investing in social change work through the arts. Our seminar
community will engage in discussion of readings and video viewings, will host and visit local leaders from the arts and social change movement,
and will engage in fieldwork opportunities as required parts of the course. Papers, journals, and hands-on projects will all be included.
This course fulfills a Prerequisite requirement for dance major and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, CBL
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 006A. Music in Times of War and Disease
For centuries, and across the globe, music has accompanied, amplified and responded to the most cataclysmic moments in human history. From
the so-called "Black Death" pandemic of the Middle Ages to the total warfare of the twentieth century to the "gray-zone" conflicts of the new
millennium, music has been employed to manipulate, protest, comfort, witness, and also to process human pain and grief. This course considers
the current pandemic's impact on music in a global-historical context of war and pestilence, seeking to understand how these phenomena have
affected musical sounds, and how music-making has contributed to human resilience. What will be the enduring repercussions of this historical
moment on the future of musical expression?
Eligible for GLBL-Core, PEAC
MUSI 006B. Music and War
This course will explore the various contexts and motivations for music making during the Holocaust and World War II era. In the universe of the
Nazi ghettos and concentration camps, music was a vehicle for transmitting political rumors, controversies, stories, and everyday events as well
as a form of spiritual resistance. In the broader context of war, it was used for political and nationalist agendas. This course will draw on a wide
range of music, from folk songs and popular hit tunes to art music intended for the concert stage.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Milewski.
Fall 2022. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 006C. Music and the Battle Between Good and Evil
Who has the power to control music? How can music function in extreme states? Is it different than what it sounds like in periods of
normalcy? This course will explore music within the context of totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. Beginning with Stalin and Socialist
Realist aesthetics in the Soviet Union of the late 1920s, we'll move westward to look at the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in 1930s Germany, and
then east to Mao's Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). We will consider how these leaders attempted to impose political ideology on the
contours of musical expression in their countries, and how individuals forged personal meanings for these musics. We will turn to contemporary
memories (examining first person accounts, memoirs, and survivor testimonies) in order to explore moments in which individuals succeeded in
subverting control. We will consider sources ranging from mass songs to epic musical theatre, marches to model revolutionary ballet, as well as
propagandistic films and poster art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 006D. Performing Resistance: Black Music and Protest in the African Diaspora
This course explores African diasporic music as it's been used in performative acts of resistance and protest in the United States, the Caribbean,
and South America. We will consider instances when music and movement have been deployed in response to political, economic, and social
tyranny in the past and in the present.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, PEAC, BLST
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Spring 2022. Stewart.
Catalog chapter: Music
MUSI 007. Foundations of Songwriting
Songwriting merges the composition of music with the creation of words or lyrics. Songs are ancient phenomena, tied innately to human
behavior. They are in part a natural extension of speech and physical movement, in part a creative endeavor, and in today's world, often a
commercial venture. Though usually modest in size, songs have exerted a powerful influence on, and been an indispensable reflection of, our
collective emotional and actual lives. How songs come into being is somewhat ethereal, and only recently have educators and practitioners
begun to treat songwriting as a scholarly discipline. This course frames the art and act of songwriting in historical context, offering a
combination of background information and hands-on practice.
The class has two main components. First, through survey and analysis, we will examine the wide literature of songs throughout history: its
traditions, its mechanisms, and its connections to human society and culture. Next, students will create their own songs, applying the principles
and techniques learned through study of the repertoire. We will examine the process of songwriting, from inception through execution to
completion, by closely observing and keeping journals of our own work, and by welcoming guest artists to the class to discuss their songwriting
processes and experiences. Topics to be discussed include melody, rhythm, style, instrumentation, song forms, singing,
dancing, and rhyming, among many others. All genres are welcome, and both traditional and non-traditional approaches are encouraged. A
basic knowledge of music and some musical skill, vocal or instrumental, are highly recommended.
HU
1
Spring 2022. Church.
MUSI 008A. Music & Mao: Music and Politics in Communist China
(Cross-listed as SOAN 020E)
In this course we will examine music in post-1949 China with particular emphasis on cultural and political trends of the 20th and 21st century.
We will consider cultural policies of the Communist Party of China and influential interactions with other countries inside and outside of Asia.
Though focusing primarily upon music, discussion will also include visual arts, dance, and theater.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 008B. Music, Race and Class
(Cross-listed as BLST 008B)
What is the power of music? How can music empower individuals and groups in the fight for justice? In this course we will investigate
contemporary case studies from around the world when groups have employed music to confront racism and classism in pursuit of social justice.
Case studies include Apartheid South Africa, Buraku Taiko drummers in Japan, and the Kamehameha Schools Songs Contest in Hawai'i.
Students will complete an original community project to share their course experience with other students on campus. Open to all students
without prerequisite.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, BLST, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 008C. Medievalism in Music and Media
From the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol to Disney's Frozen to video games such as The Witcher and Skyrim, fictionalized allusions to the
Middle Ages loom large in contemporary cultural and political landscapes. How are the Middles Ages presented and understood, and what is the
role of sound and music in the "invention" of the Middle Ages? This course explores the slippery distinction between the "real" and the "made"
musical Middle Ages (roughly defined as the fifth to the fifteenth centuries) through several case studies from the last two hundred years and
spanning across a variety of genres and media: video games, television, cinema, popular and folk musics, manuscript and print scores, and
opera. We will consider the musical strategies that performers, composers, and scholars have adopted to imagine the sound of the Middle Ages,
as well as the historical, political, and ideological motivations prompting them in doing so.
HU
1
Eligible for INTP, MDST
Spring 2022. Agugliaro.
MUSI 009. Native American Culture & Contemporary Music
(Cross-listed as ANTH 034C)
This course introduces students to Native American and Indigenous peoples through contemporary music. Students will read anthropological and
ethnomusicology texts, engage Native pop culture and news media, watch music videos and listen to selections of Native American and
Indigenous contemporary music from across the Americas. A main goal of this course is to gain knowledge and appreciation of Indigenous
peoples, their cultures, and the social and environmental justice issues facing them in contemporary society.
Humanities
1 credit
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Two-Bears.
Fall 2022. Two-Bears.
MUSI 009A. Music and Mathematics
This course will explore the basic elements of musical language from a scientific and mathematical perspective. We will work collaboratively to
uncover relationships and features that are fundamental to the way that music is constructed. Although intended for science, mathematics,
engineering, and other mathematically minded students, the course will introduce all necessary mathematics; no specific background is required.
Some knowledge of musical notation is helpful but not required. This course provides the necessary background to enable students to enroll in
MUSI 011.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Kochavi.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 009B. Music as Oral Tradition
"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." This African proverb, popularized by Nigerian
novelist Chinua Achebe, reflects the absence of the voices of colonized subjects in recorded histories of colonial domination.
This course explores the music and oral traditions of African and African diasporic peoples as legible historical records that are valuable and
credible receptacles of, and sources for the dissemination and comprehensive production of world knowledge. As receptacles of knowledge, the
living archives of song, instrumental music, dance, storytelling, traditional foods, and spiritual practice offer communities a mode for
remembrance, and for teaching, learning, and preserving valuable social information. As sources of knowledge production, the records that
inhabit these living archives represent colonial histories from the perspective of the colonized, on their terms.
During this course, students will use selected case studies to examine how the living archives of colonized African and African diasporic people
in continental Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas have been influential in chronicling past and present struggles. They will consider how
these records remain vital to communities' ability not just to survive, but to thrive in the twenty-first century and beyond.
HU
1
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, Lang Engaged Scholarship, BLST
Spring 2022. Stewart.
Theory and Composition
Students who anticipate taking further courses in the department or majoring in music are urged to take MUSI 011 and 012 as early as possible.
Advanced placement is assigned on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with the theory and musicianship faculty. Majors will normally take
MUSI 011 to 015.
MUSI 011. Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form 1
This course will provide an introduction to tonal harmony and counterpoint, largely as practiced in 18th- and 19th-century Europe. Topics
include simple counterpoint in 2 parts, harmonization of soprano and bass lines in four-part textures, systematic study of common diatonic
harmonies, features of melody and phrase, and the Blues.
All MUSI 011 students must register for an appropriate level of MUSI 040A for 0 or 0.5 credit. Keyboard skills lessons may also be required for
some students.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of traditional notation and major and minor scales; ability to play or sing at sight simple lines in treble and bass clef.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Kochavi.
Fall 2022. Kochavi.
Fall 2023. Kochavi.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 012. Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form 2
This course will provide continued work on tonal harmony and counterpoint, largely as practiced in 18th- and 19th-century Europe. Topics
include two-voice counterpoint, harmonization of soprano and bass lines in four-part textures, phrase structure, small and large scale forms,
modulation and tonicization, and analysis using prolongational reductions. We will also study minuet form in detail, culminating in a final
composition project.
All MUSI 012 students must register for an appropriate level of MUSI 040B for 0 or 0.5 credit. Keyboard skills lessons are required for all
students in MUSI 012.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kochavi.
Spring 2023. Kochavi.
Spring 2024. Kochavi.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 013. Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form 3
Continues and extends the work of Music 12 to encompass an expanded vocabulary of chromatic tonal harmony, based on Western art music of
the 18th and 19th centuries. The course includes analysis of smaller and larger works by such composers as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert,
Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, and Wagner; in-depth study of such large-scale topics as sonata form; and written musical exercises ranging from
harmonizations of bass and melody lines to original compositions in chorale style.
All MUSI 013 students must register for an appropriate level of MUSI 040C for 0 or 0.5 credit. Keyboard skills lessons may also be required for
some students.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Levinson.
Fall 2022. Levinson.
Fall 2023. Levinson.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 014. Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form 4
This course provides continued work in chromatic harmony and 18th-century counterpoint, largely as practiced in Europe. It will primarily take
the form of a literature survey. For the first half of the semester, our focus will be on short pieces; during the second of the semester we will study
keyboard fugues and other larger-scale works. This course includes a service-learning project.
All MUSI 014 students must register for an appropriate level of MUSI 040D for 0 or 0.5 credit. Keyboard skills lessons may also be required for
some students.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Levinson.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 018. Conducting and Orchestration
This course approaches the understanding of orchestral scores from a variety of perspectives. We will study techniques of orchestration and
instrumentation, both in analysis of selected works, and in practice, through written exercises. The history, and philosophy of conducting will be
examined, and we will work to develop practical conducting technique. Score reading, both at the piano and through other methods, will be
practiced throughout the semester.
Prerequisite: MUSI 012, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Hauze.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 040. Elements of Musicianship
Sight singing and rhythmic and melodic dictation. Required for all MUSI 011 to MUSI 014 students, with or without 0.5 credit. The instructor
will place students at appropriate levels.
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 040A. Elements of Musicianship I
The Elements of Musicianship courses explore music making from a variety of perspectives and across many styles and genres of (mostly)
Western music. Among the skills developed are: sight-singing melodies and arpeggiated harmonic progressions; singing and playing the piano
simultaneously; part singing in choral works; taking musical dictation; transcription of recorded music; basic conducting; beginning keyboard
harmony; and transposition.
The first semester, Music 40A, provides an introduction to scale degree solmization; singing major and minor scales (all forms); fluency in all
keys and time signatures; rhythmic subdivision; conducting patterns; intervals within the major/minor scales and primary triads; passing and
neighboring tones; decontextualized perfect intervals; and diatonic keyboard skills.
Required for all MUSI 011 students, with or without 0.5 credit. The instructor will place students at appropriate levels.
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Hauze.
Fall 2022. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
MUSI 040B. Elements of Musicianship II
The Elements of Musicianship courses explore music making from a variety of perspectives and across many styles and genres of (mostly)
Western music. Among the skills developed are: sight-singing melodies and arpeggiated harmonic progressions; singing and playing the piano
simultaneously; part singing in choral works; taking musical dictation; transcription of recorded music; basic conducting; beginning keyboard
harmony; and transposition.
The second semester, Music 40B, explores the use of triads in inversion; tonicizations of closely related key areas; chromatic non-harmonic
tones; the dominant seventh chord; syncopation and cross-rhythm; and complex subdivision.
Required for all MUSI 012 students, with or without 0.5 credit. The instructor will place students at appropriate levels.
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Hauze.
Spring 2023. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
MUSI 040C. Elements of Musicianship III
The Elements of Musicianship courses explore music making from a variety of perspectives and across many styles and genres of (mostly)
Western music. Among the skills developed are: sight-singing melodies and arpeggiated harmonic progressions; singing and playing the piano
simultaneously; part singing in choral works; taking musical dictation; transcription of recorded music; basic conducting; beginning keyboard
harmony; and transposition.
The third semester, Music 40C, introduces atonal melodies using seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths and continues to explore closely related
modulation and chromatic tonicization; sequences; advanced triplets and irregular meters; advanced transposition; the "church" modes; the
whole tone scale; and the octatonic scale.
Required for all MUSI 013 students, with or without 0.5 credit. The instructor will place students at appropriate levels.
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Hauze.
Fall 2022. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
MUSI 040D. Elements of Musicianship IV
The Elements of Musicianship courses explore music making from a variety of perspectives and across many styles and genres of (mostly)
Western music. Among the skills developed are: sight-singing melodies and arpeggiated harmonic progressions; singing and playing the piano
simultaneously; part singing in choral works; taking musical dictation; transcription of recorded music; basic conducting; beginning keyboard
harmony; and transposition.
The fourth and final semester, Music 40D, explores advanced atonal melodies; distant chromatic modulation; diminished seventh chords;
Neapolitan and augmented sixth chords; and mixed meters.
Required for all MUSI 014 students, with or without 0.5 credit. The instructor will place students at appropriate levels.
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Hauze.
Spring 2023. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
MUSI 061. Jazz Improvisation
A systematic approach that develops the ability to improvise coherently, emphasizing the Bebop and Hard Bop styles exemplified in the music of
Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music and fluency on an instrument.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
History of Music
MUSI 020. Medieval and Renaissance Music
A repertory based course that discusses the history of music in Europe from the beginnings of musical notation to the birth of opera. (c. 800 - c.
1600). Mus 20 considers this varied repertory through lenses of race, gender, and identity, nationalism and post-colonial theory. Topics include
musical rituals, music and magic, music and Elizabethan global politics, music, piety, & sacrilege, sexual discourse in music, relationships
between music and architecture, development of musical instruments, and history of theory.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 021. Music in Europe and the Americas in the 17th and 18th Centuries
This course will survey European art music from the 16th-century Italian madrigal to Haydn's Creation. Relevant extramusical contexts will be
considered.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 022. 19th-Century European Music
This survey considers European art music against the background of 19th-century Romanticism and nationalism. Composers to be studied
include Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Berlioz, Robert and Clara Schumann, Wagner, Verdi, Brahms, Dvorak, Musorgsky, and Chaikovsky.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or the equivalent.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 023. 20th-Century Music
A study of the various stylistic directions in music of the 20th century. Representative works by composers from Debussy, Stravinsky, and
Schoenberg through Copland, Messiaen, and postwar composers such as Boulez and Crumb, to the younger generation will be examined in
detail.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or the equivalent.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 024. Opera Production Workshop
(Cross-listed as THEA 005 )
Opera is a collaborative art form, involving composing, writing, performing, stage directing, choreography and design. In this workshop-based
class, students will gain a basic understanding of opera as an art form and experience all aspects of the rehearsal and production process. The
class culminates in the performance of an original opera written, directed, and performed by faculty and students.
Open to students with permission of the instructors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 025. American Musical Theater
Musical theater has often been considered a quintessentially American genre. But how has it helped Americans to understand America. This
survey will trace the genre's musical and dramatic development and explore representations of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 026. Ballet & Modern Dance in Europe & North America 1789-1960
(Cross listed as DANC 022)
This survey covers theatrical dance in Europe and North America from the French Revolution through the late twentieth century, examining
ballet and modern dance within the greater performance contexts. We will also consider ways in which race, gender, sexuality, and politics affect
dance creation, performance, and dissemination.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- Paired
Spring 2022. Sabee
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 027. Divas
This course examines the musical performances and personae of 20th and 21st century musical "divas" through the lenses of race, class, gender,
sexuality, and fandom. Special attention is on how popular divas have disrupted dominant discourses of gender, sex, race, religion, and
embodiment, as well as articulated resistance to hegemonic cultural requirements. Discussions will address questions such as: Who is a diva,
and what constitutes diva-ness? How have divas defined, expanded, and transgressed boundaries of acceptable female musicianship? How can
subversion and resistance be read in mass-produced cultural forms? What has the effect of technology and mediation been on diva performance
and reception? What is the role of camp and outrageousness in diva performance and imitation?
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Blasina.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 028. Sound, Sinners, and Saints in Medieval England
What did Medieval England sound like? What meanings did individuals attribute to sounds, heard and imagined? This course examines the
production and perception of sound and music in England from c. 1000 - c. 1500, considering their relationship to each other, and their roles as
vehicles for the transcultural exchange that contributed to formations of English national identity. Using the lenses of sound studies and
musicology, this course considers how sound and music could be tools of war and conquest in early English imperialism, as well as the impacts
of sound and music on English civic and religious life. In this vein topics include, but are not limited to, sound and criminality, executions, the
regulation of sound and music, English sanctity, kingship and queenship, the Crusades, vernacular song and dance, musical innovation, and
technologies of music recording. We will treat music on the same level as other kinds of sounds, including those represented in visual sources
and those made by inanimate objects (e.g.bells) and animals.
Prerequisite: Ability to read music.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST.
Spring 2024. Blasina.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 029. Africa through Musical Ethnography
In this upper level seminar course, we will travel the African continent and bear witness to a variety of African musical traditions through some
of the most exciting ethnographies written in the last 50 years. We will explore questions of sound, style, ethics, representation, and the
ethnographic process as we journey around the continent and sample its musical diversity. This course is eligible for Black Studies credit.
Prerequisite: MUSI 005A or the permission of the instructor.
Satisfies the Ethnomusicology requirement.
Prerequisite: MUSI 005A or the permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Klingenberg.
MUSI 031. Music and Culture in East Asia
This course examines music and culture in East Asia with a focus on a selection of contemporary case studies. The course is divided into three
units of China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. Each unit will begin with an introduction to leading musical traditions of the area
including main instruments, ensemble, and musical genres. We will then closely examine case studies from the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries with
attention to music and significant social, political, and historical contexts. Students will develop critical reviews of scholarly articles and
facilitate class discussions based on assigned reading and listening materials. Additional coursework includes performance workshops, reading,
and listening.
Next offered Fall 2023.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 033A. Caribbean/Latin America
This course will focus on the collective genius of the folk, traditional, and popular musics of Cuba and Brazil, such as Afro-Cuban and Afro-
Brazilian religious music, changüí, son, danzón charanga, son montuno, timba, samba enredo, samba reggae, afoxé, bossa nova, capoeira,
maracatú, mangue beat, pagode, and many others. Selected musical genres will be studied for their sounds and formal characteristics, as well as
their cultural origins and histories, and occasionally, comparisons will be drawn with musical styles from the U.S., and musics of the respective
immigrant populations in the U.S. will be discussed. The class will feature some hands-on demonstrations by guest artists and the instructor.
Materials and assignments will include audio recordings, videos, journal articles, textbook chapters, and other writings, mostly drawn from the
field of ethnomusicology.
This course fulfills the world traditions component requirement for the music major.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of traditional music notation and major and minor scales. Recommended, but not required: Knowledge of Spanish or
Portuguese.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 035. Foundations of Ethnomusicology
This course provides an introduction to the history, methodologies, and theories of ethnomusicology. Through review and analysis of past case
studies, we will discuss the development of the discipline, engaging with fundamental questions about the relationships among music, culture,
scholarship, and advocacy. This course material and assessments will be designed in an interdisciplinary fashion, drawing primarily from music
analysis and the social sciences. In addition to individual and collaborative assignments, students will produce ethnographic portfolios of a
nearby group or community to be presented at the end of the semester.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 038. Color and Spirit: Music of Debussy, Stravinsky, and Messiaen
A focused survey of 20th-century music centering on the great renewal of musical expression, increasingly diverging from the Austro-German
classic-Romantic tradition, found in the works of these three very individual French and Russian composers, as well as the resonance of their
music in the work of their contemporaries and successors, including Ravel, Dukas, Prokofiev, Boulez, and others. The course begins by tracing
the origins of this "alternative" conception of what music can do, and how it can work, well back into the 19
th
century, especially in the music of
Liszt and the Russian "Mighty Handful", then considers its continuing and seminal contribution to musical modernism throughout the 20
th
century. Prof. Levinson is a former student and assistant to Olivier Messiaen.
Some of the principal works to be studied are Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, La Mer, the opera Pelléas et Mélisande, and songs
and piano works; Stravinsky's ballets Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and others, Symphony of Psalms, Symphony in Three Movements, and the
late serial works of the 1960s; Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, Turangalîla Symphony, Oiseaux exotiques, The Transfiguration, the
opera Saint Francis of Assissi, and songs, piano and organ works.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 075. Special Topics in Music Theater
Available to students participating in the study abroad programs coordinated through Swarthmore in France, Ghana, India, or Japan.
Prerequisite: Consent of the dance program director and the faculty adviser for off-campus study.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 091C. Special Topics (Music Education)
With permission of the instructor, qualified students may choose to pursue a topic of special interest in music education through a field project
involving classroom or school practice.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: At least one course in music.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 092. Independent Study
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 093. Directed Reading
THEA 012B
This course provides foundations of vocal technique for actors, including work with breath, projection, resonators, diction, and so forth. It also
offers a chance to explore experimental vocal production and composition. The class is strongly recommended for all acting and voice
performance students and may be taken without prerequisite.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 094. Senior Research Topics in Music
Required of all senior majors as preparation for the senior comprehensive in music.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Milewski.
Spring 2023. Milewski
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 095. Tutorial
Special work in composition, theory, or history.
Humanities.
1 or 2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 096. Senior Thesis
1 or 2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 099. Senior Honors Recital
Honors music majors who wish to present a senior recital as one of their honors preparations must register for MUSI 099, after consultation
with the music faculty. See Honors Program guidelines.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Seminars
MUSI 100. Ethnomusicology Seminar
(Cross-listed as SOAN 100)
Ethnomusicology is an academic discipline that examines music in and as culture. This course examines how the interdisciplinary field has
developed over the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries through an investigation of its origins, approaches, methodologies, and contemporary theoretical
questions. Course readings will address the relationships between music and a variety of conceptual themes including race, ethnicity, identity,
nationalism, Diaspora, globalization, and gender. The music cultures we will examine in this course represent a wide range of cultures,
geographic regions, musical genres, and historical periods. Students will complete introductory exercises in research, transcription, analysis,
ethnographic fieldwork, & performance.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Ouyang.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 104. Chopin
This course will provide an in-depth historical study of Chopin's music. We will examine the full generic range of Chopin's compositions, taking
into account the various socio-cultural, biographical and historical-political issues that have attached to specific genres. Throughout the
semester we will also consider such broader questions as: why did Chopin restrict himself almost entirely to piano composition? How might we
locate Chopin's work within the larger category of 19th-century musical romanticism? What does Chopin's music mean to us today?
Prerequisite: MUSI 011.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 106. Winds of Pleasure: The Music and Writing of Hildegard of Bingen in Context and Revival
Celebrated for her prophetic powers, Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century composer, abbess, writer of three natural science and medicinal
texts, and a sought-after resource for contemporary political and religious leaders. This course examines the music, drama, sermons, letters, and
medicinal works written by the visionary and polymath, contextualizing Hildegard's compositional style within medieval genres. Special attention
will be given to liturgical drama, the recording and compilation of Hildegard's work during the Middle Ages, compositional aspects of
Hildegard's music, representations of gender, the body, and sexuality in her music and writing. The Hildegard revival of the 19th and 20th
centuries will provide case studies (ranging from Anonymous 4 to Swedish folk rock) to analyze contemporary performance practices.
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 or permission of the instructor.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Blasina.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 115. Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form 5
Exploration of a number of advanced concepts in music theory including: the study and analytical application of post-tonal theory (including set
theory and neo-Riemannian theory), the structure of the diatonic system, applications of theoretical models to rhythm and meter, and geometric
models of musical progression.
Prerequisite: MUSI 014.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Kochavi.
Spring 2024. Kochavi.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 118. Introduction to Composition
Prerequisite: MUSI 011 and MUSI 012.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 119. Composition
Repeatable course.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Levinson.
Fall 2022. Levinson.
Fall 2023. Levinson.
Spring 2024. Levinson.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
Performance
Note: The following performance courses are for 0.5-course credit per semester.
MUSI 041. Jazz Ensemble
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Neu.
Spring 2022. Neu.
Fall 2022. Neu.
Spring 2023. Neu.
Fall 2023. Neu.
Spring 2024. Neu.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 042. Chinese Music Ensemble
Performance of traditional and contemporary music from different regions of China and the Chinese Diaspora. Students perform on traditional
Chinese instruments including the guzheng (zither), erhu (bowed fiddle), pipa (plucked lute), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), dizi (flute), and
percussion. Students will choose 1-2 instruments to focus on for the semester based on instrument availability, interest, repertoire, and ensemble
needs. Students with no prior musical experience (of any tradition) are welcome to attend the first rehearsal and discuss your interests with
Professor Ouyang.
Instruments will be provided by the Department and the class will present a public performance at the end of the semester. Weekly rehearsals in
Lang #415, plus an additional 30 minutes per week in smaller groups ("sectional").
Graded CR/NC.
0.0 or 0.5 credit
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Ouyang. Wang.
Spring 2022. Ouyang. Wang.
Fall 2022. Ouyang. Wang.
Spring 2023. Ouyang. Wang.
Fall 2023. Ouyang. Wang.
Spring 2024. Ouyang. Wang.
Department website: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 043. Chorus
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Gregorio.
Spring 2022. Gregorio.
Fall 2022. Gregorio.
Spring 2023. Gregorio.
Fall 2023. Gregorio.
Spring 2024. Gregorio.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 044. Orchestra
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Hauze.
Spring 2022. Hauze.
Fall 2022. Hauze.
Spring 2023. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
Spring 2024. Hauze.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 046. Wind Ensemble
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Hauze.
Spring 2022. Hauze.
Fall 2022. Hauze.
Spring 2023. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
Spring 2024. Hauze.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 047. Chamber Music
(See guidelines for this course earlier.)
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Hauze.
Spring 2022. Hauze.
Fall 2022. Hauze.
Spring 2023. Hauze.
Fall 2023. Hauze.
Spring 2024. Hauze.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 048. Individual Instruction
Please consult the MUSI 048 guidelines on the Music Program website.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 049A. Balinese Gamelan
Performance of traditional and modern compositions for Balinese Gamelan (Indonesian percussion orchestra). Students will learn to play
without musical notation. No prior experience in Western or non-Western music is required. The course is open to all students.
0.5 or 0.0 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2021. Whitman. Suadin.
Spring 2022. Whitman. Suadin.
Fall 2022. Whitman. Suadin.
Spring 2023. Whitman. Suadin.
Fall 2023. Whitman. Suadin.
Spring 2024. Whitman. Suadin.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 050. Garnet Singers
Formerly Performance (Chamber Choir)
Corequisite: Students enrolled in MUSI 050 must also be enrolled in MUSI 043 (Performance Chorus).
0.0 or 0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Gregorio.
Spring 2022. Gregorio.
Fall 2022. Gregorio.
Spring 2023. Gregorio.
Fall 2023. Gregorio.
Spring 2024. Gregorio.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 071. Salsa Dance/Drumming
(Cross-listed as DANC 071)
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 093A. Acting II- Voice Workshop
THEA 012B
This course provides foundations for opening possibilities in the full range of the human voice-from speaking to singing to raw sound expression-
to help students cultivate an integrative personal practice, unlock creative potential, and connect with what their unique voices have to say.
Themes to explore: vocal mechanics and self-care; the voice as a bridge between body, emotion, and imagination; working with song and text;
tools for improvisation and composition. The class is strongly recommended to all acting students and may be taken without prerequisite. Cross-
listed with THEA 012B.
0.5
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Pernell.
Peace and Conflict Studies
Courses
Coordinator:
LEE SMITHEY (Peace and Conflict Studies), Coordinator
Cheryl Sharp, Administrative Coordinator
Deborah B Sloman, Administrative Assistant
Committee:
Sa'ed Atshan (Peace and Conflict Studies)
3
Nanci Buiza (Spanish)
Denise Crossan (Lang Professor for Social Change, Peace and Conflict Studies)
Amy Kapit (Peace and Conflict Studies)
Emily Paddon Rhoads (Political Science)
Sangina Patnaik (English Literature)
Ellen Ross (Religion)
Lee Smithey (Peace and Conflict Studies)
Krista Thomason (Philosophy)
3
Andrew Ward (Psychology)
3
Absent on Leave 2021-2022 Academic Year
The Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Swarthmore College provides students with the opportunity to examine conflict in various forms and
at levels stretching from the interpersonal to the global. The interdisciplinary curriculum explores the causes, practice, and consequences of
collective violence as well as peaceful or nonviolent methods of conducting or dealing with conflict.
Students who major or minor in Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore will:
understand factors shaping human conflict (including psychological, social, cultural, political, economic, biological, religious, and
historical factors);
analyze specific cases of conflict, including interpersonal, inter-group, interstate, and international disputes;
examine theories and models of peacebuilding and reconciliation, and evaluate attempts to conduct, manage, resolve, or transform
conflict nonviolently;
investigate intersectionality; forms of oppression and injustice; and conflict, locally, globally, in the United States, and abroad;
explore topics relevant to peace and conflict through fieldwork, internships, or other experiences outside the classroom;
demonstrate the following skills: critical thinking, analysis, research, writing, communication, and teamwork.
The Academic Program
Peace and Conflict Studies may be a major or a minor subject in either the Course or the Honors Program. Students who intend to major or
minor in peace and conflict studies should consult with the program coordinator as they prepare to declare their intention during the spring of
their sophomore year. All applications must be approved by the Peace and Conflict Studies Committee.
First Course Recommendations
PEAC 003. Crisis Resolution in the Middle East
This introductory course is designed for students without a background in Peace and Conflict Studies or Middle East Studies. Central questions
include: How do we define crises in the contemporary Middle East/North Africa region? How does the nature of the crisis (political, economic,
social, and environmental) impact communities differently? How are grassroots actors, civil society institutions, states, and international
organizations responding to these challenges in their nation-states and across borders? What transnational networks of solidarity have linked the
Middle East to other regions across the globe? For instance, this course will examine the consequences of environmental degradation and
escalating food prices on conflict and instability across the region. We will trace the origins of autocratic regimes in the Middle East and social
movements calling for rights and reforms on one hand and the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism (i.e. Al-Qaeda and ISIS). Furthermore, the
course will explore crises such as contemporary Syria, and how local and international interventions aimed at reversing the marginalization of-
and threats against-minority populations (ethnic, religious, gender, sexuality, ability) have come to constitute a realm of crisis management. By
understanding crises through the theoretical prism of human security frameworks, we will ascertain the prospects for democratization,
development, pluralism, and peace in the region.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC, ESCH
Spring 2023. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 015. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
In Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, we learn that peace and conflict are not mutually exclusive. To paraphrase Conrad Brunk, the goal
of peace and conflict studies is to better understand conflict in order to find nonviolent ways of turning unjust relationships into more just ones.
We examine both the prevalence of coercive and non-peaceful means of conducting conflict as well as the development of nonviolent alternatives,
locally and globally, through institutions and at the grassroots. The latter include nonviolent collective action, mediation, peacekeeping, and
conflict transformation work. Several theoretical and philosophical lenses will be used to explore cultural and psychological dispositions,
conflict in human relations, and conceptualizations of peace. The course will take an interdisciplinary approach with significant contributions
from the social sciences. U.S.-based social justice movements, such as the struggle for racial equality, and global movements, such as nonviolent
activism in Israel/Palestine, and the struggle for climate justice around the world, will serve as case studies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Smithey.
Fall 2022. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 023. First Year Seminar: Global Responses to Violence
This first-year seminar will examine responses to political violence on an international scale. The first half of the semester will be devoted to
examining the role of religious institutions, representing a wide range of faith-based communities, in exacerbating or ameliorating violence. The
second half of the semester will cover examining the role of global secular institutions, such as the United Nations, in addressing political
violence. Students will be exposed to two subfields of peace and conflict studies - the study of religion and violence, as well as the study of
international organizations in conflict and post-conflict settings. This first year seminar does not fulfill the Introduction to Peace and Conflict
Studies requirement for PCS majors and minors.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Course Major
A course major in Peace and Conflict Studies consists of eight credits. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies (PEAC 015) is required and
should be taken in the first or second year, if at all possible. All majors must also complete the PEAC Senior Capstone Seminar (PEAC 091) in
the spring semester of their senior year to fulfill the College's comprehensive exercise requirement that integrates work in the major. No more
than two credits eligible for the Peace and Conflict studies major may overlap with courses in a student's other major or minors.
All Peace and Conflict Studies majors complete at least two courses (in addition to Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, Senior Capstone
Seminar, and any PEAC thesis) that are specifically designated as Swarthmore PEAC courses and worth no less than one credit each.
Off
campus study courses are not eligible to meet this requirement. We encourage students to take courses taught by different faculty members in
order to broaden their exposure to the field. Honors majors alone have the option of writing a one- or two-credit thesis.
Normally, the student who applies for a major in Peace and Conflict Studies will have completed (or be in the process of completing) the
introductory course and one other PEAC-designated or eligible course. An "eligible" course is offered in another department or program but can
be counted toward a major in Peace and Conflict Studies. A list of eligible courses is available on the program's website.
Honors Major
Honors majors fulfill the same requirements as course majors but must establish three two-credit honors preparations for external examination
at the end of the senior year. There are four primary opportunities for students to fulfill preparations required of honors majors:
a PEAC-designated or eligible 2-credit honors seminar
the combination of two PEAC-designated and/or eligible 1-credit courses
the combination of a PEAC-designated or eligible 1-credit course and a 1-credit thesis
a 2-credit thesis
Honors majors alone have the option of writing a one- or two-credit thesis. Any thesis must be multidisciplinary.
All Honors preparations must be discussed with the Peace and Conflict Studies Coordinator and approved by the Peace and Conflict Studies
Committee.
Special Major in Peace and Conflict Studies and Educational Studies Studies
Students who intend to complete a special major in Educational Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies (honors or course) should consult with
the Peace and Conflict Studies Program Coordinator and the Chair of Educational Studies, and submit a copy of their Sophomore Plan during
the spring of the sophomore year. The Sophomore Plan should present a plan of study that satisfies the requirements at http://bit.ly/swatedpeace,
specifies the courses to count toward the special major, shares the student's interest in Peace and Conflict Studies and Educational Studies, and
identifies how the special major complements the student's academic goals. The Sophomore Plan for students proposing an Honors special major
should describe the proposed Honors preparation/s. All applications must be approved by the Peace and Conflict Studies Committee.
Course Minor
Students with any major, whether course or in the Honors Program, may add a course minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. Of the 5 credits
required for a peace and conflict studies minor, 4 may not be double counted with the student's major or other minor. Introduction to Peace and
Conflict Studies (PEAC 015) is required and should be taken in the first or second year, if at all possible.
All Peace and Conflict Studies minors will complete at least two courses (in addition to Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies) that are
specifically designated as Swarthmore PEAC courses. (Off campus study courses are not eligible to meet this requirement.) We encourage
students to take courses taught by different faculty members in order to broaden their exposure to the field.
Normally, the student who applies for a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies will have completed (or be in the process of completing) the
introductory course and one other PEAC-designated or eligible course. An "eligible" course is offered in another department or program but can
be counted toward a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. A list of eligible courses is available on the program's website.
Honors Minor
Students with any major in the Honors Program may choose an Honors minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. Honors minors will fulfill the same
requirements as course minors but must establish one two-credit honors preparation for external examination at the end of the senior year. A
standard Honors minor preparation will consist of a seminar or a combination of two courses.
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
See the Peace and Conflict Studies Program website for further guidelines and forms for applying for a major or minor in Peace and Conflict
Studies (http://www.swarthmore.edu/peacestudies).
Students who intend to major or minor in Peace and Conflict Studies should consult with the Program Coordinator, and submit a copy of their
Sophomore Plan during the spring of the sophomore year. The Sophomore Plan should present a plan of study that satisfies the requirements,
specifies the courses to count toward the major or minor, shares the student's interest in Peace and Conflict Studies, and identifies how the
program complements the student's academic goals. (The program will assign advisors.) All applications must be approved by the Peace and
Conflict Studies Committee.
The Sophomore Plan for students proposing an Honors major or Honors minor in Peace and Conflict Studies should describe the proposed
Honors preparation/s in terms of its/their suitability for examination and its/their contribution to the student's interests in Peace and Conflict
Studies. When possible, students should obtain advance approval from faculty members who teach the courses or seminars that are to be
included in an Honors preparation. If an honors major student is proposing to write a senior thesis, the student should specify a general thesis
topic and a preference regarding thesis advisor. All applications must be approved by the Peace and Conflict Studies Committee.
Juniors or seniors proposing a major or minor in Peace and Conflict Studies should consult with the Program Coordinator and submit a revised
Sophomore Plan.
Off-Campus Study
The Peace and Conflict Studies Program faculty enthusiastically support study abroad for majors and minors. A number of study abroad
programs that are approved by the Off-Campus Study Office offer appropriate coursework. Students who enroll in PEAC 053: Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict may have the opportunity to participate in the course attachment that provides a study tour to Israel/Palestine during the winter break.
Majors may count no more than three credits from off-campus, while minors may count no more than two credits.
Research and Service-Learning
Internships
Student programs can include an internship or fieldwork component. An internship is highly recommended. Fieldwork and internships normally
do not receive credit. However, students can earn up to one credit for special projects that are developed with an instructor and approved in
advance by the Peace and Conflict Studies Committee.
Summer Opportunities
Peace and Conflict Studies Program majors and minors are encouraged to apply for funding from the Lippincott Fund, Julia and Frank Lyman
Student Summer Research Fellowship, the Joanna Rudge Long '56 Award in Conflict Resolution, the Simon Preisler Student Research and
Internship award, and/or the Howard G. Kurtz, Jr. and Harriet B. Kurtz Memorial Fund. Applications are due in February, and information can
be obtained from the Program's website.
Additional information on funding, internships, training, and career opportunities is available on the Peace and Conflict Studies Program
website at www.swarthmore.edu/peacestudies.
Life After Swarthmore
Peace and Conflict Studies alumni often develop or work in organizations that promote peace and justice locally and globally. Many pursue
graduate work in fields directly or closely related to Peace and Conflict Studies. You may find a growing digest of student and alumni activities
on the Program's website at http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/pcsstudents/.
Peace and Conflict Studies Courses
The following courses may be applied toward a minor or major in Peace and Conflict Studies. Each of the courses designated as PEAC is open to
all students unless otherwise specified. In the event of an oversubscribed course, preference in enrollment will be given to declared Peace and
Conflict Studies majors and minors. Courses eligible to count toward a concentration, minor, or major in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at
Haverford College or Peace, Conflict, and Social Justice at Bryn Mawr College may also be applied toward a major or minor in Peace and
Conflict Studies at Swarthmore. Student programs may, subject to prior approval by the program's Committee, also include courses offered at the
University of Pennsylvania and courses taken abroad.
* Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are eligible for credit upon prior arrangement with instructor and program coordinator. Download the
appropriate form from the PCS website.
Please consult www.swarthmore.edu/peacestudies for updates, descriptions, and scheduling.
PEAC 003. Crisis Resolution in the Middle East
This introductory course is designed for students without a background in Peace and Conflict Studies or Middle East Studies. Central questions
include: How do we define crises in the contemporary Middle East/North Africa region? How does the nature of the crisis (political, economic,
social, and environmental) impact communities differently? How are grassroots actors, civil society institutions, states, and international
organizations responding to these challenges in their nation-states and across borders? What transnational networks of solidarity have linked the
Middle East to other regions across the globe? For instance, this course will examine the consequences of environmental degradation and
escalating food prices on conflict and instability across the region. We will trace the origins of autocratic regimes in the Middle East and social
movements calling for rights and reforms on one hand and the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism (i.e. Al-Qaeda and ISIS). Furthermore, the
course will explore crises such as contemporary Syria, and how local and international interventions aimed at reversing the marginalization of-
and threats against-minority populations (ethnic, religious, gender, sexuality, ability) have come to constitute a realm of crisis management. By
understanding crises through the theoretical prism of human security frameworks, we will ascertain the prospects for democratization,
development, pluralism, and peace in the region.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC, ESCH
Spring 2023. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 004. FYS: Campaigning for Social Change
This first year seminar focuses on the work of organizing and developing effective nonviolent social change campaigns. Students will learn from
activists, organizers, and scholars and design campaigns that advance stakeholder needs.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 005. FYS: Transnational Advocacy Movements
This first year seminar will explore the activities of transnational advocacy networks. Students will consider questions including, why do
transnational activists decide to push for solutions to some problems and not others? What kinds of tactics do transnational advocates use to
push for their demands? How do advocates link up across spaces, both horizontally (i.e. between different locales) and vertically (i.e. between
"local" and "global" settings)? When and how do transnational advocacy campaigns make a difference in people's lives?
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2023. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 009. Introduction to Engaged Scholarship
Ernest Boyer coined the term "Engaged Scholarship" to describe teaching and research that connects "the university to our most pressing social,
civic, and ethical problems" (Boyer, 1996). Organized by the Lang Center and faculty from across the discipline, this course will bring together
students who are interested in connecting their academics with action to explore and promote ethical intelligence, active yet reflective civic
engagement, and innovative solutions to pressing social problems. We regard community members' insights and experiences as integral
components of our co-created knowledge, recognizing that social and political solutions must consider the perspectives of those most directly
affected. As such this course will be co-instructed by faculty, staff, and community experts from on and off campus and the final assignment will
represent a collaborative effort.
Wednesdays, 1:15-4:00 PM starting March 23.
Non-distributional.
.5
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Berger, et al.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 014. Systems Thinking for Social Change
"Systems Thinking for Social Change" is a new 0.5 credit course that aims to examine and explore the complex, often described as "wicked
problem" ecosystems around difficult societal issues facing communities. By applying the principles and techniques of Systems Thinking
approaches, students will reflect on the potential leverage points or nexus that might affect the greatest shift towards positive social impact if
addressed through social innovation interventions. This kind of systems thinking analysis is often seen as the precurson to building social
innovation solutions, such as prototypes for new processes, services, or products.
Learning goals will include:
-Develop a theoretical and practical understanding of systems and systems change and leverage these concepts for social impact.
-Learn to 'map the system' --i.e., accurately identify different elements within a system (system structure) and articulate connections and linkages
between them.
-Understand how elements with systems change over time, generating patterns and behaviors.
-Develop the ability to consider ideas, challenges, and solutions from multiple perspectives (landscape scan, historical context, apprenticing with
a problem).
-Identify possible levers of social change within reach.
-Critically reflect upon social change paths/levers (social service providers, social advocates, social explorers, social entrepreneurs).
-Consider short-term, long-term, and unintended consequences of actions for social change.
.5
Fall 2023. Magee.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 015. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
In Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, we learn that peace and conflict are not mutually exclusive. To paraphrase Conrad Brunk, the goal
of peace and conflict studies is to better understand conflict in order to find nonviolent ways of turning unjust relationships into more just ones.
We examine both the prevalence of coercive and non-peaceful means of conducting conflict as well as the development of nonviolent alternatives,
locally and globally, through institutions and at the grassroots. The latter include nonviolent collective action, mediation, peacekeeping, and
conflict transformation work. Several theoretical and philosophical lenses will be used to explore cultural and psychological dispositions,
conflict in human relations, and conceptualizations of peace. The course will take an interdisciplinary approach with significant contributions
from the social sciences. U.S.-based social justice movements, such as the struggle for racial equality, and global movements, such as nonviolent
activism in Israel/Palestine, and the struggle for climate justice around the world, will serve as case studies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Smithey.
Fall 2022. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 022. Peace Education
EDUC 022
In this introductory course, students will explore the historical, ethical, and theoretical foundations of peace education, a subfield of peace and
conflict studies. Students will consider different approaches towards peace education: should peace education be oriented towards eliminating
physical violence? Facilitating co-existence and understanding? Teaching human rights or citizenship? Empowering the dispossessed and
eliminating inequality and injustice? Is peace education best integrated in the existing schooling system, an extracurricular activity, or should it
be distinct from schooling? Using case studies, students will critically examine different types of peace education and explore existing research
on how they do-or do not-work.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Kapit.
Spring 2023. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 023. First Year Seminar: Global Responses to Violence
This first-year seminar will examine responses to political violence on an international scale. The first half of the semester will be devoted to
examining the role of religious institutions, representing a wide range of faith-based communities, in exacerbating or ameliorating violence. The
second half of the semester will cover examining the role of global secular institutions, such as the United Nations, in addressing political
violence. Students will be exposed to two subfields of peace and conflict studies - the study of religion and violence, as well as the study of
international organizations in conflict and post-conflict settings. This first year seminar does not fulfill the Introduction to Peace and Conflict
Studies requirement for PCS majors and minors.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 024. Quakers Past and Present
RELG 023
This course explores the religious beliefs, social teachings, and impact of Quakers in North America from the 1650s to the present. Topics
include Quaker beliefs about God and the light within; Quakers and social reform including anti-slavery work, women's rights advocacy, Indian
rights, and peace work; Quakers and education; Quakers and nature; and Quakers and social change today (including the work of Earth Quaker
Action Team [EQAT] and the American Friends Service Committee). While focusing on Quakers and social transformation, this course includes
discussion of specific concerns and methods in the study of religion. Students will have the opportunity to work with the resources of Swarthmore
College's Friends Historical Library and Peace Collection.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Ross.
Spring 2023. Ross.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 025B. Transforming Intractable Conflict
SOCI 025B
This course will address the sociology of peace process and intractable identity conflicts in deeply divided societies. Northern Ireland will serve
as the primary case study, and the course outline will include the history of the conflict, the peace process, and grassroots conflict transformation
initiatives. Special attention will be given to the cultural underpinnings of division, such as sectarianism and collective identity, and their
expression through symbols, language, and collective actions, such as parades and commemorations.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, SOCI
Spring 2022. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 036. Environment, Cultural Memory and Social Change in Japan
Cross-listed as JPNS 036, ENVS 047
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. In addition, under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore possible applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we
will engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related
to contemporary environmental and peace activism.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-paired
Fall 2023. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 038. Civil Wars & Neoliberal Peace in Central America
This course focuses on the sociopolitical turmoil that devastated Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador as a wave of revolutionary wars swept
across the region from the 1960s to the early 1990s and sought to end decades of oppressive military dictatorships. After studying the civil wars
and their causes, the course will then focus on the peacebuilding efforts and the implementation of democracy within the neoliberal economic
order. Of particular interest are the failures of the peacebuilding process, the current gang violence in the region, and the widespread political
corruption supported by an economic system that has made of everyday life an exercise in survival.
We will pay special attention to U.S. intervention in Central America, particularly the consequences of its involvement in the military
dictatorships and armed conflicts in the region. We'll focus on issues of social trauma and social disaffection, of historical memory and the
genocide of the Mayas, of political resistance and the struggle for social justice, and of the limits of postwar reconstruction and reconciliation in
the era of neoliberalism. This course will help us understand the current crisis of Central
American immigration to the U.S.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Fall 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 039. Social Entrepreneurship for Social Change
Social entrepreneurship is concerned with entrepreneurial responses to demanding and unmet social needs (not adequately served by market or
by state). Through in-depth case analysis, we will consider the context of social entrepreneurial activity (such as the peace and reconciliation
movement in Northern Ireland), the individuals who become engaged in impacting social need (locally, nationally and globally), along with
organizing and undertaking activities and addressing needs effectively. Limited to 15 students.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 041. Peace and Political Philosophy
Cross-listed with PHIL 041
How might we establish a peaceful world? What is the relationship between peace, justice, and individual rights? Can war ever be justified and,
if so, under what circumstances? How can societies that have experienced violent conflict transition into peace? This course examines these
questions from the perspective of political philosophy. We will ask what a peaceful world might look like and what would be required to bring it
about.
HU
Eligible for PEAC
PEAC 043. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change
ANTH 044
How has gender emerged as an analytical category? How has sexuality emerged as an analytical category? What role did discourses
surrounding gender and sexuality play in the context of Western colonialism in the Global South historically as well as in the context of Western
imperialism in the Global South today? How are gender and sexuality-based liberation understood differently around the world? What global
social movements have surfaced to codify rights for women and LGBTQ populations? How has the global human rights apparatus shaped the
experiences of women and queer communities? What is the relationship between gender and masculinity? What are the promises and limits of
homonationalism and pinkwashing as theoretical frameworks in our understanding of LGBT rights discourses? When considering the
relationship between faith and homosexuality, how are religious actors queering theology? How do we define social change with such attention
to gender and sexuality?
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST, INTP, GLBL- Core, ESCH
Fall 2022. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 049. Be the Change: Social Entrepreneurship in Principle and Practice
Amidst market implosions, human conflict, environmental crises, and on-going demise of the welfare state, the need for new, durable
organizational forms, committed to social change, is clear. Social entrepreneurship offers a unique model for creative conflict transformation
and community problem solving. Using business practices, social enterprises seek to redress social and environmental concerns while generating
revenue. Students will learn about the manifestation of social entrepreneurship principles and practice in non-profit, for-profit, and hybrid
organizations. Then students will draft plans for their own social enterprise, thereby garnering a deeper understanding of social enterprise as
organizational forms, while also embarking on a journey to explore their own potential as social entrepreneurs.
Class limited to 15 students.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 052. Afghanistan: Where Central & South Asia Meet
This course examines conflict, politics, culture, and daily life in present day Afghanistan. Occupying a historic crossroads in Asia, Afghanistan is
a place of regional, ethnic, and cultural diversity. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, internal and external actors, including the British
Empire, Pashtun dynasties, the Soviet Union, the Taliban, the United States and its allies, and the Islamic State, have battled for control of
Afghanistan. Today, as conflict continues, the international community exerts significant influence on Afghanistan's politics, security, economy,
and social institutions. This course will explore themes related to conflict, peacemaking, statebuilding, and international intervention, and their
intersection with cultural and ethnic diversity, religion, gender norms, and the lived experiences of Afghan people. Students will read memoirs,
literature, and scholarly work from various disciplines.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ASIA
Fall 2021. Kapit.
Fall 2022. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 053. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
This course will examine the historical underpinnings of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how they have shaped the contemporary context in
Israel/Palestine. We will approach this from a demography and population-studies framework in order to understand the trajectories and
heterogeneity of Israeli and Palestinian societies and politics. For instance, how has the relationship between race and period of migration to
Israel impacted Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Israeli sub-populations differently? What explains divergent voting patterns between Palestinian
Christians and Muslims over time? How can we measure inequality between Israeli settlers and Palestinian natives in the West Bank in the
present? The course will also synthesize competing theoretical paradigms that account for the enduring nature of this conflict. This includes-but
is not limited to-the scholarly contributions of realist political scientists, U.S. foreign policy experts, social movements theorists, security sector
reformers, human rights advocates, international law experts, and negotiations and conflict resolution practitioners.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ISLM
Fall 2022. Atshan.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 055. Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking
ENVS 031
The course will examine several ways in which climate change is a driving force of violent and nonviolent conflict and creates opportunities for
peacemaking and social justice. Already, climate change has been identified by the U.S. military as a threat to national security, offering a new
rationale for expanding the military industrial complex. Demands on scarce resources generate and exacerbate regional conflicts and drive mass
movements of refugees. Behind these dramatic manifestations of climate stress lie extensive corporate and national interests and hegemonic
silences that emerging conflicts often reveal. Conflict also brings new opportunities for peacebuilding, cooperation, and conflict resolution.
Climate crises have renewed and expanded local and global movements for environmental justice and protection, many of which have historical
connections with the peace movement. In support of the college's carbon charge initiative, we will dedicate part of the course to understanding
what constitutes the social cost of carbon and how it is represented in carbon pricing, particularly with respect to increasing frequencies of
armed conflict and extension of the military industrial complex.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ENVS
Fall 2021. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 060. Social Innovation for Peace
Denise Crossan, the Eugene Lang Professor for Issues of Social Change, will be delivering a high-impact year-long engaged scholarship
program entitled, "Social Innovation for Peace" Program (SIP), commencing in Fall 2019. The program's mission is to, "apply social innovation
knowledge through practice in post conflict communities." Swarthmore College students will collaborate with international peace and conflict
Social Entrepreneur partners in Colombia, Northern Ireland, and Japan to co-design and deliver a reciprocal learning social innovation project
that works towards addressing the legacy of conflict in their respective communities. At the beginning of the course in Fall Semester, students
will be matched with a Social Entrepreneur partner in-country, and through classes, case study analysis, and peer learning discussion, will begin
to identify, develop and prototype solutions to critical post-conflict related issues. During Winter Break and over summer students will spend
time in-country working directly with their community partners to test their solution prototypes.
The "Social Innovation for Peace" Program is delivered in partnership with the Peace & Conflict Studies program, the Social Innovation
Lab@The Lang Center, and sponsored by The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. This is a 2-credit class, over 2 semesters and
requires commitment to Winter and Summer break international travel. Students who start in PEAC 060A in Fall 2019, must complete
PEAC 060B Spring 2020, to receive credit for PEAC 060A. Places are limited and applicants will be interviewed prior to acceptance and class
registration. For details email: Denise Crossan, dcrossa1@swarthmore.edu
Eligible for PEAC,ESCH
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 070. Research Internship/Fieldwork
Credit hours to be arranged with the coordinator.
Non-distribution.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 071B. Research Seminar: Global Nonviolent Action Database
SOCI 071B
This research seminar involves working with The Global Nonviolent Action Database built at Swarthmore College. This website is accessed by
activists and scholars worldwide. The database contains crucial information on campaigns including those for human rights, democracy,
environmental sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will investigate a series of research cases and write
them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a narrative describing the unfolding struggle. Strategic
implications will be drawn from theory and from what the group is learning from the documented cases of people's struggles.
Social Science.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 072. Humanitarianism: Education & Conflict
EDUC 072
This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of humanitarianism and, specifically, the provision of education as a humanitarian
intervention-what practitioners call "education in emergencies." The course will delve into the foundations and history of humanitarianism and
track how humanitarian intervention evolved over the course of the 20th century, broadening and deepening in scope. It will explore continuing
debates over the appropriateness of education as a humanitarian intervention and examine what types of educational interventions are
prioritized by humanitarian agencies, as well as the goals that those interventions are trying to achieve. For example, what is the relationship
between education and conflict and how do education in emergencies providers intervene to alter that relationship? Students will have the
opportunity to study specific examples of education in emergencies programming in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, Sierra
Leone, and Syria, and to hear from guest speakers working in the field of education in emergencies. The course will encourage students to apply
what they have learned to policy-oriented exercises.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Kapit.
Fall 2022. Kapit.
Fall 2023. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 077. Gun Violence Prevention: Peace Studies and Action
The course aims to bridge gaps between peace research, theory, and implementation by encouraging students to move between each as we
examine the problem of gun violence, study effective interventions, consider nonviolent ways of conducting conflict, and assess the challenges of
developing and sustaining effective peace work. As we develop our own analytical and research skills, we also aim to center the experience of
peacemakers and victims by collaborating with a local gun violence prevention organization. Discussion over course readings will also be
emphasized. This course will encourage collaboration and active participation in delivering the content of the course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH
Fall 2022. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 090. Thesis
Credit hours to be arranged with the coordinator.
Writing course.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 091. Senior Capstone Seminar
The Senior Capstone Seminar serves as the comprehensive exercise for the major and provides an opportunity for Peace and Conflict Studies
students to synthesize their plans of study in a shared learning environment. Advanced readings will be incorporated to extend engagement with
the field of peace and conflict studies, and participants will present their thesis work or an extension of an advanced paper they wrote in another
peace and conflict studies eligible course. We will also look ahead to professional and vocational opportunities after graduation.
Prerequisite: Peace and Conflict Studies majors only.
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Kapit.
Spring 2023. Smithey.
Fall 2023. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 094. Special Topics: Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary
In this half-credit engaged scholarship course, students will learn about historical and contemporary refugees through a variety of methods,
including readings, archival research, and co-creation. As part of the course, students will participate with resettled Iraqis and Syrians and
Swarthmore faculty and staff in a series of artist-led workshops in which participants will co-create a graphic novella. The course will include
discussions and written reflections based on the readings and workshops. This course is tied to Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary, a two-year
project funded by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage that brings renowned book artists into conversation with Syrian and Iraqi individuals
who have resettled to Philadelphia. Students will be working with and learning directly from project collaborators, and their work may be shared
publicly on the Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary website and may also be published or exhibited in Spring 2019.
Graded CR/NC.
Limited to five students, by permission of instructors.
Non-distribution.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 103. Humanitarianism: Anthropological Approaches
ANTH 103
This honors seminar will introduce students to the most salient theoretical debates among anthropologists on humanitarian intervention around
the world. We will also examine a range of case studies, from the birth of Western Christian humanitarian missions in colonial contexts to
humanitarian interventions (e.g. military, food-based assistance, natural disaster relief, post-conflict reconstruction) today. The geographic
scope of this seminar will encompass North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa,
East Asia, and South Asia. We will consider, for instance, how anthropologists have examined relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans. What social science scholarship has been produced on mental health interventions after political and natural crises in Haiti?
How are victims of torture at the hands of the Indian military supported by international organizations in Kashmir? What is the nature of global
Islamic humanitarianism today? How are local national staff employed by international organizations shaping humanitarian approaches to
gender-based violence in Colombia? These are among the many questions we will address over the course of the semester.
Honors seminar.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 135. Social Movements and Nonviolent Power
SOCI 135
In this two-credit Honors seminar, we will study the global proliferation of the strategic use of nonviolent tactics and methods and investigate the
power in social relations upon which collective nonviolent action capitalizes. We will also address sociological literature on the emergence,
maintenance, and impact of social movements. For examples of the kinds of case studies covered in this seminar, visit
http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu
Non-distribution.
2 credits.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Smithey.
Fall 2023. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
PEAC 180. Senior Honors Thesis
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Peace and Conflict Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/peace-conflict-studies
Anthropology
ANTH 003G. First-Year Seminar: Development and its Discontents
In this course, our goal will be to gain a new perspective on an often-unquestioned social "good": that of international economic development,
including foreign aid to countries in the global south. This course will provide students with an introduction to the origin and evolution of ideas
about development, and will encourage them to examine major theories and approaches to development from classical modernization theories to
world-systems theories. Students will gain insight into how ideas of development fit into larger global dynamics of power and politics and how,
contrary to professed goals, the practices of international development have often perpetuated poverty and widened the gap between rich and
poor. During the course, we will investigate these issues through an array of texts that address different audiences including a novel, academic
books and journals, film, popular writings and ethnographic monographs.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, ESCH, GLBL - Core
Spring 2024. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 033E. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed as ENVS 029)
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches and scholarship from the
disciplines of anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the environmental humanities, and social movement
theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of texts each week, offering deep engagement to
analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy
of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the class will also explore the interlocking themes of social
and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films, and other digital media to provide a sense of what
environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to bring about change. Students in this course will learn
to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to
think creatively about possible solutions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 034C. Native American Cultures and Contemporary Music
(Cross listed as MUSI 009)
This course introduces students to Native American and Indigenous peoples through contemporary music. Students will read anthropological and
ethnomusicology texts, engage Native pop culture and news media, watch music videos and listen to selections of Native American and
Indigenous contemporary music from across the Americas. A main goal of this course is to gain knowledge and appreciation of Indigenous
peoples, their cultures, and the social and environmental justice issues facing them in contemporary society.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Two Bears.
Fall 2022. Two Bears.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 044. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change
(Cross-listed as PEAC 043)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST, INTP, GLBL- Core, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 103. Humanitarianism: Anthropological Approaches
(Cross-listed as PEAC 103)
This honors seminar will introduce students to the most salient theoretical debates among anthropologists on humanitarian intervention around
the world. We will also examine a range of case studies, from the birth of Western Christian humanitarian missions in colonial contexts to
humanitarian interventions (e.g. military, food-based assistance, natural disaster relief, post-conflict reconstruction) today. The geographic
scope of this seminar will encompass North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa,
East Asia, and South Asia. We will consider, for instance, how anthropologists have examined relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans. What social science scholarship has been produced on mental health interventions after political and natural crises in Haiti?
How are victims of torture at the hands of the Indian military supported by international organizations in Kashmir? What is the nature of global
Islamic humanitarianism today? How are local national staff employed by international organizations shaping humanitarian approaches to
gender-based violence in Colombia? These are among the many questions we will address over the course of the semester.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ESCH
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Arabic
ARAB 025. War in Arab Literature and Cinema
(Cross-listed as LITR 025A)
This course will explore literary and cinematic representations of war in the Arab world, focusing on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Lebanese
Civil War, and the Iraq wars. We will look at poetry, fiction, memoir, prison narratives, film, and experimental texts. Through the examination of
a variety of experiences, genres, and perspectives, we will ask questions like: How do narratives of war contribute to the formation of national,
local, and Arab identities? How has the experience of war impacted understandings of religion, masculinity, gender, and domestic violence? We
will identify common themes and images and investigate how these patterns change and develop in different spatial and temporal contexts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic
Art History
ARTH 046. Socially Engaged Art in the Americas
Can art change the world? Questions about the impact of art in the social fabric are constitutive of the idea of avant-garde art. This course will
introduce students to these debates as they took shape in the American continent since 1960. With an emphasis on forms of art practice that
outspokenly seek to provoke positive social change, this class provides a parallel narrative of contemporary art, in which art exits the museum
space to ingrain itself in broader social processes.
During the semester students will learn about different theories of socially engaged art articulated by artists and art historians alike. We will
consider art as activism in the Civil Rights era, forms of artistic resistance to Latin American military dictatorships, second wave feminist art,
contemporary community-based art, and forms of engaged art practice concerned with planet-wide environmental crisis. We will debate the
tactics and ideals guiding these practices, and we will evaluate the potential risks that come with relying on art for social transformation. This
course alternates short lecture periods with in-class discussion of primary and secondary sources. It is structured around six thematic blocs, at
the end of which students will produce a short written assignment.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, PEAC, GLBL-paired, LALS
Fall 2021. Checa-Gismero.
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/
Chinese
CHIN 091. Special Topics in English
(Cross-listed as LITR 091CH)
Special Topics
Fall 2022 Topic: Representing Colonial Taiwan: Public Space in Print
Fall 2023 Topic: Movement and Migration
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT, PEAC
Fall 2021. Li.
Fall 2022. Li.
Fall 2023. Li.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese
Dance
DANC 004. Arts in Action
(Cross-listed as MUSI 006)
What is art and what constitutes action? The course will explore these questions in two ways: First, we will look at the interconnections between
culture, art, and community through rigorous intellectual inquiry by orienting students to some key ideas through selected readings. Second, we
will engage in situated learning with local and international arts communities. We will have community leaders from our local communities as
guest speakers in addition to two webinars planned for the class on the intersections of the arts, citizenship, and justice: one focusing on the U.S
and Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and the other focusing on India and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Our areas of foci will be
local (Philadelphia)and international (India) for cross-cultural engagements with the arts and the burning issues of the times. Both webinars
will have renowned academics and artists/activists from the U.S and India as well as emerging artists and scholars to make them rich and
intergenerational conversations. As a required activity for the class you will be asked to volunteer your time as interns with the Lang center
community partners. Class requirements include readings, video viewing, and discussions, participating in webinars, keeping a regular journal,
volunteer work, and doing a final project to be discussed in class.
This course is open to all students. This course fulfills a prerequisite requirement for dance majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH, GLBL-core
Fall 2023. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Dance
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program
Economics
ECON 012. Game Theory and Strategic Behavior
How should one bargain for a used car or mediate a contentious dispute? This course is an introduction to the study of strategic behavior and the
field of game theory. We analyze situations of interactive decision making in which the participants attempt to predict and to influence the actions
of others. We use examples from economics, business, biology, politics, sports, and everyday life.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 051. International Trade and Finance
This course surveys the theory of trade (microeconomics) and of the balance of payments and exchange rates (macroeconomics). The theories
are used to analyze topics such as trade patterns, trade barriers, flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international
monetary system, and macroeconomic interdependence.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ,PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 081. Economic Development
A survey covering the principal theories of economic development and the dominant issues of public policy in low-income countries. Topics
include the determinants of economic growth and income distribution, the role of the agricultural sector, the acquisition of technological
capability, the design of poverty-targeting programs, the choice of exchange rate regime, and the impacts of international trade and capital flows
(including foreign aid).
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. O'Connell.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 082. Political Economy of Africa
A survey of the post-independence development experience of Sub-Saharan Africa. We study policy choices in their political and institutional
context, using case-study evidence and the analytical tools of positive political economy. Topics include development from a natural resource
base, conflict and nation building, risk management by firms and households, poverty reduction policies, globalization and trade, and the
effectiveness of foreign aid.
Prerequisite: ECON 001
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 151. International Economics
Both microeconomics and macroeconomics are applied to an in-depth analysis of the world economy. Topics include trade patterns, trade
barriers, international flows of labor and capital, exchange-rate fluctuations, the international monetary system, financial crises, macroeconomic
interdependence, the roles of organizations such as the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, and case studies of selected
industrialized, developing, and transition countries.
Prerequisite: ECON 011 and ECON 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC, GLBL Core
Fall 2021. Wang.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
ECON 181. Economic Development
The economics of long-run development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We cover the leading theories of growth, structural change, income
distribution, and poverty, with particular attention to development strategies and experience since World War II. Topics include land tenure and
agricultural development, rural-urban migration, industrialization, human resource development, poverty targeting, trade and technology policy,
aid and capital flows, macroeconomic management, and the role of the state. Students write several short papers examining the literature and a
longer paper analyzing a particular country's experience.
Prerequisite: ECON 011, ECON 021, and either ECON 031, STAT 011, or STAT 021
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, PEAC
Fall 2021. O'Connell.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Economics
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/economics
Educational Studies
EDUC 022. Peace Education
Cross-listed as PEAC 022.
In this introductory course, students will explore the historical, ethical, and theoretical foundations of peace education, a subfield of peace and
conflict studies. Students will consider different approaches towards peace education: should peace education be oriented towards eliminating
physical violence? Facilitating co-existence and understanding? Teaching human rights or citizenship? Empowering the dispossessed and
eliminating inequality and injustice? Is peace education best integrated in the existing schooling system, an extracurricular activity, or should it
be distinct from schooling? Using case studies, students will critically examine different types of peace education and explore existing research
on how they do-or do not-work.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies.
EDUC 072. Humanitarianism: Educ & Conflict
Cross-listed as PEAC 072.
This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of humanitarianism and, specifically, the provision of education as a humanitarian
intervention-what practitioners call "education in emergencies." The course will delve into the foundations and history of humanitarianism and
track how humanitarian intervention evolved over the course of the 20th century, broadening and deepening in scope. It will explore continuing
debates over the appropriateness of education as a humanitarian intervention and examine what types of educational interventions are
prioritized by humanitarian agencies, as well as the goals that those interventions are trying to achieve. For example, what is the relationship
between education and conflict and how do education in emergencies providers intervene to alter that relationship? Students will have the
opportunity to study specific examples of education in emergencies programming in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, Sierra
Leone, and Syria, and to hear from guest speakers working in the field of education in emergencies. The course will encourage students to apply
what they have learned to policy-oriented exercises.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Fall 2021. Kapit.
Fall 2023. Kapit.
Catalog chapter: Educational Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies
English Literature
ENGL 009J. First-Year Seminar: Revolution and Revolt
What makes a revolution? This course investigates the literature of rebellion from the late 18th century's "Age of Revolution" to the George
Floyd rebellions. We will read the works of not only famous revolutionary leaders, but also infamous and obscure ones, including radical
abolitionists, communists, anarchists, feminists, student activists, and more, asking how their writing interprets the memory of previous
revolutions and imagines possibilities beyond them.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH
Spring 2022. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 047B. Alternate War Histories of Asia/America
In what ways do cultural disparities and conflictual historical experiences lead to not only different perceptions of reality but in fact multiple
realities? Anchored in two wars-World War II, from which the US emerged as a world power, and the Vietnam War, the first televised war and
America's "unwinnable war"-this course focuses on Asian/American entanglement and the worlds to which it gives rise. There are multiple
Japans that emerged in World War II: the empire that might have conquered the US, as imagined in the alternate history of The Man in the High
Castle; the lost land of origin that has brought trauma on its "heirs," the Japanese interned by the US; the Japan experienced by comfort women
in Asia. Similarly, the story of the Vietnam War has been told almost exclusively from an American viewpoint. Yet The Sympathizer promises to
tell another story: not only of the US in Vietnam as seen by the Vietnamese but of the Vietnamese in America, indeed of two Vietnams. What
might we learn from alternate (hi)stories about the political functions and ontological power of narrative? Texts may include The Man in the
High Castle, No-No Boy, Comfort Woman, The World at War, Cold War, Apocalypse Now, Vietnam War protest poetry, The Sympathizer, Night
Sky with Exit Wounds, We Should Never Meet, Forgetting Vietnam, Maya Lin, and the Vietnamese Oral History Project, along with theoretical
texts on war and reality. Students will be evaluated based on class participation and presentations, written responses, (con)textual analysis, and
comparative analysis.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-paired, PEAC.
Fall 2021. Ku.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 083. On Violence
A dark lexicon emerged out of the 20th century: total war, genocide, and collateral damage were new terms invented to describe "new" versions
of atrocity. But does our ability to name violence mean that we understand it any better? This course explores the aesthetic and narrative
structures of violence in modern fiction, film, critical theory, and law. Even as we recognize texts as pertaining to distinct modes (modernism,
postmodernism, contemporary literature) we will explore how histories of colonialism and racism condition formal innovation.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 084. Human Rights and Literature: Borderzones of the Human
This course examines how twentieth- and twenty-first-century narratives imagine "the human." Shortly after the signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Hannah Arendt argued that the "right to have rights" is not, in fact, universal: in practice, rights are
secured by the state. But if human rights operate within the framework of the nation-state, the problems of the contemporary moment do
not. How, then, do we begin to imagine the rights-bearing human in an age of mass migrations, privatized militaries, global flows of capital,
climate crises, and the world wide web? The first section of this class will be devoted to studying the ways human rights advocacy and practice
has traditionally depended upon narrative structures (testimony, witnessing, reportage) and the sympathetic imagination in order to raise
awareness of atrocity. The second half of the class will explore how such attempts to narrate the human face new obstacles in the twenty-first
century. Course readings will include a wide array of narrative forms, from novels, memoirs, photography and film to ad campaigns, NGO
reports, and Freedom Information Act requests. Primary texts will be supplemented by secondary readings (Jacques Derrida, Hannah Arendt,
Giorgio Agamben, Joseph Slaughter, Deborati Sanyal, and Eyal Wiezman) and by research labs that will introduce students to local and regional
human rights work.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH
Fall 2022. Patnaik.
Fall 2023. Patnaik.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 084A. Reparations
In this course, we will analyze how reparations become embraced by human rights over the course of the twentieth century as a mechanism for
redressing human wrongs. We will situate reparations as they emerge in national and international contexts, including redress for Japanese-
American internment during World War II, the truth commissions in Central America and post-apartheid South Africa, civilian killings during
the War on Terror, and reparations for slavery within America. Expect to engage with literature, philosophy, literary and legal theory, national
and international treaties, and archival sources.
20th/21st c.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature
ENGL 089E. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 042)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
GATEWAY English Literature.
First year students need instructor's approval.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GSST, ESCH, GLBL
Fall 2023. DiChiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
Environmental Studies
ENVS 014. Environmental Issues in Native American Communities
Native American communities face environmental issues and are experiencing direct impacts of climate change on their contemporary lives and
cultural lifeways that are deeply connected to the land and surrounding ecosystems. Using illustrative case studies, this class will examine
environmental issues and climate change impacts on Native American communities, current conflicts over tribal lands and natural resources,
environmental racism, place-based Native activism, and tribal responses to ecological issues and problems. Specific topics will include
Indigenous knowledge systems, Indigenous land stewardship, land tenure, treaty rights, politics and policy, energy development on tribal lands,
conflicting land-use interests and values, tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and Indigenous environmental justice.
1.0 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC.
Fall 2021. Benally
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 029. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed with ANTH 033E)
This course offers students an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches
and scholarship from the disciplines of environmental anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the
environmental humanities, and social movement theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of
texts each week, offering deep engagement to analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary
environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between
environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the
class will also explore the interlocking themes of social and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films,
and other digital media to provide a sense of what environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to
bring about change. Students in this course will learn to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these
entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to think creatively about possible solutions.
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 031. Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking
(Cross-listed as PEAC 055)
The course will examine several ways in which climate change is a driving force of violent and nonviolent conflict and creates opportunities for
peacemaking and social justice. Already, climate change has been identified by the U.S. military as a threat to national security, offering a new
rationale for expanding the military industrial complex. Demands on scarce resources generate and exacerbate regional conflicts and drive mass
movements of refugees. Behind these dramatic manifestations of climate stress lie extensive corporate and national interests and hegemonic
silences that emerging conflicts often reveal. Conflict also brings new opportunities for peacebuilding, cooperation, and conflict resolution.
Climate crises have renewed and expanded local and global movements for environmental justice and protection, many of which have historical
connections with the peace movement. In support of the college's carbon charge initiative, we will dedicate part of the course to understanding
what constitutes the social cost of carbon and how it is represented in carbon pricing, particularly with respect to increasing frequencies of
armed conflict and extension of the military industrial complex.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 035. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action
Examines historical, political, and activist roots of the field of environmental justice. Using interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology,
environmental science, history, geography, cultural studies, and social movement theory, we analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and
community activism in contemporary environmental issues such as: air quality and health, toxic contamination and reproductive issues,
sustainable agriculture and food security, fossil energy-coal, oil, hydro-fracking and livelihoods, climate change and climate justice. Course
incorporates a community-based learning component.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 040. Religion and Ecology
(Cross-listed as RELG 022)
This course focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and
modern times. In turn, it examines how various religious worldviews can aid the development of an earth-centered philosophy of life. The thesis
of this course is that the environment crisis, at its core, is a spiritual crisis because it is human beings' deep ecocidal dispositions toward nature
that are the cause of the earth's continued degradation. Course topics include ecological thought in Western philosophy, theology, and biblical
studies; the role of Asian religious thought in forging an ecological worldview; the value of American nature writings for environmental
awareness, including both Euro-American and Amerindian literatures; the public policy debates concerning vegetarianism and the antitoxics
movement; and the contemporary relevance of ecofeminism, deep ecology, Neopaganism, and wilderness activism. In addition to writing
assignments, there will be occasional contemplative practicums, journaling exercises, and a community-based learning component.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-Core, PEAC
Fall 2021. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 042. Ecofeminism(s)
(Cross-listed as ENGL 089E)
An introduction to the central themes and histories of ecofeminist theories and praxis. We will study ecological feminisms/feminist
environmentalisms from global perspectives, and examine how these transdisciplinary discourses and movements develop social and cultural
critiques of systems of domination, and construct alternative visions for more just and sustainable human-earth relationships. Topics
include ecofeminist approaches to: human rights, environmental and climate justice, food and agriculture, animal politics, health and bodies,
queer ecologies, economies of "care," militarism and imperialism, and sustainable development. Readings and course materials draw on the
works of Vandana Shiva, Donna Haraway, Laura Pulido, Octavia Butler, Joni Seager, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Julie Sze, Rosi Braidotti,
Jael Silliman, Starhawk, Eli Clare, Audre Lorde, Silvia Federici, Wendy Harcourt, Betsy Hartmann, Wangari Maathai.
First year students need instructor's approval.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL, ENVS, ESCH, GLBL - Core, GSST, INTP
Fall 2023. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
ENVS 047. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as JPNS 036 and PEAC 036)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner, Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
French
FREN 041. Guerre et paix dans la littérature française
Through a study of the representations of war and peace in French literature from the 19th and 20th centuries, this course examines the evolving
attitudes that intellectuals have held towards pacifist ideologies and violent conflicts, as well as the ethical and aesthetic influences that mass
violence has had on their writings. The class will approach this topic from a variety of critical perspectives, including (1) studies of the emotional
consequences of trauma, mourning, and shame, (2) a study of the interconnection of societal constructions of gender with representations of
conflict and peace, and (3) a discussion of the rise of intellectuals in the face of injustice. Works covered will include testimonies, memoirs,
fictional literature and popular culture, bringing together authors such as Balzac, Zola, Camus, Sartre, Duras, and Tardi. Taught in French.
Prerequisite: FREN 015 or instructor permission.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST
Fall 2022. Gueydan-Turek.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: French and Francophone Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/french-francophone-studies/academic-program
History
HIST 001B. First Year Seminar: Human Rights as History: From Haiti to Nuremberg
This course takes the subject of human rights and sets it into historical motion, starting with the French Revolution and ending with the 21
st
century.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2023. Azfar.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 001V. First-Year Seminar: History in the Making: Autocrats, Activists, and Artists in a Changing Middle
East
This course will examine recent political, social, and cultural transformations in the Middle East and the various historical developments that
have led to them. Through an exploration of the current landscape of the region, we will use contemporary events as a window onto the past,
investigating how history has shaped our world today.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2022. Shokr.
Fall 2023. Shokr.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 027. Living with Total War: Europe, 1914-1919
This research seminar examines the experience of Europeans in the trenches, under military occupation, and at home in the turbulent years
during and immediately following the First World War.
Optional language attachments: German, French, and Russian.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 036. Fascinating Fascism
This course explores the various manifestations of fascism as an ideological, cultural, and political movement in Europe from 1919 to 1945.
Special attention will be paid to Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania, and England.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 037. The Holocaust: History, Representation, and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 037G, GMST 037)
This course explores the roots of Nazism, the implementation of the Final Solution, the legacy of the Holocaust on European society, and the
representation of the Holocaust through an interdisciplinary approach that relies on primary sources, historical scholarship, memoirs, poetry,
painting, and film.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GMST, PEAC
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 067. Digging Through the National Security Archive: South American "Dirty Wars" and the United
States' Involvement
Focusing on 1970s Latin American dictatorships, this course's aims are twofold: firstly, a critical examination of the available scholarship on the
so-called "Dirty Wars" that produced the disappearance of thousands of citizens-particularly young people-in the context of state terrorism;
secondly, an exploration of the relations between those Latin American dictatorships and the United States through a rigorous research exercise
using the National Security Archive and other primary sources.
Prerequisite: At least one course in history or professor permission.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Spring 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
HIST 149. Reform and Revolutions in Modern Latin America
The historical problem of change-political, economic, social, and cultural-in peripheral Latin America. It emphasizes nation-building capitalist
ideas, populist experiences that produced deep reformist transformations, and revolutionary processes that started very radical and over time
became moderate.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired, LALS, PEAC
Fall 2022. Armus.
Catalog chapter: History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/history
Japanese
JPNS 036. Environment, Cultural Memory, and Social Change in Japan
(Cross-listed as PEAC 036, ENVS 047)
This course will explore the history, contemporary situation, and future possibilities regarding the interlinked realms of the environment,
historical trauma, and social movements in Japan. Topics will include the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the subsequent peace
and anti-nuclear movements, the environmental movement in Japan, and the "triple disaster" earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant
disaster in Fukushima and Northeastern Japan. We will also discuss how environmental issues intersect with other current social issues such as
rural depopulation, an aging population, and gender and economic inequality, and study a variety of contemporary approaches to addressing
these issues. Under the guidance of Lang Professor for Social Change Denise Crossan, we will study the theory and practice of social
entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change and explore applications of this model in Japan. In addition, throughout the semester we will
engage with community partners in Japan, particularly in the Hiroshima area, through online exchanges and collaborative projects related to
contemporary environmental and peace activism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Gardner.
Fall 2023. Gardner. Crossan.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese
Literatures
LITR 025A. War in Arab Literature and Cinema
(Cross-listed as ARAB 025)
This course will explore literary and cinematic representations of war in the Arab world, focusing on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the Lebanese
Civil War, and the Iraq wars. We will look at poetry, fiction, memoir, prison narratives, film, and experimental texts. Through the examination of
a variety of experiences, genres, and perspectives, we will ask questions like: How do narratives of war contribute to the formation of national,
local, and Arab identities? How has the experience of war impacted understandings of religion, masculinity, gender, and domestic violence? We
will identify common themes and images, and also investigate how these patterns change and develop in different spatial and temporal contexts.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 083J. War and Postwar in Japanese Culture
(Cross-listed as JPNS 083)
What was the Japanese experience of the World War II and the Allied Occupation? We will examine literary works, films, and graphic materials
(photographs, prints, advertisements, etc.), together with oral histories and historical studies, to seek a better understanding of the prevailing
ideologies and intellectual struggles of wartime and postwar Japan as well as the experiences of individuals living through the cataclysmic events
of midcentury. Issues to be investigated include Japanese nationalism and imperialism, women's experiences of the war and home front;
changing representations and ideologies of the body, war writing and censorship, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese
responses to the occupation, and the war in postwar memory.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
LITR 091CH. Special Topics in English: Taiwan in Transition under Japanese Colonial Rule: Literature,
Material Culture, and Social Movements
(Cross-listed as CHIN 091)
Special Topics
Fall 2021 Topic: Taiwan in Transition under Japanese Colonial Rule: Literature, Material Culture, and Social Movements
Fall 2022 Topic: Representing Colonial Taiwan: Public Space in Print
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, CPLT, PEAC
Fall 2021. Li.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures
Math
MATH 020. Mathematics and Social Justice
This course examines the roles that mathematics and mathematicians play in society, particularly through the lenses of equity and social justice.
Students will explore what it means to practice mathematics ethically and we will discuss mathematical influence in areas such as policing,
politics, healthcare, and the military-industrial complex.
Eligible for PEAC
Prerequisite: Placement out of, or credit for, either MATH 015 or STAT 011.
Natural sciences and engineering
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Miller.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Mathematics and Statistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/mathematics-statistics
Music
MUSI 006A. Music in Times of War and Disease
For centuries, and across the globe, music has accompanied, amplified and responded to the most cataclysmic moments in human history. From
the so-called "Black Death" pandemic of the Middle Ages to the total warfare of the twentieth century to the "gray-zone" conflicts of the new
millennium, music has been employed to manipulate, protest, comfort, witness, and also to process human pain and grief. This course considers
the current pandemic's impact on music in a global-historical context of war and pestilence, seeking to understand how these phenomena have
affected musical sounds, and how music-making has contributed to human resilience. What will be the enduring repercussions of this historical
moment on the future of musical expression?
Eligible for GLBL-Core, PEAC
MUSI 006B. Music and War
This course will explore the various contexts and motivations for music making during the Holocaust and World War II era. In the universe of the
Nazi ghettos and concentration camps, music was a vehicle for transmitting political rumors, controversies, stories, and everyday events as well
as a form of spiritual resistance. In the broader context of war, it was used for political and nationalist agendas. This course will draw on a wide
range of music, from folk songs and popular hit tunes to art music intended for the concert stage.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Milewski.
Fall 2022. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 006D. Performing Resistance: Black Music and Protest in the African Diaspora
This course explores African diasporic music as it's been used in performative acts of resistance and protest in the United States, the Caribbean,
and South America. We will consider instances when music and movement have been deployed in response to political, economic, and social
tyranny in the past and in the present.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired, PEAC, BLST
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Spring 2022. Stewart.
Catalog chapter: Music
MUSI 008. Music, Politics, and Society in the Modern Middle East: 1922-2016
Home to many of the world's oldest civilizations and major religions, the Middle East remains a region of remarkable cultural diversity. From
the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 to the Arab Spring and the current refugee crisis, this vast territory has experienced extraordinary
political and social change over the past nearly one hundred years. While often riven by conflict, the Middle East is also a site of ever-renewing
intellectual, artistic, and political movements. The musical soundtrack to this constellation of dynamic forces is rich and complex, animated by
shifting social environments and ongoing intercultural encounters. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Jews, Kurds, Greeks, Berbers, Armenians, Assyrians,
and many other ethno-linguistic and religious identities all claim unique forms of musical expression, mirroring in many cases their
environments-rural, urban, desert, coastal, seafaring, nomadic, antiquated, hypermodern, pious, and defiantly secular. In this course we will
examine nearly a century of music making in the Middle East focusing on Turkey, Iran, and the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and
North Africa. Readings, audio examples, films, and in-class music making will address the ways that music of the Middle East intersects with
religious practices, nationalism, gender, sexuality, language, ethnicity, migration, and protest movements. Through an exploration of elite,
popular, folk, and sacred music among others, we will attempt to make sense of the rich and varied soundscapes of the modern Middle East.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
MUSI 008B. Music, Race and Class
(Cross-listed as BLST 008B)
What is the power of music? How can music empower individuals and groups in the fight for justice? In this course we will investigate
contemporary case studies from around the world when groups have employed music to confront racism and classism in pursuit of social justice.
Case studies include Apartheid South Africa, Buraku Taiko drummers in Japan, and the Kamehameha Schools Songs Contest in Hawai'i.
Students will complete an original community project to share their course experience with other students on campus. Open to all students
without prerequisite.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, BLST, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music
MUSI 009. Native American Culture & Contemporary Music
(Cross-listed as ANTH 034C)
This course introduces students to Native American and Indigenous peoples through contemporary music. Students will read anthropological and
ethnomusicology texts, engage Native pop culture and news media, watch music videos and listen to selections of Native American and
Indigenous contemporary music from across the Americas. A main goal of this course is to gain knowledge and appreciation of Indigenous
peoples, their cultures, and the social and environmental justice issues facing them in contemporary society.
Humanities
1 credit
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Two-Bears.
Fall 2022. Two-Bears.
Philosophy
PHIL 011. Moral Philosophy
'What should I do?' This question is as old as philosophy itself. Just as it is one of the oldest and most complex philosophical puzzles, it also
frequently occupies the minds of individuals in their day-to-day lives. In this course, we will focus on both ways of approaching this question.
From the philosophical direction, we will discuss the ways in which philosophers have attempted to understand and describe our moral beliefs
and commitments. From the practical direction, we will ask ourselves what it means to ascribe to these moral theories and how we might be able
to actually live them.
PEAC eligible only when taught by PHIL instructor K. Thomason. Eligible with arranged assignment and by obtaining instructor and program
coordinator written approval before drop/add period ends.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001 -PHIL 010, or PHIL 012A, before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC only when taught by PHIL instructor K. Thomason.
Spring 2024. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 021. Social and Political Philosophy
In this seminar, we will examine in-depth philosophical approaches to the theory and practice of law. We begin with the classical theoretical
questions. We cover the foundations of law as explained through legal positivism, natural law, and critical legal theory. We examine the roles of
lawmakers, citizens, and judges. We then move to questions with a more practical dimension. We discuss the foundation for criminal law and
punishment as well as issues of racism and sexism in law. Other topics include individual rights, paternalism, policing, privacy, and
technologyThe focus of this course is to explore the relationship between the individual and the state. We will examine three different conceptions
of individuals and the three different theories of the state to which they give rise: political realism, political liberalism, and critical political
theory. First we examine the historical foundations of these three theories. Then we will read contemporary work on particular issues in order to
draw out the implications of the three frameworks. We will see how each framework deals with questions about censorship, personal liberty, civil
disobedience, and national security.
PEAC eligible with the approval of the instructor.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2023. TBD.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 041. Peace and Political Philosophy
(Cross-listed as PEAC 41)
How might we establish a peaceful world? What is the relationship between peace, justice, and individual rights? Can war ever be justified and,
if so, under what circumstances? How can societies that have experienced violent conflict transition into peace? This course examines these
questions from the perspective of political philosophy. We will ask what a peaceful world might look like and what would be required to bring it
about.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Fall 2023. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 051. Human Rights and Atrocities
Are there such things as human rights? If so, where do they come from and how are they best conceived? What should we do when they are
violated? This course examines the theoretical underpinnings of human rights. To try to understand and answer these questions, we will read
traditional philosophical arguments and accounts of human rights in addition to philosophical examinations of atrocities like genocide. We will
then use the philosophical works to examine specific historical examples of human rights violations such as genocide, war rape, and apartheid.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Political Science
POLS 004. Introduction to International Relations (IR)
In this course, we will explore the fundamental concepts of the field of international relations. Students will learn the basic facts about
international conflict, the international economy, international law, development, and the world environment, among other things. Furthermore,
we will study the fundamental theoretical concepts and theories of international relations. Using these theories, students will be able to sort
through arguments about various topics in international relations and make judgment calls for yourself. Finally, students will learn how these
concepts have evolved over time and how we can use them to hypothesize what lies ahead for international relations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Tierney.
Spring 2023. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2023. Tierney.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 019. Democratic Theory and Practice
What is democracy, and what does it require? Widespread political participation? Social connectedness? Economic equality? Civic virtue?
Excellent education? How well does the contemporary U.S. meet those ideal standards? POLS 019 students read classic and recent texts in
normative political theory and empirical political science-addressing what democracy should do and how well the U.S. is doing it augmented by
a participatory component that requires several hours per week outside of class. Students engage with civic leaders and activists in the strikingly
different communities of Swarthmore and Chester, and participate in a variety of community projects. The goal is to understand better the ways
in which social, economic, educational and political resources can affect how citizens experience democracy.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)
This course, taught in Philadelphia, offers an introduction to the causes and consequences of international migration and examines the political
responses of different national communities to the phenomenon. In the first part of the course we will explore why and how people move from one
country to another and analyze the strategies through which states attempt to manage mobility and exercise control over their territories.
Students will learn about patterns of regular and irregular migration, including economic and undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers. We will also interrogate the efficacy of border walls and other strategies of containment and control. In the second part of the course we
consider how migration transforms both sending and receiving countries and evaluate how countries accommodate (or fail to accommodate)
newcomers to their territories. The growing ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity generated by international migratory flows has spawned
fierce debates over national identity, social cohesion, and political stability. In order to make sense of these debates, we will analyze different
regimes of immigrant integration, incorporation, and assimilation and evaluate the meaning of citizenship, social membership, and belonging.
Classroom meetings will be supplemented with outside lectures and field trips in Philadelphia to observe immigration hearings and to meet with
NGOs and community organizations working on issues surrounding migrant rights and refugee re-settlement. This course will be taught in
Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core; INTP eligible; PEAC eligible
Spring 2022. Balkan
Fall 2022. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 043B. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action (AP)
Examines historical, political, and activist roots of the field of environmental justice. Using interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology,
environmental science, history, geography, cultural studies, and social movement theory, we analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and
community activism in contemporary environmental issues such as: air quality and health, toxic contamination and reproductive issues,
sustainable agriculture and food security, fossil energy-coal, oil, hydro-fracking-and livelihoods, climate change and climate justice. Course
incorporates a community-based learning component.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 052. Comparative Political Theory: Chinese and Western Traditions (TH)
This course examines some of the similarities and differences between Western and Eastern traditions of political thought. Through the course,
we will introduce the students to the richness of both political theoretical traditions, and critically evaluate some "conventional wisdoms" (e.g.
that Confucianism and democracy are antithetical). We will first review the concept of comparative political theory and its methodology, before
moving on to discuss a range of classic topics in political theory, such as happiness, liberty and rights. For each topic, we will first review
influential voices in the Western tradition before examining influential Chinese texts and exploring whether we may synthesize their insights. We
will conclude the course with a discussion of intercultural political dialogue today.
This course does not fulfill the department's political theory requirement - only POLS 11, 12, 100, and 101 fulfill the requirement. This course is
open to those with no political theory background and open to students who are not POLS majors or minors.
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 055. Ethics and International Relations (IR)
Ethical questions are central to the study of international relations. Does justice extend beyond the borders of states? Do we have
moral obligations to distant strangers? Do we have an obligation to obey international law? When is war, if ever, just? Who should punish war
crimes? In this course we explore the links between international normative theory (what would a just world order look like? how should it be
constructed?) and the role norms and ethics actually play in contemporary international relations according to different theoretical perspectives
(e.g. realist, constructivist, etc.). Topics include: the nature of ethical reasoning; state sovereignty, national self-determination, and secession;
just war, human rights, and intervention; pluralism and cosmopolitanism; Black Lives Matter and international racial justice; transnational
environmental responsibility and the ethics of climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA; PEAC
Spring 2023. Emily Paddon Rhoads.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 061. American Foreign Policy (IR)
This course analyzes the formation and conduct of foreign policy in the United States. The course combines three elements: a study of the history
of American foreign relations since 1865; an analysis of the causes of American foreign policy such as the international system, public opinion,
and the media; and a discussion of the major policy issues in contemporary U.S. foreign policy, including terrorism, civil wars, and economic
policy.
Prof. Tierney is willing to work with select honors students enrolled in POLS61 in Spring 2024 to convert this course into an honors
prep. Students must be enrolled in POLS61 (no exceptions) for this option, and commit to meeting with Prof. Tierney regularly and fulfilling
extra assigned work.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Tierney.
Spring 2023. Tierney.
Spring 2024. Tierney.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 062. The Politics and Practice of Humanitarianism (IR)
Humanitarianism has become a central feature of world politics. It is complex and contested. This course aims to provide the critical, conceptual
and theoretical tools necessary to engage with the realities of humanitarian emergencies. It explores a range of questions: What is
humanitarianism and how has it evolved historically? What are humanitarianism's core ethical and political dilemmas? What sets of interests
and power relations shape the impact of humanitarian action at the global, national and local levels? How are new technologies, innovation and
the private sector transforming humanitarian governance? What are the ethical issues involved with the study of humanitarianism?
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 063. African Politics (CP)
This course provides an introduction to contemporary African politics with a strong focus on political dynamics in particular African countries.
We begin with Africa's political history, examining pre-colonial structures, the impacts of colonialism, the post-colonial state and practices of
power. We then examine the social forces that shape contemporary politics (e.g., ethnicity, religion, gender, class) and the range of regime types
that have emerged in recent history. The final part of the course focuses on the economic dimensions of politics, conflict dynamics on the
continent and the role of local, regional and international actors in addressing development, peace and security issues. The core concepts and
theories explored in the course are brought to life through a semester-long reporting project in which students work closely over Skype with
experts in the region.
Note distributional change from IR
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST; GLBL-Paired; PEAC
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 075. International Politics: Special Topics: The Causes of War
The causes of war is arguably one of the most important issues in the field of international politics. In each week of the course, a candidate
theory will be examined, and a specific war will be analyzed in depth to test the validity of the theory. Topics will include revolution and war,
capitalism and war, misperception and war, and resource scarcity and war. The course will conclude with a discussion of the future of war,
particularly the likelihood of conflict among the great powers.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 080. Civil Wars (IR)
Civil war is the dominant form of political violence in the contemporary world. Since the Second World War, most conflict has been
focused within rather than between states (i.e., civil war). Drawing on a thriving and diverse area of scholarship in political science, this course
explores the causes, dynamics and consequences of civil wars, as well as regional and international interventions and post-conflict legacies.
Among the central questions we will examine are: What are the individual, group and state level factors that may cause civil wars to break
out? What are the gendered dimensions of civil war and civilian agency? Why are some civil wars longer and more severe than others? How
are civilians, households and communities impacted by civil war and how do they cope? How do civil wars end and what can local, regional and
international actors do to facilitate their termination? To explore these and other questions, students will be introduced to key concepts, theories
and a variety of research approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and interpretive methods as well as micro- and macro-level analysis.
Contemporary and historical cases we will examine include: Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- core; GSST, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Paddon Rhoads
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 082. Surveillance and Repression (CP)
All states collect information on citizens and use violence to counter certain threats to their authority. But the extent of such activity, and its
implications for the liberty and wellbeing of citizens, can vary widely across time and space. Focusing on the United States and Latin America,
this course examines the politics of state surveillance and repression. We first investigate the growth of the US surveillance state in the second
half of the 20
th
century and the role of surveillance and repression in several authoritarian regimes in Latin America during that time period. We
then consider how technological changes have amplified the capacity of states to surveil citizens in the 21
st
century and the struggles of different
societies across the Americas to place appropriate limits on such activity, examining topics like mass communications collection, the spread of
commercial spyware, the exportation of surveillance technologies to Latin American countries by both the US and China, and the role of big tech
companies whose business models has been termed "surveillance capitalism."
Comparative
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Spring 2023. Handlin.
Spring 2024. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 112. Democratic Theory and Civic Engagement in America
This course begins with the questions: What is democracy, and what does it require? Widespread political participation? Economic equality?
Good education? Civic virtue? If any of these conditions or characteristics are necessary, how might they be promoted? In addition to theoretical
questions, we will investigate one of the hottest debates in contemporary political science: whether political participation, social connectedness,
and general cooperation have declined in the United States over the past half-century. If so, why? What might be done? We will consider the
potential civic impact of economic and social marginalization in inner-city areas, the role of education in promoting civic engagement, the
problem of civic and political disengagement among America's youth, and the potential for the Internet and other communications technology to
resuscitate democratic engagement among the citizenry. We will close by considering some lessons from successful community activists,
politicians, and political mobilizers.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for CBL
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 113. International Politics: War, Peace, and Security (IR)
This seminar will investigate in depth the issues of conflict, security, and the use of force in contemporary international politics. The course will
begin by considering the changing meaning of "security" and by analyzing the major theoretical approaches including realism, liberalism, and
constructivism. The course will then tackle some of the great puzzles of international security including the clash of civilizations hypothesis, the
role of nuclear weapons, civil wars and intervention, terrorism, and human rights.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Psychology
PSYC 028. Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination
Humans are social creatures; interpersonal relationships and group membership are critical to our survival and well-being. The formation of
groups, however, can give rise to ingroup favoritism, stereotyping, and discrimination against outgroup members. This course will examine
social psychological theory and research on the causes and consequences of stereotypes, prejudice & discrimination, emphasizing sociocultural,
cognitive, personality, neuroscience and motivational perspectives. We will study the development and causes of stereotypes and prejudice, and
reasons for their persistence and prevalence. We will consider both the effects that stereotypes and prejudice have on people's perceptions of and
behaviors toward particular groups or group members, as well as their effects on members of stereotyped groups. Finally, we will explore the
implications of research findings on stereotypes, prejudice & discrimination for education, business and government policies; and will discuss
possible techniques for reducing prejudice and discrimination.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Norris.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 035. Social Psychology
Social psychology argues that social context is central to human experience and behavior. This course provides a review of the field with special
attention to relevant theory and research. The dynamics of cooperation and conflict, the self, group identity, conformity, social influence,
prosocial behavior, aggression, prejudice, attribution, and attitudes are discussed. And is eligible for PEAC credit.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Ward.
Spring 2023. Ward.
Spring 2024. Ward.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Religion
RELG 005. World Religions
This introductory course supplies students with the religious literacy skills necessary to think and write critically and comparatively about the
world's religions. It will challenge the "world religion" paradigm in both its form and content while engaging students through the study
of diverse traditions. Organized thematically with a focus on "lived religion," we will explore different topics such as food, architecture,
performance, and art through a combination of theoretical pieces and case studies. We will also make use of a variety of media
resources including film, podcasts, and music. The course pays special attention to religious communities in the Greater Philadelphia Area and
will include site visits and virtual tours as a way of introducing participants to the history and diversity of cultures within our own
"neighborhood."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Persaud.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006. Abrahamic Religion/s: Violence and Monotheism
This course introduces students to the academic study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam through the figure of Abraham. How have these
religions understood Abraham in competing and overlapping ways? In what ways have their respective portrayals of Abraham fostered both
unity and discord, peaceful coexistence and religious wars, that persist throughout history and up to current geo-political, religious landscapes
(e.g. Hevron/Hebron/al-Khalil)? Broader themes this course addresses through the figure of Abraham are the roles of violence in religion, and
gendered and racialized violence and monotheism. Finally, we critically examine the use of the discourse of "Abrahamic Faith/s" in Religious
Studies and Inter-religious dialogue.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006B. The Talmud: Drinking in Antiquity
(Cross-listed as ANCH 006B )
This course introduces students to the Babylonian Talmud and related rabbinic literature, the foundational texts of Judaism. We focus on
rabbinic traditions about drinking and eating, placing them in conversation with biblical, Greco-Roman, and Sassanian sources. Through these
texts, we begin to learn what the Talmud is, what Judaism is, and how Jews and Judaism were situated, and steeped, in their larger
Mediterranean cultures. Since drinking and eating are embodied acts filled with religious meanings, we also focus on religion, gender, and the
body in ancient religions and cultures.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, PEAC
Spring 2022. Kessler.
Fall 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 010. African American Religions
What makes African American religion "African" and "American"? Using texts, films, and music, we will examine the sacred institutions of
Americans of African descent. Major themes will include Africanisms in American religion, slavery and religion, gospel music, African American
women and religion, black and womanist theology, the civil rights movement, and Islam and urban religions. Field trips include visits to Father
Divine's Peace Mission and the first independent black church in the United States, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Fall 2023. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 022. Religion and Ecology
(Cross-listed as ENVS 040)
This course focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and
modern times. In turn, it examines how various religious worldviews can aid the development of an earth-centered philosophy of life. The thesis
of this course is that the environment crisis, at its core, is a spiritual crisis because it is human beings' deep ecocidal dispositions toward nature
that are the cause of the earth's continued degradation. Course topics include ecological thought in Western philosophy, theology, and biblical
studies; the role of Asian religious thought in forging an ecological worldview; the value of American nature writings for environmental
awareness, including both Euro-American and Amerindian literatures; the public policy debates concerning vegetarianism and the antitoxics
movement; and the contemporary relevance of ecofeminism, deep ecology, Neopaganism, and wilderness activism. In addition to writing
assignments, there will be occasional contemplative practicums, journaling exercises, and a community-based learning component.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 023. Quakers Past and Present
(Cross-listed as PEAC 024 )
This course explores the religious beliefs, social teachings, and impact of Quakers in North America from the 1650s to the present. Topics
include Quaker beliefs about God and the light within; Quakers and social reform including anti-slavery work, women's rights advocacy, Native
American rights, and peace work; contemporary Quakers and social justice (including the work of Earth Quaker Action Team [EQAT] and the
American Friends Service Committee). While focusing on Quakers and social change, this course includes discussion of specific concerns and
methods in the study of Religion and of Peace and Conflict Studies. Students will have the opportunity to work with the resources of Swarthmore
College's Friends Historical Library and Peace Collection.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Ross.
Spring 2023. Ross.
Spring 2024. Ross.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice
Social justice rhetoric and activism are often framed around the theme of a fight or a struggle -- however noble -- against the forces and powers
of oppression. This course takes a different tack and approaches social justice via perspectives of healing, wellness, and critical care practices.
This course places an emphasis upon praxis, and as such will center healing and social justice practitioners and their methodologies as our
primary curricular materials (via in-class visits and their social media footprints) to accompany more traditional classroom readings and
multimedia assignments. What happens to our notions of social justice if we view current-day global oppression chiefly as a problem of colonial
dis/ease -- a restless sickness wracking the social and political body, the encrusted layers of generational trauma and violence catalyzed by the
on-going and open-ended histories of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 039. Antisemitism and Jew-Hatred
"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" This class surveys antisemitism from antiquity to
the present day. It historicizes "religious" and "political" Jew-hatred, considering their differences as well as continuity over time. Since
antisemitism intersects with racism, misogyny, homophobia, gender-nonconformity, and economics, considerable attention is placed on
constructions of race, gender, sexuality, and class.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 051. Asian Religions in the Americas
Taking a hemispheric approach, this course will examine the histories, communities, and religious practices of Asians in South, Central, and
North America and the Caribbean. We will learn about the indentured labor trade that brought Indian and Chinese laborers to the Americas in
the 19th-20th centuries, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the case of Bhagat Singh Thind, and Japanese internment camps during WWII, in
addition to other examples of racism and resistance that Asians faced migrating across the Americas. Our focus will be on how Asians have
sacralized the local landscape and maintained and/or altered their religious practices, as well as how Asians have penetrated the culture of the
Americas, looking at topics like food, architecture (temples and religious institutions), music, and pop culture. As part of the emphasis on culture,
we will also explore the impact of Asian religions on American culture from the early transcendentalists to the Rajneesh movement and more,
exploring the ways in which Asians have transformed the cultures of the Americas as much as their communities have been transformed by their
new homelands.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC
Fall 2021. Persaud.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 100. Holy War, Martyrdom, and Suicide in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
An examination of the concepts of martyrdom, holy war, and suicide in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. How are "just" war, suicide, martyrdom
presented in the sacred texts of these three traditions? How are the different perspectives related to conceptions of death and the afterlife within
each tradition? Historically, how have these three traditions idealized and/or valorized the martyr and/or the "just" warrior? In what ways have
modern post-colonial political groups and nationalist movements appropriated martyrdom and holy war in our time?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST, PEAC
Spring 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Russian
RUSS 037. Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Captivity and Incarceration
(Cross-listed as LITR 037R)
"Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!" - Solzhenitsyn. While the Gulag remains the most infamous aspect of the Soviet justice system,
Russia has a long history of inhumane punishment on a terrifying scale. This course explores narratives of incarceration, punishment, and
captivity from the 17th century to the present day. In discussing (non-)fiction, history, and theory, we will consider such topics as justice, violence
and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in suffering.
Authors include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Kropotkin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Pussy Riot, Navalny, Michel Foucault, Susan Sontag, and
Angela Davis, among others.
We'll also have the opportunity to speak with two of our writers, Ali Feruz (jailed Uzbek journalist + LGBTQ+ rights activist) and Oleg
Navalny (served 3.5 years on false charges + brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny).
Taught in translation; no knowledge of Russian language or culture required. All are welcome.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, INTP, GLBL-Paired, ESCH
Fall 2023. Vergara.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian
Sociology
SOCI 006C. First-Year Seminar:The Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness (W)
Who are the "white working class" in the United States? How do they live, what do they believe, and why? Or, is there even such a thing as "the"
white working class? How did this racialized category come to evoke images of both "everyday Americans" in some circles, and (at least in some
others) the Trump supporters who staged an attempted coup in January 2021?
This course is dedicated to both sets of questions. First, we will look at the actual lives, beliefs, and political behavior of people who could be
categorized as white and poor or working class. Then we will take up the question of the ways this category is deployed in our political discourse,
for what purposes, and by whom. In the course of reading and writing about these issues, we will develop our understanding of class, race,
inequality and politics in the United States.
Social science.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 025B. Transforming Intractable Conflict
(Cross-listed as PEAC 025B)
This course will address the sociology of peace process and intractable identity conflicts in deeply divided societies. Northern Ireland will serve
as the primary case study, and the course outline will include the history of the conflict, the peace process, and grassroots conflict transformation
initiatives. Special attention will be given to the cultural underpinnings of division, such as sectarianism and collective identity, and their
expression through symbols, language, and collective actions, such as parades and commemorations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 031C. Indian Nations and Native America
This course traces the 500 years of conquest, colonialism, genocide, resistance, survivance and revitalization of Native Nations in the Americas,
with a special focus on North America. It also covers contemporary issues and social realities (of Indigenous peoples) within the United States,
Canada, Mexico and Turtle Island generally. We discuss origins and struggles over sovereignty, social movements, federal recognition,
enrollment, tribal citizenship, mascotry, Indian gaming, socio-cultural identity and Native worldviews, including alternatives to ongoing
environmental degradation. The class provides students with opportunities to develop their specific knowledge of individual tribal nations,
including Pueblos Indígenas in Central America and the First Nations of Canada and the Arctic.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 041C. Indigenous Peoples and Globalization
(Cross-listed as ENVS 033)
This course provides a sociological look at Indigenous Peoples from the local to the global, including Native Nations (and Tribes) of the U.S.,
Latin America, the Maori (New Zealand), Adevasi (India), and the many Peoples from East Asia, Africa and Europe. We discuss models for
understanding Indigenous struggles in the 21st century, especially in line with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UN DRIP), and levels of Sovereignty, Autonomy, and Minority status (world-systems analysis). We pay special attention to Indigenous
peoples (tribes) who continue to survive and thrive in a modern world of global climate change, neoliberal capitalist hegemony and extreme
cultural domination. The class provides students opportunities to view interdisciplinary global issues - environmental world threats, social
change and refugees, hegemonic decline, regional warfare of nation-states, spirituality, food sovereignty - from Indigenous perspectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Fenelon.
Fall 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048I. Race and Place: A Philadelphia Story
Using Philadelphia neighborhoods as our site of study, this course will analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and spatial
inequality, emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of urban dwellers. We will survey major theoretical
approaches and empirical investigations of racial and ethnic stratification in cities, their concomitant policy considerations, and the impact at
the local level in Philadelphia. As part of The Tri-Co Philly Program, this course will engage scholars, practitioners, community members, and
leaders as teachers, learners, and researchers alongside students in the course.
Prerequisite: Requires permission of the Instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 071B. Research Seminar: Global Nonviolent Action Database (M)
(Cross-listed as PEAC 071B)
This research seminar involves working with The Global Nonviolent Action Database built at Swarthmore College. This website is accessed by
activists and scholars worldwide. The database contains crucial information on campaigns for human rights, democracy, environmental
sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will investigate a series of research cases and write them up in two
ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a narrative describing the unfolding struggle. Strategic implications will be
drawn from theory and from what the group is learning from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people's struggles.
Methods Course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 135. Social Movements and Nonviolent Power
(Cross-listed as PEAC 135)
In this two-credit Honors seminar, we will study the global proliferation of the strategic use of nonviolent tactics and methods and investigate the
power in social relations upon which collective nonviolent action capitalizes. We will also address sociological literature on the emergence,
maintenance, and impact of social movements. For examples of the kinds of case studies covered in this seminar, visit
https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu
Social sciences.
2 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2023. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Spanish
SPAN 054. Contemporary Cuba: Utopia, Revolution and Reform
(Cross-listed as LITR 054S)
This course will focus on Cuban literature and culture produced during the historical period of the Cuban Revolution. By reading varied-and
often opposed-literary accounts and artistic representations of those years, the course seeks to analyze the complex socio-economic, political,
and ideological processes that have informed Cuban society and culture since 1959 until the present day. Issues to be discussed include the
relation between national identity, ideology and political discourse, the political conflict between US-Cuba; exile and diaspora; the politics of
representation in terms of race, gender and sexuality; the role of the intellectual in times of political and ideological conflicts; the ethic of
aesthetic discourses; and the current period of political and economic transition. Authors included are Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara, Reinaldo
Arenas, Leonardo Padura, and Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, among others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 060. Memoria e identidad
This course will focus on memory making as an identity building agent. We will study literary texts, films and other cultural artifacts to
commemorate the silenced voices of the past. The work of several Spanish authors, film directors and intellectuals of the last decades, who try to
recover the silenced voices of the past in an effort to contest the "rhetoric of amnesia", so persistent in the early transition to democracy in Spain,
will be studied through close readings and a theoretical component. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of memory in literary, film and
cultural narratives to build national identity.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2023. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 067. Legado artístico y cultural de la Guerra Civil
A literary and filmic study of different works generated by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). We will contemplate the antagonistic
interpretations of the conflict itself, its roots, and its impact for a better understanding of modern Spain. We will study the themes and questions
of the war echoed in Spanish poetry, short fiction, novels, and films from the time of the war up through the present day. Readings will include
works by Machado, Cernuda, Hernández, Sender, Matute, Orwell, Laforet, Llamazares, Mendez, etc. Films will include documentaries as well as
classic and contemporary features.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, PEAC
Fall 2022. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 084. México 1968: La violencia del Estado de ayer y hoy
This course will examine the cultural representations of violence in contemporary Mexico, from the 1968 student massacre in Tlatelolco to the
female homicides in Ciudad Juárez to the social unrest brought about by the war on drugs. The objective will be to understand not only the
dynamics of political and social violence in Mexico, but also the bearing that it has had on literature and film. We will analyze the ways in which
literary works, poetry, chronicles, and films contend with the issues of state terror, institutionalized oblivion, trauma, violence, and cultural
identity formation. In addition to film and literature, the course will incorporate the scholarly and theoretical interventions that will help make
sense of this crisis of violence plaguing Mexico.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 088. Pasados desgarradores: revolución y trauma en la literatura centroamericana
This course focuses on contemporary Central American literature. It begins with the revolutionary poetry, narrative of resistance, and testimonio
that emerged out of the sociopolitical turmoil of the isthmus during the decades of war, revolutions, and genocide. We will then study the
atmosphere of disenchantment during the postwar period and the aesthetic shift in representations of trauma, violence, and disaffection. We will
study novels, short stories, poems, films, music, and read scholarly articles to understand the sociohistorical and literary context of the war and
the postwar periods in Central America.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 103. Trauma y derechos humanos en la literatura centroamericana
This seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations
of human suffering, empathy, and pain.
The seminar explores the social disintegration and legacy of violence left by decades of civil wars, genocide, and revolution in the region, as well
as theories of trauma, memory, affect, aesthetics, philosophical cynicism, and human rights. These theoretical approaches will help us reflect on
the relation between literature and human rights; the sociopolitical upheavals and their cultural representations; and how cultural production
engages with issues of peace and conflict in the neoliberal era. We will pay special attention to representations of social disaffection, political
disillusionment, and survival in a postwar context shaped by socio-economic precarity. In addition to reading literary works by some of the main
authors in the region-such as Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, and Claudia Hernández-we will analyze scholarly debates
surrounding Central American literature, as well as watch films and performances that probe into the issues of ethics, historical truth, social
justice, reconciliation, and the human predicament in a postwar society.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Spring 2022. Buiza.
Spring 2024. Buiza.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Philosophy
Courses
Faculty
ALAN BAKER, Professor and Chair
PETER BAUMANN, Professor
GRACE LEDBETTER, Professor
3
TAMSIN LORRAINE, Professor
CHARLES RAFF, Professor
KRISTA THOMASON, Associate Professor
3
ROSANNA PICASCIA, Visiting Assistant Professor
MERYL LUMBA, Visiting Instructor
2
DONNA MUCHA, Administrative Assistant
2
Spring 2022
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022
Philosophy analyzes and comments critically on concepts that are presupposed and used in other disciplines and in daily life: the natures of
knowledge, meaning, reasoning, morality, the character of the world, God, freedom, human nature, justice and history. Philosophy is thus
significant for everyone who wishes to live and act in a reflective and critical manner.
The Academic Program
The Philosophy Department offers several kinds of courses, all designed to engage students in philosophical practices.
A. There are courses and seminars to introduce students to the major systematic works of the history of Western philosophy: works by
Plato and Aristotle (Ancient Philosophy); Descartes, Hume and Kant (Modern Philosophy); Hegel and Marx (19th-Century
Philosophy); Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Heidegger, de Beauvoir (Existentialism); Russell and Wittgenstein (Contemporary
Philosophy).
B. There are courses and seminars that consider arguments and conclusions in specific areas of Philosophy: Theory of Knowledge,
Logic, Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics, Aesthetics, and Social and Political Philosophy.
C. There are courses and seminars concerned with the conceptual foundations of various other disciplines: Philosophy of Science,
Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Philosophy of Psychology, and Philosophy of
Religion.
D. There are courses and seminars on meaning, freedom, and value in various domains of contemporary life: Values and Ethics in
Science and Technology, Feminist Theory, and Post- Modernism.
Members of the Philosophy Department emphasize the engagement of philosophy with other disciplines and recognize that philosophical inquiry
is naturally related to concerns in other areas of study. They attempt to make these relations explicit, and so course and seminars are designed to
be accessible to a broad range of students, not just those who intend to major in philosophy. Various courses and seminars in philosophy appear
in concentrations in gender and sexuality studies, German studies, medieval studies, interpretation theory, and environmental studies.
Prerequisites
Satisfactory completion of either any section of PHIL 001 Introduction to Philosophy, or PHIL 012 Logic, or any First-Year Seminar (numbered
002-010) is a prerequisite for taking any further course in philosophy. Sections of Introduction to Philosophy and First-Year Seminars are
intended to present introductions to philosophical problems and techniques of analysis. There are no prerequisites for these entry-level courses.
Students may not take more than one introductory level course (First-Year Seminar or Introduction to Philosophy), with one exception: students
may take Logic either before or after taking any other introductory course.
Juniors and seniors may enter intermediate courses in philosophy without having taken an introductory level course in philosophy.
Course Major
One can major in philosophy in either the Course Program or the Honors Program. Internal distribution requirements are the same for both
programs. Only students who will have satisfactorily completed two philosophy courses by the end of their sophomore year will be considered for
acceptance as majors. Normally, applications to complete a major in philosophy will not be accepted after the add/drop period in the fall term of
a student's senior year.
Philosophy students changing their program from course to honors (or honors to course) must do so by the end of the add/drop period of the fall
term of senior year.
Acceptance Criteria
In addition to having completed two courses, majors must meet the general requirements for remaining in good standing at the College and have
the ability to satisfy the department's comprehensive requirements. They must further normally have at least a B- average in all philosophy
courses taken at Swarthmore. For double majors, the standard is somewhat higher, and the philosophy faculty determines whether the student
has the ability to complete the comprehensive requirements of two departments satisfactorily.
Requirements
Students majoring in philosophy must earn a total of eight credits, exclusive of senior work and complete at least the following requirements:
A. One course or seminar in logic and
B. Two credits in history: of these 2 credits, at least 1 must be in either ancient or modern (17th and 18th century) philosophy and
C. Two credits in at least one course covering one or more of the following areas: Advanced Logic, Philosophy of Science, Epistemology,
Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind and
D. Two credits in at least one course covering one or more of the following areas: Moral Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy,
Philosophy of Law, Feminism, Aesthetics.
Note: With the exception of Logic (PHIL 012) - introductory level courses and First Year Seminars (PHIL 001-010) do not count toward the
distribution requirements.
In addition, students majoring in philosophy are urged to take courses and seminars in diverse fields of philosophy. Prospective majors should
complete the logic requirements as early as possible. Course majors are encouraged to enroll in seminars. Mastery of at least one foreign
language is recommended.
Senior Course Study work
A student will complete a course major in philosophy by registering for a single credit of Senior Course Study in the spring term of the senior
year. Senior Course Study does not count toward fulfilling the eight credit requirement for the major. Under this heading, the student will
produce two independent essays, each of no more than 4,000 words, based on problems or texts considered in seminars or courses that they have
already completed, and in response to questions set by the department faculty. These two independent essays must fall in two different areas of
philosophy from the following list:
A. History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy; Modern Philosophy; 19th-Century Philosophy; Existentialism and Phenomenology; and
Contemporary Philosophy;
B. Value Theory: Moral Philosophy; Social and Political Philosophy; Aesthetics; Feminist Theory; Philosophy of Law
C. Logic, Metaphysics, and Epistemology: Logic, Theory of Knowledge, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Psychology, Philosophy of
Language
Students should inform the chair about the general areas in which they wish to write their essays by the 10th week of the fall term. The faculty of
the Philosophy Department will then set questions and specify additional readings (1-3 articles or book chapters) for each area. These questions
will be available to students by the end of the fall term.
It is expected that these essays will demonstrate initiative in engaging with problems and texts and that they will develop lines of argumentation
beyond what is normally expected of course or seminar papers. Conversation among students who are preparing these essays is encouraged, but
each student must produce an independent, original essay. After completing these essays, each course major will be examined orally on both
essays by two members of the department.
Course Minor
Students may complete a minor in philosophy by earning any 5 credits in philosophy courses. There is no distribution requirement for the minor.
Honors Major
Acceptance Criteria
Students undertaking to pursue honors in philosophy should have B+ grades in philosophy courses and a B+ average overall. The opinions of the
philosophy faculty concerning the philosophical ability of students weigh heavily in borderline cases.
Only students who have already completed two philosophy courses will be considered for admission to the Honors Program.
Philosophy students changing their program from honors to course (or course to honors) must do so by the end of the add/drop period of the fall
term of senior year.
Preparations
Students will normally prepare for external examination in a given field in philosophy by completing a double-credit seminar at Swarthmore.
With the approval of the department, it is possible to combine one-credit courses or attachments, taken either at Swarthmore or elsewhere, to
form a preparation. With the approval of the department, a double-credit thesis may be counted as one preparation and submitted to an
examiner.
Requirements
Honors majors will register for one-credit of Seniors Honors Study in philosophy during the spring term of their senior year. Senior Honors
Study does not count toward fulfilling the eight credit requirement for the major. External examiners will set questions and specify additional
readings (3-4 articles or book chapters) for each preparation that is to be examined. These questions will be available to students by the end of
the fall term. Honors majors will choose one question for each preparation.
Senior Honors Study
Honors majors will then produce for each preparation an independent essay of no more than 4,000 words in response to the question they have
chosen.
It is expected that these essays will demonstrate initiative in engaging with problems and texts and that they will develop lines of argumentation
beyond what is normally expected of papers produced for seminar discussion. The preparation of the essays will not be supervised by members of
the faculty. Conversation among students who are preparing these essays is encouraged, but each student must produce an independent, original
essay. The essays must be submitted to the department to be sent to the external examiners by the beginning of the written examination period.
There will be no further written examination of preparations beyond these independent essays. An examiner will conduct a 60 minute oral
examination for each preparation on both the independent essay and the materials considered in the preparation (typically all the materials listed
on the syllabus for the related seminar).
Honors Minor
Requirements
Honors minors must complete six credits of work in philosophy. Minors in philosophy will register for 0.5 credit of Senior Honor Study in the
spring term of their senior year. Senior Honors Study does not count toward satisfying the six credit requirement for the minor.
Senior Honors Study
Students will prepare one independent, original essay of no more than 4,000 words in response to a question set by an external examiner (as
above with majors). An external examiner will conduct a 60 minute oral examination on both the independent essay and the materials considered
in the preparation (typically all the materials listed on the syllabus for the related seminar).
Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor
Follow the process described by the Dean's Office and the Registrar's Office for how to apply for a major. Submit application, with transcript,
plan of study, and if applicable, honors application.
Transfer students will be deferred until they have obtained at least 1 philosophy credit from Swarthmore.
Students who are deferred may apply again after addressing the reason(s) for being deferred.
Off-Campus Study
With prior approval from the Chair, a student may take philosophy courses abroad for a semester or year and have them count both toward a
major and as part of an Honors Program. Courses abroad do not, however, always fit neatly into a philosophy major and are not always suitable
for full course credit. Full consultation with the Chair about study abroad is essential for constructing a viable program.
Deadlines
Students wishing to add a major or minor in Philosophy must do so by the end of the add/drop period of the fall term of the senior year.
Philosophy students changing their program from course to honors (or honors to course) must do so by the end of the add/drop period of the fall
term of the senior year.
Philosophy honors students must declare their honors preparations by the end of the add/drop period of the fall term of senior year.
Philosophy students wishing to drop an honors major or minor must do so by the end of the add/drop period of the fall term of the senior year.
Philosophy students wishing to drop a course major or minor after the add/drop period of the fall term of the senior year should speak to the
chair of the department.
Philosophy Courses
PHIL 001A. Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Agency
What ought I to do? What are the demands of morality? What is their basis (if there is one)? Can values conflict and if yes, what can we do about
that? What is freedom of the will and do we enjoy it? What can we know? Nothing? What is knowledge anyway? How can we understand
consciousness? Can some machines think? Can the mind be outside the head? How can we or anything remain the same through change? Is
there a self? Why is there something rather than nothing? Is death bad? Can life be meaningful or is it absurd? These are fundamental
philosophical questions. We will deal with them by reading and discussing some classical but mostly contemporary philosophical texts.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Baumann.
Spring 2023. Baumann.
Fall 2023. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 001C. Introduction to Philosophy: Truth and Desire
How can or should we distinguish what is true about life from what we want from life? How can or should the pursuit of truth relate to our
passions, our self-interests, the machinations of social power, and our highest aspirations as human beings? How do unquestioned assumptions
inform what we perceive, believe, and desire, and how might investigating these assumptions shift or affirm our perspectives and instigate new
approaches, or give fresh impetus to current approaches, to the problems we face? In this course we will take a chronological look at the distinct
world-views of philosophers like Plato, Descartes, and Nietzsche, and then look at the perspectives of some contemporary theorists, in order to
ask ourselves questions about when and how we know something to be true, what it is that we desire and why, and how revealing the assumptions
we take for granted might affect our perceptions of both.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 001D. Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and the World
"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth-more than ruin, more than even death." Bertrand Russell believed that education's primary
goal should be to instill in students not only the ability to seek knowledge, but also the desire for it, the joy of it, and the appreciation of its power.
For Russell, this was also an essential component of philosophy. In this course, we will investigate the quest for knowledge itself: what are we
looking for and how should we be looking for it? We will read some of the canonical answers to these questions as well as some answers that are
not so canonical. We will ask what knowledge is, what kinds of knowledge we can have, and what it is exactly that we can know.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 001F. Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Problems
Classical and current readings by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Russell, Lewis '62 introduce the traditions of Western
Philosophy. Topics may include: God and Evil, Knowledge and Belief, Life and Mind, Morality and Interests, Taste and Aesthetic Judgment,
Personal and Bodily Identity.
Humanities
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 001G. Introduction to Philosophy: Rationality and Religious Belief
Does God exist? Is human nature good? How do we make sense of all the terrible suffering in the world? Is the "self" an illusion? Can there be
reasonable religious disagreement? This course provides a cross-cultural introduction to some of the central questions and arguments in the
philosophy of religion, spanning both western and non-western traditions, theistic and non-theistic traditions.
Students will have the opportunity to reexamine their own views and assumptions about religion in dialogue with great thinkers from diverse
cultural and historical backgrounds.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Picascia.
Spring 2023. Picascia.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 001H. Introduction to Philosophy: Personal Identity and the Self
This course examines a wide range of interrelated questions surrounding our sense of self and personal identity through time. In particular, it
centers on the following questions: What it the nature of the self? Is the self an illusion? What does it take for me to persist through time? Can I
survive my bodily death? What are the practical and moral implications of our conception of personal identity? In addressing these
questions, this course aims to cross borders between philosophical traditions coming
from different parts of the world, different time periods, and different disciplinary
affiliations. Students will have the opportunity to foster new ways of thinking about
perennial philosophical puzzles in dialogue with greater thinkers from diverse cultural
and historical backgrounds.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Picascia.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 001J. Introduction to Philosophy: Self, Community, and Justice
What does it mean to exist as a "self" within the context of the
world, history, and community? How is the "self" shaped by a
community? Why do some social practices cause oppression? How
do we build a conceptual framework to make sense of the various
facets of oppression? Do we owe a duty to one another? What are
the foundations of justice? This course is a survey of some of the
most central issues in moral and social philosophy. The first half of
the course addresses foundations in ethical theory as well as the
epistemic dimensions of oppression. In the remainder of the
course, we will investigate moral issues pertaining to community
and justice, with a focus on topics such as gender, race, sexuality,
and more. The goals of this course are to help you develop your
own ethically justified and defendable views on these topics and
gain an understanding of our broader socio-political situatedness.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lumba.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 003. First-Year Seminar: The Meaning of Life
What is the meaning of life? Isn't this question too big for us? Do we even understand the question? This course will engage critically with
several philosophical attempts to make sense of this fundamental question; we will discuss different answers to it. More specifically, we will deal
with questions like the following: Can life have a meaning only if there is a God? Isn't life just absurd? Is there anything that really matters? Is
death a problem for the attempt to lead a meaningful life? (and wouldn't immortality be a good alternative?) What is the role of purpose,
purposes and plans in our lives? Is a meaningful life a happy life? What role do values and goals play in a meaningful life? And, finally: What is
a good life?
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Baumann.
Fall 2022. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 005. First-Year Seminar: Human Nature
Who are we? Who are we becoming? Who could we become? Are we masters of the universe, coparticipants in a larger whole, or instigators of
an out-of-control path to destruction? We will read classic conceptions of human nature drawn from philosophers like Plato, Descartes,
Rousseau, Kant, and Nietzsche, as well as contemporary theorists, to consider the implications high-tech living and advances in scientific
research might hold for how we reconceive ourselves and our future.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Lorraine.
Fall 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 006. First-Year Seminar: Life, Mind, and Consciousness
Ancient Greek philosophical approaches to the nature and value of life; modern philosophical problems that arise with 17th Century science of
mind and body; and Contemporary philosophical issues that center on consciousness introduce the literature of Western philosophy of mind in
the format of weekly seminars.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Raff.
Fall 2023. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 010. First-Year Seminar: Questions of Inquiry
A chronological introduction to perennial philosophical problems through readings that center on inquiry in the theories and practices
of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Lewis '62, and Kripke, among others. Problems include philosophical questions that
arise in science, morality, religion and in philosophy itself. Weekly writing assignments advance the skills of reading philosophical literature.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Raff.
Fall 2022. Raff.
Fall 2023. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 011. Moral Philosophy
'What should I do?' This question is as old as philosophy itself. Just as it is one of the oldest and most complex philosophical puzzles, it also
frequently occupies the minds of individuals in their day-to-day lives. In this course, we will focus on both ways of approaching this question.
From the philosophical direction, we will discuss the ways in which philosophers have attempted to understand and describe our moral beliefs
and commitments. From the practical direction, we will ask ourselves what it means to ascribe to these moral theories and how we might be able
to actually live them.
PEAC eligible only when taught by PHIL instructor K. Thomason. Eligible with arranged assignment and by obtaining instructor and program
coordinator written approval before drop/add period ends.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001 -PHIL 010, or PHIL 012A, before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC only when taught by PHIL instructor K. Thomason.
Spring 2024. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 012. Logic
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. The place of
logic in philosophy will aslo be examined.
Logic is required for all philosophy majors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 012A. Logic
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. The place of
logic in different areas of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, will also be examined.
Recommended for students with a strong mathematics or computer science background, and for non-freshmen who have taken no prior
philosophy courses.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Baker.
Fall 2023. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 012B. Logic
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. This course will
cover the same amount of formal logic as PHIL 012A, but with less additional philosophical material, so that more time can be devoted to
mastering the technical and formal apparatus.
Prerequisite: Recommended for students who are intending to major or minor in Philosophy, and for non-freshmen who have taken at least one
prior Philosophy course. Required of all philosophy majors, unless they have taken PHIL 012A previously.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Baker.
Fall 2023. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 013. Modern Philosophy
Philosophical topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and moral theory selected from masterpieces of 17th and 18th-century authors Descartes,
Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Reid, and Kant.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Raff.
Spring 2024. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 015. Special Topics: Kant: Critique of Pure Reason
Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is not only a philosophical classic but also still frames current
debates in metaphysics and epistemology. This course is dedicated to a close reading of core
parts of the Critique. Main topics include: Kant's defense of substantial a priori knowledge, his
theories of space and time, his doctrine of the categories and a corresponding view of the world,
his view that human knowledge is limited in basic ways, his doctrine of transcendental idealism,
and his approach to traditional problems of metaphysics.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 016. Philosophy of Religion
(Cross-listed as RELG 015B)
Searching for wisdom about the meaning of life? Curious as to whether there is a God? Questioning the nature of truth and falsehood? Right and
wrong? You might think of philosophy of religion as your guide to the universe. This course considers Anglo-American and Continental
philosophical approaches to religious thought using different disciplinary perspectives; it is a selective overview of the history of philosophy with
special attention to the religious dimensions of many contemporary thinkers' intellectual projects. Topics include rationality and belief, proofs for
existence of God, the problem of evil, moral philosophy, biblical hermeneutics, feminist revisionism, postmodernism, and interreligious dialogue.
Thinkers include, among others, Anselm, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kant, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Levinas, Weil, and Abe.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, INTP
Spring 2022. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 018. Philosophy of Science
See PHIL 119
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 020. Plato and His Modern Readers
(Cross-listed as CLAS 020)
Plato's dialogues are complex works that require literary as well as philosophical analysis. While our primary aim will be to develop
interpretations of the dialogues themselves, we will also view Plato through the lens of various modern and postmodern interpreters (e.g.,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Jung, Foucault, Irigaray, Rorty, Lacan, Nussbaum, Vlastos)
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, INTP
Spring 2023. Ledbetter.
Fall 2023. Ledbetter.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 021. Social and Political Philosophy
In this seminar, we will examine in-depth philosophical approaches to the theory and practice of law. We begin with the classical theoretical
questions. We cover the foundations of law as explained through legal positivism, natural law, and critical legal theory. We examine the roles of
lawmakers, citizens, and judges. We then move to questions with a more practical dimension. We discuss the foundation for criminal law and
punishment as well as issues of racism and sexism in law. Other topics include individual rights, paternalism, policing, privacy, and
technologyThe focus of this course is to explore the relationship between the individual and the state. We will examine three different conceptions
of individuals and the three different theories of the state to which they give rise: political realism, political liberalism, and critical political
theory. First we examine the historical foundations of these three theories. Then we will read contemporary work on particular issues in order to
draw out the implications of the three frameworks. We will see how each framework deals with questions about censorship, personal liberty, civil
disobedience, and national security.
PEAC eligible with the approval of the instructor.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2023. TBD.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 023. Metaphysics
God, Freedom, and Immortality introduce the traditional metaphysical problems that raise specific issues about causation, necessity, and
personal identity, as well as some more general, no less challenging problems of reality and its categories. Fortunately, we are aided by
burgeoning current work on all these issue as well as by classical and early modern sources.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 024. Theory of Knowledge
This course selects key texts in the theory of knowledge by epistemologists such as Socrates, Plato, Sextus Empircus, Hume, Moore, and
Wittgenstein on topics that include that nature and extent of human knowledge, disagreement, faith, and self-knowledge, among others.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2023. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 029. Philosophy of Nature
(Cross-listed as ENVS 048)
The question of how we conceive of nature and our relationship to it is one that has become increasingly pressing as we deal with environmental
issues that are rapidly reaching a critical point. There has been a resurgence of interest in views like process philosophy-a view that suggests
that unless we take interconnected becoming into account we cannot explain the novelty of life; panpsychism-a view that suggests that
consciousness may be a fundamental component of the universe rather than an emergent effect of brains; biosemiotics-a view that suggests that
even at the level of cells and unicellular organisms life operates through meaning-making rather than merely as mechanisms; and "new"
materialism-a view that suggests that even matter instead of being viewed as inert could be conceived as having a kind of agency of its own.
These views, among others, in updated forms that take up again questions silenced at earlier points in time in new contexts-along with cross-
cultural views that have never succumbed to the Western binaries of nature/culture, human/animal, and self/other-in light of the radical
challenges facing us, are rich resources for rethinking our relationship to nature in ways that could foster the kind of shifts in self-understanding
and investment in our relations to others and our surroundings that we need to survive.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 030. Buddhist Philosophy
This course explores some of the central arguments and debates in Indian Buddhist philosophy from the second to the eleventh centuries. Topics
include the problem of human suffering, the existence of the self and the external world, the nature and source of mental content, epistemological
skepticism, moral responsibility, and the problem of other minds. Students will have the opportunity to reconstruct and critically analyze the
arguments of Buddhist philosophers in their historical contexts, as well as ask what we can learn from them today.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Fall 2022. Picascia.
Fall 2023. Picascia.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 031. Advanced Logic
A survey of various technical and philosophical issues arising from the study of deductive logical systems. Topics are likely to include extensions
of classical logic (e.g., the logic of necessity and possibility [modal logic], the logic of time [tense logic], etc.); alternatives to classical logic
(e.g., intuitionistic logic, paraconsistent logic); metatheory (e.g., soundness, compactness, Gödel's incompleteness theorem); philosophical
questions (e.g., What distinguishes logic from non-logic? Could logical principles ever be revised in the light of empirical evidence?).
Prerequisite: PHIL 012A or PHIL 012B
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2024. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 035. Environmental Ethics
Environmental ethics deals with normative moral and political questions and issues concerning the environment. Here are some questions we
will examine. Who counts in environmental ethics: only humans, all animals, plants, too, or all forms of life, even ecosystems? Should species,
natural habitats, or wilderness be preserved for their own sake? What ethical questions does climate change raise and how could and should we
answer them? How should we think about our relation to nature and our use of technology in general?
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 037. Contemporary Political Philosophy
(Cross-listed as POLS 037)
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Thakker.
Fall 2023. Thakker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 038. Origins of Indic Thought
Cross-listed as CLST 28
Origins of Indic Thought is designed to give students a foundation in various major philosophical schools that have emerged in the Indian
subcontinent by studying their origin stories. These schools include Buddhism, Jainism, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Sikhism.
Students will learn the fundamental arguments that each school makes and understand the ongoing conversation between the various schools
about the nature of and relationship between the Self, the World, and God.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA.
Fall 2023. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 039. Existentialism
In this course, we will examine existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus to explore themes
of contemporary European philosophy, including the self, responsibility and authenticity, and the relationships between body and mind, fantasy
and reality, and literature and philosophy.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 040. Semantics
(Cross-listed as LING 040)
Note: This is not a writing course for PHIL.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 041. Peace and Political Philosophy
(Cross-listed as PEAC 41)
How might we establish a peaceful world? What is the relationship between peace, justice, and individual rights? Can war ever be justified and,
if so, under what circumstances? How can societies that have experienced violent conflict transition into peace? This course examines these
questions from the perspective of political philosophy. We will ask what a peaceful world might look like and what would be required to bring it
about.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC.
Fall 2023. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 042. Descartes in Contemporary Philosophy
Responses to Descartes' early modern philosophical innovations include basic contemporary work in philosophy of mind, epistemology,
philosophy of religion, and metaphysics. Readings from Frege, Russell, Moore, Husserl, Ryle, Wittgenstein, Kripke, Plantinga, Stroud and others.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Fall 2021. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 044. Epistemology without Borders
The guiding question of this course is: What should we believe? In thinking about this question, we will look at some of the major debates in both
Western epistemology and classical Indian epistemology on the nature of knowledge, doubt and skepticism, and the significance of disagreement.
Some of the sub-questions we will address are as follows: What are the sources of knowledge? What do we have reason to doubt? How do we
acquire knowledge from what other people tell us? How, if at all, should we adjust previously-held beliefs upon learning that others disagree
with us?
Students will be encouraged to think creatively about their own answers to the central questions in the theory of knowledge, while appreciating
the influential answers coming from a diversity of voices and perspectives in the history of philosophy.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one course in PHIL 001-PHIL 010, or PHIL 012A, before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Picascia.
Spring 2023. Picascia.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 049. Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
This course will examine the work of three 19th century "philosophers of suspicion" who instigated modern exploration into what conditions our
reality, thus raising questions about how the embodied, human subject emerges out of and experiences a social reality that informs the subject in
specific ways. Their investigations into one's understanding of reality as impacted by class position (Marx), one's understanding of truth as the
effect of will-to-power (Nietzsche), and consciousness as the effect of unconscious forces (Freud) provide an important background to
contemporary questions about he nature of reality, human identity, and social power.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, GMST
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 051. Human Rights and Atrocities
Are there such things as human rights? If so, where do they come from and how are they best conceived? What should we do when they are
violated? This course examines the theoretical underpinnings of human rights. To try to understand and answer these questions, we will read
traditional philosophical arguments and accounts of human rights in addition to philosophical examinations of atrocities like genocide. We will
then use the philosophical works to examine specific historical examples of human rights violations such as genocide, war rape, and apartheid.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 052. Bioethics
Advances in medicine and biological research have no doubt contributed both to the body of human knowledge and to the advances of modern
life. But these great strides are accompanied by serious ethical questions and those questions are the topic of this course. We will approach
issues in bioethics from two perspectives. First, we will grapple with the ethical issues themselves, such as the use of human subjects in
experimentation, physician-assisted suicide, and the rights of reproduction (among many others). Second, we will examine these issues at the
level of policy: what can doctors, patients, researchers, and lawmakers actually do about any of these issues and how do we go about making
those hard choices?
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 069. Phenomenology-Then and Now
In this course we will look at classic figures in phenomenology like Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty, along with contemporary theorists,
in order to investigate the kind of light descriptions of the lived experience of specifically human bodies in all their variations might shed
on questions we face in the 21st century about what it means to be human (as opposed to, say, non-human life or artificial
intelligence), embodied cognition, interdependent living and environmental change.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2021. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 079. Poststructuralism
This course will examine poststructuralist thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze in light of contemporary questions about identity,
embodiment, the relationship between self and other, and ethics.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 086. Philosophy of Mind
Main issues in current philosophical theories of mind and consciousness include varieties of Dualism (Chalmers, Jackson), Behaviorism (Ryle),
Identity theories (Smart, Block), Functionalism (Putnam, Dennett), Theories of Representation (Harman '60, Rosenthal), and others.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 089. Philosophy and Speculative Fiction
In a world where technology and our relations to our surroundings are rapidly changing, time itself can appear to be speeding up. Especially
when events appear to be spinning out of our control, this can be disconcerting. In this course, we will consider different conceptions of time and
the human along with their implications for how we experience our world, the parameters of reality, our mental health, and the future of the
human race. We will read and watch classics in speculative fiction (taken in its broad sense as including, for example, science fiction, fantasy,
and superhero fiction-although probably no horror fiction--in various forms including text and film) as well as more recent work alongside an
exploration of philosophical texts on time, reality, consciousness, embodiment, what makes us human, and how we can adapt to swiftly changing
circumstances in order to stretch our minds about what is and what could be for humanity in a time of change.
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 093. Directed Reading
Requires approval of a department faculty member sponsor.
Humanities.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 096. Senior Course Thesis
Requires approval of a department faculty member sponsor and the department.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 099. Senior Course Study
Required for all philosophy course majors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Seminars
PHIL 101. Moral Philosophy
This seminar focuses on one of the age-old questions in philosophy: what is the right thing to do? We start with an in-depth look at some of the
major historical figures in moral philosophy: Aristotle, Kant, Hume, and Mill. We then introduce critiques and alternatives to these major
theories (from feminist ethics) and critiques of moral philosophy as a whole (from Nietzsche). We then move into contemporary discussions of
responsibility, practical reason, moral emotions, and moral skepticism.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 102. Ancient Philosophy
For the Greeks and Romans, philosophy was a way of life and not merely an academic discipline. With this perspective in mind, we will examine
topics in ethics, metaphysics, aesthetics, epistemology, and theology through close readings of Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nichomachean
Ethics. We will also look more briefly at the thought of the Presocratics and the Stoics.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CLST
Fall 2022. Ledbetter.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 103. Selected Modern Philosophers
One or more philosophers or philosophical works of the 17
th
and 18
th
Centuries selected for systematic treatment. Most recently: Descartes's
Meditations selected for systematic exploration of Descartes's seminal contributions to modern and contemporary epistemology, philosophy of
mind, and philosophical theology. Additional readings from early modern and commentary commentators and critics, including Kant, Brentano,
Russell, Ryle, Wittgenstein, among others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Raff.
Spring 2024. Raff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 104. Topics in Metaphysics
Traditional metaphysical issues about God, Freedom, and Immortality raise specific issues about, among others, causation, modality, and
personal identity, as well as some more general, no less challenging problems of ontology and its categories. The metaphysicians include
Parmenides and Heraclitus (change), Plato and Aristotle (reality), Anselm and Aquinas (God), Descartes and Locke (selves), and our
contemporaries Kripke and Lewis'62 (modality), Jon Shaffer and Karen Bennett (ontology).
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 113. Topics in Epistemology
What is knowledge? Can we have it? If not, why not? If yes, how? What does it mean to have evidence, justification or reasons for ones beliefs?
How rational or irrational are we? Can we have a priori, "armchair" knowledge? Is cognition essentially social? We will discuss classic and
contemporary answers to such questions.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2022. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 116. Language and Meaning
(Cross-listed as LING 116 )
Language is an excellent tool for expressing and communicating thoughts. You can let your friend know that there will probably be fewer than 25
trains from Elwyn to Gladstone next Wednesday - but could you do this without using language (have you tried?)? Even more interesting is the
question how you can do this using language. How can the sounds I produce or the marks that I leave on this sheet of paper be about the dog
outside chasing the squirrel? How can words refer to things and how can sentences be true or false? Where does meaning come from?
Philosophy has dealt with such questions for a long time but it was only a bit more than 100 years ago that these questions have taken center
stage in philosophy. We will read and discuss such more recent authors, starting with the „classics" Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein and leading
up to authors like Austin, Carnap, Grice, Kripke, Putnam, Quine and Strawson.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 118. Philosophy of Mind
The course is divided into three principal sections, focusing on philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Section 1 covers
four core positions in the philosophy of mind "dualism, behaviorism, materialism, and functionalism," and it serves as an overview of traditional
philosophy of mind. Section 2 explores how the philosophical ideas developed above connect to ongoing research in artificial intelligence.
Section 3 concerns the philosophy of cognitive science, a field that investigates the biological and neurophysiological underpinnings of human
mentality. Part of the aim is to clarify the goals and methods of cognitive science and to investigate ways in which advances in cognitive science
may yield philosophical insights into the nature of mind.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 119. Philosophy of Science
A study of philosophical problems arising out of the presuppositions, methods, and results of the natural sciences, focusing particularly on the
effectiveness of science as a means for obtaining knowledge. Topics include the difference between science and pseudoscience; the idea that we
can "prove" or "confirm" scientific theories; explanation and prediction; the status of scientific methodology as rational, objective, and value
free; and the notion that science aims to give us (and succeeds in giving us) knowledge of the underlying unobservable structure of the world.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2024. Baker.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 135. Topics in Indian Philosophy
In this seminar, we will engage with some of the great debates in Indian philosophy. We will situate these debates in their historical contexts and
inquire into what we can learn from them today. Topics include the sources of knowledge, the nature of persons and consciousness, the
metaphysics of momentariness, the nature and meaning of language, and moral motivation.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 139. Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Poststructuralism
In this course, we will examine the themes of reality, truth, alienation, authenticity, death, desire, and human subjectivity as they emerge in
contemporary European philosophy. We will consider thinkers such as Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, Irigaray, and Deleuze to place
contemporary themes of poststructuralist thought in the context of the phenomenological and existential tradition out of which they emerge.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP, GMST
Spring 2023. Lorraine.
Fall 2023. Lorraine.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 155. Philosophy of Law
In this seminar, we will examine in-depth philosophical approaches to the theory and practice of law. We begin with the classical theoretical
questions. We cover the foundations of law as explained through legal positivism, natural law, and critical legal theory. We examine the roles of
lawmakers, citizens, and judges. We then move to questions with a more practical dimension. We discuss the foundation for criminal law and
punishment as well as issues of racism and sexism in law. Other topics include individual rights, paternalism, policing, privacy, and technology
Humanities.
2 credits.
Fall 2023. Thomason.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 180. Senior Honors Thesis
A thesis may be submitted by majors in the department in place of one honors paper, on application by the student and at the discretion of the
department.
Requires a department faculty member sponsor
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
PHIL 199. Senior Honors Study
Required of all philosophy honors students.
1 credit majors; 0.5 credit minors.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy
Physical Education and Athletics
Courses
Faculty
BRAD KOCH, Marian Ware Director of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation
VALERIE GÓMEZ, Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator
TOBIN ADAMS, Assistant Director of Athletics for Internal Operations
MAXWELL MILLER, Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation, Wellness, & Physical Education
KAREN BORBEE, Head Coach/Professor
JASON BOX, Head Coach/Instructor
TODD ANCKAITIS, Head Coach/Instructor
PETER CARROLL, Head Coach/Instructor
HARLEIGH CHWASTYK, Head Coach/Instructor
KARIN COLBY, Head Coach/Instructor
MELISSA FINLEY, Head Coach/Instructor
DAWN GRANT, Interim Head Coach/Instructor
PAT GRESS, Head Coach/Instructor
HANNAH R. HARRIS, Head Coach/Instructor
LANDRY KOSMALSKI, Head Coach/Instructor
JEREMY LOOMIS, Head Coach/Instructor
MATTHEW MIDKIFF, Head Coach/Instructor
ERIC WAGNER, Head Coach/Instructor
JIM HELLER, Head Coach (part time)
STEPHIE BERMAN, Administrative Coordinator
The aim of the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation is to contribute to the total education of all students through the
medium of physical activity. We believe this contribution can best be achieved through encouraging participation in a broad program of
individual and team sports, aquatics, physical fitness, and wellness. The program provides an opportunity for instruction and experience in a
variety of activities on all levels. It is our hope that participation in this program will foster an understanding of movement and the pleasure of
exercise and will enhance, by practice, qualities of good sportsmanship, leadership, and cooperation in team play. Students are also encouraged
to develop skill and interest in a variety of activities that can be enjoyed after graduation.
The Intercollegiate Athletics Program is comprehensive, including varsity with teams in 22 different sports: 10 for men and 12 for women.
Ample opportunities exist for large numbers of students to engage in intercollegiate competition, and those who qualify may be encouraged to
participate in regional and national championship contests. Several club teams in various sports are also organized, and a program of
intramural activities is sponsored.
Requirements and Recommendations
The Physical Education (PE) Requirement:
Students are encouraged to enjoy the instructional and recreational opportunities offered by the department throughout their college careers. As
a requirement for graduation, all nonveteran students, not excused for medical reasons, are required to complete 4 units of physical education by
the end of their sophomore year. In addition, all students must pass a survival swim test or complete one-quarter of aquatics instruction. The
course schedule for physical education can be found at this webpage through the Registrar's Office.
Click here for the registrar's guide to the PE requirement
For information regarding the Physical Education program, please contact:
Max Miller
Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation, Wellness, & Physical Education
Office: (610) 690-6845
Email: mmiller5@swarthmore.edu
Physical Education (PHED or PE) courses:
The department offers a broad curriculum in physical education. The course offerings include sport classes, fitness and recreational activities,
swimming and life skill programs. A detailed course description of the PE classes can be found here.
PE Dance courses:
The Dance Program offers a wide variety of technique courses in African, Ballet, Contact Improvisation, Flamenco, Kathak, Modern, Taiko, and
Tap. Dance classes may be used for academic or PE credit, but not both. Classes are awarded PE credit on a semester basis.
Intercollegiate Athletics:
The Intercollegiate Athletics Program is comprehensive, including varsity with teams in 22 different sports: 10 for men and 12 for women.
Members of Swarthmore College intercollegiate athletic teams are eligible to earn 2 PE units per traditional season of competition as awarded
by the Head Coach. PE credit is awarded after the completion of the traditional season. No PE credit is awarded for non-traditional seasons, ie.
spring soccer. Click here for the intercollegiate athletics teams.
Club Sports:
Swarthmore offers many opportunities for students to participate in a variety of sports at a competitive level through club sports. A club sport is a
chartered student organization that is run by students who have a common interest in a particular activity for competitive, recreational, or
instructional purposes. Team captains/club sport leaders are responsible for articulating guidelines and requirements as detailed in the club
sports handbook, including petitioning for PE credit. Click here for Club Sports Handbook. All inquiries about the Club Sports Program should
be directed to Max Miller, Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation, Wellness, & Physical Education. There will be no retroactive PE credit
given for club sport participation. Seven groups currently maintain club sport status:
Men's Badminton
Men's/Women's Fencing
Men's/Women's Rugby
Men's/Women's Ultimate Frisbee
Student Activity Groups (SAG):
A student activity group is a student-run organization supported by Student Government Organization and the Dean's Office. Student activity
group leaders are responsible for articulating guidelines and requirements, as directed by the Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation,
Wellness, & Physical Education, to certify the group's eligibility for PE credit. All inquiries about student activity groups and PE credit should
be directed to the Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation, Wellness, & Physical Education. There will be no retroactive PE credit given for
student activity group participation. The following chartered student activity groups are eligible for PE credit in an academic year:
Capoeira
Coed Outdoor Volleyball
Folk Dance
Men's Soccer
Squash
Swing Dance
Tango
Wing Chun Self-Defense Club
Registration:
Physical Education (PHED) courses are in the Course Schedule (under "P" for Physical Education) and PE Dance are in the Course Schedule
(under "D" for Dance). You register for these like any other course. Note that the add/drop period for PHED courses is only the FIRST week of
the semester.
Attendance:
Each student is expected to regularly attend and actively participate in class as well as keep the instructor informed in matters related to
attendance. Each student is expected to wear proper attire when participating in physical education classes, including, but not limited to the
following: sneakers, socks, and proper athletic attire.
Grading:
"1" = 1 PE unit is awarded for a quarter course completed satisfactorily.
"2" = 2 PE units are awarded for semester course completed satisfactorily.
"0" = no PE units awarded; the student has exceeded maximum allowed absences.
Modification to the PE Requirement:
To request a modification of the PE requirement students should contact the Office of Student Disability
Services (studentdisabilityservices@swarthmore.edu) and submit the required documentation as early as possible. Assistance in choosing
appropriate courses is available and in cases where appropriate activities are not available in the curriculum, a modified program may be
arranged individually through the PE Coordinator.
Independent Study
Independent study for physical education is not permitted.
Physical Education and Athletics Courses
Fall
Advanced Weight Lifting
Aerobic Fusion Fitness
Bowling
Cardio Tennis
Core Ball Training
Fitness Training
Swimming for Beginners
Swimming for Fitness
Swimming for Intermediates
Table Tennis
Tennis
Intermediate Tennis
Volleyball
Walk, Jog, Run
Wellness Seminar
Spring
Advanced Weight Training
Aerobic Fusion Fitness
Badminton
Bowling
Core Ball Training
Fitness Training
Pilates
Swimming for Beginners
Swimming for Fitness
Swimming for Intermediates
Tennis
Walk, Jog, Run
Wellness Seminar
Yoga
PE Dance Courses
These courses are offered through the Dance Department. See the Music and Dance: Dance section of the course catalog and the Swarthmore
College Schedule of Courses and Seminars for fall and spring PE dance course offerings.
Intercollegiate Athletics
Fall
Men's Cross Country
Women's Cross Country
Field Hockey
Men's Soccer
Women's Soccer
Women's Volleyball
Winter
Badminton
Men's Basketball
Women's Basketball
Men's Swimming
Women's Swimming
Men's Indoor Track
Women's Indoor Track
Spring
Baseball
Golf
Men's Lacrosse
Women's Lacrosse
Softball
Men's Tennis
Women's Tennis
Men's Outdoor Track
Women's Outdoor Track
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty
MICHAEL R. BROWN, Morris L. Clothier Professor of Physics
3
DAVID H. COHEN, Professor of Astronomy
3
CATHERINE H. CROUCH, Professor of Physics, and Chair
AMY LISA GRAVES, Walter Kemp Professor of Physics in the Natural Sciences
ERIC L. N. JENSEN, Professor of Astronomy
TRISTAN SMITH, Associate Professor of Physics
CACEY STEVENS BESTER, Assistant Professor of Physics
HILLARY L. SMITH, Assistant Professor of Physics
3
BENJAMIN D. GELLER, Assistant Professor of Physics
STEPHEN HACKLER, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics
NATALIA LEWANDOWSKA, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics
JESUS RIVERA, Visiting Assistant Professor of Astronomy
MARY ANN KLASSEN, Senior Laboratory Lecturer
KRISTEN RECINE, Laboratory Lecturer
PAUL JACOBS, Instrumentation Technician
STEVEN PALMER, Machine Shop Supervisor
CAROLYN WARFEL, Administrative Coordinator
1
Absent on leave, fall 2021
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022
The Physics and Astronomy Department teaches the concepts and methods that lead to an understanding of the fundamental laws governing the
physical universe.
Emphasis is placed on quantitative, analytical reasoning, as distinct from the mere acquisition of facts. Particular importance is also attached to
laboratory work because physics and astronomy are experimental and observational sciences.
Involvement in research is a major component in the education of scientists. The department offers a number of opportunities for students to
participate in original research projects, conducted by members of the faculty, on campus.
Several research laboratories are maintained by the department to support faculty interests in the areas of plasma physics, liquid crystals,
materials physics, granular media, and observational and theoretical astrophysics and cosmology.
The department operates the Peter van de Kamp Observatory for student and faculty research, plus several small telescopes for instructional use.
The observatory is equipped with a 61-cm reflecting telescope, a high-resolution spectrograph, and a CCD camera for imaging and photometry.
A monthly visitors' night at the observatory is announced on the department website.
Additional information is available at https://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy.
The Academic Program
In order to receive a degree from Swarthmore as a physics, astrophysics, or astronomy major, a student must have taken and satisfactorily
passed one of the programs described below. In the Physics and Astronomy Department, the seminar is the standard format for most junior and
senior level work. All prospective majors and minors in the department should realize this when planning programs. The seminars are open to all
students, both honors and course majors and minors.
First Course Recommendations
PHYS 005. Spacetime and Quanta introduces and explores in some depth special relativity and quantum mechanics - two key theories of modern
physics and astronomy. This course is intended as an entry point to the major track for both physics and astronomy, regardless of the degree of
high school physics and math preparation a first-year student has had. It also welcomes non-majors interested in learning this material at a
moderately mathematical level. For non-majors interested in a less mathematical course, Astronomy 1 is recommended.
In general, majors cannot replace Physics 005 (or most other major requirements) with AP credit or college courses taken during high school.
PHYS 003. General Physics I: Motion, Forces, and Energy is calculus-based and has a weekly lab. It is the entry point for a two-course physics
sequence required of engineering majors. Although most prospective majors start in Physics 005, if after taking Physics 003 you wish to consider
a major in our department, please speak to your instructor or to the department chair and we will be glad to discuss pathways for doing so.
PHYS 003L. General Physics I: Motion, Forces, and Energy with Biological and Medical Applications is calculus-based and has a weekly lab
and is the entry point for a two-course physics sequence intended for biology, pre-med, and chemistry students. It covers the same basic physical
ideas as Physics 003 but applies those ideas to systems of interest to those studying biology, medicine, or chemistry.
Students can get Swarthmore credit for Physics 3 from work done prior to college in either of two ways:
1) if a student scored a 5 on the physics AP exam (or a 6 to 7 on the IB exam) *and* they achieve the necessary score on the department's
placement test.
2) if a student achieves the necessary score on the department's longer, different test for credit.
The test for placement is available online; the test for credit must be taken in person on paper. The placement and credit tests are given the week
before classes start in the fall. Contact the department before winter break to request a test just before the start of the spring semester.
Core Programs
In the spirit of a liberal arts education, we believe that a physics, astrophysics, or astronomy major can be beneficial and stimulating to students
with a wide range of long-term interests and goals. The physics core curriculum and the astronomy core curriculum listed below both provide
excellent training in quantitative reasoning and independent problem solving, skills that are applicable in a wide variety of arenas (law,
medicine, science journalism, public policy). Since all of the fundamental areas are covered, the physics core curriculum is also excellent
preparation for a career in a scientific field related to physics, such as engineering or teaching physics in high school. The astronomy curriculum
is excellent preparation for teaching astronomy at the high school level, or working as a telescope operator or data analyst. Many students in our
department do double majors.
While the physics core curriculum is adequate preparation for graduate study in physics, students considering graduate school are encouraged to
take additional seminars. Most graduate programs in astronomy expect somewhat more physics preparation than the minimum listed in the
astronomy curriculum. Those considering graduate school in astronomy are encouraged to take as much additional physics as scheduling
permits, and ideally, to choose the astrophysics major listed below.
Physics Major Requirements
PHYS 005
PHYS 007
#
, PHYS 008
#
, PHYS 013*, PHYS 015*, PHYS 017*, and PHYS 018*
Three of PHYS 111, PHYS 112, PHYS 113, PHYS 114
A fourth 100-level PHYS or ASTR, or a full credit from some combination of journal club, directed reading, and/or research
PHYS 063, PHYS 081, PHYS 082 (Classes of 2022 and 2023: 082 is not required, though needed to earn a W)
†
MATH 015*, MATH 025, MATH 027 or MATH 028, MATH 033 or MATH 034
For students pursuing graduate study, all four of PHYS 111 through PHYS 114 will make the student's application particularly strong.
Astronomy Major Requirements
PHYS 005
PHYS 007
#
, PHYS 008
#
, PHYS 013
*
, PHYS 015
*
ASTR 014 or ASTR 016, ASTR 061
*
MATH 015*, MATH 025, MATH 033 or MATH 034
Four Astronomy seminars (can include upper-level astronomy courses at another TriCo school); or three plus both ASTR 014 and 016
Note:
* Half-credit course
#
In some cases, with permission from the department, PHYS 003 and/or PHYS 004 may be substituted for PHYS 007 and/or PHYS 008
†
PHYS 083 is an alternative to PHYS 081 and 082 for students to meet the advanced lab requirement if they will also take ENGR 072
Astrophysics Major Requirements
In addition to the Physics core requirements listed above:
ASTR 014 or ASTR 016
Two Astronomy 100-level offerings
Not required for Astrophysics major: PHYS 063, PHYS 081, and PHYS 082
Other Requirements
Seniors not in the Honors Program must complete a comprehensive exercise, which is intended both to encourage review and synthesis and to
allow students to demonstrate mastery of fundamentals studied during all four years. In addition, all students must satisfy the College distribution
requirements and the 20-course rule (except for special majors such as astrophysics or chemical physics, for whom the 20-course rule is waived).
Advanced Laboratory Program
In the junior and senior years, all physics majors must take PHYS 081 and PHYS 082. Enrollment in each of these laboratories will appear on
the student's transcript with a letter grade for 0.5 credit for each semester. PHYS 081, 082 together count as a "writing course" for collegiate
graduation requirements. Students with credit for ENGR 072 may replace PHYS 081, 082 with PHYS 083, which is an advanced lab experience
without an electronics component.
Applying for Majors
A student applying to become either a course major in physics or astronomy should have completed or be completing PHYS 005 and either PHYS
004 or PHYS 008. To be accepted as a major, the applicant must have received grades of C+ or better in Physics, Astronomy, and Math courses.
A student applying to become an honors physics major should have completed or be completing courses through PHYS 008, PHYS 013, PHYS
015, PHYS 017, PHYS 018. In addition, to be accepted into the course major, these courses must be completed with an average grade of C+ or
better. To be accepted into the Honors Program with a physics major, the average grade should be a B or better. Grades in math courses should
be at a similar level.
A student applying to become an astrophysics major in course or in honors should have completed or be completing PHYS 008, PHYS 013, PHYS
015, PHYS 017, PHYS 018, and ASTR 016 or ASTR 014. In addition, applicants for the Honors Program in either astrophysics or astronomy
must normally have an average grade in physics and astronomy courses of B or better.
Since almost all advanced work in physics and astronomy at Swarthmore is taught in seminars where the student participants share the
pedagogical responsibility, an additional consideration in accepting (retaining) majors is the presumed (demonstrated) ability of the students not
only to benefit from this mode of instruction but also to contribute positively to the seminars. Grades in prior courses are the best criteria in
admitting majors, since they tend to indicate reliably whether or not the student can handle advanced work at Swarthmore levels without being
overwhelmed. However, constructive participation in classes and laboratories is also considered.
Course Minor
Physics Minor Requirements
PHYS 005, PHYS 007
#
,
PHYS 008
#
PHYS 013*, PHYS 015*, PHYS 017*, and PHYS 018*, and
Two 100-level physics offerings, one "classical" (PHYS 111, PHYS 112 or appropriate elective) and one "modern" (PHYS 113, PHYS 114 or
appropriate elective).
Note: Using electives for the minor must be approved by the department.
MATH 015*, MATH 025, MATH 027 or MATH 028, MATH 033 or MATH 034
#
In some cases, PHYS 003 and/or PHYS 004 may be substituted for PHYS 007 and/or PHYS 008.
* Half-credit course
Astronomy Minor Requirements
PHYS 005, PHYS 007 or PHYS 003, PHYS 008 or PHYS 004,
PHYS 013*, PHYS 015*,
ASTR 014 or ASTR 016,
One Astronomy 100-level offering,
One semester of ASTR 061*,
MATH 015*, MATH 025, MATH 033 or MATH 034
* Half-credit course
Astrophysics Minor Requirements
PHYS 005, PHYS 007
#,
PHYS 008
#
,
PHYS 013*, PHYS 015*, PHYS 017*, PHYS 018*,
ASTR 014 or ASTR 016,
One Physics 100-level and one Astronomy 100-level offering
MATH 015, MATH 025, MATH 027 or MATH 028, and MATH 033 or MATH 034.
#
In some cases, PHYS 003 and/or PHYS 004 may be substituted for PHYS 007 and/or PHYS 008.
* Half-credit course
Honors Program
Honors Major Preparations
Honors majors must meet the requirements for the major as described above, and select three of the following preparations, plus their
prerequisites.
Physics: Electrodynamics (PHYS 112), Quantum Theory (PHYS 113), Statistical Physics (PHYS 114), Honors Thesis (PHYS 180 )
Note: In some cases, elective seminars may be used as physics honors preparations.
Astrophysics: Any of the seminars from the astronomy program, plus: Electrodynamics (PHYS 112), Quantum Theory (PHYS 113), Statistical
Physics (PHYS 114), Honors Thesis (ASTR 180)
Note: must include at least one seminar each from astronomy and physics.
Astronomy: Research Techniques in Observational Astronomy (ASTR 121), Stars and Stellar Structure (ASTR 123), The Interstellar Medium
(ASTR 126), Honors Thesis (ASTR 180 ).
Note: In some cases, elective seminars may be used as honors preparations.
Note: External examination for honors major programs includes two or three 3-hour written examinations on the chosen preparations, plus two
or three 30-45 minute oral examinations on the chosen preparations, plus one 45-60 minute oral examination on the honors thesis (for thesis
writers).
Honors Minor Preparations
Physics Minor: One of the following seminars PHYS 112, PHYS 113, PHYS 114
Astronomy or Astrophysics Minors: One of the following seminars ASTR 121, ASTR 123, ASTR 126
Note: External examination for honors minor programs includes one three-hour written examination on the chosen preparations, plus one 30-45
minute oral examination on the chosen preparations.
Research Opportunities
Independent Work
Physics, astrophysics, and astronomy majors are encouraged to undertake independent research projects, especially in the senior year, either in
conjunction with one of the senior seminars, or as a special project for separate credit (PHYS/ASTR 094). Members of the physics or astronomy
faculty are willing to suggest possible projects and to supervise one of these if the student chooses to pursue it. Students completing work under
PHYS/ASTR 094 are required to submit final written and oral reports of their work to the department. In preparation for independent
experimental work, prospective physics majors are strongly urged to take the required 0.5 credit course PHYS 063, Procedures in Experimental
Physics, during their fall semester of their sophomore year, which will qualify them to work in the departmental shops. There are usually many
opportunities for students to receive financial support to work with faculty members on research projects during the summer.
Thesis
Students may do a theoretical or experimental research thesis representing the results of independent work done under the supervision of a
faculty member. This thesis will usually cover work begun in the summer after the junior year and completed during the senior year. A thesis is
optional for all students in the Honors Program.
Off-Campus Study
With proper planning, study away from Swarthmore for one or two semesters is possible while majoring in physics, astronomy, or astrophysics.
However, the sequential nature of the Physics and Astronomy curricula makes careful planning for study abroad a necessity. The important point
is to begin planning at an early stage. This allows students (1) to make sure courses not available abroad are taken at Swarthmore, and (2) to
find out well in advance what physics and astronomy courses are available in the various study abroad programs. With careful planning, it is
completely feasible to complete a physics major without taking physics abroad (e.g. if one is studying in a non-English-speaking country).
Teacher Certification
We offer teacher certification in physics through a program approved by the state of Pennsylvania. For further information about the relevant set
of requirements, contact the Educational Studies Department chair, the Physics Department chair, or visit the Educational Studies Department
website at www.swarthmore.edu/educationalstudies.xml.
Physics Courses
PHYS 001C. Climate Change: Science and Responses
(Cross-Listed with ENVS 010)
A study of the complex interplay of factors influencing conditions on the surface of the Earth. Basic concepts from geology, oceanography, and
atmospheric science lead to an examination of how the Earth's climate has varied in the past, what changes are occurring now, and what the
future may hold. Besides environmental effects, the economic, political, and ethical implications of global warming are explored, including
possible ways to reduce climate change.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Eric Bell.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 002E. First-Year Seminar: Energy
This seminar will cover both the physics and policy of energy in all its forms. Topics include the physical basis for energy; thermodynamics and
engines; energy sources (fossil fuels, solar, photovoltaics, nuclear); transportation; the electric grid; and climate change.
Prerequisite: High school algebra.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 003. General Physics I
Topics include vectors, kinematics, Newton's laws and dynamics, conservation laws, work and energy, oscillatory motion, systems of particles,
and rigid body rotation. Possible additional topics are special relativity and thermodynamics.
Prerequisite: (or Concurrently) MATH 015
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Lewandowska.
Fall 2022. Lewandowska.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 003L. General Physics I: Motion, Forces, and Energy with Biological and Medical Applications
This course discusses the topics from the first semester of introductory physics with the greatest biological, biochemical, and medical relevance,
namely motion, forces (both statics and dynamics), torques (primarily statics), work, conservation of energy and momentum, oscillations, fluid
statics and dynamics, and thermal and statistical phenomena. A core goal is to develop connections between physics and the other sciences. The
course addresses the appropriate medical school competencies in conjunction with PHYS 004L.
Prerequisite: MATH 015 (may be taken concurrently).
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Hackler.
Fall 2022. Hackler.
Fall 2023. Crouch.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 004. General Physics II
Topics include wave phenomena, geometrical and physical optics, electricity and magnetism, and direct and alternating current circuits. Possible
additional topics may be added.
Prerequisite: PHYS 003 or the permission of the instructor.
Corequisite: MATH 025 or equivalent.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Lewandowska.
Spring 2023. Lewandowska.
Spring 2024. H. Smith
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 004L. General Physics II: Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics with Biochemical and Biomedical
Applications
PHYS 004L will cover the same topics as PHYS 004 but will emphasize biological, biochemical, and medical applications of those topics. The
course will meet medical school requirements (in conjunction with PHYS 003 or PHYS 003L) and will include a weekly laboratory. Students who
wish to take PHYS 004L before PHYS 003 or PHYS 003L must have some high school physics background and obtain permission from the
instructor.
Prerequisite: MATH 015 or a more advanced calculus course; PHYS 003 or PHYS 003L or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Geller.
Spring 2023. Geller.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 005. Spacetime and Quanta
This course presents an introduction to the twin pillars of contemporary physics: relativity and quantum theory. Students will explore the
counterintuitive consequences of special relativity for our understanding of space and time, and the nature of the subatomic quantum world,
where our notions of absolute properties such as position or speed of a particle are replaced by probabilities. It is the usual entry point to
majoring or minoring in astronomy, astrophysics, or physics, and is a pre or co-requisite for the sophomore-level physics major curriculum; it
welcomes both non-majors and prospective majors who are interested in engaging rigorously and deeply with both the mathematical and
conceptual descriptions of physics.
Not eligible for NSEP credit.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Geller and Smith, T.
Fall 2022. Jensen and Geller
Fall 2023. T. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 007. Introductory Mechanics
An introduction to classical mechanics. This course is suitable for potential majors, as well as students in other sciences or engineering who
would like a course with more mathematical rigor and depth than PHYS 003. Includes the study of kinematics and dynamics of point particles;
conservation principles involving energy, momentum and angular momentum; rotational motion of rigid bodies, and oscillatory motion.
Lab used for hands-on experimentation and occasionally for workshops that expand on lecture material.
Prerequisite: MATH 025 and PHYS 005 or permission of the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Graves.
Fall 2022. H. Smith.
Fall 2023. H. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 008. Electricity, Magnetism, and Waves
A sophisticated introductory treatment of wave and electric and magnetic phenomena, such as oscillatory motion, forced vibrations, coupled
oscillators, Fourier analysis of progressive waves, boundary effects and interference, the electrostatic field and potential, electrical work and
energy, D.C. and A.C. circuits, the relativistic basis of magnetism, Maxwell's equations, and geometrical optics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 007 (or permission of instructor); MATH 033 or MATH 034 (can be taken concurrently).
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Includes one laboratory weekly.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Crouch.
Spring 2023. Rivera.
Spring 2024. T. Smith
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 008S. Electricity, Magnetism, and Waves - Intensive
An alternate pathway through the material covered by Physics 008 (electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetic waves), but beginning with a
more concrete, physical approach and moving to a more abstract approach after laying an initial foundation. Students will participate in the
Physics 004 course meetings and laboratories during the first nine weeks of the semester, which are devoted to electricity and magnetism,
supplemented by once-per-week hour-long meetings with the Physics 008S instructor to apply multivariable calculus to the material covered that
week. During the last five weeks, Physics 008S students will receive their own instruction in the remaining topics covered in Physics 008, and will
participate in the Physics 008 laboratories. Physics 008S will reach the same final point as Physics 008, thereby providing equivalent
preparation for Physics 112 and other advanced physics and astrophysics courses.
Recommended for students concurrently enrolled in multivariable calculus, and/or for those who have had very little exposure to electricity and
magnetism in previous (high school) physics classes.
Permission of the instructor is required to enroll.
Weekly out-of-class meetings will be scheduled after registration, taking all students' schedules into account.
Prerequisite: PHYS 007, MATH 025, and permission of instructor
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 013. Thermodynamics / Statistical Mechanics
A half-semester introductory course in thermal and statistical physics. Topics include energy, heat, work, entropy, temperature (the First, Second
and "Third" Laws of Thermodynamics), heat capacity, ideal gases, paramagnetism, phase transitions, and the chemical potential. This course
serves as a prerequisite for PHYS 114 and for PHYS 135.
Prerequisite: MATH 015
Corequisite: MATH 025
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Bester.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. H. Smith
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 015. Optics
A half-semester introduction to geometric and wave optics, including ray diagrams, matrix optics, polarization, Jones matrices, interference, and
diffraction.
Prerequisite: single-variable calculus MATH 025 is/can be taken as a corequisite.
Lab required.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Bester.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Bester.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 017. Mathematical Methods of Physics
A half-semester survey of mathematical techniques useful in physics. Topics include eigenvalue problems, Fourier analysis, solutions to ordinary
and partial differential equations, special functions, the theory of residues, and numerical methods.
Prerequisite: linear algebra (MATH 027, MATH 028; corequisite: multivariable calculus (MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035).
Lab required.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Graves.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 018. Quantum Mechanics
A half-semester introductory course in quantum mechanics. Topics include waves, photons, the Schrodinger equation, Dirac notation, one-
dimensional potentials, quantized angular momentum, and central potentials. This course serves as a prerequisite for PHYS 113.
Prerequisite: PHYS 005, PHYS 017, and MATH 027
Corequisite: Multivariable calculus (MATH 033, MATH 034, or MATH 035)
Lab required.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Hackler.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 093. Directed Reading
This course provides an opportunity for an individual student to do special study, with either theoretical or experimental emphasis, in fields not
covered by the regular courses and seminars. The student will present oral and written reports to the instructor.
0.5, 1, or 2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 094. Research Project
Initiative for a research project may come from the student, or the work may involve collaboration with ongoing faculty research. The student
will present a written and an oral report to the department.
0.5, 1, or 2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 095. Introduction to Science Pedagogy: Theory and Practice
(Cross-listed as EDUC 075)
This course is designed for students who are interested in learning about issues surrounding science education, particularly at the high school
and college level. How do students most effectively learn science? How can we facilitate this learning process as instructors and educators? How
do we best assess whether such learning is happening? Since the course will integrate educational theory with concrete, practical strategies for
becoming better teachers, it will be particularly relevant for students currently serving as Science Associates (or those who are interested in
being Science Associates.) We will touch on issues related to students' conceptual development and conceptual change, collaborative learning, as
well as practical issues encountered when engaging in responsive, interactive teaching. This is a seminar course where students are responsible
for weekly readings (1-2 papers per week from the education research literature), in class discussions, and brief written reflections. Students will
be encouraged to bring to the discussion their own unique experiences as both science students and science teachers.
Prerequisite: Instructor approval for enrollment.
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 062. Physics Journal Club
Reading and discussion of selected research papers from the physics literature. Techniques of journal reading, use of abstract services, Arxiv,
and search engines to stay aware of the current literature.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: PHYS 008 and PHYS 013
0.5 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. H. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 097. Senior Conference
This half-credit course is required of all physics, astronomy, and astrophysics course majors and serves as preparation for and completion of the
College's comprehensive requirement ("comps") for senior course majors, with a goal of enabling students to integrate various aspects of their
Swarthmore education into a single, cohesive project. Students will create, edit, and practice presenting a poster on a research topic of their
choosing and then present it at an event at the end of the semester. The weekly course meetings will enable students to delve more deeply into
research paper reading, data display, scientific communication, and other topics related both to the subject matter and professional practices in
physics and astronomy. This course will be offered every fall, is intended for seniors who are majors, and must be taken at Swarthmore in order
for students to meet the comps requirement.
0.5 credit
Fall 2021. Graves and Bester.
Fall 2022. Jensen.
Fall 2023. Jensen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
Physics Seminars
There are four one-credit physics seminars offered on a regular basis, regardless of faculty leaves. These are PHYS 111, PHYS 112, PHYS 113,
and PHYS 114. In addition, one or two one-credit advanced physics seminars are offered each year.
PHYS 111. Analytical Dynamics
Intermediate classical mechanics. Motion of a particle in one, two, and three dimensions; Kepler's laws and planetary motion; phase space;
oscillatory motion; Lagrange equations and variational principles; systems of particles; collisions and cross sections; motion of a rigid body;
Euler's equations; rotating frames of reference; small oscillations; normal modes; and wave phenomena. Offered every Fall.
Prerequisite: PHYS 008.
PHYS 017 and PHYS 018 are recommended but not required.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Bester.
Fall 2022. Brown.
Spring 2024. Bester.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 112. Electrodynamics
Electricity and magnetism using vector calculus, electric and magnetic fields, dielectric and magnetic materials, electromagnetic induction,
Maxwell's field equations in differential form, displacement current, Poynting theorem and electromagnetic waves, boundary-value problems,
radiation and four-vector formulation of relativistic electrodynamics. Offered every Fall.
Prerequisite: PHYS 008 and PHYS 017
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Smith, T.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Brown.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 113. Quantum Theory
Postulates of quantum mechanics, operators, eigenfunctions, and eigenvalues, function spaces and hermitian operators; bra-ket notation,
superposition and observables, fermions and bosons, time development, conservation theorems, and parity; angular momentum, three-
dimensional systems, matrix mechanics and spin, coupled angular momenta, time-independent and time-dependent perturbation theory. Offered
every Spring.
Prerequisite: PHYS 017, PHYS 018.
PHYS 008 is recommended but not required.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Hackler.
Spring 2023. Hackler.
Spring 2024. Brown.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 114. Statistical Physics
The statistical behavior of classical and quantum systems; temperature and entropy; equations of state; engines and refrigerators; statistical
basis of thermodynamics; microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical distributions; phase transitions; statistics of bosons and fermions;
black body radiation; electronic and thermal properties of quantum liquids and solids. Offered every Spring.
Prerequisite: PHYS 111.
Corequisite: PHYS 017 and PHYS 018.
The student must have either completed or be concurrently enrolled in both PHYS 17 and PHYS 18
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Graves.
Spring 2023. Brown.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 130. General Relativity
Newton's gravitational theory, special relativity, linear field theory, gravitational waves, measurement of space-time, Riemannian geometry,
geometrodynamics and Einstein's equations, the Schwarzschild solution, black holes and gravitational collapse, and cosmology.
Prerequisite: PHYS 111 and PHYS 112.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. T. Smith.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 135. Condensed Matter Physics
Condensed matter physics applies the physical laws of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and electromagnetism to describe the physical
properties of materials. This course explores the physics of metals, insulators, semiconductors, and superconductors by examining their
structure, energy bands, and thermal, magnetic, electronic, and optical properties. Topics include: crystal structure and diffraction, the
reciprocal lattice and Brillouin zones, lattice vibrations and normal modes, phonon dispersions, scattering, Einstein and Debye models for
specific heat, free electrons and the Fermi surface, electrons in periodic structures, the Bloch Theorem, band structure, semiclassical electron
dynamics, semiconductors, magnetic and optical properties of solids, and superconductivity.
Corequisite: PHYS 113
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Smith, H.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 137. Cosmological Physics
An introduction to cosmology which includes the study of the origin, evolution, and content of the universe: isotropy, homogeneity, and geometry
of the universe; gravitational collapse and formation of proto-galactic structures; statistical mechanics and fluid dynamics in an expanding
universe; observational tests of the standard cosmology model; extensions to the standard cosmological model including scalar field dark matter
and modified theories of gravity.
Prerequisite: PHYS 111
Natural sciences and engineering
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Smith, T.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 138. Plasma Physics
An introduction to the principles of plasma physics. Treatment will include the kinetic approach (orbits of charged particles in electric and
magnetic fields, statistical mechanics of charged particles) and the fluid approach (single fluid magnetohydrodynamics, two fluid theory). Topics
may include transport processes in plasmas (conductivity and diffusion), waves and oscillations, controlled nuclear fusion, and plasma
astrophysics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 112.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 139. Biophysics
Cross-Listed with CHEM 114
This seminar will provide an introduction to the study of biological systems using the tools of the physical sciences. Topics will include the role of
statistical phenomena in life; feedback and control processes in biological networks; biological electricity; fluid dynamics as they pertain to
organisms (both unicellular and multicellular), and topics chosen from the literature by the members of the seminar.
Prerequisite: PHYS 008, 013, and 017; or PHYS 004 or 004L, CHEM 044, and CHEM 055; or permission of the instructor. Also BIOL 001 or
CHEM 038, or permission of the instructor. Students who have not previously taken an honors seminar in the physics department should discuss
class format and expectations with the instructor before registering.
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Crouch.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 180. Honors Thesis
Theoretical or experiment work culminating in a written honors thesis. Also includes an oral presentation to the department. This course must be
completed by the end of, and is normally taken in, the fall semester of the student's final year.
1 or 2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
Physics Laboratory Program
PHYS 063. Procedures in Experimental Physics
This course will introduce students to design and fabrication techniques useful in scientific research. Students will design circuit boards using
Autodesk Eagle and design parts in Autodesk Fusion 360 for fabrication. After designing and creating custom circuit boards, students will
practice soldering and assembly techniques to construct projects using 3D printed parts.
The course will be taught using a flexible structure. Instructional videos will be available to teach techniques and software. Parts will be
supplied through campus mail and students will be able to work on both design and fabrication on their own schedule. Shop hours will be posted
as possible for troubleshooting or any other help students would like. Help will also be available over zoom particularly for the design elements
of the course.
This is a 0.5-credit course open only to majors in physics, astrophysics, or astronomy.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Jacobs and Palmer.
Fall 2022. Jacobs and Palmer.
Fall 2023. Jacobs and Palmer.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 081. Advanced Laboratory I
This is the first of a two-semester sequence designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement. Students will perform projects
in digital electronics. They will also perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic,
plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 018 . It is strongly recommended that students are also co-enrolled in either PHYS 113 or PHYS 114 while taking Physics
081; please discuss requests to take advanced lab before either Physics 113 or 114 with the department chair.
Writing course.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Bester.
Spring 2022. Lewandowska.
Fall 2022. H. Smith.
Spring 2023. Lewandowska.
Fall 2023. Brown.
Spring 2024. Crouch.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 082. Advanced Laboratory II
This is the second of a two-semester sequence designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement. Students will perform
projects in digital electronics. They will also perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state,
atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics. When both PHYS 081 and PHYS 082 are taken, students
will receive credit for having completed a writing (W) course.
When both PHYS 081 and PHYS 082 are taken, students will receive credit for having completed a writing (W) course.
Writing course.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Bester.
Spring 2022. Lewandowska.
Fall 2022. H. Smith.
Spring 2023. Lewadowska.
Fall 2023. Brown.
Spring 2024. Crouch.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
PHYS 083. Advanced Laboratory I and II
This course is designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement for students who have already had sufficient experience with
digital electronics (ENGR 072 or the equivalent). Students will perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical
physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics.
Writing course.
0.5 credit.
Fall 2021. Bester.
Spring 2022. Lewandowska.
Fall 2022. H. Smith.
Spring 2023. Lewandowska.
Fall 2023. Brown.
Spring 2024. Crouch.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
Astronomy Courses
ASTR 001. Introductory Astronomy
The scientific investigation of the universe by observation and theory, including the basic notions of physics as needed in astronomical
applications. Topics may include the appearance and motions of the sky; history of astronomy; astronomical instruments and radiation; the sun
and planets; properties, structure, and evolution of stars; the galaxy and extragalactic systems; the origin and evolution of the universe; and
prospects for life beyond Earth.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Evening labs required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Jensen.
Fall 2022. Rivera.
Fall 2023. Jensen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 014. Astrophysics: Solar System and Cosmology
This course assumes no prior knowledge of astronomy, but knowledge of some basic physics as well as elementary calculus. It focuses on two
major topics of current interest in astrophysics: (1) Solar System and planetary science and (2) cosmology, the large-scale study of the universe,
its history and content.
Prerequisite: MATH 015 and some prior work in calculus-based physics (which could include high school physics). Interested students who have
not met these prerequisites should consult with the instructor. This course should be accessible to some students who have completed ASTR 001.
Corequisite: MATH 025
Natural sciences and engineering.
Evening labs and observing sessions required.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Jensen.
Spring 2023. Jensen.
Spring 2024. Jensen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 016. Astrophysics: Stars, ISM, and Galaxies
This is a one-semester calculus- and physics-based introduction to astrophysics as applied to stars, the interstellar medium, and galaxies.
Prerequisite: MATH 015 and MATH 025, and some prior work in calculus-based physics (which could include high school physics).
Recommended (but not required) pre- or co-requisites are PHYS 013; PHYS 015; and/or PHYS 003 or PHYS 007. Interested students who have
not met these prerequisites should consult with the instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering.
Evening labs and observing sessions required.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Rivera.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Fall 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 019. Introduction to Radio Astronomy
This is a one-semester calculus and physics-based introductory course on the fundamentals of theoretical and observational radio astronomy.
The course will emphasize the application of data reduction and data analysis techniques from scratch. Students will gain expertise in the field by
applying these methods to a combination of simulated and real data. Topics covered may include, but are not limited to, pulsars, the 21-cm HI
line, the cosmic microwave background, dusty galaxies, and molecular observations of planetary nebulae. Absolutely no prior experience with
observational astronomy, radio astronomy, or data reduction and analysis is necessary.
Prerequisite: ASTR 014 or ASTR 016
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 061. Current Problems in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Reading and discussion of selected research papers from the astronomical literature. Techniques of journal reading, use of abstract services, and
other aids for the efficient maintenance of awareness in a technical field.
Graded CR/NC. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: ASTR 014 or ASTR 016
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Rivera.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Rivera.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 094. Research Project
(Cross-listed as PHYS 094)
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
Astronomy Seminars
Students interested in upper-level work in astronomy are encouraged to also consult Haverford's course schedule since the two astronomy
programs actively work to offer complimentary topics
ASTR 121. Research Techniques in Observational Astronomy
This course covers many of the research tools used by astronomers. These include instruments used to observe at wavelengths across the
electromagnetic spectrum; techniques for photometry, spectroscopy, and interferometry; various methods by which images are processed and
data are analyzed; and use of online resources including data archives and bibliographic databases. Students will perform observational and
data analysis projects during the semester.
Prerequisite: PHYS 015; ASTR 016 or ASTR 014
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Jensen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 123. Stellar Astrophysics
An overview of physics of the stars, both atmospheres and interiors. Topics may include hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium, radiative and
convective transfer nuclear energy generation, degenerate matter, calculation of stellar models, interpretation of spectra, stellar evolution, white
dwarfs and neutron stars, nucleosynthesis, supernovae, and star formation.
Prerequisite: PHYS 013, ASTR 016 or ASTR 014
Recommended: PHYS 017 and PHYS 018
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 126. The Interstellar Medium
Study of the material between the stars and radiative processes in space, including both observational and theoretical perspectives on heating
and cooling mechanisms, physics of interstellar dust, chemistry of interstellar molecules, magnetic fields, emission nebulae, hydrodynamics and
shock waves, supernova remnants, star-forming regions, the multiphase picture of the interstellar medium.
Prerequisite: PHYS 013, ASTR 014 or ASTR 016
Recommended: PHYS 017 and PHYS 018
Natural sciences and engineering.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
ASTR 180. Honors Thesis
(Cross-listed as PHYS 180)
1 or 2 credits.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Physics and Astronomy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/physics-astronomy
Political Science
Courses
Faculty
KEITH REEVES, Professor
DOMINIC TIERNEY, Professor and Chair
TYRENE WHITE, Professor
BENJAMIN BERGER, Associate Professor
AYSE KAYA, Associate Professor
SAMUEL HANDLIN, Associate Professor
1
EMILY PADDON RHOADS, Assistant Professor
JONNY THAKKAR, Assistant Professor
1
OSMAN BALKAN, Visiting Assistant Professor
GORDON ARLEN, Visiting Assistant Professor
CHRISTINA RUZZO, Administrative Assistant
1
Absent on leave 2021-2022.
The Academic Program
Politics is about who governs. Whether by bullets or ballots, by violent struggle or peaceful competition for office, politics is about deciding who
rules, for what purposes, and under what constraints. Politics influences the duties of rulers and ruled, the rights of citizens, and whether people
live in fear or not.
In politics people acquire and use power, cooperatively or non-cooperatively, for creative or destructive purposes. They forge collective symbols
and craft (and recraft) compelling narratives about mutual identities and social goals. They demand recognition and justice -- which means that
they redefine what counts as political. They focus attention on collective problems -- or try to prevent such a focus. Finally they distribute or
redistribute economic resources - which is one reason why politics can be terribly contentious.
The faculty members of the Swarthmore political science department reflect, in their intellectual and research interests, the exceptional pluralism
of political science and seek to convey the discipline's richness and variety in their courses, in the speakers we bring to campus, and in
discussions with students after class or during office hours. We arrange course offerings by the traditional subdivisions of the discipline as it is
practiced in the United States: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Our offerings are
particularly strong in the study of China, constitutional law, the study of Congress, environmental policy and politics, faith-based social policy,
the presidency, the study of American parties and elections, U.S. civil rights, international trade and political economy, the cognitive and
perceptual dimensions of international politics, Latin American politics, theories of prophetic political vision, ancient and modern political
theory, democratic theory and civic engagement, Iranian politics, and American political development. Students currently have access to
interdisciplinary and innovative pedagogies in GIS training, for understanding local democracy in and around Swarthmore and poverty in
Chester, PA, and for understanding the nature of mass incarceration in the United States. We also offer many opportunities to explore linkages
between the theory and practice of politics. Some courses are earmarked for their emphasis on community-based learning.
General Introduction
Courses in the Political Science Department encompass four sub-fields of the discipline:1) American Politics; 2) Comparative Politics; 3)
International Politics (International Relations); 4) Political Theory. Requirements pertaining to these sub-fields are known as distribution
requirements.For a detailed description of our requirements see the relevant section below.We invite all applicants to read Section I, even if they
are not considering a course major.All applicants must have completed one introductory level course (POLS 002, 003, 004) and one additional
course in the Department before applying to be a major or an Honors Minor with the Department.
Course Major
Courses in the Political Science Department encompass four sub-fields of the discipline: 1) American Politics; 2) Comparative Politics; 3)
International Politics (International Relations); 4) Political Theory. Requirements pertaining to these sub-fields are known as distribution
requirements, and they are outlined further below.
1. To graduate with a major in Political Science, a student must complete 8.5 credits in the Department, including the senior
comprehensive exercise.
2. At least five of the 8.5 credits must be taken at Swarthmore with faculty from the Department. Please see the Political Department
website for an up-to-date list of course offerings and their distributions.
3. Majors must take courses in all 4 of the aforementioned sub-fields. The Department recommends that in addition to any Intro level
courses, students take their first theory course before the end of their sophomore year. Only the following courses satisfy the Political
Theory distribution requirement: POLS 011, POLS 012 , POLS 100, POLS 101, with the latter two being honors seminars, where
honors students get priority admission (see Section II).
4. One introductory level course (POLS 002, 003, 004) and one additional course in the Department must be completed at Swarthmore
before acceptance as a major. Majors will be deferred from acceptance into the Department until these two courses are completed.
5. Introductory level courses will count toward the distribution requirements, but students can only count two Intro courses toward their
major (i.e. toward the 8.5 credits).
6. None of the credits needed to complete the major may be taken CR/NC; shadow grades for introductory courses taken CR/NC
freshman year will be used for GPA purposes.
7. Grade requirements. We consider student applications to join the Department individually, considering each student's background
and College performance to date. Normally, we apply the following rule: For acceptance as a course major or a double major, the
Department expects performance at the 2.33 level in all College courses and at the 2.67 level in courses in Political Science
(including courses graded Credit/No Credit).
8. Majors and minors may take one directed reading within the Department for credit with approval from the faculty directing the read
and the Department Chair.
9. Students should note that certain courses and seminars have specific prerequisites. As one example, POLS 066 requires POLS 004 as
well as an introductory Econ course.
10. The senior comprehensive requirement. To graduate from Swarthmore, all majors and special majors must fulfill the senior
comprehensive requirement in the Political Science Department. This can be done in one of two ways. The preferred option is POLS
092: the Senior Comprehensive Exam, which is a 0.5 credit graded exercise. Working with a faculty adviser, students will produce a
short paper in the spring semester of their senior year, which tackles a major puzzle in Political Science. Students will then present
their work at a Department conference. Option two, POLS 095 is a one-credit graded written thesis, which may be chosen by students
who meet the eligibility requirements and get the approval of a faculty adviser and the Chair. All junior and senior course majors
(unless abroad) are required to attend the Department senior comprehensive exercise conference typically held in in March.
11. Recommended courses in other Departments. Supporting courses strongly recommended for all majors are Statistical Thinking or
Statistical Methods (STAT 001 or 011) and Introduction to Economics (ECON 001).
Honors Major
1. Political Science honors majors must have a minimum of 10 credits inside the Political Science Department.
2. Political Science honors majors must meet all requirements for majors (see Section I), preferably with the honors versions of Ancient
or Modern Political Theory (POLS 100, POLS 101).
3. Six of these credits will be met with three (3) two-unit honors preparations which will help prepare honors majors for outside
examinations, both written and oral. These two-unit preparations will normally be either a two-credit honors seminar or a "course-
plus" option.
4. Of these three (3) two-unit preparations, no more than two may be in a single sub-field in the Department, and no more than one may
be a course-plus option.
5. The "course-plus" option will normally consist of two one-unit courses that have been designated to count as an honors preparation,
or in some cases a one-unit course and a one-unit seminar that have been so designated. It is up to the student to arrange a course-
plus option with a specific faculty member and to have this approved by the Chair. We strongly advise the students to follow the
seminar path.
6. To be accepted into the Honors Program students should normally have at least an average of 3.67 inside and 3.5 outside the
Department, and should have given evidence to the Departmental faculty of their ability to work independently and constructively in a
seminar setting. Seminars will normally be limited to eight-ten students and admission priority will go to honors majors, first seniors
and then juniors, including special majors.
7. To fulfill the senior honors study requirement for honors majors, students will revise a paper written for each of their Department
seminars
(3 papers total). These papers will be submitted to the appropriate external examiners as part of the honors evaluation
process.
8. Honors majors are strongly encouraged to attend the Department senior comprehensive exercise conference, typically held in March.
9. None of the credits needed to complete the major may be taken CR/NC; shadow grades for introductory courses taken CR/NC
freshman year will be used for GPA calculations.
10. Majors and minors may take one directed reading within the Department for credit with approval from the faculty directing the read
and the Department Chair.
Honors Minor
Honors minors in Political Science will be required to have at least five credits in Political Science. Among these credits there must be one
introductory course (POLS 002, POLS 003 or POLS 004), one course in Political Theory (POLS 011, POLS 012, POLS 100, or POLS 101), one
other Political Science course and one (1) of the two-unit honors preparations offered by the Department.
1. All applicants must have completed one introductory level course (POLS 002, 003, 004) and one additional course in the Department
before applying for the Honors Minor.
2. To be accepted into the Honors Program students should normally have at least an average of 3.67 inside and 3.5 outside the
Department, and should have given evidence to the Departmental faculty of their ability to work independently and constructively in a
seminar setting. Seminars will normally be limited to eight-ten students and admission priority will go to honors majors, first seniors
and then juniors, including special majors.
3. To fulfill the Senior Honors Study requirement for honors minors, students will revise a paper for their Department seminar. This
paper will be submitted to the appropriate external examiner as part of the honors evaluation process.
4. None of the credits needed to complete the major may be taken CR/NC; shadow grades for introductory courses taken CR/NC
freshman year will be used for GPA calculations.
5. Majors and minors may take one directed reading within the Department for credit with approval from the faculty directing the read
and the Department Chair.
Special Major
All special majors must have a designated faculty adviser and have approval of the Chair for the proposed program. Within that approved
program,
at least 5.5 credits must be taken in the Department, including one introductory course (POLS 002, POLS 003, POLS 004) and students
need at least a course in each of the four sub-fields (American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, and Political Theory) of the
discipline (see Section I). The Political Theory distribution requirement for special majors can only be met by completing one of the following:
POLS 011, POLS 012, POLS 100 or POLS 101. All special course majors are required to participate in the Department's Senior Comprehensive
Exercise for 0.5 credit (see Section I).
1. All applicants must have completed one introductory course (see Section I) and one other course in the Department before applying
for the Special Major.
2. None of the credits needed to complete the major may be taken CR/NC; shadow grades for introductory courses taken CR/NC
freshman year will be used for GPA purposes.
3. For acceptance as a special major, the Department expects performance at the 3.00 level in all College courses and at the 3.33 level
in courses in Political Science (including courses graded Credit/No Credit).
4. Majors and minors may take one directed reading within the Department for credit with the approval from the faculty directing the
read and the Department Chair.
Honors Special Major
All special honors majors must have a designated faculty advisor and have approval of the Chair for the proposed program. Within that
approved program,
at least 6 credits must be taken in the Department, including one introductory course (POLS 002, POLS 003, POLS 004), one
honors seminar. Students need at least a course in each of the four sub-fields (American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics,
and Political Theory) of the discipline (see Section I). The Political Theory distribution requirement for special majors can only be met by
completing one of the following: POLS 011, POLS 012, POLS 100 or POLS 101.
1. All applicants must have completed one introductory course (see Section I) and one other course in the Department. before applying
for the Honors Special Major.
2. To be accepted into the Honors Program students should normally have at least an average of 3.67 inside and 3.5 outside the
Department, and should have given evidence to the Departmental faculty of their ability to work independently and constructively in a
seminar setting. Seminars will normally be limited to eight-ten students and admission priority will go to honors majors, first seniors
and then juniors, including honors special majors.
3. None of the credits needed to complete the major may be taken CR/NC; shadow grades for introductory courses taken CR/NC
freshman year will be used for GPA purposes.
4. Majors and minors may take one directed reading within the Department for credit with approval of the faculty directing the read and
the Department Chair.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
No more than one Advanced Placement credit will be accepted for credit.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credit is offered on the same basis as study abroad credit. Students taking classes elsewhere should consult the chair in advance on the
amount of credit likely to be available. As with study abroad, students may be required to retain written assignments and present copies to the
chair for assessment.
Off-Campus Study
The department supports student interest in study abroad. Students are reminded that no more than three of their eight credits (ten credits if in
the Honors Program) may be taken outside the Swarthmore department and
all of the distribution requirements must be met by classes taken at
Swarthmore. Expectations about off-campus study should be incorporated in the Sophomore Plan. Students planning to study abroad should
consult the chair and obtain approval prior to making final course selection. Any change in course selection must ultimately be approved as well.
Upon return from a study abroad program, political science syllabi, papers, and other course materials may be required for credit evaluation.
Pre-estimated credits do not guarantee any particular transfer of credit. The actual transfer of credit depends on the assessment of work done
abroad by the department.
The Engaging Democracy Project
The Engaging Democracy Project comprises the Department's connection to what the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility calls
"Engaged Scholarship." Ernest Boyer coined the term "Engaged Scholarship" to describe teaching and research that connect "the rich resources
of the university to our most pressing social, civic, and ethical problems" (Boyer, 1996). The Department of Political Science employs Engaged
Scholarship to incorporate academic theory and political practice to promote a richer understanding of democracy in America (and abroad).
Program director Ben Berger (also Executive Director of the Lang Center) practices Engaged Scholarship techniques to involve students with
local communities; works with student groups to bring a wide range of speakers and activists to the Swarthmore campus; and supports other
faculty offering Engaged Scholarship courses, including fellow Political Science faculty Prof. Keith Reeves (Director of the Urban Inequality and
Incarceration Program at the Lang Center), Prof. Ayse Kaya, and Prof. Emily Paddon Rhoads.
Political Science Courses
POLS 002. American Politics (AP)
How do American institutions and political processes work? To what extent do they produce democratic, egalitarian, or rational outcomes? The
course examines the exercise and distribution of political power. Topics include presidential leadership and elections; legislative politics; the
role of the Supreme Court; federalism; parties, interest groups, and movements; public policy; the politics of class, race, and gender; voting;
mass media; and public discontent with government.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Reeves.
Fall 2022. Reeves.
Spring 2023. Schwarz.
Fall 2023. Schwarz.
Spring 2024. Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 003. Politics Across the World (CP)
This course teaches students how to analyze and compare the politics and societies of countries around the world. Topics vary by instructor but
may include the origins of the contemporary system of nation-states, the consolidation and breakdown of democratic and authoritarian political
regimes, the ways that the "rules of the game" in politics structure competition and favor certain groups over others, the politics of economic
development and globalization, the nature and dynamics of social movements, revolutions and civil wars, and the role of identities, ideologies,
and religious beliefs in shaping patterns of political development, and conflict, and inclusion/exclusion. The course also provides an introduction
to some of the main theories, concepts, and methods used by political scientists who engage in the art of comparative politics. To explore these
themes, we draw examples from a variety of countries and regions across the world.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. White.
Fall 2022. Handlin.
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Fall 2023. Handlin.
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 004. Introduction to International Relations (IR)
In this course, we will explore the fundamental concepts of the field of international relations. Students will learn the basic facts about
international conflict, the international economy, international law, development, and the world environment, among other things. Furthermore,
we will study the fundamental theoretical concepts and theories of international relations. Using these theories, students will be able to sort
through arguments about various topics in international relations and make judgment calls for yourself. Finally, students will learn how these
concepts have evolved over time and how we can use them to hypothesize what lies ahead for international relations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Tierney.
Spring 2023. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2023. Tierney.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 011. Ancient Political Thought (TH)
Reason, force, and persuasion are central tools of politics. They are also considered and weighed by political philosophers as they write about
the best (or best achievable) organization of political life to achieve some goal, and the best chance of making those arrangements endure. Use of
each tool tends to reflect particular views about human nature, capacities, and differences. This course explores these and other key concepts of
political thought, drawing on major works in the Western tradition, including Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, and Machiavelli.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Spring 2022. Arlen.
Fall 2022. Thakkar.
Spring 2024. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 012. Modern Political Thought (TH)
This course introduces some of the major concepts and themes of modern political thought through a close reading of texts from the 16th to the
early 20th century. The starting point of the course is Machiavelli's novel "science" of statecraft, which identified the state as the focal point of
political activity, and announced that a good politician must be prepared to act immorally, or even love his city more than his soul. In other
words, we begin with the thought of politics as a distinct sphere of activity, centered around the state, and separable from other spheres such as
morality and religion. The problem of the modern state and the relationship of the political to other domains of life will guide our exploration of
the fundamental concepts and debates of modern political thought. Other themes we will discuss include secularism and toleration, absolutist and
popular sovereignty, constitutionalism and individual rights, theories of war and colonialism, and the relationship between social and political
forms of domination. Authors include Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Alexis de
Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, Mary Wollstonecraft, Karl Marx, Max Weber and W.E.B. Dubois.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2022. Arlen.
Spring 2023. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 019. Democratic Theory and Practice
What is democracy, and what does it require? Widespread political participation? Social connectedness? Economic equality? Civic virtue?
Excellent education? How well does the contemporary U.S. meet those ideal standards? POLS 019 students read classic and recent texts in
normative political theory and empirical political science-addressing what democracy should do and how well the U.S. is doing it augmented by
a participatory component that requires several hours per week outside of class. Students engage with civic leaders and activists in the strikingly
different communities of Swarthmore and Chester, and participate in a variety of community projects. The goal is to understand better the ways
in which social, economic, educational and political resources can affect how citizens experience democracy.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 020A. Special Topic: The U.S. Congress: People, Places and Policy (AP)
Congress is the storied chief lawmaking body in the United States, simultaneously
leading, following, and disregarding public sentiment as it legislates. That is, when it
legislates: the institution is one of the least popular entities in the nation and has been
mired in low productivity since the 1990s. What explains changes in public perception
and productivity level? What are lawmakers doing with their time if they are not solving
public problems? How well does the institution represent "the people"? Which people?
How is power expressed in Congress? To answer these questions, this course
assesses the efficacy of the well-established Congressional studies literature,
supplemented with greater attention to historical development, ethnography, geospatial
dynamics, and public policy.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 020B. Special Topic: Political Inequality in the U.S. (AP).
This course explores the durable pattern of political inequality in the United States, from the Colonial Era to the present moment. Using U.S.
political history as a vessel to understand contemporary political inequality, we will trace legacies of ascriptive hierarchy, slavery, xenophobia,
racism, Jim Crow, indentured servitude, neglect, segregation, malapportionment, and restricted franchise to gain insights into why this nation
remains highly unequal in politics. These historical legacies are further compounded by contemporary problems, such as gerrymandering, voter
ID laws, politician-led pressures to decrease political participation, bureaucratic capture by special interests, disparities between public opinion
and policy outcomes, elections predicated on money, and representation that varies in quality based on group status and geographic location. By
understanding the incentives and interests of political actors in power, we will better understand why institutions and laws reconstruct U.S.
politics, oscillating between greater equality and continued inequality. In this course, we will use political science, sociology, history, economics,
law, and philosophy texts to better understand the incidence of political inequality, how it violates core precepts of democracy, and the
ramifications of an inequitable political system. We will also scrutinize how socioeconomic factors influence political power, how political
institutions mediate power, and how politics feeds back to reify or alter socioeconomic dynamics. Special attention is devoted to understanding
political inequality in relation to race, ethnicity, migration, class, gender, political parties, interest groups, social movements, and geography.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Diament.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 020C. Special Topic: Police, Prosecution, and Racial (In) Justice in America (AP)
The killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis, MN police officer has forced a national reckoning with structural racism,
particularly with regard to the nature of policing, mass incarceration, and discriminatory law enforcement. This seminar explores these
contested -- and controversial -- social and policy issues. In addition, we will examine a number of questions: What are the origins of American
policing? What should be the role of policing in a democratic society, especially given the unique and independent culture of some 18,000 police
departments across the United States? In what way(s) does racial bias affect policing? Or does it? What does is mean that the work of police is
to preserve 'law & order?' And did the policy of "stop-and-frisk" actually work? Why are Blacks 3-to-4-times more likely to be victims of police
violence than whites? How are communities of color policed? How does the criminal legal process actually work? And what are the implications
of all of these questions for the crisis in racial justice? Finally, throughout the semester, we will be joined by myriad stakeholders across the
spectra of policing, the criminal legal process, corrections, as well as community members impacted by police violence.
Prerequisite: POLS 2 or POLS 28. Or by permission of the Instructor
Social Science.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 020D. Unbridled Power? The American Presidency (AP)
Even though the executive branch is relegated to the loosely defined second article of the U.S. Constitution, presidential power has greatly
expanded over time, in the process reshaping American politics to revolve around presidential initiative. In the contemporary era, coequal
branches of the government defer to the president, while voters look to the president to solve a snowballing set of public problems. However, the
rise in executive power has not satisfied expectations, leading to the confounding dual problem of presidents purportedly having too much power
in some domains, while still struggling to adequately fix society's most pressing problems. This course examines how and why presidential power
has grown throughout American history, with special attention to the following questions: To what extent is a presidency-centered system both a
consequence of and incompatible with a separated powers system? What is the relationship between changes in the sources of presidential
authority and the exercise of power in the executive branch? Are there any limits to presidential power, and if so, what are they? Normatively,
should the president have less or more power? Finally, is successful mastery of the presidency our best hope for functional governance, or is the
modern presidency a problem in and of itself? To answer these questions, we will focus on the historical development of the executive branch,
spotlighting the important contributions-and idiosyncrasies-of all 46 U.S. presidents.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 022. American Elections: Ritual, Myth, and Substance (AP)
An examination of the role of policy issues, candidates images, campaign advertisements, media, polling, marketing, money, and political parties
in the American electoral process. We will consider the role of race, gender, class, religion, and other variables in voting behavior and look for
evidence concerning the increasing polarization of American politics. We will examine the impact of recent laws and practices that seek to
encourage or depress voting and will explore the impact of felony disenfranchisement. What are some of the most important recent changes
affecting American electoral politics? What is unusual about 2016? Historical trends will provide the basis for analyzing the 2016 elections. Do
elections matter, and, if so, how?
First year students should apply to Prof. Nackenoff to be admitted: limited number of spots available.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 023. Dilemmas of Statebuilding: Race and Gender in American Political Development (AP)
This course follows a reading seminar structure and examines how race and gender relations in America fundamentally shaped-and were shaped
by-the development of the contemporary American state. Students will read and critique both classic literature as well as recent studies in
American political development (APD) and related disciplines. The course is centered on two particular areas of statebuilding, the welfare state
and the carceral state, and therefore takes a policy-centric approach.
Throughout the course, we will pay particular attention to empirical trends in political science, and American political development in
particular. Each week, students will read a number of empirical studies and will be asked to evaluate these papers on their empirical strengths
and weaknesses.
This course is designed for upper-class students who are interested in topics on gender and race, American political development, and public
policy. In addition, students should be prepared to critically engage with questions of research design and methodology.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Schwarz.
Spring 2024. Schwarz.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 024. American Constitutional Law (AP)
The Supreme Court in American political life, with emphasis on civil rights, civil liberties, and constitutional development. The class examines
the court's role in political agenda-setting in arenas including economic policy, property rights, separation of powers, federalism, presidential
powers and war powers, and interpreting the equal protection and due process clauses as they bear on race and gender equality. Judicial review,
judicial activism and restraint, and theories of constitutional interpretation will be explored.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 028. The Urban Underclass and Public Policy (AP)
This course is a critical examination of some of the most pressing (and contentious) issues surrounding the nation's inner cities today and the
urban underclass: the nature, origins, and persistence of ghetto poverty; racial residential segregation and affordable public housing; social
organization, civic life, and political participation; crime and incarceration rates; family structure; adolescent street culture and its impact on
urban schooling and social mobility; and labor force participation and dislocation. We conclude by examining how these issues impact distressed
urban communities, such as the neighboring city of Chester.
Prerequisite: POLS 002
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST.
Spring 2023. Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 029. Polling, Public Opinion, and Public Policy (AP)
Public opinion polling has become an essential tool in election campaigning, public policy decision making, and media reporting of poll results.
As such, this course focuses on helping students interested in these areas learn the fundamental skills required to design, empirically analyze,
use, and critically interpret surveys measuring public opinion. Because the course emphasizes the application of polling data about public policy
issues and the political process, we will examine the following topics: abortion, affirmative action, September 11th, the 2008 and 2012
presidential elections and presidential leadership.
Prerequisite: POLS 002 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Reeves.
Fall 2023. Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 030. Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (IR)
Diplomacy is a crucial part of international politics. This course explores: (1) how and why states negotiate; (2) how do states communicate
through diplomacy; (3) when do negotiations fail; (4) the role of mediation in negotiation; (5) the role secrecy plays in diplomacy. The course
introduces students to a range of research skills, including game-theoretic models and historical research. Students will learn how negotiation
functions in contemporary contexts, through exploring a range of scenarios, including negotiation with rogue states, state-terrorist bargaining,
and great power diplomacy.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)
This course, taught in Philadelphia, offers an introduction to the causes and consequences of international migration and examines the political
responses of different national communities to the phenomenon. In the first part of the course we will explore why and how people move from one
country to another and analyze the strategies through which states attempt to manage mobility and exercise control over their territories.
Students will learn about patterns of regular and irregular migration, including economic and undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers. We will also interrogate the efficacy of border walls and other strategies of containment and control. In the second part of the course we
consider how migration transforms both sending and receiving countries and evaluate how countries accommodate (or fail to accommodate)
newcomers to their territories. The growing ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity generated by international migratory flows has spawned
fierce debates over national identity, social cohesion, and political stability. In order to make sense of these debates, we will analyze different
regimes of immigrant integration, incorporation, and assimilation and evaluate the meaning of citizenship, social membership, and belonging.
Classroom meetings will be supplemented with outside lectures and field trips in Philadelphia to observe immigration hearings and to meet with
NGOs and community organizations working on issues surrounding migrant rights and refugee re-settlement. This course will be taught in
Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core; INTP eligible; PEAC eligible
Spring 2022. Balkan
Fall 2022. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 032. Social Philosophy (TH)
What is a society and how does it differ from a community? Under what circumstances, if any, can we legitimately speak of a "we" as opposed to
a collection of individuals? Can a society or a corporation have beliefs and desires? What are social structures and how do they relate to
individual action? Are all social phenomena "constructed" and if so in what sense? What is social science and how might it differ from natural
science? This course will raise these foundational questions in social philosophy before turning to the question of how different pictures of
society and social phenomena shape our normative stances. Do liberalism, socialism and conservatism all follow from particular pictures of
society, for instance? What about movements focusing on race and gender? Should we adopt a conception of social phenomena in light of our
political commitments or the other way around? By raising and addressing such questions, this course aims to help students in the social sciences
achieve greater self-consciousness about the objects and aims of their various disciplines, while also becoming more sophisticated in their
normative reflections.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 034. Capitalism and Socialism
The words "capitalism" and "socialism" come up relatively often in discussions of politics, but their meaning is often left vague. After a brief
survey of empirical work on the varieties of capitalism and socialism, this course will turn to the normative arguments for and against the two
systems that have been made from the Enlightenment to the present day. Authors covered will include Adam Smith, J. G. Fichte, Karl Marx,
Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, as well as a smattering of utopians and anarchists. Students should expect a significant volume of
reading, but there are no prerequisites.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 035. Democracy and Dictatorship (CP)
This course examines the nature of democratic and authoritarian governments and explanations for regime change (either from dictatorship to
democracy or the reverse). Topics include the relationship between democracy and development, the power (and limitations) of the United States
to spur democratization in other countries, the institutional foundations of strong dictatorships, the notion that established democracies might be
currently eroding, and the role potentially played by Russia and China in buttressing autocracy in other countries.
Comparative
Social science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, LALS-eligible
Spring 2024. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 037. Contemporary Political Philosophy (TH)
PHIL 037
This course offers a survey of the major themes and questions that have emerged in Anglophone political philosophy since the Second World
War. We will begin by analyzing fundamental concepts such as power, freedom, law and rights; then we will consider competing visions of the
basic structure of society; and finally we will turn to pressing issues such as racial injustice, global injustice, immigration policy and the claims
of tradition. The ultimate aim is for each student to test, refine and develop their own principles and judgements concerning politics by rigorously
attending to the arguments given by leading philosophers.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 038. Designing and Doing Political Science Research (IR) (CP) (AP) (TH)
An introduction into research design and drawing inferences from data. The first section covers theories, hypotheses, conceptualization and
descriptive inference, and approaches to causal inference. The second section focuses on small-n research designs and qualitative methods,
covering case studies, small-n comparative analysis, process tracing, and interviewing. The third section introduces students to some basic
elements of quantitative research design and statistical analysis, including with both observational and experimental data.
Please note, this course does not fulfill the POLS Theory Requirement (must take POLS 011 or 012). This course may only be counted toward one
distribution requirement for the major/minor.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Handlin
Spring 2024. Schwarz.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 039. The Courts and American Democracy (TH)
Description coming soon
Social sciences
Fall 2022. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/department-political-science
POLS 040. The Politics of Voting Rights (AP)
The right to vote and who has it have been politically constructed and contested since the early 19th century. The course considers why and how
this politics has taken so many different forms over the course of American political development, with particular attention to the strange career
of African-American voting rights and their party systemic and policy impact, female suffrage, the demobilization of the working class early in
the 20th century and its remobilization during the New Deal, the late development of protections for Native American, Latino, and Asian-
American voters, and current struggles over election administration and voter qualifications.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 041. The Presidential Election, Then and Now
How we elect our presidents has changed over time- but at all times political parties, interest groups, social movements, and the voters
themselves have been the central protagonists. They have operated in macroeconomic and foreign policy contexts that make the outcomes of
presidential elections both relatively predictable and yet quite exciting. We track the continuities and the key changes in presidential electoral
politics since the rise of the Electoral College in the 1820s. We ask such questions as: are there game changers? What's the invisible
primary? Can billionaires buy the presidency? Do presidents change the policy direction of the country? How representative is the
electorate? Do campaigns make a difference? What do activists do in presidential elections? Do personal characteristics of the candidates
make a difference? Is the Electoral College a problem for democracy?
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 042. Is Congress Over? (AP)
If Congress is so widely despised as an institution then what's the point of having it? Without a representative assembly, to be sure, democracy
becomes plebiscitary and juristocratic. But a well-functioning national legislature is hardly guaranteed because legislatures are inherently
unstable - even fluid --- institutions. Congress today is not the same institution it was a decade ago or a century ago. With these premises in
hand we explore the evolution of the House and the Senate, We also treat the congressional career, majority and minority rights, parties in
Congress, House-Senate differences, enactment productivity, political polarization, and gridlock. Other issues include money and interest group
influence given sharp ideological polarization (the puzzle here is: how does money matter if members of Congress already have very firm
positions?), the committee system, how congressional elections shape the institution, influence on the bureaucracy, presidential influence on the
legislative process, congressional interaction with the federal judiciary, and the difficulty of conceptualizing and measuring representation. Prior
course work in or detailed knowledge of American politics is required
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 043. Environmental Policy and Politics (AP)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 022)
Topics in environmental politics, policy, and law. In the United States, we focus on national regulation and proposals for more flexible responses
to achieve environmental goals; environmental movements and environmental justice; the role of science in democratic policy-making; courts
and the impact of federalism, the commerce clause, and rights on regulation. The course also considers the role and efficacy of supranational
institutions and NGOs and controversies between more and less developed nations. Topics include most of the following: air and water pollution,
common-pool resource problems, toxic and radioactive waste, sustainable development, food, natural resource management, wilderness,
environmental racism, effects of climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS ESCH, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 043B. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action (AP)
Examines historical, political, and activist roots of the field of environmental justice. Using interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology,
environmental science, history, geography, cultural studies, and social movement theory, we analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and
community activism in contemporary environmental issues such as: air quality and health, toxic contamination and reproductive issues,
sustainable agriculture and food security, fossil energy-coal, oil, hydro-fracking-and livelihoods, climate change and climate justice. Course
incorporates a community-based learning component.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ENVS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 044. Markets and Morality (TH)
The course will investigate the place that markets and market outcomes should have in a free society. Topics covered will include: competing
concepts of freedom; the proper sphere of market activity (what should and should not be for sale); theories of fairness and distributive justice;
and what should be done to balance freedom and equality in the economic sphere.Prerequisites: ECON1 and ONE of the following POLS 11, 12,
34, 47, 100, or 101; PHIL 11, 21 41, 101, or 121. Co-taught with Mark Kuperberg under ECON 43.
Social Sciences
1 credit
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 045. Disaster Politics and Policies (CP)
Cross listed ENVS 021
How does the trauma of disaster influence political processes, institutions, and leaders? How do political processes, institutions, and leaders
affect disaster events and their aftermath? Do disasters lead to meaningful policy change, or is their impact fleeting? This course examines the
political and policy dynamics associated with disasters-- those that are predominantly "natural" (e.g., hurricanes and tornadoes), and those that
result mainly from human action or inaction (e.g., airplane crashes, mass shootings, building collapses). Using a variety of cases from different
historical periods, different regions of the world, and different levels of political analysis (national, regional, and local), this course will examine
the causes and consequences of disaster, policy-making and disaster, and the new professional field of disaster management. We will look
critically at the role of NGOs and international aid in disaster relief, as well as international institutions.
Comparative
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. White.
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 047. Ethics and Economics (TH)
The discipline of economics has a huge influence in today's world, but from a philosophical perspective its fundamental presuppositions are
extremely controversial. This course aims to shed light on those presuppositions by drawing on writings from philosophers, sociologists, political
scientists and historians as well as economists themselves. We begin by assessing its claim to moral and political neutrality, focusing in
particular on efficiency, GNP, and rational choice. Next we consider three of its basic concepts: money, property and markets. What exactly is
money? What justifies private ownership? And should some things simply never be for sale? In the final part of the course we inquire into how
the two central questions of ethics -- What ought I to do? And what is the good life? -- bear on our assessment of production and consumption.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Thakkar.
Spring 2024. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 048. The Politics of Population (CP)
(Cross-listed as ENVS 023)
The role of population and demographic trends in local, national, and global politics will be examined. Topics include the relationship between
population and development, causes of fertility decline, the impact and ethics of global and national family planning programs, and
contemporary issues such as population aging and the AIDS pandemic.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 050. International Relations of East Asia (IR)
After the Cold War's conclusion, East Asia emerged as a geopoliltical hotspot rife with tension and conflict. The course investigates how regional
identity, U.S. presence, historical trauma, nationalism, cultural diversity, and the rise of China shapes the region's security landscape,
institutional architecture and international political economy. Students will be expected to draw connections betwen theory and contemporary
examples drawing on historical and culturally sensitive perspectives.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 051. Global Justice (TH)
The idea of "global justice" has become increasingly influential in contemporary political philosophy. Its advocates argue that the complex
challenges of a globalized world require theoretical principles which transcend specific nation-state contexts. In this political theory seminar, we
shall explore the conceptual, normative, and institutional insights of the global justice literature. Topics may include: global resource
inequalities and the prospect of international distributive justice; the ethics of immigration, migration, and border control; new perspectives on
sovereignty, citizenship, and international law; cosmopolitan ethics and human rights; climate change and natural resource politics; just war
theory and the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention; the ethics of global philanthropy and developmental aid. Throughout, we shall assess the
performance of existing global governance institutions, while considering new frameworks for promoting transnational public spheres and
holding powerful global actors accountable.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 052. Comparative Political Theory: Chinese and Western Traditions (TH)
This course examines some of the similarities and differences between Western and Eastern traditions of political thought. Through the course,
we will introduce the students to the richness of both political theoretical traditions, and critically evaluate some "conventional wisdoms" (e.g.
that Confucianism and democracy are antithetical). We will first review the concept of comparative political theory and its methodology, before
moving on to discuss a range of classic topics in political theory, such as happiness, liberty and rights. For each topic, we will first review
influential voices in the Western tradition before examining influential Chinese texts and exploring whether we may synthesize their insights. We
will conclude the course with a discussion of intercultural political dialogue today.
This course does not fulfill the department's political theory requirement - only POLS 11, 12, 100, and 101 fulfill the requirement. This course is
open to those with no political theory background and open to students who are not POLS majors or minors.
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 054. Identity Politics (CP)
The term "identity politics" has become a mainstay of contemporary political discourse. In both scholarly and public debates, it is used to
describe and make sense of phenomena as diverse as multiculturalism, white nationalism, civil rights, the women's movement, LGBTI activism,
separatist groups, and violent ethnic conflicts. Identity is central to politics, but are all identities political? Where do identities come from and
why do they matter for social and political life? Do we have the freedom to choose our own identities or are they ascribed to us by others? And to
what extent do our identities dictate what we can do, think, know, or feel? This class offers an introduction to the politics of identity. Over the
course of the semester, we will investigate how categories like class, race, gender, ethnicity, nation, religion, and sexuality impact politics and
struggles for power around the world. Our readings will explore debates around the politics of recognition and representation, authenticity and
cultural appropriation, corporate diversity and neoliberal multiculturalism, positionality and situated knowledge, oppression and empowerment,
and intersectionality. Students will have the opportunity to conduct independent research on identity related topics of their choice.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP; GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 055. Ethics and International Relations (IR)
Ethical questions are central to the study of international relations. Does justice extend beyond the borders of states? Do we have
moral obligations to distant strangers? Do we have an obligation to obey international law? When is war, if ever, just? Who should punish war
crimes? In this course we explore the links between international normative theory (what would a just world order look like? how should it be
constructed?) and the role norms and ethics actually play in contemporary international relations according to different theoretical perspectives
(e.g. realist, constructivist, etc.). Topics include: the nature of ethical reasoning; state sovereignty, national self-determination, and secession;
just war, human rights, and intervention; pluralism and cosmopolitanism; Black Lives Matter and international racial justice; transnational
environmental responsibility and the ethics of climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA; PEAC
Spring 2023. Emily Paddon Rhoads.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 056. Patterns of Asian Development (CP)
Patterns of political, social, and economic development in Asia will be traced, with special focus on China, Japan, North and South Korea,
Taiwan, Vietnam, and India. Topics include the role of authoritarianism and democracy in the development processes, the legacies of colonialism
and revolution and their influences on contemporary politics, sources of state strength or weakness, nationalism and ethnic conflict, gender and
politics, and patterns of political resistance.
Professor White is offering this course as an Honors Preparation if taken in conjunction with POLS 058 in Spring 2024.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 057. Latin American Politics (CP)
This course examines major topics in Latin American politics from the 20th century to the present, with particular emphasis on Brazil, Chile,
Mexico, and Venezuela. These topics include the rise and fall of democracies and dictatorships, the spread of neoliberal economic models, the
expansion of social policy and anti-poverty programs, the difficulties of combatting corruption, the problem of violence and its relationship to the
drug trade, and the recent ascendance of the left.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2023. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 058. Contemporary Chinese Politics (CP)
Just how strong is China? Is it on the path to great power status? This course considers those questions by examining the rise of China in recent
decades, along with the political, economic and social backdrop to this historic development. Topics will include China's political and economic
development, urban and rural unrest, regionalism and nationalism, music and the arts as forms of political expression, environmental politics,
law, justice, and human rights, and the role of the military in Chinese politics. Literature, music, online media and video chat with experts will
supplement traditional written materials.
Professor White is offering this course as an Honors Preparation if taken in conjunction with POLS 056 in Fall 2023.
Comparative
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2024. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 059. Middle East Politics (CP)
This course offers an introduction to the politics of the Middle East and North Africa from World War I to the present. As a region that is
popularly perceived as an arena for intractable ethnic and religious conflict, authoritarian political regimes, and social and economic
underdevelopment, the Middle East has long been a critical site in global affairs. Recent events such as the toppling of long-standing
governments in places like Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya during the so-called "Arab Spring," the electoral successes of Islamist political parties in
countries with a history of secular rule such as Turkey, and the repercussions of the on-going civil war in Syria, including the displacement of
millions of persons, renewed bids for Kurdish autonomy, and the rise of ISIS have raised new and pressing questions about the future of the
region. This course aims to help students contextualize and better understand the current political climate by tracing the roots of these conflicts
to the longer history of state and nation formation in the Middle East. Throughout the semester students will learn about political, economic,
social, and cultural developments within a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Topics covered include colonialism,
imperialism, and nationalism, political Islam, revolutions and social movements, the Arab Spring, and U.S. involvement in the region. No prior
knowledge of the Middle East is necessary.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 061. American Foreign Policy (IR)
This course analyzes the formation and conduct of foreign policy in the United States. The course combines three elements: a study of the history
of American foreign relations since 1865; an analysis of the causes of American foreign policy such as the international system, public opinion,
and the media; and a discussion of the major policy issues in contemporary U.S. foreign policy, including terrorism, civil wars, and economic
policy.
Prof. Tierney is willing to work with select honors students enrolled in POLS61 in Spring 2024 to convert this course into an honors
prep. Students must be enrolled in POLS61 (no exceptions) for this option, and commit to meeting with Prof. Tierney regularly and fulfilling
extra assigned work.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Tierney.
Spring 2023. Tierney.
Spring 2024. Tierney.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 062. The Politics and Practice of Humanitarianism (IR)
Humanitarianism has become a central feature of world politics. It is complex and contested. This course aims to provide the critical, conceptual
and theoretical tools necessary to engage with the realities of humanitarian emergencies. It explores a range of questions: What is
humanitarianism and how has it evolved historically? What are humanitarianism's core ethical and political dilemmas? What sets of interests
and power relations shape the impact of humanitarian action at the global, national and local levels? How are new technologies, innovation and
the private sector transforming humanitarian governance? What are the ethical issues involved with the study of humanitarianism?
Social Sciences
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 063. African Politics (CP)
This course provides an introduction to contemporary African politics with a strong focus on political dynamics in particular African countries.
We begin with Africa's political history, examining pre-colonial structures, the impacts of colonialism, the post-colonial state and practices of
power. We then examine the social forces that shape contemporary politics (e.g., ethnicity, religion, gender, class) and the range of regime types
that have emerged in recent history. The final part of the course focuses on the economic dimensions of politics, conflict dynamics on the
continent and the role of local, regional and international actors in addressing development, peace and security issues. The core concepts and
theories explored in the course are brought to life through a semester-long reporting project in which students work closely over Skype with
experts in the region.
Note distributional change from IR
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST; GLBL-Paired; PEAC
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 064. African American Political Thought (TH)
This seminar is an engagement with African American political thought from approximately 1830 to the present. We will focus on issues such as
slavery, systemic racism, and segregation, as criticized by prominent African American philosophers, public intellectuals, and activists. However,
we will also use their texts to explore broader themes in political theory about the meaning of "freedom" and the burdens of democratic
citizenship. These include debates among African American intellectuals about coalition building, civil disobedience, violence, organized
religion, gender, social class, education, economic organization, and American foreign policy. We will think critically about how African
American political thinking both intersects with and challenges Eurocentric philosophical traditions, and how it intersects with intellectual and
political movements in the broader African diaspora community.
The syllabus may include thinkers such as David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Martin Delany, Harriet Jacobs, Booker T.
Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Harold Cruse, Malcolm X, Angela
Davis, Toni Morrison, Cornel West, Clarence Thomas, and Barack Obama.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL, BLST
Spring 2023. Arlen.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 066. International Political Economy (IR)
This seminar examines how political actors (attempt to) govern as well as shape economic events. The seminar introduces the classic texts of
International Political Economy (IPE), such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. It also discusses core contemporary texts and debates in
the study of international political economic relations. Topics include the international trading system, global financial and monetary systems,
the issue of economic development, the Great Recession, and the role of the United States in global economic governance. Through these
discussions, the seminar also examines the key institutions in the contemporary governance as well as private actors such as multinational firms.
Prof.Kaya is willing to work with select honors students enrolled in POLS 066 to convert this course into an honors prep in IPE (i.e. the
equivalent of POLS116). Students must be enrolled in POLS 066 (no exceptions) for this option, and commit to meeting with Prof.Kaya every
other Friday and fulfilling extra assigned work.
Students taking this course will not be eligible for POLS116A/B.
Prerequisite: POLS 004 and an introductory Economics course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2023. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 070B. Politics of Punishment (AP)
The question of why the United States has become a vastly more punitive society-some 2.3 million Americans are held in jails and prisons
throughout this country, at last count-is the subject of this upper-level division seminar. The aim of the seminar is to provide both a critical and
in-depth exploration of the interplay among American electoral politics, public concerns regarding crime, and criminal justice policy. Among the
central questions we will examine are: How is it that so many Americans are either locked up behind bars or under the supervision of the
criminal justice system? And where did the idea of using "jails" and "prisons" as instruments of social and crime control come from? What
explains the racial and class differences in criminal behavior and incarceration rates? What does it mean to be poor, a person of color-and in
"jail" or "prison?" How and why does criminal justice policy in this country have its roots in both the media culture and political campaigns?
And how might "politics" underpin what is known as "felon disenfranchisement" or "prison-based gerrymandering?" What are the implications
of such political practices for broader questions of racial, economic, and social justice? And importantly, what are the prospects for reform of
America's incarceration complex?
Enrollment only by permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1.5 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Reeves.
Spring 2023. Reeves.
Spring 2024. Reeves.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 071. Negotiating the U.S. Policyscape (AP)
Americans are reputed to show particular disfavor toward government compared to our counterparts in other developed democracies. And yet,
there are over 93 thousand governmental entities with jurisdiction over 330 million Americans. The federal government alone spends between 4
and 6 trillion dollars every year to execute over 30 thousand statutes (in addition to hundreds of thousands of administrative regulations and
court orders). This enormous scale of government not only belies the myth of a libertine America, but it suggests Americans actually cannot get
enough government. What gives? To understand this conundrum-and more broadly the contours of American politics-one must understand the
role of public policy. How are policies made? What are the effects of policy? What factors contribute to policy success or failure? How do policy
design and issues with implementation contribute to public sentiment? We often think about the need for new policies to solve our problems, but
give less attention to the role existing policies continue to play in our lives. In the course, we will analyze public policy through a political
science lens, utilizing the concepts of path dependency, layering, drift, conversion, policy feedback, and unforeseen externalities to better
understand the American policyscape. We will conclude by assessing whether America is governable in the year 2022.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Sean Diament
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 072. How the Sausage Is Made: Policymaking in America (AP)
This course provides a realistic introduction to how public policy is made in the United States today. It examines how people (voters, activists,
wealthy individuals, lobbyists, politicians, bureaucrats, and judges), organizations (interest groups, firms, unions, foundations, think tanks,
political parties, and the media) and political institutions (Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary) interact to create and
implement public policy in the United States.
Students will acquire tools of proven usefulness for practical political analysis and get to practice them in fun and sometimes challenging
exercises. Students who complete the course will be equipped to participate in policy-making in a sophisticated and effective fashion.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Schwarz.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 075. International Politics: Special Topics: The Causes of War
The causes of war is arguably one of the most important issues in the field of international politics. In each week of the course, a candidate
theory will be examined, and a specific war will be analyzed in depth to test the validity of the theory. Topics will include revolution and war,
capitalism and war, misperception and war, and resource scarcity and war. The course will conclude with a discussion of the future of war,
particularly the likelihood of conflict among the great powers.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 076A. Special Topics: Political Theory
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 076B. Special Topics: Political Theory
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 079. Islam, Race, and Empire (CP)
Since 9/11, Muslims in Europe and the United States have been at the center of contentious political debates about the meaning of secularism,
citizenship, and democracy. From Donald Trump's Muslim Ban to feminist critiques of the Islamic headscarf, politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum have questioned Islam's compatibility with Western values and ways of life. These disputes belie longer and messier histories
of empire, colonialism, and the War on Terror, through which categories such as "Islam" and "Muslims" have been racialized into a monolithic
brown Other in contrast to the "West." Drawing on a range of intellectual traditions, including postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, anthropology,
and critical race studies, this course examines how imperial legacies and enduring ideas about racial, religious, and ethnic difference structure
contemporary debates about Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America. Over the course of the semester, we will read works by prominent
theorists such as Wendy Brown, Frantz Fanon, Lila Abu-Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak, and discuss how Islam
figures into public conversations about anti-Semitism, citizenship and democracy, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, national identity,
secularism, tolerance, and political violence. Through our readings and discussions, students will learn about the diversity of lived experiences of
Muslims in Western societies and explore the connections between race, religion, and the afterlives of empire.
Comparative
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core, GMST, ISLM, INTP, GSST
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 080. Civil Wars (IR)
Civil war is the dominant form of political violence in the contemporary world. Since the Second World War, most conflict has been
focused within rather than between states (i.e., civil war). Drawing on a thriving and diverse area of scholarship in political science, this course
explores the causes, dynamics and consequences of civil wars, as well as regional and international interventions and post-conflict legacies.
Among the central questions we will examine are: What are the individual, group and state level factors that may cause civil wars to break
out? What are the gendered dimensions of civil war and civilian agency? Why are some civil wars longer and more severe than others? How
are civilians, households and communities impacted by civil war and how do they cope? How do civil wars end and what can local, regional and
international actors do to facilitate their termination? To explore these and other questions, students will be introduced to key concepts, theories
and a variety of research approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and interpretive methods as well as micro- and macro-level analysis.
Contemporary and historical cases we will examine include: Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
Political sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- core; GSST, PEAC
Spring 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Fall 2022. Paddon Rhoads
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 081. Global Environmental Governance (IR)
Cross-listed with ENVS 028
Global climate change, in particular, and environmental issues, in general, have moved to the forefront of public debates. This course examines
the governance of these issues from an International Relations perspective. Topics include: multilateral trade agreements and the environment;
United Nations processes, agreements, and institutions; climate change finance and environmental foreign aid; multilateral development banks
(including the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and environmental governance; non-state actors; social movements;
and global environmental governance and great powers. The course will begin with a political-economic conceptualization of global
environmental governance and also introduce students to some fundamental concepts in public policy and environmental regulation. Given this is
taught primarily from global governance and International Relations perspectives, it is not suited to students looking to engage in particular
countries' environmental regulation, though student presentations will examine differences across some countries. It is ideal for students to have
taken POLS4 prior to taking this course, and students should be ready to apply basic economic concepts to environmental regulation (without
which their understanding of the governance of climate change cannot be advanced).
Prerequisite: One political science course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core; ENVS
Fall 2022. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 082. Surveillance and Repression (CP)
All states collect information on citizens and use violence to counter certain threats to their authority. But the extent of such activity, and its
implications for the liberty and wellbeing of citizens, can vary widely across time and space. Focusing on the United States and Latin America,
this course examines the politics of state surveillance and repression. We first investigate the growth of the US surveillance state in the second
half of the 20
th
century and the role of surveillance and repression in several authoritarian regimes in Latin America during that time period. We
then consider how technological changes have amplified the capacity of states to surveil citizens in the 21
st
century and the struggles of different
societies across the Americas to place appropriate limits on such activity, examining topics like mass communications collection, the spread of
commercial spyware, the exportation of surveillance technologies to Latin American countries by both the US and China, and the role of big tech
companies whose business models has been termed "surveillance capitalism."
Comparative
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Spring 2023. Handlin.
Spring 2024. Handlin.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 083A. Special Topics: Foreign Policy of Authoritarian Regimes
This course is divided into two parts. First, it explores whether there is an "authoritarian" style of foreign policy. What unique domestic political
challenges/constraints do authoritarian leaders face when crafting foreign policy? Moreover, how do differences among authoritarian regimes
affect their foreign policies? The second part examines how authoritarian regimes "perform" in 5 areas of foreign policy: (1) grand strategy; (2)
defense spending; (3) conflict initiation; (4) participation in international institutions/society; (5) foreign economic policy (trade, finance).
Prerequisite: POLS 004
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 085. U.S. National Security (IR)
This course is run in conjunction with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a think tank in Philadelphia. The course will provide in-depth
knowledge of major challenges in US national security as well as an insight into how think tanks operate. Students will meet at the FPRI offices
in center city Philadelphia for a seminar, once per week. Each class will feature guest speakers from the academic and policy worlds. The course
will cover topics including Syria, Russia, informational warfare and propaganda, artificial intelligence, drones, terrorism, and China and East
Asian security. Students will learn about FPRI's research programs, educational activities, podcasts, and journals. The final project will be a
research paper that will be communicated to policy-makers in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL - Paired
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 086. The United States and Latin America (CP)
This course examines the complex and checkered relationship between the United States and Latin America. The first half of the
course locates this relationship within the post-colonial context and explores how US policy toward Latin America changed over the
course of the late 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, with particular attention to the role of commercial interests, the geopolitics of the Cold War,
and the often adverse consequences of US intervention for Latin American peoples and their struggles for democratic self-
determination. The second half of the course explores a series of contemporary issues in depth, including free trade agreements,
drug war policy and transnational criminal networks, the contentious politics of immigration, and the implications of China's recent
challenge to US hegemony in the region.
Comparative
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http:www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 087. Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.
(Cross-listed as CHIN 087)
Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21st century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing
and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users,
between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh
water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution;
groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management;
wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. In the U.S. context especially, issues of water rights regimes and property rights,
privatization, and commodification of water will receive attention. Which claims upon fresh water resources come first? What role do
governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs, and grassroots citizens' movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures
will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management. Chinese language ability desirable but not required.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 087A. Attachment: Policies and Issues of Fresh Water Resources in China/Taiwan
(Cross-listed as CHIN 087A)
This is an attachment to POLS 087. Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work
will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professors Nackenoff and Kong, and will include specific Chinese language training in the
vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies.
0.5 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 090. Directed Readings in Political Science
Available on an individual or group basis, subject to the approval of the instructor.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 092. Senior Comprehensives
Open only to senior course majors completing the comprehensive requirement.
Social Science.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Balkan.
Spring 2023. Balkan.
Spring 2024. STAFF.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
ENVS 092A. UNFCCC COP and International Climate Regime
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) is a critically important annual event for global action on climate change,
but it is situated within a broader and more complex international climate change "regime". This
course provides a foundation for understanding the COP negotiations from a multitude of
perspectives stemming from and external to the UNFCCC - including international relations,
sustainable development, and multi-level climate governance. Key topics include: the structure
of the Paris Agreement (e.g., mitigation, adaptation, loss & damage, etc.) and other relevant
multilateral agreements (e.g., 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction, New Urban Agenda, etc.), power dynamics in multilateral climate
negotiations, the role of non-state actors (e.g., sub-national governments, NGOs, private sector,
activists, etc.), and models for regime change to help meet the urgency of the moment. The
course will also cover current issues to be negotiated at this year's conference and other timely
analyses. Though not required, students are recommended to take POLS 081: Global
Environmental Governance concurrently for a further holistic view on environmental governance
beyond climate change.
*Note: This .5-credit course is open to all students, of whom only a subsection will be selected
via an application process to attend COP. That said, all students in the course will have
meaningful opportunities to engage virtually with the COP and related UNFCCC events.
Additionally, there will be at least one opportunity for students in the course to optionally attend
a high-level, climate policy event in NYC (possibly at UN Headquarters).
0.5 credit.
Eligible for POLS.
Fall 2021. Kaya, Tier.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Environmental Studies
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/environmental-studies
POLS 095. Thesis
A 1-credit thesis, normally written in the fall of the senior year. Students need the permission of the department chair and a supervising
instructor.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Seminars
The following seminars prepare for examination for a degree with honors:
POLS 100. Ancient Political Thought
This course will consider the development of political thought in the ancient and medieval periods and the emergence of a distinctively modern
political outlook. Special attention will be paid to the differences between the way the ancients and the moderns thought about ethics, reason,
wisdom, politics, democracy, law, power, justice, the individual, and the community. Key philosophers include Plato, Aristotle, and Hobbes.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 101. Modern Political Theory (TH)
In this seminar, we will study the construction of the modern liberal state and capitalism through the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, and
then, in more detail, we will examine the greatest critics of the modern age-Marx, Nietzsche, Jung, and Foucault. Marx demands that we take
history and class conflict seriously in political theory. Nietzsche connects the evolution of human instinct to the politics of good and evil for the
sake of political transformation. Jung establishes psychology and mythology as foundations for politics, and Foucault uses all three of these
critics to question the modern subject and the disciplines of power and knowledge that construct selves and politics in a postmodern age.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2023. Berger.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 102. Comparative Politics: Greater China
Examines contemporary Chinese politics against the backdrop of its revolutionary past. Topics include pathways of political and economic
development, the legacy of the Maoist era, the origins and evolution of the modernization and reform program implemented over the last several
decades, and the dynamics of political, economic and social change. Also examine issues of political unrest and instability, demographic change
and migration, religion and nationalism, institutions and governance, law and human rights, and civil-military relations.
Comparative
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 105. Constitutional Law in the American Polity (AP)
This seminar examines the Supreme Court in American political life, with emphasis on civil rights, civil liberties, and constitutional development.
The seminar explores the court's role in political agenda setting in arenas including economic policy, property rights, separation of powers,
federalism, presidential powers and war powers, and interpreting the equal protection and due-process clauses as they bear on race and gender
equality. Judicial review, judicial activism and restraint, and theories of constitutional interpretation will be included.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 108. Comparative Politics: East Asia (CP)
This course examines the politics of China, Japan, the two Koreas, Vietnam and Taiwan. It compares pathways to development, the role of
authoritarianism and democracy in the development process, the conditions that promote or impede transitions to democracy, and the impact of
regional and global forces on domestic politics and regime legitimacy. It also explores the ideas and cultural patterns that influence society and
politics, and the role of social change and protest in regime transformation.
Comparative
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 109. Comparative Politics: Latin America (CP)
A comparative study of the political economy of Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, El Salvador, and Cuba. Topics include the
tensions between representative democracy, popular democracy, and market economies; the conditions for democracy and authoritarianism; the
sources and impact of revolution; the political impact of neo-liberal economic policies and the economic impact of state intervention; and the
role of the United States in the region.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Handlin
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 113. International Politics: War, Peace, and Security (IR)
This seminar will investigate in depth the issues of conflict, security, and the use of force in contemporary international politics. The course will
begin by considering the changing meaning of "security" and by analyzing the major theoretical approaches including realism, liberalism, and
constructivism. The course will then tackle some of the great puzzles of international security including the clash of civilizations hypothesis, the
role of nuclear weapons, civil wars and intervention, terrorism, and human rights.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 115. The Politics and Practice of Wartime Humanitarian Action (IR)
This seminar explores the history and politics of humanitarianism. Topics include: the origins of the modern humanitarian system; international
law and humanitarian principles; the local, national and global politics of contemporary humanitarian action; the role of innovation and
technology; non-western approaches to humanitarianism; new humanitarian actors (private sector, transnational civil society, non-state actors);
the psychosocial dimensions of aid work; and humanitarian ethics. Students will draw upon in-depth case studies of humanitarian emergencies
and will participate in a simulation exercise.
Social Sciences.
2 credits.
Fall 2022. Paddon Rhoads.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 116. International Political Economy (IR)
The course studies the main historical and contemporary approaches in international political economy, and focuses on the primary
contemporary issues in political-economic relations among states as well as between states and non-state actors. Topics include: domestic-
international level interaction in the politics of international economic relations, economic globalization, the international financial and
monetary systems, the international trading system, development and aid, economic crises, multinational corporations, interlinkages between
economic and security relations, multilateral platforms to address international political economic issues, including relatively new forums such
as the G20.
Prerequisite: POLS 004 and ECON 001
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Kaya.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
POLS 117. Aristotle: Ethics and Politics (TH)
Aristotle has a good claim to being the most impressive intellectual ever: his works in metaphysics, epistemology, logic, aesthetics, rhetoric,
ethics, politics, physics, biology, zoology and more dominated intellectual life in much of the world for almost two thousand years and they have
also inspired some of the most profound philosophical reflections in modernity right up to the present day. He is a difficult writer but one who
has rewarded close attention across the ages. This honors seminar offers a close reading of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Politics, texts
that were intended to be read as a pair, alongside contemporary attempts to evaluate and inherit his thought by philosophers such as Alasdair
MacIntyre, Martha Nussbaum and Philippa Foot, as well as modern critics such as Thomas Hobbes, David Hume and John Rawls. Topics for
discussion will include the meaning of happiness, virtue, justice, wisdom, friendship, the rule of law and the common good, evaluation of different
regime types such as democracy, oligarchy, tyranny and aristocracy, and how it is possible to learn from thinkers whose prejudices we sometimes
find disturbing.
Social Sciences
Spring 2023. Thakkar.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/department-political-science
POLS 180. Thesis
With the permission of the department, honors candidates may write a thesis for double course credit.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Psychology
Courses
Faculty
FRANK H. DURGIN, Professor
1
JANE E. GILLHAM, Professor
2
ALLEN M. SCHNEIDER, Professor
ANDREW WARD, Professor
DANIEL J. GRODNER, Associate Professor and Chair
CATHERINE J. NORRIS, Associate Professor
JEDIDIAH SIEV, Associate Professor
BARBARA THELAMOUR, Assistant Professor
2
DEON BENTON, Visiting Assistant Professor
JOHN C. BLANCHAR, Visiting Assistant Professor
BENJAMIN ZINSZER, Visiting Assistant Professor
ELIZABETH D. KRAUSE, Visiting Assistant Professor (part-time)
PEIYAO CHEN, Research Fellow
ELIZABETH DURNING, Administrative Coordinator
ELIZA MEKETON, Research Manager and Academic Assistant
1
On leave Spring 2022
2
On leave 2021 - 2022 Academic Year
Psychology is concerned with the systematic study of human behavior and experience. Psychologists use diverse approaches to understand
human relationships, mental and emotional life, and decision-making, as well as the relationships between language, perception, the mind, and
the brain. Topics also include the influence of other people on the individual and the origins and treatment of mental illness.
The Academic Program
The courses and seminars of the department are designed to provide a sound understanding of the principles and methods of psychology.
Students learn the nature of psychological inquiry and psychological approaches to various problems encountered in the humanities, the social
sciences, and the life sciences.
The Psychology Department offers a course major and minor, honors major and minor, and regularized special majors in neuroscience and in
psychology and education. Students may, with approval, develop other individualized special majors, such as psychology and economics.
Prerequisites
The most common way to fulfill the prerequisite for further work in psychology is to take PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology. A second entry
point is a psychology first-year seminar: PSYC 005 First-Year Seminar: Is Nature vs. Nurture the Wrong Question?: Topics in Cognitive
Development or PSYC 007 First-Year Seminar: Early Social Cognition.
Advanced Placement
Alternatively, a student may meet the prerequisite for psychology courses with a grade of AP 5 on the psychology Advanced Placement test or a
grade of 6 or 7 for psychology in the higher level International Baccalaureate Program, but this practice is not encouraged. In either case, an
entering student should seek guidance from the department chair or academic assistant about selection of a first psychology course. Students
electing the AP or IB placement option are not permitted to take a core course (numbered in the 30s) in their first semester. (Swarthmore credit is
not granted for AP or IB work in psychology.)
First Course Recommendations
Standard (Most Common) first course and pre-requisite for further coursework in Psychology.
PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology. This course introduces the basic processes underlying human and animal behavior-studied in
experimental, social, and clinical contexts. Analysis centers on the extent to which typical and atypical behaviors are determined by
learning, motivation, neural, cognitive, and social processes. This course is intended for all students and is the most common way to
fulfill the prerequisite for further work in psychology.
First-year seminars that can serve (in place of PSYC 001) as a pre-requisite for further course work in Psychology. Note that first-year seminars
are not offered every year.
PSYC 005 First-Year Seminar: Is Nature vs. Nurture the Wrong Question?. This course focuses on topics in cognitive development and
considers each with respect to the nature vs. nurture debate. This course will seek to move beyond the traditional solution of accepting
that every developmental process is about nature and nurture working in concert. Instead, we will think more deeply about when the
question is a helpful framework, and when it is not. PSYC 005 is intended for first-year students and serves as an alternate prerequisite
for further work in the department.
PSYC 007 First-Year Seminar: Early Social Cognition. This course explores the underlying cognitive processes that shape infants' and
children's understanding of the social world. PSYC 007 is intended for first-year students and serves as an alternate prerequisite for
further work in the department.
Other courses relevant to Psychology that can serve as a pre-requisite for a few intermediate and advanced psychology courses.
COGS 001 Introduction to Cognitive Science. This course introduces students to the scientific investigation of such questions as the
following: What does it mean to think or to have consciousness? Can a computer have a mind? What does it mean to have a concept?
What is language? What kinds of explanations are necessary to explain cognition? When taught by a Psychology faculty, COGS
001 counts toward Psychology credit and serves as an alternate prerequisite for courses related to cognitive psychology: PSYC
032/132 Perception: Laboratory Course and Seminar, PSYC 033 Cognitive Psychology, PSYC 034 Psychology of Language, PSYC
133 Metaphor and Mind Seminar, and PSYC 134 Seminar in Psycholinguistics. The course does not serve to fulfill the PSYC 001
prerequisite requirement for most courses in the department or for entry into the Psychology major or minor.
Other courses open to first-year students that do not count as a pre-requisite for further coursework in the department. Note that these courses
are not offered every year.
PSYC 004 First-Year Seminar: Psychology in Schools. This course introduces psychological theory and concepts by considering their
relevance to schools and student learning. This course draws from cognitive, developmental, and multicultural psychology to help
students understanding and appreciate learning and the diversity of learners. PSYC 004 is intended for first-year students. PSYC 004
does not serve as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department but can count towards a Psychology major or minor.
PSYC 018 Well-being. This course examines individual, interpersonal, and social factors that contribute to social and emotional well-
being, as well as interventions designed to promote well-being. Although the course focuses on psychological well-being across a
variety of contexts and life stages, a heavy emphasis will be placed on well-being during the college years. PSYC 018 is intended for all
students. PSYC 018 does not serve as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department but can count towards a Psychology
major or minor.
Course Major
A course major must include at least 8 credits in psychology. One additional credit is required in statistics as a prerequisite for PSYC 025.
Normally, one credit of the 8 credits in psychology may be accepted from a semester abroad. The minimum requirement excludes courses cross-
listed in psychology that are taught solely by members of other departments, such as EDUC 021/PSYC 021, EDUC 023/PSYC 023 and EDUC
026/PSYC 026. COGS 001 Introduction to Cognitive Science may be counted in the minimum courses required for the major when taught by a
member of the Psychology Department.
A typical sequence of courses toward a major begins with PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent), followed by a core course (those
with numbers in the 30s) or PSYC 025 Research Design and Analysis.
Requirements
1. PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent) is normally a prerequisite for all courses in psychology (see the note about
prerequisites above).
2. PSYC 025 Research Design and Analysis is a requirement for the major. Note that STAT 011 Statistical Methods (or equivalent, e.g.,
ECON 031 ) is a prerequisite for PSYC 025, or may be taken concurrently.
3. At least four core courses in psychology are required (those with numbers in the 30s): PSYC 030 Behavioral Neuroscience; PSYC
031 Cognitive Neuroscience; PSYC 031A Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; PSYC 032/132 Perception: Laboratory
Course and Seminar; PSYC 033 Cognitive Psychology; PSYC 034 Psychology of Language; PSYC 035 Social Psychology; PSYC
037 Multicultural Psychology; PSYC 038 Clinical Psychology; PSYC 039 Developmental Psychology.
4. Finally, to graduate with a major in psychology, students must also complete a culminating research experience, described below.
Comprehensive Requirement: Culminating Research Experience
Students in the Course Program must satisfy the College's comprehensive requirement in their majors. In psychology, this can be done in one of
the following four ways:
1. Complete a research practicum in psychology in the senior year: PSYC 101 Research Practicum in Political Psychology; PSYC
102 Research Practicum in Cognition and Perception; PSYC 103 Research Practicum in Behavioral Neuropharmacology; PSYC
104 Research Practicum in Language and Mind; PSYC 105 Research Practicum in Psychology and Neuroscience: Social Imitation;
PSYC 106 Research Practicum in Cognitive Development; PSYC 107 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology; PSYC
108 Research Practicum in Clinical Psychology; PSYC 109 Research Practicum in Social and Emotional Well-Being; PSYC
110 Research Practicum in Cognitive Neuroscience. Students may enroll in these practica to conduct original empirical research for
one-half (an option for some practica) or one credit and may take these courses before the senior year without meeting the
comprehensive requirement. When taking these courses to meet the comprehensive requirement, the student will normally enroll for
one credit and participate in the Senior Research Poster Session.
2. Complete PSYC 096 and PSYC 097 Senior Thesis. Admission to the senior thesis program is by application only. Enrollment in 2
credits of senior thesis, one each semester of the senior year, is required. Normally, a B+ average in Psychology and overall is
required for acceptance into the thesis. Application to the senior thesis program is usually made by mid-April of the junior year. The
list of faculty research interests on the department's website will help students identify the appropriate faculty member to consult when
developing thesis plans.
3. Complete a PSYC 090 Field Placement in Clinical Psychology in the spring semester of the senior year. Extensive planning in
advance is necessary. See the PSYC 090 description.
4. Complete PSYC 098 Senior Research Project. With the approval of the faculty, students may select a topic of their choice in
psychology and write a substantial paper on the topic based on library research-and possibly some original empirical research. The
paper may constitute a significant expansion and extension of a paper or papers written by the student previously for psychology
courses, or it may address a topic on which the student has not written before. Students are encouraged, but not required, to select
topics that span more than one content area in psychology. In addition to submitting their written reports, students participate in the
Senior Research Poster Session. Students receive either one-half or one course credit for satisfactory work on the Senior Research
Project, and a letter grade is assigned. Students normally enroll in the course in the fall semester.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a course major, students must have successfully completed two courses in psychology and be in good standing at the College.
Course Minor
A course minor in psychology requires a minimum of 5 credits taken with psychology faculty at Swarthmore. There is no comprehensive
requirement.
Requirements
1. PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent) is normally a prerequisite for all courses in Psychology (see the note about
prerequisites above).
2. A minimum of two core courses in psychology (those with numbers in the 30s) is required: PSYC 030 Behavioral Neuroscience;
PSYC 031 Cognitive Neuroscience; PSYC 031A Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; PSYC 032/132 Perception:
Laboratory Course and Seminar; PSYC 033 Cognitive Psychology; PSYC 034 Psychology of Language; PSYC 035 Social
Psychology; PSYC 037 Multicultural Psychology; PSYC 038 Clinical Psychology; PSYC 039 Developmental Psychology.
*Note: COGS 001: Introduction to Cognitive Science may count towards the completion of a Psychology Minor, but not as a core course, when
taught by a Psychology Faculty Member.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a course minor, students must have successfully completed one course in psychology and be in good standing at the College.
Honors Major
An honors major in psychology requires completing all the requirements for the course major while incorporating three honors preparations in
psychology, of which one is a 2- credit senior honors thesis. The other two honors preparations in psychology are composed of two core courses
(a course numbered in the 30s) along with their corresponding one-credit seminars (numbered in the 130s).
The Psychology Department currently offers examination in honors in the following fields:
Behavioral Neuroscience
Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Psychology/Perception
Developmental Psychology
Psycholinguistics
Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Social Psychology
Multicultural Psychology
Requirements
1. PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent) is normally a prerequisite for all courses in psychology (see the note about
prerequisites above).
2. PSYC 025 Research Design and Analysis is required of honors majors, as it is for course majors. Note that STAT 011 Statistical
Methods (or equivalent, e.g., ECON 031, AP Statistics) is a prerequisite for PSYC 025 (or may be taken concurrently).
3. Two seminar-based honors preparations, as described above, must be completed, each consisting of a core course and its
corresponding seminar.
4. In all, a minimum of four core courses in psychology (those with numbers in the 30s) must be completed: PSYC 030 Behavioral
Neuroscience; PSYC 031 Cognitive Neuroscience; PSYC 031A Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; PSYC
032/132 Perception: Laboratory Course and Seminar; PSYC 033 Cognitive Psychology; PSYC 034 Psychology of Language; PSYC
035 Social Psychology; PSYC 037 Multicultural Psychology; PSYC 038 Clinical Psychology; PSYC 039 Developmental Psychology.
5. A two-credit honors thesis (PSYC 180), spread over both semesters of the senior year, is the third honors preparation and fulfills the
comprehensive requirement in psychology.
The Honors Examination for Majors
In psychology, the usual form of evaluation is a three-hour written examination prepared by the external examiner and administered during the
honors examination period in the senior year. This is followed, during the subsequent examiners' weekend, by an oral examination with the
examiner for each of a student's preparations. An honors thesis stands in place of one written examination.
Acceptance Criteria
Approval of an application to participate in the Honors Program as a major depends upon successfully completing two psychology courses at
Swarthmore, normally PSYC 001, Introduction to Psychology, or a psychology first-year seminar, and one core course. Admission to the Honors
Program usually takes place in the spring semester of the sophomore year, but students may apply for honors even in the junior year. To be
accepted, students must have B+ averages in psychology and overall. Moreover, to continue in honors, students must have attained a B+ average
in psychology at the end of the junior year.
Honors Minor
Completing an honors minor in psychology requires fulfilling the requirements for the course minor while incorporating a single honors
preparation in psychology, composed of a core course (a course numbered in the 30s) and its corresponding one-credit seminar (numbered in the
130s). A complete list of available preparations is given above in the section on honor majors.
Requirements
A minimum of five credits taken with psychology faculty at Swarthmore, including the honors preparation, are required for the honors minor.
PSYC 001 Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent) is normally a prerequisite for all courses in psychology (see the note about prerequisites
above).
Two of the five credits must be core courses in psychology (those with numbers in the 30s): PSYC 030 Behavioral Neuroscience; PSYC
031 Cognitive Neuroscience; PSYC 031A Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; PSYC 032/132 Perception; PSYC 033 Cognitive
Psychology; PSYC 034 Psychology of Language; PSYC 035 Social Psychology; PSYC 037 Multicultural Psychology; PSYC 038 Clinical
Psychology; PSYC 039 Developmental Psychology.
The honors preparation is completed by taking the seminar corresponding to one of the aforementioned core courses. In the event that a student
is pursuing a course major in addition to an honors minor, the preparation for the honors minor may, with approval of the department, be
fulfilled with the completion of a two-credit honors thesis (PSYC 180).
Starting with the Class of 2021: In addition to the core course and related seminar for an honors preparation, honors minors are required to
include Introduction to Psychology (or equivalent), one additional core course, and PSYC 025 Research Design and Analysis in their programs,
for 5 credits of psychology. STAT 011 is required as a prerequisite or co-requisite of PSYC 025. All coursework counted towards a
psychology minor must be completed at Swarthmore.
The Honors Examination for Minors
The usual form of evaluation is a three-hour written examination prepared by the external examiner and administered during the honors
examination period in the senior year. This is followed, during the subsequent examiners' weekend, by an oral examination with the examiner. If
a student pursues an honors minor and a course major and uses an honors thesis as the honors preparation, the form of evaluation consists of an
oral examination and the honors thesis stands in place of a written examination.
Acceptance Criteria
Approval of an application to participate in the Honors Program as a minor depends upon successfully completing two psychology courses at
Swarthmore, normally PSYC 001, Introduction to Psychology, or a psychology first-year seminar, and one core course. Admission to the Honors
Program usually takes place in the spring semester of the sophomore year, but students may apply for honors even in the junior year. To be
accepted, students must have B+ averages in psychology and overall. Moreover, to continue in honors, students must have attained a B+ average
in psychology at the end of the junior year.
Special Major in Neuroscience
The psychology and biology departments have defined a regularized special major in neuroscience that combines work in the two departments in
a way that allows students flexibility in choosing the focus of their Neuroscience majors. Approval and advising for this special major are done
through both departments. Details about the course and honors special majors can be found online at
www.swarthmore.edu/academics/biology/neuroscience.xml. Students interested in developing a special major in Neuroscience are encouraged to
consult faculty in both departments.
Special Major in Psychology and Educational Studies
A student wishing to undertake a special major in psychology and educational studies will propose and justify an integrated program that
includes 10-12 credits in the two disciplines, as described below.
Requirements
The special major will include 5 credits in courses or seminars taught by members of the department of psychology, including at least 3 core
areas (courses numbered in the 30s) and PSYC 025 Research Design and Analysis. It will include at least 5 credits taught by members of the
Department of Educational Studies. One of these courses must be EDUC 021 Educational Psychology. Practice Teaching (EDUC 016) and the
Curriculum and Methods Seminar (EDUC 017) may not be included in the program.
Culminating Exercise/Comprehensive Examination
Either a two-semester, two-credit interdisciplinary senior thesis, a research practicum (0.5 or 1 credit), a field placement in clinical psychology
(PSYC 090, 1 credit) or an integrated comprehensive project (PSYC 098 or EDUC 098, 0.5 credit) suitable to the special major serves to satisfy
the comprehensive requirement. Theses and comprehensive projects are supervised by one member of each department. Students wishing to
prepare a senior thesis must have averages of B+ in psychology, educational studies, and overall. Application to the senior thesis program is
usually made by mid-April of the junior year. Because special majors may not undertake work on a thesis in a semester in which they are student
teaching, such students must be sure to apply early and to begin thesis work as second semester juniors.
Honors special major in psychology and education
The requirements for honors require that four honors preparations be included in the special major, including the senior honors thesis. For
special majors involving educational studies, theses are supervised by both departments. Normally, the remaining three honors preparations
consist of two two-credit seminars in educational studies and one preparation in psychology composed of a core course (a course numbered in
the 30s) and its corresponding one-credit seminar (numbered in the 130s), but a program could be proposed involving two preparations in
psychology and one in educational studies.
Acceptance Criteria
To be accepted as a special major in psychology and educational studies, a student must have successfully completed two courses in psychology,
EDUC 014 Introduction to Education, and be in good standing at the College. To be accepted as an honors special major in psychology and
educational studies, a student must have met these requirements and have a B+ average in psychology, educational studies, and overall.
Other Special Majors Involving Psychology
Other individualized special majors including psychology may be designed. A special major in cognitive science, which may involve psychology,
is administered through the program coordinator of cognitive science.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credit is handled on an individual basis. Whenever possible, prior approval is recommended.
Off-Campus Study
Swarthmore College encourages its students to include study abroad as part of their educational experience. The Psychology Department
recognizes that international study has an important place in the educational programs of its students. Each year, many students take psychology
courses while studying abroad.
If you are planning to take psychology classes while abroad, we recommend discussing your plans with your faculty advisor in psychology and
also with the department chair. The department usually recommends that psychology majors with strong research interests complete their study
abroad experience during the fall semester of their junior year so that it does not interfere with applications for summer research fellowships or
with the development of senior thesis proposals.
With prior approval from the department, students are usually able to apply one credit of psychology coursework from a study abroad program
towards the psychology major. This course can occasionally count as a core course in psychology (i.e., as one of the four core courses
required for the major) if it covers similar content as a core course. The course can sometimes serve as a pre-requisite to a
seminar. Normally, however, core courses that are part of honors preparations (core + seminar prep) must be completed here at
Swarthmore. Off campus study courses do not count towards the minor in psychology. In general, all coursework for the minor must be
completed here at Swarthmore.
Students who would like to receive psychology credit for a psychology course taken at another institution must have taken PSYC 001 or a
relevant first year seminar in psychology, or placed out of this requirement through AP or IB work. The department may consider exceptions for
students who have taken COGS 001 (Intro to Cognitive Science) when taught by a member of the psychology department.
Research and Service-Learning Opportunities
Students are encouraged to get involved with research at any point in their time at Swarthmore, and many seniors also do field placements
through the clinical practicum.
Academic Year Opportunities
There are many opportunities for research with the faculty of the department during the academic year either for academic credit (PSYC 094:
Independent Research, PSYC 101: Research Practicum in Political Psychology, PSYC 102: Research Practicum in Perception and Cognition,
PSYC 103: Research Practicum in Behavioral Neuropharmacology, PSYC 104: Research Practicum in Language and Mind, PSYC 105:
Research Practicum in Psychology and Neuroscience: Social Imitation, PSYC 106: Research Practicum in Cognitive Development, PSYC 107:
Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology, PSYC 108: Research Practicum in Clinical Psychology, PSYC 109: Research Practicum in
Social and Emotional Well-Being, and PSYC 110: Research Practicum in Cognitive Neuroscience) or as a paid assistant. Students may
participate in the design, conduct and analysis of projects at any stage in their program. In the senior year, such experiences, in the form of a
thesis (PSYC 096-PSYC 097 or PSYC 180) or research practicum, may constitute the culminating comprehensive experience. The list of faculty
research interests on the department's website will help students identify the appropriate faculty member to consult about developing research
plans.
The clinical practicum (PSYC 090) provides field experience for students who are considering careers in clinical psychology, psychiatry, social
work, and counseling. Students undertake field placements in varied settings to gain direct clinical experience. In past years, students have
completed placements in organizations providing psychological and educational services to children with autism spectrum disorder and other
developmental difficulties, outpatient and inpatient therapy programs for children and adults with anxiety and depression, and non-profits
providing clinical and psychosocial support to survivors of violence, immigrants and other underserved populations. Enrollment is often limited
to seniors and requires at least a B average in Psychology as well as appropriate course preparation. The clinical practicum is a Community-
based Learning course.
Service-Learning Opportunities
PSYC 090 Field Placement in Clinical Psychology is designated as a Community-Based Learning course.
Summer Research Opportunities
Students may apply for summer funding to conduct research in psychology either through the Social Sciences Division or through the Division of
Natural Sciences and Engineering, depending on the nature of the research project. Students should seek the sponsorship of a faculty member
who is willing to provide guidance in developing and submitting an application. Funding may be obtained to work with faculty members on
campus or, in some cases, at another campus or setting. Students planning to prepare a thesis are especially encouraged to consider ways of
integrating a summer of research into their thesis work, but all interested students should feel free to explore their options. The list of faculty
research interests on the department's website will help students identify the appropriate faculty member to consult.
Teacher Certification
Students who wish to qualify for certification at the secondary school level should consult faculty in the educational studies department.
Psychology majors can complete the requirements for teacher certification in social science, through a program approved by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. For further information about the relevant set of requirements, please refer to the Educational Studies section of the Bulletin.
Life After Swarthmore
Psychology majors have followed a variety of paths after graduation, including into medicine, law, business, information technology, marketing,
counseling, finance, theater, and education, as well as into traditional psychology programs leading to clinical practice and/or academic
research in psychology, neuroscience and related fields.
Psychology Courses
PSYC 001. Introduction to Psychology
An introduction to the basic processes underlying human and animal behavior-studied in experimental, social, and clinical contexts. Analysis
centers on the extent to which typical and atypical behaviors are determined by learning, motivation, neural, cognitive, and social processes.
PSYC 001 is a Prerequisite for further work in the department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Ward.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Ward.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Ward.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science
An introduction to the science of the mind from the perspective of cognitive psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, and artificial
intelligence. The course introduces students to the scientific investigation of such questions as the following: What does it mean to think or to
have consciousness? Can a computer have a mind? What does it mean to have a concept? What is language? What kinds of explanations are
necessary to explain cognition?
Non-distribution.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, PSYC
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Durgin.
Fall 2023. Durgin.
Catalog chapter: Cognitive Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/cognitive-science
PSYC 004. First Year Seminar: Psychology in Schools
Schools are excellent settings in which to understand human thinking and behavior. Educational psychology, or the study of human teaching and
learning, provides a great applied introduction to psychological concepts. This area of psychology also draws upon different areas of the
discipline, including cognitive and developmental psychology.
In this seminar, we will consider and explore psychology in school settings. To do so, we will rely primarily on academic texts, in addition to
essays, film, and personal narratives to support our learning and exploration. In many ways, we will build on our own schooling experiences
(what has worked and what hasn't) to think globally about school learning, teaching, and belonging.
PSYC 004 does not serve as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
PSYC 018. Well-being
The course examines individual, interpersonal, and social factors that contribute to social and emotional well-being, as well as interventions
designed to promote well-being. Although the course focuses on psychological well-being across a variety of contexts and life stages, a heavy
emphasis will be placed on well-being during the college years.
PSYC 018 does not serve as an alternate prerequisite for further work in the department.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Gillham.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 024. Qualitative Methods
This course presents qualitative methods as an expanding approach to research in psychology. Students will critically examine the foundations of
qualitative research, particularly in the context of a positivist view of psychological science. In this course, students will collect, analyze, and
write up qualitative data using specific modes of inquiry.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or the equivalent; PSYC 025 is preferred.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis
How can one answer psychological questions? What counts as evidence for a theory? This course addresses questions about the formulation and
evaluation of theories in psychology. The scientific model of psychological hypothesis testing is emphasized, including the critical evaluation of
various research designs and methodology, understanding basic data analysis and statistical issues, and the application of those critical thinking
skills to social science findings reported in the media. Students also learn to design and conduct psychology studies, analyze data generated from
those studies, and write up their findings in the format of a psychology journal article.
This course is required for the major prior to the student's senior year. STAT 011. Statistical Methods I must be taken prior to or concurrently
with the course.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and STAT 011 or equivalent.
Corequisite: STAT 011 or equivalent if not taken previously.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 027. Scientific Computing for Psychology
Progress in psychology (and many other fields) increasingly relies on using computational tools for data analysis. This course is intended to
provide an introduction to scientific computing for students interested in Psychology, but who have little programming experience. Students will
learn Python, a programming language widely used for scientific research, through a process of framing hypotheses, performing statistical tests,
and visualizing results using large datasets collected from psychological experiments. Note that this course serves as a possible prerequisite for a
more advanced scientific computing course in the Spring.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 025 or permission of Instructor.
Social sciences.
PSYC 028. Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination
Humans are social creatures; interpersonal relationships and group membership are critical to our survival and well-being. The formation of
groups, however, can give rise to ingroup favoritism, stereotyping, and discrimination against outgroup members. This course will examine
social psychological theory and research on the causes and consequences of stereotypes, prejudice & discrimination, emphasizing sociocultural,
cognitive, personality, neuroscience and motivational perspectives. We will study the development and causes of stereotypes and prejudice, and
reasons for their persistence and prevalence. We will consider both the effects that stereotypes and prejudice have on people's perceptions of and
behaviors toward particular groups or group members, as well as their effects on members of stereotyped groups. Finally, we will explore the
implications of research findings on stereotypes, prejudice & discrimination for education, business and government policies; and will discuss
possible techniques for reducing prejudice and discrimination.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Norris.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 030. Behavioral Neuroscience
A survey of the neural and biochemical bases of behavior with special emphasis on sensory processing, motivation, emotion, learning, and
memory. Both experimental analyses and clinical implications are considered.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Schneider.
Spring 2023. Fobbs.
Spring 2024. Fobbs.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 031. Cognitive Neuroscience
What neural systems underlie human perception, memory and language? What deficits arise from damage to these systems? This course covers
a variety of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychological methods and what they tell us about human cognition.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Zinszer.
Spring 2023. Zinszer.
Spring 2024. Zinszer.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 031A. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
This course focuses on the neural underpinnings of cognitive (memory, attention), social (theory of mind, empathy), and affective (emotion,
evaluation) processes, as well as how they interact with and contribute to each other. We consider how such processes are implemented at the
neural level, but also how neural mechanisms help give rise to social and emotional phenomena. Many believe that the expansion of the human
brain evolved due to the complex demands of dealing with others - competing or cooperating with them, deceiving or empathizing with them,
understanding or misjudging them. In this course, we review current theories and methods guiding social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience,
taking a multi-level approach to understanding the brain in its social context.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Norris.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 032/132. Perception: Laboratory Course and Seminar
Perception is fundamental to both cognition and action. How does perception work? This combined core-course and honors seminar covers a
variety of scientific theories of perception including biological analyses of comparative functional anatomy of sensory systems and the
informational "ecology" in which they have evolved, as well as functionalist information processing theories including computational, statistical
and inferential approaches. An integrated series of laboratories and demonstrations provides students with experience testing theories of
perception empirically. Students will additionally engage in collaborative original research projects. This course counts as as a core course in
Psychology and as honors preparation in Psychology, Cognitive Science and in Neuroscience.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001. Introduction to Psychology and PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis , or COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive
Science, or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS.
Spring 2023. Durgin.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 033. Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is one of the intellectual foundations on which modern psychological science is built. This course has two principal goals.
On the one hand, it provides an integrated overview of a variety of subfields of cognitive psychology including perception, attention, memory,
language, concepts, imagery, thinking, decision-making, and problem solving. On the other hand, it develops a coherent conceptual framework
for understanding how behavioral experiments can illuminate the workings of the human mind.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or COGS 001 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2023. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 034. Psychology of Language
(Cross-listed as LING 034)
The capacity for language sets the human mind apart from all other minds, both natural and artificial, and so contributes critically to making us
who we are. In this course, we ask several fundamental questions about the psychology of language: How do children acquire it so quickly and
accurately? How do we understand and produce it, seemingly without effort? What are its biological underpinnings? What is the relationship
between language and thought? How did language evolve? And to what extent is the capacity for language "built in" (genetically) versus "built
up" (by experience)?
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, or COGS 001, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Grodner.
Fall 2023. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 035. Social Psychology
Social psychology argues that social context is central to human experience and behavior. This course provides a review of the field with special
attention to relevant theory and research. The dynamics of cooperation and conflict, the self, group identity, conformity, social influence,
prosocial behavior, aggression, prejudice, attribution, and attitudes are discussed. And is eligible for PEAC credit.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Ward.
Spring 2023. Ward.
Spring 2024. Ward.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 037. Multicultural Psychology
As individuals, we function in environments we share with others. In those contexts, we learn about what it means to be and how to behave as
members of a group or groups. Further, societally, group membership is associated with power and privilege for some, and marginalization for
others. In this course, we will review how researchers have conceptualized culture, difference, and multiculturalism. A significant portion of the
class will be spent considering race, ethnicity, and culture from a psychological perspective, particularly as they relate to interactions between
dominant and nondominant groups. Identity, discrimination, intersectionality, and privilege are a few of the topics we will discuss.
GLBL-Core eligibility
Prerequisite: PSYC 001
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core eligibility.
Fall 2022. Thelamour.
Fall 2023. Thelamour.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 038. Clinical Psychology
This course is an introduction to clinical psychology. We will survey the field of psychopathology and psychotherapy in the context of specific
disorders and syndromes, and with regard to etiology, course, and treatment. Although we will give attention to different theoretical orientations
and methods of investigation, we will primarily emphasize empirically supported approaches. That is, we will explore what research tells us
about clinical psychology.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Siev.
Spring 2022. Wexler.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 039. Developmental Psychology
Do infants have concepts? How do children learn language? These questions and others are addressed in this survey course of physical,
cognitive, social, and emotional development during infancy and early childhood. The course asks how and why human minds and behaviors
develop, examining the theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on the nature of developmental change.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 040. Political Psychology
This course is an intensive study of special topics in political psychology, including political orientation and partisanship, elections and voting,
political intolerance and motivated reasoning, authoritarianism and liberty, and protest and activism. An emphasis will be placed on ideology;
it's psychological underpinnings, functions, and consequences. An empirical research component may be included in this course.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or permission of the instructor. To request approval, please contact Dr. John Blanchar (jblanch2@swarthmore.edu) and
indicate why you would like to take this course, any previous relevant coursework or experience, and how the course fits with your academic
program and goals.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Blanchar.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 041. Children at Risk
Violence, educational inequality, war, and chronic poverty are key contexts for many children's lives. We consider children's responses to
adversity from clinical, developmental and ecosystemic perspectives. In addition, we explore the role of psychology in both prevention and social
policy affecting children and families.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and either PSYC 038 or PSYC 039 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 042. Cognitive Behavior Therapy
This course is an introduction to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Students will learn the theoretical and empirical bases for cognitive and
behavioral interventions across the range of clinical disorders in adults. Through classroom role-playing, experiential exercises, and
demonstrations, students will get an opportunity to view and practice the techniques presented in both lecture and reading material. Specific CBT
elements covered will include Beckian cognitive therapy, exposure therapies, acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches, motivational
interviewing, dialectical behavior therapy, behavioral activation, and others.
This course may not be taken after taking PSYC 138B: Seminar in Clinical Psychology: Anxiety Disorders.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Siev.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 043. Computational Methods for Psychology and Neuroscience
This course will introduce students to computational approaches to understanding the brain and behavior, through the lens of human learning
and memory. We will cover a range of topics including: representation and similarity, correlation, convolution, cognitive models, human
electrophysiology, neural oscillations, and supervised/unsupervised learning. Students will gain experience with the methods and their
applications through Python-based programming projects.
Prerequisite: PSYC 027 or CPSC 021 and Instructor permission. Interested students with experience/coursework in other areas (e.g. psychology,
neuroscience, computer science, mathematics/statistics, engineering) are also encouraged to contact the Instructor.
Social sciences
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 045. The Cognitive Science of Racism in America
This four-week intensive course considers myriad ways that limitations and biases in human cognitive systems can contribute not only to bias
against perceived others, but how these biases can be systematically recruited to enforce and seemingly justify discriminatory policies and
practices in the US. An introductory week will consider consciousness of self vs. other, subsequent weeks will intensively consider in turn, how
various evolved cognitive systems designed to make perception, language use, and reasoning powerfully efficient, also render these cognitive
systems open to systematic bias and, thus, manipulation. Equal focus will be placed on understanding the sophistication and vulnerability of
human cognition.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or COGS 001, or permission of the instructor.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 048. Gender and Psychopathology
(Cross-Listed as GSST 048 )
Why are certain clinical syndromes, such as depression, overrepresented among women, while others, such as aggression, are more common
among men? This course explores gender differences in emotion socialization, coping styles, and mental illness, including depression, eating
disorders, posttraumatic stress, aggressive disorders, and substance abuse. It also critiques definitions of sex and gender and methodological
approaches to the study of group differences.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 055. Therapy and Change in Families and Larger Systems
Understanding families and larger groups as systems is important in treating and preventing both mental and physical illness. This course will
introduce you to new ways of thinking about psychopathology, conflict and resilience in families as well as diverse settings -- including schools,
hospitals, and larger organizations. We will explore treatment approaches for intrapersonal and interpersonal difficulties from a systemic
perspective, using clinical and developmental theory, empirical research, and film as guides to fuller understanding. Case studies from
psychiatric, medical, school, and community settings will be highlighted.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and either PSYC 038 or PSYC 039, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Reimer.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 090. Senior Field Placement in Clinical Psychology
An opportunity for psychology seniors to gain supervised experience in off-campus clinical settings. Requirements include 8 hours per week in an
off-campus placement, weekly meetings to discuss placement experiences and relevant readings, and a major term paper. Students are expected
to have clinical contact with clients/patients and to have an on-site supervisor. Juniors who are interested in taking Psyc 90 during their senior
year should complete the Psyc 90 application by May 1st of their junior year (the year prior to the course). Applications are available online at
this link. Students are responsible for arranging a placement, in consultation with the instructor during the fall semester, before the course
begins. Students applying for this course must have at least a B average in psychology. This course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in
psychology.
To apply for a spot in PSYC 090, please complete the application available at this link. Enrollment is limited to seniors. If the course over-
enrolls, priority is given to students who are completing majors and special majors involving psychology.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038 or PSYC 041
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for CBL
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Krauss.
Spring 2024. Krauss.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 091. Special Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience
Current issues in behavioral neuroscience are considered from both a clinical and an experimental perspective. Topics include learning and
memory, with a focus on emotional memory and its relation to anxiety disorders; memory storage, with a focus on the impact of brain damage;
neuropsychiatric and degenerative disorders, including schizophrenia, clinical depression, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases;
psychopharmacology, with a focus on drug addiction.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 030 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 092. Theories of Psychotherapy
This course provides an introduction to several major theoretical approaches to psychotherapy, such as psychodynamic/psychoanalytic,
behavioral and cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, and interpersonal/group therapy models. Students will learn how these theoretical frameworks
differentially influence assessment, case conceptualization, treatment planning, style of the therapeutic relationship, intervention techniques, and
methods of evaluating therapy process and outcomes. Using case vignettes, film demonstrations, classroom role playing, and other experiential
exercises, students will learn how these models are applied in real world settings and begin to develop an awareness of their own therapeutic
philosophy. Critical analysis of the models will be advanced through ethical considerations and the application of multicultural and feminist
perspectives.
Senior Comprehensive Credit: When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Krause.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 094. Independent Research
Students conduct independent research projects. They typically study problems with which they are already familiar from their courses. Students
must submit a written report of their work. Registration for independent research requires the sponsorship of a faculty member in the Psychology
Department who agrees to supervise the work.
A Psychology Faculty Member must agree to supervise a student before he or she may enroll in PSYC 094.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 095. Tutorial
Any student may, under the supervision of a member of the Psychology Department, work in a tutorial arrangement for a single semester. The
student is thus allowed to select a topic of particular interest and, in consultation with a faculty member, prepare a reading list and work plan.
Tutorial work may include field research outside Swarthmore.
Registration requires the sponsorship of a faculty member in the Psychology Department who agrees to offer the tutorial.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 096. Senior Thesis
A senior thesis, which is a yearlong empirical research project, fulfills the senior comprehensive requirement in psychology. It must be
supervised by a member of the department and must be taken as a two-semester sequence for 1 credit each semester. Admission requirements
include a B+ average in psychology and overall, an approved topic, an adviser, and sufficient advanced work in psychology to undertake the
thesis. The supervisor and an additional reader (normally a member of the department) evaluate the final product. Students should develop a
general plan in consultation with an adviser by the end of the junior year. Students are encouraged to begin thesis work during the summer
preceding the senior year.
A Psychology Faculty Member must agree to supervise student before enrollment.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 025 and permission of a research supervisor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit each semester.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 097. Senior Thesis
A senior thesis, which is a yearlong empirical research project, fulfills the senior comprehensive requirement in psychology. It must be
supervised by a member of the department and must be taken as a two-semester sequence for 1 credit each semester. Admission requirements
include a B+ average in psychology and overall, an approved topic, an adviser, and sufficient advanced work in psychology to undertake the
thesis. The supervisor and an additional reader (normally a member of the department) evaluate the final product. Students should develop a
general plan in consultation with an adviser by the end of the junior year. Students are encouraged to begin thesis work during the summer
preceding the senior year.
A Psychology Faculty Member must agree to supervise student before enrollment.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis and permission of a research supervisor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit each semester.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 098. Senior Research Project
As one means of meeting the comprehensive requirement, a student may select a topic in psychology in consultation with psychology faculty
member. Usually prepared during the fall semester of the senior year, the student writes a substantial paper on the topic based on library
research or original empirical research. In addition to submitting written reports, students participate in a poster conference at the end of the
semester. One-half credit or one credit with a letter grade is awarded for all components of the project. Note that Psyc 98 projects are rare as
most faculty do not have capacity to supervise these projects. The common routes for completing the seniors comprehensive requirement include
Research Practica courses, Thesis (PSYC 096/097, Psyc 180), and the Field Placement in Clinical (PSYC 090). Registration for PSYC 098
requires the sponsorship of a faculty member in the Psychology Department who agrees to supervise the student's work on the project. See the
department website for further details www.swarthmore.edu/academics/psychology/academic-program/majors-and-minors.xml .
A Psychology Faculty Member must agree to supervise student before enrollment.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, PSYC 025, and permission of a research adviser.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 099. Senior Neuroscience Thesis
As one means of fulfilling the neuroscience thesis requirement in the Psychology Department (alternatives include a Research Practicum or a
full-year 2-credit thesis project), a student may write a report, regarding research conducted in neuroscience, with a psychology faculty advisor.
Enrollment is usually during the fall semester of the senior year. In addition to submitting a substantial paper, students participate in a poster
conference at the end of the semester. One-half credit or one credit with a letter grade is awarded for all components of the project.
A Psychology Faculty Member must agree to supervise a student before he or she may enroll in PSYC 099.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, PSYC 025, and permission of the faculty adviser.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 101. Research Practicum in Political Psychology
In this course, students will conduct empirical research projects individually or in small groups in collaboration with the instructor. This includes
designing and implementing a study, collecting and analyzing data, and reporting and presenting the findings. Although project topics are
somewhat flexible, they will generally focus on topics related to political ideology, attitudes, and behavior. What are the core psychological
dimensions of left-wing and right-wing ideology? What psychological factors underlie why people are more politically liberal or conservative?
Do liberals and conservatives construe "the self" differently, and if so, why? What underlies libertarianism? What increases the appeal of novelty
and change? What are the antecedents of and remedies for political intolerance and censorship? In addition to the class meeting time, additional
time is scheduled as needed to conduct research projects. When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in
psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or the equivalent, PSYC 025, and either PSYC 040 (concurrently) or PSYC 035
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Blanchar.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 102. Research Practicum in Perception and Cognition
In this course, students conduct research projects singly or in small groups in collaboration with the instructor. Projects include designing,
implementing, analyzing and reporting an experiment. Project topics are negotiated at the beginning of the semester. Past projects have studied
eye-movements and decision-making, perception of the bodily self, self-motion and space perception, metaphor processing, and even
experimental demand characteristics. All students meet together for a weekly lab meeting; additional weekly meeting times will be scheduled.
When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, PSYC 025 or permission of the instructor.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Durgin.
Fall 2022. Durgin.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 103. Research Practicum in Behavioral Neuropharmacology
The practicum consists of a weekly meeting in seminar format and a laboratory component. In this practicum students conduct research projects
in small groups in collaboration with the instructor. Projects include designing, implementing, analyzing and reporting an experiment.
Experiments are directed at characterizing and pharmacologically targeting underlying mechanisms mediating abnormal fear memory, based on
an animal model of anxiety disorders. When taken in the senior year, this practicum fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology and
neuroscience.
In addition to the seminar meetings, students will have the opportunity to conduct research one day per week Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
morning from 9:00 - 9:45 AM. Accordingly, students should keep one of the following time blocks open for the duration of the semester:
Tuesdays 9:00 - 9:45 am, Wednesdays 9:00 - 9:45 am, or Thursdays 9:00 - 9:45 am.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, PSYC 025, PSYC 030 or BIOL 022, or permission of the instructor.
Lab: One day per week; Tues, Wed, or Thurs 9-9:45 am.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Schneider.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 104. Research Practicum in Language and Mind
In this course students conduct research projects singly or in small groups in collaboration with the instructor. Projects include designing,
implementing, analyzing and reporting an experiment. Project topics are negotiated at the beginning of the semester. Past projects have
investigated how people understand the perspective of conversational partners, how comprehenders resolve linguistic ambiguity, how perceivers
infer what a speaker means from what they have said, and hemispheric differences in the way the brain processes language. All students meet
together for a weekly lab meeting; additional weekly meeting times will be scheduled. When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the
comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001; PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis, and permission of the instructor.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 105. Research Practicum in Psychology and Neuroscience: Social Imitation
In this course students conduct research projects singly or in small groups in collaboration with the instructor. Projects include designing,
implementing, analyzing and reporting an experiment. Project topics are negotiated at the beginning of the semester but will generally focus on
topics related to social imitation, including why we tend to imitate others, what purposes social imitation serves, the consequences of social
imitation for the experience of empathy, how imitation may give rise to emotional contagion, and how interpersonal factors such as similarity,
attractiveness, and race bias may affect imitation. All students meet together for a weekly lab meeting; additional weekly meeting times will be
scheduled. When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001; PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis; either PSYC 031A. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience or PSYC
035. Social Psychology and permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 106. Research Practicum in Cognitive Development
This course provides experience in conducting research with infants and young children. Students conduct research projects singly or in small
groups in collaboration with the instructor. Students will design, implement, analyze, and report an experiment. Project topics are negotiated at
the beginning of the semester and are focused on language and concept acquisition as well as the interaction between language and cognition
early in development. All students meet together for a weekly lab meeting; additional weekly meeting times will be scheduled. When taken in the
senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001; PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis and permission of the instructor. PSYC 039. Developmental Psychology is
strongly recommended.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 107. Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or the equivalent, PSYC 039 (Developmental Psychology), PSYC 025 (Research Design and Analysis)
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 108. Research Practicum in Clinical Psychology
In this class, you will work in small groups to develop, design, conduct, analyze, and report an empirical research project. The primary objective
is to foster your understanding of all phases of the research process from conception to report.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001; PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis; PSYC 038. Clinical Psychology.
Social sciences.
1 credit each semester.
Eligible for CBL
Spring 2022. Siev.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 109. Research Practicum in Social and Emotional Well-Being
This course provides experience in conducting research related to clinical psychology, prevention, and well-being promotion. The course focuses
on the development and promotion of social and emotional well-being in adolescents and young adults. Students typically work in groups and
collaborate on one or more research projects. Students may work on ongoing projects in the lab and/or develop new projects. Research projects
typically focus on: 1) identifying and understanding the psychosocial and contextual factors that promote social and emotional well-being and
protect against the development of psychological difficulties (e.g., depression and anxiety); and/or 2) evaluating school- and community-based
programs designed to promote social and emotional well-being. Students gain experience in many aspects of the research process, including
reviewing research literature, developing research questions and hypotheses, implementing research projects, entering and analyzing data, and
presenting on projects and findings orally and in writing (in journal article format). In addition to the class meeting time, additional time is
scheduled as needed to conduct research projects.
Senior Comprehensive Credit: When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 or the equivalent and PSYC 025: Research Design and Analysis; PSYC 038: Clinical Psychology is strongly preferred.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Gillham.
Fall 2023. Gillham.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 110. Research Practicum in Cognitive Neuroscience
Students conduct research projects in small groups in collaboration with the instructor. Projects include designing, implementing, analyzing and
reporting on an experiment. Topics are negotiated at the beginning of the semester and are focused on the brain mechanisms underlying human
learning and memory. All students meet together for a weekly lab meeting; additional weekly meeting times are scheduled.
When taken in senior year, the course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 , PSYC 025 : Research Design and Analysis, and either PSYC 032/132 Perception, PSYC 033 Cognitive Psychology, or
PSYC 031 Cognitive Neuroscience, and permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 111. Research Practicum in Multicultural Psychology
Senior Comprehensive Credit: When taken in the senior year, this course fulfills the comprehensive requirement in psychology.
This course may not be taken as CR/NC.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001, PSYC 025, and PSYC 037 or instructor's permission.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Thelamour.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 180. Honors Thesis
An honors thesis, a yearlong empirical research project, fulfills the senior comprehensive requirement in psychology as part of an honors major
in psychology. It must be supervised by a member of the department and must be taken as a two-semester sequence for 1 credit each semester.
Students should develop a general plan in consultation with an adviser by the end of the junior year. When possible, students are encouraged to
begin work on their thesis during the summer before their senior year.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001; PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis and permission of a research supervisor.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit each semester.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
Seminars
Note: Admission to honors seminars normally requires at least a B+ in the associated core course. Enrollment in seminars is normally limited to
12 students.
PSYC 130. Seminar in Behavioral Neuroscience
Course previously titled Seminar in Physiological Psychology
An analysis of the neural bases of motivation, emotion, learning, memory, and language. Generalizations derived from neurobehavioral relations
are brought to bear on clinical issues.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 030. Behavioral Neuroscience or BIOL 022 or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Zinszer.
Fall 2022. Fobbs.
Fall 2023. Fobbs.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 131. Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience
In this course, we'll examine how the processes for learning, comprehending, and producing language are implemented in the human brain.
Drawing on evidence from neuropsychological and brain imaging studies, we'll critically evaluate research on questions like: What brain areas
serve in language processing? What are the cognitive functions of these areas, and how do these functions coordinate to make language? How is
language affected when the brain is damaged? What are the cognitive and neural consequences of different language learning experiences? In
addition to exploring the unfolding answers to these questions, we will develop a familiarity with academic literature in this field and practice the
skills of reading, criticizing, and synthesizing primary research to answer scientific questions.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 031, or permission of the instructor.
Social Science.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Fall 2021. Zinszer.
Fall 2022. Zinszer.
Fall 2023. Zinszer.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 131A. Seminar in Social Neuroscience: The Social Brain
This seminar focuses on a critical analysis of current social neuroscience literature, covering topics such as person perception, empathy,
perspective taking, emotion, attitudes, relationships, stereotypes and prejudice. Students consider evidence from studies using a broad spectrum
of methods, including behavioral measures, functional neuroimaging, neurophysiological recordings, neuropsychology and computational
modeling.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001. Introduction to Psychology and PSYC 031A. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience or PSYC 031. Cognitive
Neuroscience or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS
Spring 2022. Norris.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 032/132. Perception: Laboratory Course and Seminar
Perception is fundamental to both cognition and action. How does perception work? This combined core-course and honors seminar covers a
variety of scientific theories of perception including biological analyses of comparative functional anatomy of sensory systems and the
informational "ecology" in which they have evolved, as well as functionalist information processing theories including computational, statistical
and inferential approaches. An integrated series of laboratories and demonstrations provides students with experience testing theories of
perception empirically. Students will additionally engage in collaborative original research projects. This course counts as as a core course in
Psychology and as honors preparation in Psychology, Cognitive Science and in Neuroscience.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001. Introduction to Psychology and PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis , or COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive
Science, or permission of instructor.
Natural sciences and engineering practicum.
Lab required.
2 credits.
Eligible for COGS.
Spring 2023. Durgin.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 133. Metaphor and Mind Seminar
Metaphor and other forms of figurative language use are fundamental to human thought. Can studying metaphor help us understand the
representation of meaning in the brain and the communication of meaning between minds? How do metaphors affect our conceptualization of the
world and of each other? This seminar examines scientific theories of metaphor use and understanding from psycholinguistics, cognitive science,
philosophy of language, and neuroscience.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 033. Cognitive Psychology, PSYC 034. Psychology of Language or COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science or
permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 134. Seminar in Psycholinguistics
(Cross-listed as LING 134)
An advanced study of special topics in the psychology of language. A research component is sometimes included.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 034. Psychology of Language, PSYC 033. Cognitive Psychology, or COGS 001. Introduction to Cognitive Science , or
permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS.
Spring 2022. Grodner.
Spring 2024. Grodner.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 135. Seminar in Social Psychology
The seminar will provide an opportunity for critical exploration of contemporary topics in social psychology, including findings from cross-
cultural and social neuroscience research. Various perspectives and methods for investigating how human mind and social behavior interact
with situational and environmental factors are considered. Real world implications and applications are also discussed.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 035. Social Psychology or permission of the instructor. PSYC 025. Research Design and Analysis is strongly
preferred.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Ward.
Fall 2022. Ward.
Fall 2023. Ward.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 138A. Seminar in Clinical Psychology: The Role of Context
This course examines the role of context in both the development and treatment of psychopathology. We consider questions regarding the
interplay of biology, development, and social/cultural context as we seek to understand the genesis of different psychological disorders, and the
forces that maintain, exacerbate, and ameliorate them. Within this framework, we examine how the subjective experience of illness and of the
therapeutic relationship affect treatment outcome, how an ecological perspective has informed empirically supported and alternative treatments
for a wide variety of psychological disorders, and several current controversies in the theory and practice of clinical psychology.
Students may only use one clinical seminar, either PSYC 138A or PSYC 138B as an honors preparation.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038 or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 138B. Seminar in Clinical Psychology: Anxiety Disorders
This course provides an in-depth look at anxiety disorders, including phobias, panic disorder, agoraphobia, GAD, social anxiety disorder, OCD,
and PTSD. We will explore the etiology, psychopathology, and treatment of each disorder, as well as current controversies and future directions.
We will give attention to different theoretical orientations and methods of investigation; however, we will primarily emphasize empirically
supported approaches. That is, we will explore what research tells us about anxiety.
Students may only use one clinical seminar, either PSYC 138A or PSYC 138B as an honors preparation.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 038 or permission of the instructor.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Siev.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 139. Seminar in Cognitive Development
This course will introduce students to the basic principles and theories of human cognitive development from infancy through early adolescence.
The areas and ideas that will be discussed in this seminar include, but are not limited to, causal learning, number development, memory, concept
formation, language development, spatial cognition, and computational modeling. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to think
not just about when key behaviors and abilities emerge, but how those abilities come to exist. Thus, a major focus of this course will be on
critically evaluating mechanisms of developmental change.
This course may not be taken as pass/fail.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 039. Developmental Psychology or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for COGS, ESCH.
Spring 2022. Benton.
Catalog chapter: Psychology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/psychology
PSYC 137. Seminar in Multicultural Psychology: Immigrant Adjustment
This seminar will bring students to use multicultural theories and concepts to understand the experiences of immigrants as they adjust to their
new countries. Questions under consideration include "What does cultural adjustment look like for immigrants?" and "What stressors do
undocumented immigrants endure?" The course uses an ecological framework to tackle the multifacetedness of the impact of immigration on the
individual.
Prerequisite: PSYC 001 and PSYC 037, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Thelamour.
Spring 2024. Thelamour.
Religion
Courses
Faculty
GWYNN KESSLER, Associate Professor and Chair
Director of Beit Midrash
YVONNE P. CHIREAU, Professor
3
STEVEN P. HOPKINS, Mari S. Michener Professor of Religion
3
ELLEN M. ROSS, Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor
of Quakerism and Peace Studies
MARK I. WALLACE, Professor
TARIQ al-JAMIL, Associate Professor
1
Coordinator of Islamic Studies Program
JAMES PADILIONI, Visiting Assistant Professor
PREA PERSAUD KHANNA, Visiting Lecturer
ANITA PACE, Administrative Assistant
1
Absent on leave, fall 2021.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
The Religion Department plays a central role in the Swarthmore academic program. One attraction of the study of religion is the cross-cultural
nature of its subject matter. The discipline addresses the complex interplay of culture, history, text, morality, performance, and personal
experience. Religion is expressed in numerous ways: ritual and symbol, myth and legend, story and poetry, scripture and theology, festival and
ceremony, art and music, moral codes and social values. The department seeks to develop ways of understanding these phenomena in terms of
their historical and cultural particularity and in reference to their common patterns.
Courses offered on a regular cycle in the department present the development of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Afro-Caribbean religions,
and Christianity as well as the development of religion and religions in the regional areas of the Indian Sub-Continent (Hindu, Jain, Buddhist,
Muslim, Sikh), Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam), China (Taoist, Confucian, spirit cults), Japan (Buddhist and
Shinto), Africa (Fon, Yoruba, Dahomey, and Kongo), the Middle East (Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Gnostic, Mandean), Jewish, Christian, and
Islamic Europe and the Americas (from New World African traditions, Vodou and Candomblé, to Neo Paganism and Civil Religion in North
America). Breadth in subject matter is complemented by strong methodological diversity; questions raised include those of historical,
theological, philosophical, literary, feminist, sociological, and anthropological interests. This multifaceted focus makes religious studies an ideal
liberal arts major.
The Academic Program
Normally, the student who applies for a major or minor in religion will have completed (or be in the process of completing) two courses. Majors
successfully complete eight credits in religion, including the required Religion Café Senior Symposium in the fall of the senior year, to meet
departmental and college graduation requirements. Minors complete five credits in the Religion Department and are not required, but are
strongly recommended to enroll in the Religion Café Senior Symposium.
Students come to the study of religion through various courses at various levels, and the department encourages this flexibility and diversity of
entry-points by having no introductory course requirements, nor are there required distribution courses. The major in religion is planned in
consultation with faculty members in the department, the individual student's adviser, along with other relevant faculty, who encourage
curricular breadth (close work in more than one religious tradition) and methodological diversity in the proposed program. Such breadth and
diversity in the program is encouraged at the very beginning in the major's Sophomore Plan.
The curriculum in the Religion Department is strongly comparative, thematic, and interdisciplinary, so it is relatively easy for students to
propose programs that are cross-cultural and trans-disciplinary in scope. Religion majors are encouraged to include study abroad in their
programs, planned in collaboration with the department. Often a student's independent study project done while studying abroad is expanded
into a one or two-credit honors or course thesis upon return to Swarthmore.
Course Major and Minor
Requirements
For the major, students are required to take 8 credits total in Religion, including the Religion Café Senior Symposium in the fall of the student's
senior year. The Religion Café will be a one-credit seminar style course and will include a term essay assignment. Successful completion of the
Religion Café will be the culminating requirement for the course major. Other than completing eight Religion credits, students who major in
Religion are free to take a variety of courses of their own choice outside of the discipline, in consultation with their Religion departmental
advisor.
To minor in Religion, students are required to complete only five credits in Religion. It is also strongly recommended (but not required) that
minors enroll in the Religion Café. See Online Catalog for more information.
It is recommended that majors and minors take one introductory course.
Introductory courses include:
RELG 003. The Bible
RELG 004. Radical Jesus
RELG 005. World Religions
RELG 006C. First Year Seminar: Apocalypse: Hope and Despair in the Last Days
RELG 008. Patterns of Asian Religions
RELG 011. First-Year Seminar: Religion and the Meaning of Life
RELG 016. First-Year Seminar: Bible and Politics
RELG 019. First-Year Seminar: Religion and Food
and all writing (W) courses
Students may choose to write a thesis. Those seniors who desire to complete a one-credit thesis or a two-credit thesis as part of the major will
need to obtain permission from a faculty adviser in consultation with the department. For majors, this exercise will not substitute for the Religion
Café Senior Symposium.
With department approval, up to three courses cross-listed but not housed within the Religion Department may count toward the major. Only one
such cross-listed course will count toward the minor. Up to two non-Swarthmore courses (i.e., courses taken abroad or domestically) may count
toward the major; only one such course is permissible for the minor.
Admission to the Major
The Religion Department considers two areas when evaluating applications: overall GPA and quality of prior work in religion courses.
Applicants are sometimes deferred for a term so the department can better evaluate an application for the major (generally it is expected that
students will have taken two courses in religion before being accepted into the major/minor). A student's demonstrated ability to do at least B/B-
work in religion is required for admission to the major in course.
Honors Major and Minor
Requirements
All honors majors and minors fulfill requirements for the Course Program. Beyond this step, the normal method of preparation for the honors
major will be done through three seminars, although with the consent of the department, a single 2-credit thesis, a 1-credit thesis/course
combination, or a combination of two courses (including attachments and study abroad options) can count for one honors preparation. In
general, only one such preparation can consist of non-seminar-based studies.
In the religion major, the mode of assessing a student's three 2-credit preparations in religion (seminars or course combinations, but not 2-credit
theses) will be a three-hour written examination set by an external examiner. In addition, with the exception of a thesis preparation, a student will
submit to each external examiner a Senior Honors Study paper. Senior Honors Study papers will be between 2500 and 4000 words and will
normally be a revision of the final seminar paper or, in the event of a non-seminar mode of preparation, a revised course paper. A final oral
examination by the examiner follows the written exam. 2-credit theses will be read and orally examined by an external examiner (with no extra
Senior Honors Study requirement).
In the minor, the mode of assessing a student's one 2-credit preparation in religion will also be a three-hour written examination (and the oral)
set by an external examiner, along with a Senior Honors Study paper.
Seminars and the written and oral external examinations are the hallmarks of honors. Seminars are a collaborative and cooperative venture
among students and faculty members designed to promote self-directed learning. The teaching faculty evaluates seminar performance based on
the quality of seminar papers, comments during seminar discussions, and when required, a final paper. Since the seminar depends on the active
participation of all its members, the department expects students to live up to the standards of honors. These standards include: attendance at
every seminar session, timely submission of seminar papers, reading of seminar papers before the seminar, completion of the assigned readings
prior to the seminar, active engagement in seminar discussions, and respect for the opinions of the members of the seminar. Students earn
double-credit for seminars and should expect twice the work normally done in a course. The external examination, both written and oral, is the
capstone of the honors experience.
Admission to the Honors Program
Because of the nature of different instructional formats (e.g., seminars) and of the culminating exercise in the Honors Program, the department
expects applicants to this program to have at least a B+/B average in religion courses as well as an overall average above the College
graduation requirement for admission to the Honors Program.
Application Process for the Major or the Minor
Sophomore applicants: for instructions and more information, please visit the "Sophomore Plan of Study" page under "Advising" on the Office of
Academic Success website.
Junior and senior applicants: students use the Major Minor Portal available from mySwarthmore to apply for any major, minor, or honors, or
make any further changes after sophomore year. Please visit the "Majors, Minors & Honors" page on Registrar's Office website for more
information.
Please note:
All applications to the religion major or minor should include a one to two paragraph statement that details the applicant's reason for applying
to the department (we encourage curricular breadth and diversity of courses).
All religion majors must take RELG 095 Religion Café: Senior Symposium in the fall of senior year.
Transfer Credit
For policy regarding domestic study or any summer study see the Registrar's Office and website: Policies, "Transfer Credit Policy - Credit for
Work Done Elsewhere."
Off-Campus Study
In many cases, credit may be earned in the Religion Department for study abroad or at other institutions in this country. Typically, the Religion
Department will approve a maximum of 2 religion credits for off-campus study. For international study during the academic year, see the Off-
Campus Study Office and website. In addition, students who are seeking credit for study to be completed at other institutions should consult with
the Religion Department off-campus study representative prior to enrolling in courses. In order to seek credit for any work completed while away
from Swarthmore the general policy is that students must have the Registrar's or Off-Campus Study Office's approval form signed by the Religion
Department representative prior to undertaking the course or courses.
Further Notes about International Off-Campus Study:
1. Prior to the international study opportunity, speak with your Off-Campus Study advisor. Carefully review all material received from
the Off-Campus Study Office.
2. Complete the "Pre-Estimation of Study Abroad Credit" form online
3. While away, contact the Religion Department if any changes are made to the preapproved schedule.
4. During your study away from Swarthmore, keep all relevant course material including syllabi, class notes, papers, and examinations,
etc.
5. At the beginning of the semester after your return, meet with an Off-Campus Study Office staff member to organize your materials for
evaluation for credit.
6. Complete the "Record of Departmental Materials Submission" (available at the Off-Campus Study Office). At the time you submit all
supporting documents (e.g., syllabi, papers, examinations, class notes, etc.) to the Religion Department, have this form signed by the
Religion Department representative who oversees transfer credit requests in religion.
7. The Religion Department will then consider credit award and will send the student, the Registrar, and the Off-Campus Study Office its
decision. At this time, you may pick up your supporting materials in the Religion Department Office.
Religion Courses
RELG 001. Introduction to Religion
This course introduces the nature of religious worldviews, their cultural manifestations, and their influence on personal and social self-
understanding and action. The course explores various themes and structures seminal to the nature of religion and its study: sacred scripture,
visions of ultimate reality and their various manifestations, religious experience and its expression in systems of thought, and ritual behavior and
moral action. Members of the department will lecture and lead weekly discussion sections.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 002. Religion in America
This course is an introduction to religion in the United States, beginning with Native American religions and European-Indian contact in the
colonial era, and moving forward in time to present-day movements and ideas. The course will explore a variety of themes in American religious
history, such as slavery and religion, politics and religion, evangelicalism, Judaism and Islam in the United States, "cults" and alternative
spiritualities, New Age religions, popular traditions, and religion and film, with an emphasis on the impact of gender, race, and national culture
on American spiritual life.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 003. The Bible
The Bible has exerted more cultural influence on the West than any other single document; whether we know it or not, it impacts our lives. This
class critically examines the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)-from its Ancient Near Eastern context to its continued use today. We explore a
variety of scholarly approaches to the Bible- historical, literary, postmodern-as we read the Bible both with the tools of source-criticism and as
cultural critics. Particular focus will be placed on constructions of God, gender, nature, and the "other" in biblical writings as well as the themes
of collective identity, violence, and power.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 003A. Hebrew Bible and its Modern Interpreters
When was the last time you read the most important text in the West? The Hebrew Bible isn't what it used to be. In the modern period, the
scientific study of the Bible opened up new ways of thinking about sacred texts. This is an introduction to the Hebrew Bible as a literary,
historical, political, and religious document. We will explore the use and abuse of the Hebrew Bible by Jews and Christians, paying attention to
its role in contemporary culture, politics, and ethics. Reading select books of the Bible, we will emphasize issues of gender and race, revolution
and Zionism, genocide and slavery, good and evil.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 003B. Varieties of Religious Experience in African Diaspora
This course explores varieties of Black Diaspora religion through the lens of religious experience -- or all those ways that Black ritual
foregrounds sensible encounters with Spirit as an aim of worship. Through reading discussions, lectures, multimedia sources, and social media
platform assignments, students will discover aspects of Black Spirit ritual through the domains of the five physical senses: touch, taste, sight,
smell, sound; choreography, kinaesthetics and embodied movement; and the Diasporic "sixth senses" of dreams, visions, divination, revelation,
spirit possession, trance, and ecstasy.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 004. Radical Jesus
(Cross-listed as CLST 004 )
Discussion-and writing-intensive study of classical and contemporary understandings of the figure of Jesus through analytical reading,
classroom dialogue, expository writing, and community engagement. It asks the questions, Who was the real historical Jesus? and, What is the
relevance of Jesus for today? Introduction to wide understanding of Greco-Roman cultures and ancient texts, biblical and otherwise, including
many of the extracanonical scriptures that did not make the final cut for inclusion in the commonly received New Testament. Also introduction to
the Greek alphabet, lexicons, and research tools for New Testament study along with rudimentary Greek terms essential to biblical scholarship
and commentary. Instruction is intellectually rigorous and responsive both to skeptical and faith-based readings of Jesus' biography and the
Bible. The ground is level in this class: believers and unbelievers, evangelicals and atheists are welcome. No prior background in religious or
biblical studies is assumed or required.
The class is divided into four three-week sessions with each session devoted to one of the Gospels, and a final week-long session focusing on the
Book of Acts. Each session will study the interplay between Christian scriptures along with writings and images about Jesus drawn from the
Hebrew Bible, extracanonical writings, film and video, history, theology and fiction. Images of Jesus through time will be tackled: Jewish rabbi,
political revolutionary, apocalyptic prophet, queer lover, desert shaman, African messiah, and Native American trickster.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, ENVS, ESCH, INTP
Spring 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 004B. Biblical Interpretation
A famous rabbinic statement proclaims, "If you wish to know The-One-Who-Spoke-and-the-World-Came-Into-Being, learn aggadah" (Sifre
Deuteronomy 11:22). This course further proclaims, if you wish to know Judaism, study Jewish interpretation. The process of Jewish
interpretation, begun in the Hebrew Bible and continuing to the present day, offers great insight not only into the ways Jewish tradition,
literature, and culture have come into being, but also how these facets of Judaism, and Judaism writ large, adapt and develop over time. This
class begins with Jewish interpretations during the 2nd Temple Period, proceeds to examine in some depth classical rabbinic exegesis, moves on
to explore some "off the beaten track" medieval sources, and culminates in contemporary meditations (and movies) about Judaism. We pay
attention to both the continuities and disjunctions of Jewish writings and representations over time as we explore what the boundaries are-if
indeed there are any-of both Jewish interpretation and Judaism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 005. World Religions
This introductory course supplies students with the religious literacy skills necessary to think and write critically and comparatively about the
world's religions. It will challenge the "world religion" paradigm in both its form and content while engaging students through the study
of diverse traditions. Organized thematically with a focus on "lived religion," we will explore different topics such as food, architecture,
performance, and art through a combination of theoretical pieces and case studies. We will also make use of a variety of media
resources including film, podcasts, and music. The course pays special attention to religious communities in the Greater Philadelphia Area and
will include site visits and virtual tours as a way of introducing participants to the history and diversity of cultures within our own
"neighborhood."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Persaud.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006. Abrahamic Religion/s: Violence and Monotheism
This course introduces students to the academic study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam through the figure of Abraham. How have these
religions understood Abraham in competing and overlapping ways? In what ways have their respective portrayals of Abraham fostered both
unity and discord, peaceful coexistence and religious wars, that persist throughout history and up to current geo-political, religious landscapes
(e.g. Hevron/Hebron/al-Khalil)? Broader themes this course addresses through the figure of Abraham are the roles of violence in religion, and
gendered and racialized violence and monotheism. Finally, we critically examine the use of the discourse of "Abrahamic Faith/s" in Religious
Studies and Inter-religious dialogue.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006B. The Talmud: Drinking in Antiquity
(Cross-listed as ANCH 006B )
This course introduces students to the Babylonian Talmud and related rabbinic literature, the foundational texts of Judaism. We focus on
rabbinic traditions about drinking and eating, placing them in conversation with biblical, Greco-Roman, and Sassanian sources. Through these
texts, we begin to learn what the Talmud is, what Judaism is, and how Jews and Judaism were situated, and steeped, in their larger
Mediterranean cultures. Since drinking and eating are embodied acts filled with religious meanings, we also focus on religion, gender, and the
body in ancient religions and cultures.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CLST, PEAC
Spring 2022. Kessler.
Fall 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 006C. First Year Seminar: Apocalypse: Hope and Despair in the Last Days
(Cross-listed as ENVS 006)
For millennia, speculation about the end of the world has fired the imaginations of Western cultures. Today, in the light of the interrelated crises
of ecological collapse and COVID-19, scientists argue we are in the time of the "Sixth Great Extinction," while religious communities assert we
are living into the end of the world based on ancient prophecies. This course will ask how two seemingly unrelated modes of discourse-
environmental science and religious studies-converge to shape productive responses to the world's end; and the power, and the anxieties of
environmental spiritualities (with special reference to Buddhist, Neopagan, Christian and Indigenous worldviews) to give birth to hope and
resilience in the face of the coming storm.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, ESCH
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 007B. The Caribbean Carnival: Sacred Myth and Performance
From saint feast day processions and pilgrimages for Black Christ statues to Carnaval, Crop Over, and other Caribbean harvest festivals,
religious holidays in Latin America are occasions for celebration. This course focuses on religious festivals and ritual bodies to reveal the ways
these performances form mobile archives of history that yet testify both to the accumulated forces of colonialism, slavery, and capitalism that
shaped this region, as well as the power of choreography and other embodied movement as instruments and devices of popular insurgency.
Course materials include primary and secondary readings, multimedia sources such as ethnographic videos and audio recordings, material and
sartorial culture objects, and in-class lectures and discussions. Potential field trip to Philadelphia's El Carnaval de Puebla.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 008. Patterns of Asian Religions
A thematic introduction to the study of religion through an examination of selected
precepts and practices of several religious traditions of India, China, and Japan structured
as patterns of religious life. Materials taken from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of
India, Confucian and Taoist traditions of China, and from Zen traditions of Japan.
Themes we will consider include issues of religious symbols, cosmology, and ritual; the
gods, personhood/self, and religious transformation; liberation, gender, and sexuality;
philosophy, narrative and popular piety; and the place of the body in meditation, worship
and religious experience.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Hopkins.
Spring 2024. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 008B. The Qur'an and Its Interpreters
This is course will include detailed reading of the Qur'an in English translation. The first part of the course will be devoted to the history of the
Qur'an and its importance to Muslim devotional life. The first portion of the course will include: discussion of the history of the compilation of
the text, the methods used to preserve it, styles of Qur'anic recitation, and the principles of Qur'anic abrogation. Thereafter, attention will be
devoted to a theme or issue arising from Qur'anic interpretation. Students will be exposed to the various sub-genres of Qur'anic exegesis
including historical, legal, grammatical, theological and modernist approaches.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 009. The Buddhist Traditions of Asia
This course explores the unity and variety of Buddhist traditions within their historical developments in South, Central, and East Asia, by way of
the study of its texts The course will be organized chronologically and geographically, and to a lesser extent thematically, focusing on the
formations of early Indian Buddhism (the Nikaya traditions in Påli and Sanskrit), the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Thailand, Mahayana
Ch'an/Zen traditions in China and Japan, and Vajrayana (tantra) traditions in Tibet. Themes include narratives of the Buddha and the
consecration of Buddha images; gender, power, and religious authority, meditation, liberation, and devotional vision; love, memory, attachment
and Buddhist devotion; the body, and the social construction of emotions and asceticism.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2022. Hopkins.
Fall 2023. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 010. African American Religions
What makes African American religion "African" and "American"? Using texts, films, and music, we will examine the sacred institutions of
Americans of African descent. Major themes will include Africanisms in American religion, slavery and religion, gospel music, African American
women and religion, black and womanist theology, the civil rights movement, and Islam and urban religions. Field trips include visits to Father
Divine's Peace Mission and the first independent black church in the United States, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, PEAC
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Fall 2023. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 011. First-Year Seminar: Religion and the Meaning of Life
What is the purpose and meaning of life? What constitutes "a life well lived"? Seminar themes include religion and personal and social change;
understandings of the Sacred; suffering, death, love, justice, healing, fear, hope; and meaning in times of plagues and pandemics. Readings
include Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Thomas, Lucretia Mott, Thich Nhat Hanh, Dorothy Day, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Martin Luther King,
Jr., Mary Oliver, and William Barber II.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Ross.
Spring 2024. Ross.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 011B. The Religion of Islam: The Islamic Humanities
This course is a comprehensive introduction to Islamic doctrines, practices, and religious institutions in a variety of geographic settings from the
rise of Islam in the seventh century to the present. Translated source materials from the Qur'an, sayings of Muhammad, legal texts, and mystical
works will provide an overview of the literary expressions of the religion. Among the topics to be covered are: the Qur'an as scripture and as
liturgy; conversion and the spread of Islam; Muhammad in history and in the popular imagination; concepts of the feminine; Muslim women;
sectarian developments; transmission of religious knowledge and spiritual power; Sufism and the historical elaboration of mystical communities;
modern reaffirmation of Islamic identity; and Islam in the American environment.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 012. The History, Religion, and Culture of India I: From the Indus Valley to the Hindu Saints
A study of the religious history of India from the ancient Indo-Aryan civilization of the north to the establishment of Islam under Moghul rule.
Topics include the ritual system of the Vedas, the philosophy of the Upanishads, the rise of Buddhist and Jain communities, and the development
of classical Hindu society. Focal themes are hierarchy, caste and class, purity and pollution, gender, untouchability, world renunciation, and the
construction of a religiously defined social order.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 012B. Hindu Traditions of India: Power, Love, and Knowledge
This course is an introduction to the religious and cultural history of Hindu traditions of India from the prehistoric Indus Valley in the northwest
to the medieval period in the southeast, and major points and periods in between, with a look also at formative points of the early modern period.
Our focus will be on the interactions between Vedic, Buddhist, brahmanical, popular/ritual, and Jain religious traditions in the development, and
formation of Hindu religious streams, along with major ritual and ascetic practices, hagiographies, and myths, hymns and poetry, and art and
images associated with Hindu identities and sectarian formations, pre-modern and modern. In addition to providing students with a grasp of the
basic doctrines, practices, and beings (human, superhuman, and divine) associated with various Hindu traditions, the course also seeks to equip
them with the ability to analyze primary and secondary sources.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 013. The History, Religion, and Culture of India II: Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Dalit in North India
After a survey of premodern Hindu traditions, the course tracks the sources of Indo-Muslim culture in North India, including the development of
Sufi mysticism; Sindhi, Urdu, and Tamil poetry in honor of the Prophet Muhammad; syncretism under Mughal emperor Akbar; and the
consolidation of orthodoxy with Armad Sirhindi and his school in the 16th to 17th century. We then trace the rise of the Sikh tradition in the
milieu of the Mughals, northern Hindu Sants and mendicant Sufis, popular goddess worship and village piety, focusing on several issues of
religious experience. We then turn to the colonial and post-colonial period through the lenses of the Hindu saints, artists, and reformers (the
"nationalist elite") of the Bengali Renaissance, and the political and religious thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Dalit reformer Ambedkar. We
will use perspectives of various theorists and social historians, from Ashis Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Peter van der Veer, to Veena Das and Gail
Omvedt.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA ISLM
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 014. Race, Gender, and Sex in the Bible
Is the Bible racist? Sexist? Homophobic? This course introduces students to the academic study of the Bible and critical theories about gender,
race, sexuality, and ethnicity. How is it that the Bible has been mobilized to support racist, homophobic, and misogynist ideologies and that the
same Bible has been used to subvert, undermine, and ultimately try to eradicate these same ideologies? Course readings focus on black feminist,
womanist, African American, Asian American, and Latinx biblical interpretations.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 015. First-Year Seminar: Religion and Literature: Blood and Spirit
A seminar-style introduction to study the relation of religious ideas to visionary literature, including novels, stories, sacred texts, and films. A
variety of critical theories are deployed to underand (or construct) the meaning of different imaginative variations on reality. Academic and
creative writers include many or all of the following: Sophocles, Augustine, Joyce, Morrison, O'Connor, Updike, Dostoevsky, Crace, Lewis, Weil,
Scorsese, Kazantzakis, Snyder, Abbey, and Camus.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 015B. Philosophy of Religion
(Cross-listed as PHIL 016)
Searching for wisdom about the meaning of life? Curious as to whether there is a God? Questioning the nature of truth and falsehood? Right and
wrong? You might think of philosophy of religion as your guide to the universe. This course considers Anglo-American and Continental
philosophical approaches to religious thought using different disciplinary perspectives; it is a selective overview of the history of philosophy with
special attention to the religious dimensions of many contemporary thinkers' intellectual projects. Topics include rationality and belief, proofs for
existence of God, the problem of evil, moral philosophy, biblical hermeneutics, feminist revisionism, postmodernism, and interreligious dialogue.
Thinkers include, among others, Anselm, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kant, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Levinas, Weil, and Abe.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, INTP, PHIL
Spring 2022. Wallace.
Spring 2024. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 016. First-Year Seminar: Bible and Politics
What role does the Bible play in contemporary political debates? How do the Bible-and religion-shape American politics, political movements,
and the law? This course explores the intersections among the Bible, Religion, and Politics. It critically examines categories often taken as self-
evident and distinct-such as "the religious" and "the political"-and demonstrates how they work together in ways that continue to impact
individual and collective identities in the United States. We begin by reading the Bible - in itself both a political act and an act steeped in politics.
From "the politics of interpretation," we then move on to explore the ways in which religion and biblical interpretations are called upon, both
explicitly and implicitly, in modern and current debates about gender, sexuality, race, science, ethics, and Constitutional Law. We explore issues
such as abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, creationism, incarceration, and capital punishment. Students will be introduced to a range of
methods and theories in the academic study of Religion and related critical theories. Through seminar discussion and written assignments,
students will develop skills that are crucial to engaged, nuanced, critical discourses in the academy and beyond.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 017. Animal Religion
This course examines the multiple, sometimes dissonant, connections between animals and religion. Do animals have religion? Why have some
religions venerated animals as divine beings while others claim to be against such "strange worship"? What are the religious ethics of
sacrificing-or eating-animals? How does grappling with questions about personhood, the soul, and emotions help us better understand the
relationship between animality and humanity? By critically examining the range of connections between animals and religion, this class
introduces students to far larger questions about what it means to be human and what differentiates-yet binds together-human and non-human
animals.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 018. Global Christianities
This course explores Christian beliefs and practices in a global context. We consider Christian worldviews, their cultural expressions, history,
and influence upon personal and social self-understanding and action. Examples will be drawn from Christian communities in Asia, Africa,
Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Themes include images of the sacred and of Jesus and Mary, mother of Jesus; pilgrimage and
festivals; saints; gender; power; and religious authority; politics, conflict, and social transformation; and healing traditions.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 018B. Modern Jewish Thought
Is modern reason compatible with biblical revelation? Beginning with the heretic Spinoza, we'll examine the giants of Jewish thought- religious
reformers, philosophers, and theologians wrestling with the challenge of modernity, politics, and multiculturalism. Topics will include: the
essence of Judaism, the nature of law, religion and state, God and evil, the status of women and non- Jews, the legacy of the Holocaust. Readings
from: Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Judith Plaskow, Emmanuel Levinas, and others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 019. First-Year Seminar: Religion and Food
Why do some people eat the body of their deity? Are pigs clean or unclean? Are mushrooms sacred beings? What is Soul food? Which is better,
to feast or to fast? All of these questions are tied together by a common theme: they frame the relationship between food and the religious
experiences of human beings. RELG 19 is an introduction to the Humanities via the academic study of global religions. The course centers
around food as a point of entry to examine Christianity, Islam, Native American, Judaism, African, and Eastern traditions. We will discuss topics
such as sacrifice, diet, fasting and spirituality, sacred vegetarian practices, and edible plants/spirits with class projects that include preparing
and serving relevant food items and creating food-related forms. Field research trips and activities are included. This is a Speaking Associates
Program (SPA) course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Chireau.
Fall 2023. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 020. Christian Mysticism
This course considers topics in the history of Christian mysticism. Themes include mysticism as a way of life, relationships between mystics and
religious communities, physical manifestations and spiritual experiences, varieties of mystical union, and the diverse images for naming the
relationship between humanity and the Divine. Readings that explore the meaning, sources, and practices of Christian mystical traditions may
include Marguerite Porete, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, and Dorothee Soelle.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 021. Prison Letters: Religion and Transformation
Focusing on themes of religion and transformation and prison as a literal and metaphorical space, this course explores themes of life and death,
oppression and freedom, isolation and community, agency, and identity. Drawing primarily on Christian sources, readings move from the New
Testament through Martin Luther King, Jr., to the contemporary U.S. context where more than 2 million people are incarcerated today.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Ross.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 022. Religion and Ecology
(Cross-listed as ENVS 040)
This course focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and
modern times. In turn, it examines how various religious worldviews can aid the development of an earth-centered philosophy of life. The thesis
of this course is that the environment crisis, at its core, is a spiritual crisis because it is human beings' deep ecocidal dispositions toward nature
that are the cause of the earth's continued degradation. Course topics include ecological thought in Western philosophy, theology, and biblical
studies; the role of Asian religious thought in forging an ecological worldview; the value of American nature writings for environmental
awareness, including both Euro-American and Amerindian literatures; the public policy debates concerning vegetarianism and the antitoxics
movement; and the contemporary relevance of ecofeminism, deep ecology, Neopaganism, and wilderness activism. In addition to writing
assignments, there will be occasional contemplative practicums, journaling exercises, and a community-based learning component.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 023. Quakers Past and Present
(Cross-listed as PEAC 024 )
This course explores the religious beliefs, social teachings, and impact of Quakers in North America from the 1650s to the present. Topics
include Quaker beliefs about God and the light within; Quakers and social reform including anti-slavery work, women's rights advocacy, Native
American rights, and peace work; contemporary Quakers and social justice (including the work of Earth Quaker Action Team [EQAT] and the
American Friends Service Committee). While focusing on Quakers and social change, this course includes discussion of specific concerns and
methods in the study of Religion and of Peace and Conflict Studies. Students will have the opportunity to work with the resources of Swarthmore
College's Friends Historical Library and Peace Collection.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Ross.
Spring 2023. Ross.
Spring 2024. Ross.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 024. From Vodun to Voodoo: African Religions in the Old and New Worlds
Is there a kindred spirituality expressed within the ceremonies, beliefs, music and movement of African religions? This course explores the
dynamics of African religions throughout the diaspora and the Atlantic world. Using text, art, film, and music, we will look at the interaction of
society and religion in the black world, beginning with traditional religions in west and central Africa, examining the impact of slavery and
migration, and the dispersal of African religions throughout the Western Hemisphere. The course will focus on the varieties of religious
experiences in Africa and their transformations in the Caribbean, Brazil and North America in the religions of Candomblé, Santeria, Conjure,
and other New World traditions. At the end of the term, in consultation with the professor, students will create a web-based project in lieu of a
final paper.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 025. Black Women, Spirituality, Religion
This course is an exploration of the spiritual lives of African American women. We will hear black women's voices in history and in literature, in
film, in performance and music, and within diverse periods and contexts, and reflect upon the multidimensionality of religious experience in
African American women's lives. We will also examine the ways that religion has served to empower black women in their personal and
collective attempts at the realization of a sacred self. Topics include: African women's religious worlds; women in the black diaspora; African
American women in Islam, Christianity, and New World traditions; womanist and feminist thought; and sexuality and spirituality. Readings
include works by: Alice Walker; Audre Lorde; bell hooks; Zora Neale Hurston; Patricia Williams, and others.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Fall 2022. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 028. Christian Spiritual Journeys
This course explores personal narratives about the Christian life from the time of Jesus to the present. Themes include understandings of the
Sacred, the self, and the world; suffering and loss, brokenness and alienation, oppression and subjugation, healing and liberation, identity and
agency, love and justice, solidarity and community, and individual and social transformation. Readings may include: Gospel of Matthew, Gospel
of Thomas, Augustine of Hippo, Brendan of Clonfert, Hildegard of Bingen, Margery Kempe, John Woolman, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King,
Jr., James Cone, Kwok Pui-lan, Lara Medina, Shane Claiborne, Traci West, Kings Bay Plowshares 7.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Ross.
Fall 2023. Ross.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: Religion
RELG 029. Is God a White Supremacist?
This course will focus on representations of race in religious discourses and social practice. Particular attention will be given to discussion of
the interpretive practices that are foundational to the process of "whiteness-making" and the construction of white identity. With primary source
readings and secondary literature ranging from the biblical interpretation of white supremacist "Christian identity" churches to the articulation
of the Yakub theory of racial formation in the Nation of Islam, the course readings will: address religious theories justifying racial domination,
engage in critical examination of the influence of religious thought both past and present on comparative global racisms, and transnational
whiteness. Themes will include: evil and the nature of suffering, human/anti-human binaries, death and being, and perceptions of the racialized
transcendent Other in the social, political, and symbolic order.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, BLST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 030. The Power of Images: Icons and Iconoclasts
This course is a cross-cultural, comparative study of the use and critique of sacred images in biblical Judaism; Eastern Christianity; and the
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions of India. Students will explore differing attitudes toward the physical embodiment of divinity, including
issues of divine "presence" and "absence"; icons, aniconism, and "idolatry"; and distinctions drawn in some traditions between different types of
images and different devotional attitudes toward sacred images, from Yahweh's back and bleeding icons to Jain worship of "absent" saints.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice
Social justice rhetoric and activism are often framed around the theme of a fight or a struggle -- however noble -- against the forces and powers
of oppression. This course takes a different tack and approaches social justice via perspectives of healing, wellness, and critical care practices.
This course places an emphasis upon praxis, and as such will center healing and social justice practitioners and their methodologies as our
primary curricular materials (via in-class visits and their social media footprints) to accompany more traditional classroom readings and
multimedia assignments. What happens to our notions of social justice if we view current-day global oppression chiefly as a problem of colonial
dis/ease -- a restless sickness wracking the social and political body, the encrusted layers of generational trauma and violence catalyzed by the
on-going and open-ended histories of slavery, colonialism, and capitalism?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH, ENVS, PEAC, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 032. Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology
The God of the Bible and later Jewish and Christian literature is distinctively masculine, definitely male. Or is He? If we can point out places in
traditional writings where God is nurturing, forgiving, and loving, does that mean that God is feminine, or female? This course examines feminist
and queer writings about God, explores the tensions between feminist and queer theology, and seeks to stretch the limits of gendering-and sexing-
the divine. Key themes include: gender; embodiment; masculinity; liberation; sexuality; feminist and queer theory.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 033. The Queer Bible
This course surveys queer and trans* readings of biblical texts. It introduces students to the complexity of constructions of sex, gender, and
identity in one of the most influential literary works produced in ancient times. By reading the Bible with the methods of queer and trans*
theoretical approaches, this class destabilizes long held assumptions about what the bible--and religion--says about gender and sexuality.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 034. Partitions: Religions, Politics, and Gender in South Asia Through the Novel
This discussion-focused, seminar-style course will focus on a close reading of modern and contemporary South Asian novels and short stories
structured around the theme of "partition(s)," not only the historical events of the partition of Bengal (East Pakistan, eventually Bangladesh),
India's Partition in 1947, or the social catastrophe of Indira Gandhi's Emergency in the 1970's, but the long shadows of these events right up to
the (social, political) present. We will focus on many "figures of partition," personal, religious, and political, in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil,
Urdu, and English prose literatures of India and Pakistan. Themes will range from religion and politics, gender/power; sexuality; love within
and outside of the family; women, honor, and seclusion; asceticism and eroticism; caste, class, ethnicity, and race; children and their social and
political vulnerabilities; and love, politics, and inter-caste marriage in Hindu, Parsee, Sikh, Muslim, and Christian settings in South Asia.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2023. Hopkins.
Spring 2024. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 035. The Talmud Lab
This .5 credit course offers students an opportunity for hands-on, experiential, and experimental learning of the Talmud and related Jewish texts.
The Talmud is comprised of 5,422 pages; it is a massive collection of laws, myths, stories, and biblical exegesis that sheds light on its creators'
politics, philosophies, and cosmologies. We will learn Talmud from its smallest, atomized units while holding in sight how its whole might still
exceed the sum of its parts. This "Lab" setting allows students to engage and experiment with the Talmud, Jewish text study, and the varieties of
Jewish identities as we experience the Talmud and related topics through critical inquiry comprised of intuition, emotion, investigation, testing,
and refinement.
Humanities.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Kessler.
Spring 2023. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 036. Christian Visions of Self and Nature
This course is a thematic introduction to Christianity. Beginning with early Christian writings and moving historically up through the
contemporary period, we will explore a wide variety of ideas about God, self, and nature. Readings will focus on scientific and natural history
treatises in dialogue with theological texts. We will explore the writings of Christian naturalists to study the linking of science and religion, and
we will investigate a multiplicity of views about Christian understandings of the relationship between the human and non-human world. This
class includes a community-based learning component: Students will participate in designing and teaching a mini-course on "Nature and
Chester" to students in the nearby community of Chester. Readings include Aristotle (critical for understanding science in the later Middle Ages),
Hildegard of Bingen, Roger Bacon, Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir, Graceanna Lewis,
Thomas Berry, Nalini Nadkarni, and Terry Tempest Williams.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 037. Sex, Gender, and the Bible
The first two chapters of the biblical book of Genesis offer two very different ancient accounts of the creation of humanity and the construction of
gender. The rest of the book of Genesis offers a unique portrayal of family dynamics, drama and dysfunction, full of complex and compelling
narratives where gender is constantly negotiated and renegotiated. In this class, we will engage in close readings of primary biblical sources and
contemporary feminist and queer scholarship about these texts, as we explore what the first book of the Bible says about God, gender, power,
sexuality, and "family values."
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 038. Religion and Film
An introductory course that uses popular film as a primary text/medium to explore fundamental questions in the academic study of religion. In
particular, we will be concerned with the ways that religion and religious experience are constituted and defined on film as well as through film
viewing. In discussing films from across a range of subjects and genres, we will engage in the work of mythical, theological and ideological
criticism, while examining the nature, function, and value of religion and religious experience. We will also consider some of the most significant
writers and traditions in the field of Religion and develop the analytical and interpretive skills of the discipline. Scheduled films include The
Seventh Seal, The Matrix, Breaking the Waves, Contact, Jacob's Ladder, The Passion of the Christ, The Rapture, The Apostle, as well as
additional student selections. Weekly readings, writing assignments, and evening screening sessions are required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Chireau.
Spring 2024. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 039. Antisemitism and Jew-Hatred
"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" This class surveys antisemitism from antiquity to
the present day. It historicizes "religious" and "political" Jew-hatred, considering their differences as well as continuity over time. Since
antisemitism intersects with racism, misogyny, homophobia, gender-nonconformity, and economics, considerable attention is placed on
constructions of race, gender, sexuality, and class.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 040. Rape, Slavery, and Genocide in Bible and Culture
This course examines biblical "texts of terror." It explores the functions of violence in religious writings as well as their influence and impact on
current cultural issues. What are the biblical contributions to or roots of current societal crises about gender, race, and war? What are the limits
and limitations placed on rape, slavery, and genocide in the Bible that are obscured in current (mis)uses of biblical precedents in support of such
modern day atrocities? Without collapsing the distinctions between or simply blaming the Bible for current manifestations of extreme violence,
this class aims to bring these "texts of terror" into the open to help facilitate critical discussion about, and critique of, violence then and now.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 041B. Religion and Nature: Wonders Signs & Portents
Wonder is the province of the wide-eyed child in the woods, and the wild-eyed scientist in the lab. Wonder at the world is prompted by the odd
and uncanny, the strange and novel, the transcendent and sublime, as well as encounters with the monstrous and horrific. This course centers the
experience of natural wonder in American history as a primary religious impulse. Through an affect theory frame that approaches religion
through embodied emotions, we will chronicle the formation of modern American religious communities and ways of knowing and doing that
arose from encounters between indigenous Americans, European settlers, and enslaved Africans with the other-than-human spectacular.
Topics covered include: diverse cosmologic perspectives on celestial events (eclipses, meteor storms); plant medicine
(ethnobotany/ethnopharmacology), psychedelics, and entheogens; human-animal relations; levitation and trance reports, spectrality (hauntings,
monsters, UFO sightings); the mysteries of quantum entanglement; the apocalyptic imagination and the Anthropocene
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 042. Performing Ecstasy Dancing the Sacred
(Cross-listed as DANC 038)
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 043B. Decolonizing Afro/Latin American Religion
Is scientific knowledge superior to ancestral wisdom or spirit revelation in its ability to apprehend and describe reality? This course interrogates
the problem of coloniality as an imposition of power-knowledge that occurred as Iberians and their state-church institutions conquered
indigenous Americans and enslaved indigenous Africans. We will free the subjugated knowledges of "Latin" America by encountering alternative
narratives of history and sacred memory embedded within mythology and ritual. We will approach various streams of indigenous wisdom to
discover philosophical-ethical outlooks on justice, reciprocity, and right living. Students will develop an account of how Euro-America's
scientific-rational knowledge has appropriated the ethnobotanical and other ecological perspectives of Africans and Native Americans contained
within healing/wellness traditions.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 044. Reading Comics and Religion
This course focuses on how notions of Religion and the Sacred arise in comics and graphic novel texts. Drawing upon world religious traditions,
the course will explore how comics use both text and image to frame spiritual identity, sacred practice, and religious experience. Using comics as
primary sources, the class will engage the expression, imagination, and critical interpretation of religion through close readings of comics as
texts, with analysis of their visual forms. Coursework includes weekly lab meetings within a digital media maker's space. The course will
culminate with the production of student-created comics, which will be developed over the semester and supervised by an artist-in-residence.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 045. Bob Marley's Setlist: Vibrations of a Rastafari Worldview and Ethos
On July 21, 1979, Bob Marley & the Wailers performed at Boston's Harvard Stadium as part of the Amandla Festival of Unity held in support of
the liberation of South Africa. Their 90-minute reggae music concert featured a sonic-rhythmic-choreographic kaleidoscope looping the audience
through 400 years of Rastafari mythic history and prophetic visions: although Africans were taken captive to Babylon (the American wilderness
of racial capitalism), Jah Rasatafi had prepared a homeland in Ethiopia for the return of all Jah people, if only they chant down Babylon's
destruction by preaching one love, good vibrations, and unity in I-and-I.
This class holds reggae music as a preeminent liturgical corpus of the Rastafari tradition, and investigates the Rasta worldview as performed by
Bob Marley & the Wailers during their legendary Amandla set. Through a combination of concert video footage and a set of secondary source
materials, students will place each Marley & the Wailers reggae anthem within its mystic Rastafari theological, aesthetic, and historic contexts.
Topics include Diasporic Ethiopianism, Black Diaspora-Jewish Diaspora typology, Afro-Jamaican spirit-ecstatic musical traditions (myal,
obeah, kumina, and burru), Rasta womanhood/gender, Caribbean resistance to slavery via marronage and fugitivity (Tacky's Rebellion), pan-
Africanism (Marcus Garvey's UNIA "Back to Africa" Movement).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 046. The Bible in Popular Culture
What do Bob Dylan, Pulp Fiction, and Superman have in common? This course will focus on the interpretation of the Bible in pop culture. We
will explore the use of the Bible as inspiration and content in many genres of music, films, and visual arts. The arts have always looked to the
Bible as a source for its plots, themes and symbols, both overtly and covertly. We will consider how the Bible is used and the effect it has on the
interpretation of the Bible itself and the development of our popular culture. No previous knowledge of the Bible or pop culture required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 047. Afro-Futurism: Astral Mythologies of Creation and the Afterlife
(Cross-listed as ENVS 057)
In his 1974 film Space is the Place, avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra announced his mission to rescue Black earthlings and shuttle them in his
spaceship to the safety of a newly-discovered planet: "I come to you as a myth. Because that's what black people are, myths. I come to you from a
dream that the black man dreamed long ago." In many ways, Sun Ra's prophecy parallels variants of the Dogon creation myth of Mali, West
Africa (recorded in the 1940s) that details the fateful voyage of the Nommos demiurge deities, who traveled to Earth in a sky vessel from a
planetary point of origin some observers speculate may orbit the Sirius star system.
Through primary and secondary readings, interactive classroom activities, and multimedia sources -- including a bevy of music and film
recordings -- this course investigates Afrofuturism as a radical imaginary within the broader corpus of Black Astral Mythologies. By tracing a
throughline between topics such as 16th-century astronomical observations at the University of Timbuktu, U.S. Underground Railroad fugitive
navigations according to the 'North Star,' and recent cosmogonic speculation by quantum physicists into the elusive nature of Dark Matter,
students will consider this premise: when the safe harbor of the earth no longer offers itself as habitation, Blackened celestial futures constellate
the cosmic horizons.
Possible field trip to the House of Future Sciences, headquarters of the Philadelphia collective AfroFuturist Affair.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS
Fall 2021. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 051. Asian Religions in the Americas
Taking a hemispheric approach, this course will examine the histories, communities, and religious practices of Asians in South, Central, and
North America and the Caribbean. We will learn about the indentured labor trade that brought Indian and Chinese laborers to the Americas in
the 19th-20th centuries, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the case of Bhagat Singh Thind, and Japanese internment camps during WWII, in
addition to other examples of racism and resistance that Asians faced migrating across the Americas. Our focus will be on how Asians have
sacralized the local landscape and maintained and/or altered their religious practices, as well as how Asians have penetrated the culture of the
Americas, looking at topics like food, architecture (temples and religious institutions), music, and pop culture. As part of the emphasis on culture,
we will also explore the impact of Asian religions on American culture from the early transcendentalists to the Rajneesh movement and more,
exploring the ways in which Asians have transformed the cultures of the Americas as much as their communities have been transformed by their
new homelands.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, PEAC
Fall 2021. Persaud.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 052. The Good Life
What is a good life? What is the good life? This course applies multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to explore the answers to these
questions. As part of the course, we will discuss the characteristics of a good life by analyzing how various people and religious cultures have
defined "the good life," and exploring how people have chosen to live as members of both local and global communities. Throughout the
semester, we will examine the construction and cost of living a "good life" and the concepts and expressions of beauty, power, love, health, and
justice.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 053. Gender, Sexuality, and the Body in Islamic Discourses
An exploration of sexuality, gender roles, and notions of the body within the Islamic tradition from the formative period of Islam to the present.
This course will examine the historical development of gendered and patriarchal readings of Islamic legal, historical, and scriptural texts.
Particular attention will be given to both the premodern and modern strategies employed by women to subvert these exclusionary forms of
interpretation and to ensure more egalitarian outcomes for themselves in the public sphere. Topics discussed include female piety, marriage and
divorce, motherhood, polygamy, sex and desire, honor and shame, same-sex sexuality, and the role of women in the transmission of knowledge.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, GSST, ISLM, MDST
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 054. Power and Authority in Modern Islam
This course examines some of the salient issues of concern for Muslims thinkers during the modern period (defined for the purposes of this course
as the colonial and post-colonial periods). Beginning with discussion of the impact of colonialism on Islamic discourses, the course moves on to
address a number of recurrent themes that have characterized Muslim engagement with modernity. Readings and/or films will include religious,
political, and literary works by Muslims in variety of cultural and linguistic settings. Topics to be discussed will include: nationalism and the rise
of the modern nation-state, questions of religion and gender, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, developments in Islam in the United States and
Canada, and case studies of reformist and revivalist movements in the modern nation-states of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi
Arabia. Special attention will be paid to contemporary Muslim responses to feminist critiques, democracy, pluralism, religious violence,
extremism, and authoritarianism.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM.
Fall 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 055. Interpreting Asian Religions
This course examines the Western reception, experience, and interpretation of Asian religions, and the Asian responses to encounters with the
West. We will critique the category of "Asian religion" and discuss the methodological approaches to this category within the study of
religion. There are no formal prerequisites and no knowledge of any Asian language is required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Khanna.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 060. Varieties of Zionist Thought: Judaism, Nationalism, Antisemitism, and the Jewish Question
(Cross-listed as HIST 034)
This course focuses on political expressions of Jewish identity since the late nineteenth century through an exploration of the central texts of
Zionist thought. It integrates biblical, rabbinic, and medieval Jewish texts about Jerusalem, the idea of Zion, and the centrality of the Land of
Israel to provide historical context and background. We ask: what are the ways select Jewish sources from antiquity to modernity have grappled
with varied attitudes toward land, political sovereignty, and national identity in the Diaspora.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Kessler, Weinberg
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 067. Judaism and Nature
"We are not obligated to complete the task; neither are we free to abstain from it." (Pirke Avot 2:21) The task before us is to examine the
relationship(s) between Judaism and Nature. We are setting out to decide-or at least ponder-the following questions (though we will surely
encounter more along the way): What does Jewish literature from the Garden of Eden to the present day say about the earth and humanity's
relationship with it? Because of the growing awareness about current ecological concerns and crises, Jewish tradition is being mined-or
cultivated-for historical precedents that reflect ecologically sound models of Jewish living. How fruitful is this process? To what extent can
contemporary Jews rely on tradition to provide such models, and to what extent must Jews today find new ways of bringing humanity and nature
together?
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 093. Directed Reading
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 095. Religion Café: Senior Symposium
What is Religion? How is Religion constructed as an academic discipline? Religion 095 is a weekly café for thoughtful reading and discussion of
selected texts for senior majors and strongly recommended for minors. The Religion Café highlights approaches to Religious Studies with works
that have influenced theoretical and philosophical assumptions and vocabularies in the field. Readings include case studies and multidisciplinary
writings on Religion. The course will examine a number of approaches to Religious Studies including, but not limited to, those drawn from: post-
structuralism, gender studies, critical race theory, queer theory, cognitive science, phenomenology, ethics, pragmatism, social history, and
anthropology, with occasional works by Religion Department faculty members.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Ross.
Fall 2022. al-Jamil.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 096. Thesis
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 097. Thesis
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Seminars
RELG 100. Holy War, Martyrdom, and Suicide in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
An examination of the concepts of martyrdom, holy war, and suicide in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. How are "just" war, suicide, martyrdom
presented in the sacred texts of these three traditions? How are the different perspectives related to conceptions of death and the afterlife within
each tradition? Historically, how have these three traditions idealized and/or valorized the martyr and/or the "just" warrior? In what ways have
modern post-colonial political groups and nationalist movements appropriated martyrdom and holy war in our time?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST, PEAC
Spring 2023. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 101. Jesus in History, Literature, and Theology
This seminar explores depictions of Jesus in narrative, history, theology, and popular culture. We consider Jesus as historical figure, trickster,
mother, healer, suffering savior, visionary, embodiment of the Divine, lover, victorious warrior, political liberator, and prophet.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for MDST
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 102. Magic, Theory and Practice
Historian Owen Davies defines Magic as "the everyday employment of Religion for reasons other than spiritual enlightenment or salvation." In
this course we examine the history, theory, and meaning of Magic as a category of belief and practice intersecting with religious forms,
institutions, and material cultures. Focusing on the arts of American Magic - what we will call Conjure Americana, we will look at the rise of
Magic in the early modern era, from its initial formations in post Reformation European popular religion, to its expressions in English
Christianity, Puritanism and in colonial encounters with indigenous religions. This seminar centers on theoretical literature and secondary
sources about Anglo-American, Native American, and African American Magic, with an emphasis on local occult traditions such as
Pennsylvania Dutch and German healing arts, Pow-wows, charms, and sigil architecture. Seminar will include a mandatory lab section and two
off-campus research trips. Religion prerequisites recommended, but not required.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2023. Chireau.
Spring 2024. Chireau.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 108. Poets, Saints, and Storytellers: The Poetry and Poetics of Devotion in South Asian Religions
A study of the major forms of Hindu religious culture through the lenses of its varied regional and pan-regional literatures, with a focus on the
literature of devotion (bhakti), including comparative readings from Buddhist and Islamic traditions of India. The course will focus on both
primary texts in translation (religious poetry and prose narratives in epic and medieval Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Hindi, Pali, Sinhala,
Sindhi, and Urdu) as well as pertinent secondary literature on the poetry and poetics of religious devotion. We will also pay close attention to
specific literary forms, genres, and regional styles, as well as the performance (music and dance) and hagiographical traditions that frame the
poems of Hindu saint-poets, Buddhist monks, and Muslim mystics. Along with a chronological and geographical focus, the seminar will be
organized around major themes such as popular/vernacular and "elite" traditions; the performance and ritual contexts of religious poetry; the
place of the body in religious emotion; love, karma, caste, and family identity; asceticism and eroticism; gender and power; renunciation and
family obligations.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, MDST
Fall 2023. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 109. Afro-Atlantic Religions
This course investigates the Afro-Atlantic trope of spirit possession. The notion of "possession" contains a double meaning, referring in one
register to phenomena of trance, ecstasy, and other embodied engagements with Spirit(s), historically identified by religious studies scholars as
hallmarks of African Diasporic ritual traditions. In yet another register, the notion of "possession" chains Black religion to the history of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade and its logic of racial capital that sold Black bodies as commodities to be possessed by a master. By way of
ethnographic field reports, videos, films, and readings in critical race theory, kinesthetics, and phenomenology, students will untangle these
tropes of Black spirit and possession to discover what their alternative, Africanist perspectives might teach us about the nature of Being,
consciousness, materiality, and how to live well in ancestral community.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Spring 2022. Padilioni.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 112. Postcolonial Religious Thought
Today we are facing the four horsemen of the apocalypse: climate catastrophe, white nationalism, global poverty, and a raging pandemic. In
confronting these dire threats, what is the role of religion? This seminar explores new models for understanding religion -- Indigenous studies,
liberation theology, critical plant studies, queer theory -- and a variety of thinkers -- Kierkegaard, Buber, Bonhoeffer, Derrida, Mbembe, Tinker,
Kimmerer -- to enable resiliency, even joy, in the face of the coming storm.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for INTP
Fall 2022. Wallace.
Fall 2023. Wallace.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 114. Love and Religion
A comparative seminar that deals with ancient Greek, early and medieval Christian, medieval Jewish, "secular" troubadour, Hindu, South Asian
and East Asian (Japanese) Buddhist traditions on the transformations of "love" in religious devotional literatures. We focus on themes of erotic
and parental love; gender, sexuality, and the body; the emotions as ethical appraisal; individual love, loss, lament, and "ennobling virtue;" and
the enduring tensions between the particular and "universal" in discourses of and about love, the passions and their vicissitudes in the histories
of religion. Primary texts will range from Plato's Symposium, Gregory of Nyssa's Greek commentaries on the Song of Songs and his Bios
makrinou; the Occitan poetry of female Provençal troubadours, Dante's Vita nuova, selections from the Commedia, Angela di Foligno's Libello;
to early Buddhist women in the poetry and narratives of the Pāli Therīgāthā, the Sinhala narratives of the Buddha's wife Yasodharā and the
Buddha's two mothers, Bengali poetry to the Hindu goddess Kālī and to the divine lovers Krishna and Rādhā; Heian-period Japanese love poems
of Izumi Shikibu, and Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ASIA, GSST, MDST
Fall 2022. Hopkins.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 119. Islamic Law and Society
A survey of the history of Islamic law and its developments, with particular attention to the ways Islamic legal principles were formed, organized,
operated in practice, and changed over time. It will focus on issues in Islamic legal theory, methodology, constitutional law, personal law, and
family law that have had the greatest relevance to our contemporary world. This course functions as a basic introduction to the Islamic legal
system in its pre-modern and contemporary forms. The course will also provide comparative discussion of the contrasts between Islamic legal
theory and positive law and European and American legal and constitutional thought.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2024. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 126. The Poetry and Prophesies of William Blake
This course focuses on the lyric poems, extended epic cycles, and illuminated books of one of the most unique poets in English literature, William
Blake (1757-1827). We will do a close reading of the poetry and images of the major works of Blake, with the help of text-critical, theoretical and
historical perspectives, views of the body, innocence, experience, sexuality, the "margins" of literature; selfhood, self-giving, and "the gift of
death" in the late prophetic books. Along with published books of the designs and extended commentaries on the illuminated books by David
Erdman, images, bibliographies, and other resources from the online "Blake Archive" of Eaves and Viscomi will be used for "close reading" of
Blake's illuminated books and visionary designs.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 127. Secrecy and Heresy
This seminar will explore religious literature, bodily practices, and social behaviors associated with the performance of secrecy in various
geographical, historical, and political contexts. Religious communities have often employed secrecy as a strategy for the maintenance of group
solidarity and religious identity when faced with allegations of heresy. Secrecy functions not only as a means to subvert and undermine the
marginalization of religious minorities but as a powerful tool for the creation of more egalitarian possibilities through preservation of privileged
knowledge and the presence of internally shared though externally undisclosed social and religious connections. What kinds of religious secrets
are meant to be safeguarded? What set of behaviors and strategies are required to keep these "secrets" or sustain adopted personas? Is religious
secrecy merely a tactic for ensuring survival in the context of social marginalization and political persecution? What is the relationship between
secrecy and suspicion? Is it necessary that what one wishes to conceal is inherently negative, pernicious or even heretical?
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM, MDST
Spring 2022. al-Jamil.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 180. Senior Honors Thesis
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
RELG 199. Senior Honors Study
0.5 credit.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion
Sociology and Anthropology
Anthropology Courses
Sociology Courses
Sociology/Anthropology Courses
Faculty
JAMES FENELON, Visiting Professor of Sociology
FARHA N. GHANNAM, Professor of Anthropology
3
SARAH WILLIE-LEBRETON, Professor of Sociology, Provost
4
NINA JOHNSON, Associate Professor of Sociology
MAYA NADKARNI, Associate Professor of Anthropology
CHRISTINE SCHUETZE, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Chair
ALEJANDRA AZUERO-QUIJANO, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
DANIEL LAURISON, Assistant Professor of Sociology
2
SALVADOR RANGEL, Assistant Professor of Sociology
EDLIN VERAS, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
DAVINA TWO BEARS, Post-Doctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology
STACEY HOGGE, Administrative Assistant
2
Absent on leave, spring 2022.
3
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
4
Administrative leave 2021-2022
The Sociology and Anthropology Department provides students with intellectual tools for understanding contemporary and historical cultural
patterns and social issues such as globalization, nationalism, racism, sexism, embodiment, and the complex layering of inequalities in everyday
life. These two disciplines approach the study of social life from different avenues, each bringing a set of separate and overlapping analytical and
research tools to intellectual tasks that are complementary and synergistic. Our students seek knowledge about societies of the world and the
social dynamics within them. To that end, our majors each conduct independent projects based on primary research and/or fieldwork during
their senior year.
Anthropology and Sociology analyze experiences at the level of the individual or the group and connect them to larger social dynamics. The
disciplines illustrate how matters that are often perceived as "private troubles" are actually consequences of cultural categories and social
structures, including those that appear and feel natural and inevitable. Among the goals of Anthropology and Sociology are to acquire knowledge
about different social groups and culture systems and to engage critically with the complexities of social life.
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers a Course Major, Honors Major and Minor, and several Special Majors, but no Course
Minor.
The Academic Program
Overview of the Curriculum
Acceptance to the SOAN department requires completion of at least two courses, with a B average, in the department.
In order to graduate, majors housed in the Sociology and Anthropology Department are required to complete at least the following core courses:
1. ANTH 001. Foundations: Culture, Power, and Meaning
2. SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture, and Society
3. At least one designated methods course
4. A 2-credit senior thesis (SOAN 096/097 or SOAN 180F/180S)
The "Foundations" courses offer key introductions to the department's two fields; anthropology and sociology. Each highlights the distinct but
complementary theories and methods of the two disciplines and provides a solid background to ongoing debates in each discipline. The courses
examine concepts fundamental to both sociology and cultural anthropology and how these disciplines have changed over time.
The 2-credit senior thesis requirement, in which the student works closely with a faculty advisor, is normally completed in the fall and spring
semesters of the senior year.
The requirement includes:
1. SOAN 098. Thesis Writers Masters Class
2. SOAN 096/097(course) or 180F/180S (Honors)- Thesis tutorial
The senior thesis project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through
working directly with a faculty member. Students enhance their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting
a substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript.
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 001-019: Introductory courses serve as points of entry for students wishing to begin work in the department and are normally
recommended before taking higher-level work in the department.
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 020-090: Regular courses
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 095-099: Directed Reading, Independent Study, Course Thesis
ANTH/SOCI/SOAN 100 to 180: Honors Seminars and Thesis
Note: Course labeling within each of the three tiers of offerings reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or
particular research areas.
For current course and seminar listings, consult the website at https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology/current-courses
Course Major
Acceptance to the SOAN course major requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at least a C
average overall.
The applicant's performance in department courses is discussed during the application review process; we also consider carefully an applicant's
potential for carrying out the department's senior thesis requirement.
Course majors are required to complete at least eight units of work in the department; of the eight, five are core, see overview of curriculum
above.
Course Minor
The Sociology and Anthropology Department does not offer a course minor.
Honors Major
Acceptance to the SOAN honors major normally requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at
least a B average overall.
The department will evaluate the progress of students writing Senior Honor Thesis before the end of November. If progress is deemed
inadequate, the student will be asked to withdraw from Honors.
Students seeking to complete an honors major are required to complete at least nine units of work in the department;
- five required core courses, see overview of curriculum above
- two 2-credit preparations. These preparations can include honors seminars, a course plus attachment, paired upper-level courses, or off
campus study. The latter three forms of preparation must have the advance approval of the supervising faculty member and of the department.
Honors preparations (3):
1. Thesis preparation: The thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who will
also administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner's evaluation of the thesis.
2. Two 2-credit (non-thesis) preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written assignments or examinations given by the external
examiners and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral examinations.
Honors Preparation with Attachments
Students wishing to prepare for honors through a course plus an attachment must obtain permission from the instructor. Honors preparation will
consist of the following materials:
the syllabus for the course.
the syllabus for the attachment
written materials as requested by the instructor. The syllabus for the class and for the attachment, plus the written materials, if any
will be forwarded to the external examiner. The external examiner will be asked to prepare a written examination based on the
material as a unified whole. An oral examination will follow.
Honors and Off-Campus Study
There are a number of ways in which off-campus study can be either integral or complementary to an honors major in Sociology and
Anthropology. These include, but are not restricted to, the development of an honors preparation from work abroad and preparation for the
senior thesis. To explore off-campus study possibilities, students must consult with the Chair of the department.
Students who contemplate basing an honors preparation on off-campus study work must seek the department's conditional approval for this,
before undertaking off-campus study. Upon returning from abroad, students must request departmental approval of the honors preparation based
on work done abroad. To do this, students must submit to the department all materials done abroad, including syllabi and written work, which
are intended to be part of the honors preparation. Upon review of these materials, the department will notify the student as to whether or not the
proposed honors preparation is approved. Students should expect approval of only one honors preparation which includes off-campus study.
Special Major
Acceptance to a special major housed in SOAN normally requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average,
and at least a C average overall.
Most Special Majors need to be anchored in a home department. When a student anchors their special major in the department of Sociology and
Anthropology, they must fulfill the requirements below. In many cases, the best option is pursuing a course major, since the department is not
required to approve a Special Major application.
Requirements:
1. Must complete the required core courses. See overview of the curriculum above.
2. Four credits from outside of the department must be included as part of the special major.
3. In putting together the special major, it is advisable that the student only designate ten courses as part of the major. That way there
will be no problems with the 20-course rule.
Special Major in Medical Anthropology
Applicants for the Course and Honors Special Major in Medical Anthropology will usually be expected to have completed at least two courses in
the department with grades of at least a B, and to have at least a B average overall.
The special major in medical anthropology offers students the opportunity to tailor a scholarly exploration of medicine, health, and illness with a
foundation in anthropology. Medical anthropology is a dynamic subfield of the discipline that offers important theoretical, critical, and
comparative perspectives to the study of medical systems and healing practices in different cultures, and it provides ways to shape the work and
practices of medical institutions and professionals. Medical anthropology pays attention not only to biomedicine and scientific knowledge but
also to diverse ways of healing, managing pain, and defining wellbeing. It also pays close attention to the different local, national, and global
forces that shape the health and wellbeing of various groups and their access to resources and knowledges. This special major will be of
particular interest to students interested in graduate work in medical anthropology, the study of medicine, and those planning on pursuing
training and work in diverse professions of the health field.
Requirements, at least 10 credits:
1. ANTH 001. Foundations: Culture, Power, Meaning
2. one methods course
3.Thesis (to be discussed with advisor and developed beginning with declaration of special major)
4. Must complete at least one of the following two courses in the SOAN department:
ANTH 043E. Culture, Health, and Illness
ANTH 049B. Comparative Perspectives on the Body
Additional recommended SOAN courses include:
ANTH 002F. Anthropology of Childhood and the Family
ANTH 003G. First-Year Seminar: Development and its Discontents
ANTH 039C. Food and Culture
ANTH 053B. Anthropology of Public Health
ANTH 103. Humanitarianism: Anthropological Approaches
ANTH 133. Anthropology of Biomedicine
SOCI 050B. Medicine as a Profession
Up to four credits from outside of the department may be included as part of the special major, with permission from the department.
Students are encouraged to tailor their courses outside the department to their particular areas of interest. Some recommended
courses at Swarthmore include:
POLS 048. The Politics of Population
ECON 075. Health Economics
ENVS 035/POLS 043B. Environmental Justice: Theory and Action
LITR 074F. A History of the Five Senses
HIST 066. The Social Construction of Diseases in the Modern World
HIST 080. History of the Body
PSYC 038. Clinical Psychology
RELG 031. Healing Praxis and Social Justice
Additionally, students are encouraged to explore course offerings in the Tri-co Health Studies Program and at the Health & Societies
program at the University of Pennsylvania. Studying abroad could also be a valuable opportunity for the study of medical
anthropology. Please consult with your advisor for guidance on course selection beyond Swarthmore.
In putting together the special major, it is advisable that the student only designate ten courses as part of the major. That way there
will be no problems with the 20-course rule.
Honors Special Major in Medical Anthropology
Students seeking to complete an honors special major in medical anthropology are required to complete the above requirements for the special
major in Medical Anthropology
+ Three 2-credit preparations. These preparations can include honors seminars, a course plus attachment, paired upper-level courses, or off
campus study. The latter three forms of preparation must have the advance approval of the supervising faculty member and of the department.
Honors preparations (4):
1. Thesis preparation: The thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who will
also administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner's evaluation of the thesis.
2. Three 2-credit (non-thesis) preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written assignments or examinations given by the external
examiners and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral examinations.
Special Major in Political Sociology
Applicants for the Special Major in Political Sociology will usually be expected to have completed at least two courses in the department
with grades of at least a B, and to have at least a B average overall.
The special major in Political Sociology offers students an opportunity to ground their inquiries into all things political--political economy, forms
of political order and organization, regime formation and revolution, political action, parties and elections, policy, status, power--in a
sociological approach that seeks to interrogate and understand social structures and insists that politics must be treated as fully implicated in
every facet of the social order, from institutional arrangements to social relations. Political Sociology encompasses a wide variety of theoretical
and methodological approaches with which sociologists attempt to describe and explain political phenomena. We cover a wide range of areas
within the field, including race, class, migration, colonization, imperialism, public policy, urban politics, social movements, state-formation,
revolutions, and cross-national social policy and policy outcomes.
Requirements, at least 10 credits:
1. SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture, and Society,
2. one methods course,
3.Thesis (to be discussed with advisor and developed beginning with declaration of special major)
Courses to Consider:
SOCI 006C. FYS: Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness
SOCI 025B/PEAC 025B. Transforming Intractable Conflict
SOCI 025C. Globalization and Global Inequality
SOCI 026B. Class Matters: Privilege, Poverty & Power
SOCI 035B. Anti-Capitalism, Revolution and Resistance in the "Third World"
SOCI 035D. Transnational Migration
SOCI 035E. Race, Migration and the Law
SOCI 145. Sociology of Capitalism
SOCI 048G. Between the Is and the Ought: Black Social and Political Thought
SOCI 048K. The Mafia and the State
SOCI 048L. Urban Crime and Punishment
SOCI 058C . Manufacturing Scarcity:The Housing Crisis in American Cities and the People's Fight for A Home
SOCI 056C. Sociology of [this year's] election
SOCI 138. Du Bois and the 21st Century Color Line
SOCI 148. Advanced Topics in Political Sociology: Power, Governance, and the State
ANTH 037B. Anthropology of Law
ANTH 037C. Anti-Corruption Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean
ANTH 042D. Political Anthropology
ANTH 044. Gender, Sexuality and Social Change
ANTH 072C. Memory, History, and Nation
Up to 4 courses outside department (strongly encourage Tri-co and Penn courses)
ECON 013. Economic Efficiency, Markets, and Distributive Justice
ECON 041. Public Economics
ECON 042. Law and Public Policy
ECON 073. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Economics
ECON 082. Political Economy of Africa
PEAC 014. Systems Thinking for Social Change
PEAC 055. Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking
PEAC 135/SOCI 135. Social Movements and Non Violent Power
POLS 020B. Special Topic: Political Inequality in the U.S. (AP)
POLS 028. The Urban Underclass and Public Policy (AP)
POLS 031. Borders and Migration (CP)
POLS 054. Identity Politics
POLS 081. Global Environmental Governance (IR)
Honors Minor
Acceptance to the SOAN honors minor normally requires completion of at least two courses in the department with at least a B average, and at
least a B average overall.
The department will evaluate the progress of students writing Senior Honor Thesis before the end of November. If progress is deemed
inadequate, the student will be asked to withdraw from Honors.
Students seeking to complete an Honors minor normally complete at least five units of work in the department;
- three are required: ANTH 001, SOCI 001, and at least one designated methods course
- one 2-credit preparation: an honors seminar, a thesis, a class with an attachment, or with permission, paired upper level courses.
The Honors Minor includes: One honors preparation in Sociology and Anthropology.
Depending on the format of the presentation, the examiner will receive the materials:
1. For thesis preparations: the thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who
will also administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner's evaluation of the thesis.
2. For non-thesis preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written assignments or examinations given by the external examiners
and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral examinations.
Honors Special Major
Students seeking to complete an honors special major housed in SOAN are required to complete at least 11 units of work in the department;
- five are the required core, see overview of curriculum above.
- three 2-credit preparations. These preparations can include honors seminars, a course plus attachment, paired upper-level courses, or in
special circumstances off campus study. The latter three forms of preparation must have the advance approval of the supervising faculty member
and of the department.
Honors preparations (4):
1. Thesis preparation: Thesis will be sent (the last day of April in your senior year) to and read by an external examiner, who will also
administer an oral exam. These will be the bases for the examiner's evaluation of the thesis.
2. Three 2-credit (non-thesis) preparations: evaluations will be in the form of written examinations based on the syllabi given by the
external examiners and completed by honors students at the end of the senior year. External examiners will also administer oral
examinations.
Thesis / Culminating Exercise
In order to graduate, all majors housed in the Sociology and Anthropology Department must complete a 2-credit thesis. The 2-credit senior thesis
requirement, normally completed in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year, includes the Thesis Writers Masters Class and a thesis
tutorial in which the student works closely with a faculty adviser.
The senior thesis project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through
working directly with a faculty member. Students develop their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting a
substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript.
Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Credit
Considered on a case-by-case basis for majors and minors.
Transfer Credit
Considered on a case-by-case basis for majors and minors.
Off-Campus Study
Because of its strong cross-cultural and transnational orientations, the department encourages students to study abroad. For many students,
study abroad provides a basis for their senior thesis project (see the department's homepage for a listing of students' projects). The senior thesis
project allows students to develop their research interests through working directly with a faculty member. This combination of breadth of
knowledge, global understanding, and independent research make sociology and anthropology an ideal liberal arts major.
Research and Experiential Learning Opportunities
The Sociology and Anthropology Department emphasizes independent research. We prepare students to conduct research on primary and
secondary documents as well as to conduct interviews, engage in participant observation, organize focus groups, administer surveys, and
produce ethnographic films. By senior year, our students are ready to write a senior thesis that is not only based on library research but also in
real-world experience. Recent student research projects have focused on issues such as alternative development programs in Latin America,
health reform policies in the United States, and human rights in Africa. Independent research conducted by our students is one feature that
consistently distinguishes them when they are pursuing jobs, fellowships, or graduate school admission.
Some students have the opportunity to conduct original research with faculty - whose approaches run the gamut from ethnography to discourse
analysis to survey research. Students also explore the historical development of Sociology and Anthropology. Research design, qualitative
research, and statistical analysis are important components of many of our courses, enabling students to undertake rigorous research projects
and best analyze, interpret, and communicate their findings. The curriculum also provides opportunities for students to learn techniques to
creatively convey their work through photography and documentary films.
Experiential and Service Learning Opportunities
Experiential learning is an important component of Sociology and Anthropology. Our department strongly supports participation in study abroad
as well as work in the field. For many students, these experiences challenge them to ask questions that eventually serve as foundations of their
senior thesis project. Study abroad and fieldwork provide an opportunity for students to develop contacts and gain rapport within their eventual
research setting. Funding is available from the College to support students in their pursuit of these experiences.
Summer Opportunities
Summer funding opportunities exist and are particularly relevant for juniors planning research towards their senior thesis projects. Grants from
a variety of college-administered sources are available to support research by students during the summer. Please have a look at:
http://www.swarthmore.edu/x8583.xml to learn more about the extensive and generous funds for travel, research, internships, and faculty/student
collaboration. We especially encourage our juniors to explore these possibilities. Funded summer research has often been the basis for fine
senior theses.
Teacher Certification
Each year, in conjunction with the Educational Studies Department, a number of our majors seek teacher certification. Students contemplating
teacher certification would normally schedule their program in a semester which does not conflict with their senior thesis. Such programs should
be developed in close consultation with advisers in the Educational Studies Department.
Anthropology Courses
Note: Course labeling within each of the three tiers of offerings reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or
particular research areas.
(ANTH 001-019) introductory courses
(ANTH 020-099) regular courses
(ANTH 100-199) seminars
reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas. Please consult the listings for prerequisites
particular to each course.
ANTH 001. Foundations: Culture, Power and Meaning
This course offers students a foundation in the theories, methods, and history of the discipline of cultural anthropology. Anthropology is a
comparative study of culture, practice, and human diversity. This course will introduce students to some of the discipline's key conceptual
innovations, theoretical approaches, and past and present debates. Anthropologists study various societies to understand how meaning is
constituted and circulated, how daily practices are structured by social norms and power systems, and how people resist, subvert, and transform
inequalities and common modes of identification. Drawing on deep engagement with specific groups, communities, and processes, anthropology
offers unique insights into pressing questions of our time, such as the effects of the global circulation of capital and people and how social
structures, cultural-political ideologies, and everyday life interact. Topics to be covered include ritual and religion, kinship and family, gift and
exchange, citizenship and nationalism, gender and sexuality, medicine and healing, media and circulation, and food and consumption. Students
will gain familiarity with ethnography, anthropology's flagship genre. We will also explore the discipline's key field research methods and the
ethical issues related to its goals to understand, interpret, and represent the lived experiences of people in diverse contexts.
Required for SOAN majors and minors.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Nadkarni.
Spring 2023. Azuero-Quijano.
Fall 2023. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 002D. First-Year Seminar: Culture and Gender
The goal of this seminar is to dismantle commonplace assumptions about gender, sexuality, and sexual difference. It brings key texts in gender
theory (Foucault, Butler, and others) into conversation with anthropological studies that respond to, problematize, or advance these theoretical
claims. Our focus is the gendered body as the site of power and resistance, in contexts that range from past empires to present-day inequalities,
and from technologies of reproduction to drag performances of femininity.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Nadkarni
Spring 2023. Nadkarni.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 002F. Anthropology of Childhood and the Family
The experience of being a child would appear universal, and yet the construction of childhood varies greatly across cultures and throughout
history. This course examines childhood and child-rearing in a number of ethnographic contexts, investigating children as both social actors and
as the target of specific cultural ambitions and anxieties. Topics include new forms of family and reproduction, children as objects (and agents)
of violence, and representations of childhood in human rights discourse, among others.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 003G. First-Year Seminar: Development and its Discontents
In this course, our goal will be to gain a new perspective on an often-unquestioned social "good": that of international economic development,
including foreign aid to countries in the global south. This course will provide students with an introduction to the origin and evolution of ideas
about development, and will encourage them to examine major theories and approaches to development from classical modernization theories to
world-systems theories. Students will gain insight into how ideas of development fit into larger global dynamics of power and politics and how,
contrary to professed goals, the practices of international development have often perpetuated poverty and widened the gap between rich and
poor. During the course, we will investigate these issues through an array of texts that address different audiences including a novel, academic
books and journals, film, popular writings and ethnographic monographs.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, PEAC, ESCH, GLBL - Core
Spring 2024. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 009C. Cultures of the Middle East
Looking at ethnographic texts, films, and literature from different parts of the region, this class examines the complexity and richness of culture
and life in the Middle East. The topics we will cover include orientalism, colonization, gender, ethnicity, tribalism, nationalism, migration,
nomadism, and religious beliefs. We will also analyze the local, national, and global forces that are reshaping daily practices and cultural
identities in various Middle Eastern countries.
Social sciences.
Writing course
1 credit.
Eligible for ISLM, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 020J. Dance and Diaspora
(Cross-listed as DANC 025A)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, BLST, GSST, GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Chakravorty.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 023C. Anthropological Perspectives on Conservation
Conservation of biodiversity through the creation of national parks is an idea and a practice that began in the U.S. with the creation of
Yellowstone in 1872. In this course, we will examine the ideas behind the initial creation of national parks and explore the global spread of these
ideas through the historical and contemporary creation of parks in other countries. As we examine the origin of the idea for parks, we will also
consider the human costs that have been associated with their creation. Ultimately, the class offers a critical exploration of theories and themes
related to nature, political economy, and culture-themes that fundamentally underlie the relationship between society and environment.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ENVS, GLBL- core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 023E. Ethnographic Research Methods (M)
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of ethnographic research. Ethnography is the bread and butter of sociocultural
anthropology, both as a research method and genre of writing. Ethnographic research methods are also gaining in popularity as a research
methodology beyond the discipline as well as beyond the academy. Ethnographic research can be used to explore a range of scales, from the
minutia of everyday experience-what Bronislaw Malinowski called the "imponderabilia of actual life"-to broad brushstroke analyses of social
structure and symbolic meaning. But how do anthropologists practice their craft? What exactly do they do "out there" in the field and what is
unique about their modes of studying human experience? This course offers students an opportunity to explore and gain practice using a variety
of methods used in ethnographic research. We will pay particular attention to questions of knowledge, location, evidence, ethics, power,
translation, experience, and the way theoretical problems can be framed in terms of ethnographic research. This course is in large part a
workshop in which students will learn and mobilize various ethnographic methods and techniques, engage in ethnographic writing, and actively
evaluate and guide one another's work. Students will apply what they learn during the course toward designing their own ethnographic research
project.
Methods Course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 027B. Digital Ethnography (M)
An exploration of the trajectory and expansive potential for "virtuality" in anthropology along with examples of how ethnographers have been
more recently engaging and experimenting with digital tools to do research remotely. The goal of the course is twofold. First, for students to
learn the skills of virtual and digital ethnographic inquiry through the design of an individual ethnographic research project to be conducted
over the course of the semester of the class. The course will provide students with the practical and critical skills to design, conduct, analyze, and
write about ethnographic research through a series of weekly assignments, readings, and in-class discussions. Students will experiment and
practice with different virtual ethnographic methods, including research at digital archives, data-gathering and analysis on social media, and
online participant observation. Each student will choose the topic and format of their final project. Second, to reflect on and critically assess the
dynamic character of ethnographic inquiry. We will pay special attention to the various ways in which digital ethnographic methods proved
crucial to address the challenges of doing ethnographic research under changing global pandemic conditions.
Methods Course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Spring 2022. Azuero-Quijano.
Fall 2022. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 029B. Ethnography: Theory and Practice (M)
This class maps anthropological theories and methods through reading and critically analyzing the discipline's flagship genre, ethnography. We
work historically by reading classical texts that exemplify different approaches (such as functionalism, structuralism, symbolic anthropology, and
reflexive anthropology) used to analyze culture and social structure. We address questions such as: How did Malinowski understand
ethnography? How does this understanding compare to more recent views of anthropologists such as Geertz? How did the meaning of fieldwork
change over time? We pay special attention to the politics of representation and the anthropologists' continuous struggle to find new ways to
write about culture.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 032D. Mass Media and Anthropology
This intermediate course explores the anthropology of modernity and the mass-mediation of modern forms of knowledge. It examines how the
emergence of mass media has produced new kinds of subjects and social relations: from novel images of nationhood to mass experiences of
crime, war, and violence. Along the way, the course also asks the impact of new media technologies on how anthropology itself imagines identity,
community, and locality.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, INTP
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 033B. Environmental Anthropology
(Cross-listed as ENVS 024)
This course offers students an introduction to Environmental Anthropology, a subfield of anthropology which encompasses the study of the
interrelationships between humans and the ecosystems in which they are embedded as well as analysis and application of anthropological
knowledge to contemporary environmental issues. Humans have transformed their environments for millennia, but in recent decades, have
altered the global environment in ways that have no precedent in human history or in geological time. With contemporary environmental crises
as its backdrop, this course examines some classic and contemporary anthropological approaches to the environment, exploring the value of
anthropological theory, methods, and approaches in the humanistic study of the environment. In this sense, the course will expose students to
diverse ways for thinking about the environment in its many dimensions and critical perspectives on contemporary environmental issues. We will
review various theoretical approaches and their implications for our understanding of human relations to the environment, and explore how
anthropologists and those they study are engaging with contemporary environmental issues including biodiversity conservation, deforestation,
community-based natural resource management, ecotourism, and climate change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 033E. Environmental Justice: Ethnography, Politics, and Action
(Cross-listed as ENVS 029)
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of environmental justice. It will draw on a range of research approaches and scholarship from the
disciplines of anthropology, political ecology, environmental science, history, geography, the environmental humanities, and social movement
theory. Taking advantage of the special format of the J-term, the course will focus on a series of texts each week, offering deep engagement to
analyze diverse environmental justice struggles and community activism in contemporary environmental issues. Moreover, given the immediacy
of the current global situation, we will explore the intersections and linkages between environmental justice and other socio-ecological crises,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to focusing on the course's core texts, the class will also explore the interlocking themes of social
and environmental justice through other formats including podcasts, documentary films, and other digital media to provide a sense of what
environmental injustice looks like in everyday life and how different people are rising up to bring about change. Students in this course will learn
to analyze the social and political dimensions of environmental problems, how these entwine with scientific and technical dimensions, and to
think creatively about possible solutions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GLBL-core, INTP, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 034C. Native American Cultures and Contemporary Music
(Cross listed as MUSI 009)
This course introduces students to Native American and Indigenous peoples through contemporary music. Students will read anthropological and
ethnomusicology texts, engage Native pop culture and news media, watch music videos and listen to selections of Native American and
Indigenous contemporary music from across the Americas. A main goal of this course is to gain knowledge and appreciation of Indigenous
peoples, their cultures, and the social and environmental justice issues facing them in contemporary society.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2021. Two Bears.
Fall 2022. Two Bears.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 034D. Indigenous Archaeology
This course offers students an introduction to Indigenous Archaeology, which is archaeology for, by, and with Indigenous peoples. Since the
colonization of this country Native Americans and Indigenous people's connections to ancient archaeological sites have often been ignored by
archaeologists. This course examines how archaeologists marginalized Native American and Indigenous peoples from the field of archaeology,
and how tribes responded to make significant changes within the field of archaeology. Students will learn about Indigenous interpretations of and
interconnections between the land, Native cultures, sacred places, and archaeological sites. We will review various Indigenous archaeological
and heritage projects and the methodological approaches used to explore the past through collaborations between Native Americans and
archaeologists.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Two Bears.
Spring 2023. Two Bears.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 037B. Anthropology of Law
This course introduces students to the anthropological study of law through the investigation of the relation of law to violence, capital, and
justice. Rather than assuming that law is a well-defined set of formal rules that constitutes the opposite of violence, an equivalent of justice, or a
sphere autonomous from capitalism, this course seeks to provide students with critical and analytical skills to interrogate the relation of law to
each of these terms. Students enrolled in this class will be introduced to some of the major themes and debates in legal anthropology as well as to
texts and topics that exemplify how the discipline's approach to legal systems has changed over time. Through a combination of readings in
anthropology, law, and legal studies as well as documentary and film, this course will offer students the opportunity to investigate law (both
comparatively and in the U.S.) as a complex social practice, social technology, and mode of knowledge that constitutes the worlds we inhabit in
both expected and unexpected ways. This class is ideal for students broadly interested in questions of law and justice, as well as students
interested in anthropological theory and ethnographic methods.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Azuero-Quijano.
Fall 2022. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 037C. Anti-Corruption Politics in Latin America & the Caribbean
Anti-corruption discourse has become one of the salient modes of articulating claims for justice and against political, financial, and corporate
power in contemporary Latin America & the Caribbean. In fact, the mobilization of anti-corruption discourse in the region has become an
undeniable force capable of toppling governments, sending corporate executives to prison, and bringing masses to the streets demanding change.
What is the relation between today's "wars" against corruption and ongoing transformations of political and economic power in Latin America &
the Caribbean? How has anti-corruption discourse reshaped imaginaries of political transformation and emancipatory politics in the region?
Rather than assuming a singular definition of corruption, this course explores it as a powerful concept that is not simply or neutrally defined by
law or morality - one with a complex history linked to colonialism and imperialism, as well as to changing ideas of democracy and justice.
Through our readings and discussions, we will develop critical and analytical tools to interrogate the long-standing stereotype of Latin America
as inherently "corrupt" and how this stereotype is mobilized in the present. We will advance this critical work through exploring concrete cases
that show the significance of anti-corruption politics as a tool for accountability and change.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Azuero-Quijano.
Spring 2024. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 039B. Globalization and Culture
What is globalization? Is globalization "cultural imperialism," Westernization, Americanization, or McDonaldization? Our class will examine
such questions and critically analyze how global flows (of goods, capital, labor, information, and people) are shaping cultural practices and
identities. We will study recent theories of globalization and transnationalism and read various ethnographic studies of how global processes are
articulated and resisted in various cultural settings.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 039C. Food and Culture
Food, a daily necessity for human survival, is strongly shaped by social relationships and cultural meanings. Who makes our food, what we eat,
how we eat, and with whom we eat all reflect and reproduce various social connections and inequalities. This class explores how food, its
making, and its consumption have been analyzed by different scholars, particularly anthropologists. We will also look at how various societies
define, manage, and regulate the preparation and consumption of food. The class consider questions such as: Why do we serve specific foods at
certain occasions? What constitutes a proper meal? How does class, gender, race, and ethnicity shape the making and serving of certain foods?
Why might a particular food be viewed a delicacy in one society, but be seen as disgusting and repulsive in another? How did food become a
"problem" that has to be managed in many of our contemporary societies? Through our readings and discussions, we will seek a deeper
understanding of edible matters, how we shape them and how they shape us.
Social Sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL- core
Fall 2023. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 042D. Political Anthropology
This course examines the anthropology of rights, justice, and the state. Its focus is citizenship: as both an ideal of formal equality and a lived
practice of political belonging that reflects and reproduces social inequity. The first half investigates how citizenship intersects with forms of
difference such as race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability. Ethnographic examples include debates about the legal recognition of gay marriage,
spatial struggles over the right to the city, and disability activism and the biopolitics of citizenship. The second half examines how new forms of
mobility of people, ideas, and capital challenge the nation-state as the site of political membership. What is the state's responsibility towards its
"others": from transnational entrepreneurs to illegal migrant workers, and from political refugees to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay?
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Spring 2022. Nadkarni.
Spring 2023. Nadkarni.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 043E. Culture, Health, Illness
People in all societies encounter and manage sickness. Yet, there are diverse and unique approaches to understanding and managing health and
disease. The human experience of sickness entails a complex interplay between biological, socio-economic and cultural factors. This course
offers an introduction to medical anthropology, and draws upon social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology to better understand
those factors which influence health and well being (broadly defined), the experience and distribution of illness, the prevention and treatment of
sickness, healing processes, the social relations of therapy management, and the cultural importance and use of pluralistic medical systems.
Topics covered include how beliefs about health, disease and the body are constructed and transmitted, how healers are chosen and trained,
social disparities in health and illness, and the importance of narrative and performance in the effectiveness of healing practices. Finally, we will
consider the ways in which medical anthropology can shed light upon important contemporary medical and social concerns.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, GLBL - Core
Fall 2021. Schuetze.
Fall 2023. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 044. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change
(Cross-listed as PEAC 043)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GSST, INTP, GLBL- Core, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 049B. Comparative Perspectives on the Body
Explore how different societies regulate, discipline, and shape the human body. In the first part, we examine social theories and explore the
strengths and limitations of different approaches to the study of the body. In the second part, we look at several ethnographic cases and compare
diverse cultural practices that range from seemingly traditional practices (such as circumcision and foot binding) to what is currently
fashionable (including weight lifting, dieting, aesthetic surgery, piercing, and tattooing). When comparing body modifications through time and
space, we seek to understand their socio-economic contexts and relate them to broader cultural meanings and social inequalities. We also
investigate how embodiment shapes personal and collective identities (especially gender identities) and vice versa.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, INTP, ESCH, GLBL-Core
Spring 2023. Ghannam.
Spring 2024. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 049BA. Attachment: Comparative Perspective on the Body
An opportunity for interested students to expand their understanding of the theories that analyze the body and to comparatively explore how
different societies manage, beautify, and regulate the human body. The first part of the semester, determined by the professor, focuses on reading
theories that inform social analysis of the body while the second part, determined by both the faculty and the students, explores different topics
that interest the students taking the course. This attachment is usually combined with the regular class to create a double-credit honors
preparation.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 053B. Anthropology of Public Health
This course introduces students to the study of "public health" and various problems framed by public health actors through the theoretical and
methodological lenses of sociocultural anthropology. The field of public health is typically defined by its commitment to understand not just the
manifestations and patterns of illness in populations, but the social, political and economic forces that place certain individuals and populations
at greater risk of morbidity and mortality. By critically examining various frameworks for understanding disease in human populations, the class
will explore the potentials and challenges of improving health and healthcare in various populations, both within and outside of the United
States. Additionally, this class aims to demonstrate the value of anthropology to the field of public health and to efforts to solve national and
global health problems. Students will be urged to think about "public health" and "global health" as dynamic cultural artifacts and cultural
systems; and likewise, to consider how ethnography is an important methodological tool, both to understand public health agendas as well as to
investigate the subjects and elisions of public health interventions.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH,GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 072C. Memory, History, Nation
How do national communities remember-and forget? What roles do commemoration and amnesia play in constructing, maintaining, or
challenging national and collective identities? This course considers memory and its pathologies as a central problematic for the nation-state. It
reads theory and ethnography against each other to explore the politics and aesthetics of national memory across numerous sites and contexts,
attentive to both the collectivities such commemorations inspire and their points of resistance or failure.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Nadkarni.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 072D. Visual Anthropology (M)
This course introduces students to the history, theory, and practice of visual anthropology. Topics include the intertwined histories of colonial
photography and anthropology, how anthropologists use visual ethnographic methods as tools of cultural analysis, and how indigenous groups
and activists use contemporary visual technologies to gain visibility and to remake their social worlds. The course will include a series of film
screenings, as well as a small production component.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 079B. Dancing Desire in Bollywood Films
(Cross-listed as DANC 079)
This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the
dance sequences in Bollywood. We will examine the place of erotic in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to
desires for commodity. The primary focus will be centered on approaches to the body from anthropology and sociology to performance, dance,
and film and media studies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, FMST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 095. Independent Study
All students wishing to do independent work must have the advance consent of the department and of an instructor who agrees to supervise the
proposed project. Two options exist for students wishing to get credit for independent work.
Option 1 - consists of individual or group directed reading and study in fields of special interest to the students not dealt with in the regular
course offerings.
Option 2 - credit may be received for practical work in which direct experience lends itself to intellectual analysis and is likely to contribute to a
student's progress in regular course work. Students must demonstrate to the instructor and the department a basis for the work in previous
academic study. Students will normally be required to examine pertinent literature and produce a written report to receive credit.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Anthropology Seminars
ANTH 103. Humanitarianism: Anthropological Approaches
(Cross-listed as PEAC 103)
This honors seminar will introduce students to the most salient theoretical debates among anthropologists on humanitarian intervention around
the world. We will also examine a range of case studies, from the birth of Western Christian humanitarian missions in colonial contexts to
humanitarian interventions (e.g. military, food-based assistance, natural disaster relief, post-conflict reconstruction) today. The geographic
scope of this seminar will encompass North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa,
East Asia, and South Asia. We will consider, for instance, how anthropologists have examined relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans. What social science scholarship has been produced on mental health interventions after political and natural crises in Haiti?
How are victims of torture at the hands of the Indian military supported by international organizations in Kashmir? What is the nature of global
Islamic humanitarianism today? How are local national staff employed by international organizations shaping humanitarian approaches to
gender-based violence in Colombia? These are among the many questions we will address over the course of the semester.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ESCH
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 112. Cities, Spaces, and Power
This seminar explores recent interdisciplinary insights to the analysis of spatial practices, power relationships, and urban forms. In addition, we
read ethnographies and novels and watch films to explore questions such as: How is space socially constructed? What is the relationship
between space and power? How is this relationship embedded in urban forms under projects of modernity and postmodernity? How do the
ordinary practitioners of the city resist and transform these forms? Our discussion will pay special attention to issues related to racism and
segregation, ethnic enclaves, urban danger, gendered spaces, colonial urbanism, and the "global" city.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 122. Urban Ethnographies (M)
As key players in the global economy, cities are the focus of a rich body of literature that explores how urban life is shaped by the complex
interplay between global, national, and local processes. How to best understand this interplay and how it shapes daily life in cities? How can we
understand the inequalities that structure daily life in urban centers around the globe? How to analyze the different identities, spaces, and
subjectivities that are being constituted under changing economic, social, and political conditions? In this seminar, we read ethnographies from
and about cities around the globe and analyze how scholars, particularly anthropologists, have studied cities, their cultures, and social groups.
We pay attention to the forces (such as neoliberalism, modernism, nationalism, and globalization) and inequalities (such as class, race, and
gender) that shape urban life. The texts we read explore current pressing issues such as poverty, violence, policing, gentrification, and
homelessness. Alongside our investigation of city life, students also will have the opportunity to develop their skills in ethnographic research
methods by closely analyzing how different authors accessed and wrote about cities as well as by conducting their own mini-ethnographies.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Ghannam.
Fall 2023. Ghannam.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 123. Culture, Power, Islam
This seminar will be an interdisciplinary investigation into the shifting manners by which Islam is multiply understood as a creatively mystical
force, a canonically organized religion, a political platform, a particular approach to economic investment, and a secular but powerful identity
put forth in interethnic conflicts, to name only a handful of incarnations. Though wide ranging in our theoretical perspective, a deeply
ethnographic approach to the lived experience of Islam in a number of cultural settings guides this study.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ISLM
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 127. Cultures of Contemporary Finance
Finance, a set of practices and institutions traditionally associated with credit, banking, and stock market investments, has changed dramatically
in the last 50 years. Many observers use terms such as "financialization", "global finance", or "financial risk" to conceptualize different aspects
of the newness of contemporary finance. This seminar begins with three apparently simple questions: What is unique about finance in the
present? How is it shaping individual lives and the social world we inhabit? How is it shaped by individual and collective practices? This course
explores these questions through a set of texts that approach finance as a social and cultural - as opposed to exclusively economic - phenomenon.
Through a combination of multidisciplinary approaches, the course will offer students a set of critical and analytical tools to understand the
preeminent role of finance as a social force in the present. This seminar is designed both for students interested in economics and finance, as well
as students broadly interested in understanding the transformations of capitalism and the socio-economic and political forces that shape daily
life around the globe. The seminar invites the rigorous exploration of the myriad ways in which contemporary finance is transforming a wide
array of social domains, from politics to justice and accountability, from our imaginative to our knowledge making practices.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Spring 2024. Azuero-Quijano.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
ANTH 133. Anthropology of Biomedicine
In this seminar we explore biomedicine from an anthropological perspective, exploring the entanglement of bodies with history, environment,
culture, and power. We begin the course with a focus on the historical emergence of biomedical technologies and their related discourses and
practices and then move into contemporary contexts of their use and circulation. Throughout, we focus on the ways in which the development,
use, and distribution of biomedical technologies and discourses are influenced by prevailing medical systems, political interests, and cultural
norms. Topics to be covered include biomedicine as technology, medical categorization and ideas of the normal, ethics and moral boundaries,
the space of the clinic, the circulation of pharmaceuticals, and health and inequality.
Prerequisite: ANTH 043E or permission of the Instructor
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Schuetze.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Sociology Courses
Note: Course labeling within each of the three tiers of offerings reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or
particular research areas.
(SOCI 001-019) introductory courses
(SOCI 020-099) regular courses
(SOCI100-199) seminars
reflect internal departmental codes rather than levels of advancement or particular research areas. Please consult the listings for prerequisites
particular to each course.
SOCI 001. Foundations: Self, Culture and Society
This course offers a foundational introduction to the discipline of sociology. Throughout the course, we will examine key theories and concepts
sociologists use, reading authors like W.E.B. DuBois, Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Bourdieu. We will also explore some of the key issues
sociology tackles, including race and racism, gender and sexism, class and inequality, and the role of states and other power structures in
shaping these and other facets of our social world.
Required for SOAN majors and minors.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Rangel.
Fall 2022. Rangel.
Spring 2024. Laurison.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 006C. First-Year Seminar:The Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness (W)
Who are the "white working class" in the United States? How do they live, what do they believe, and why? Or, is there even such a thing as "the"
white working class? How did this racialized category come to evoke images of both "everyday Americans" in some circles, and (at least in some
others) the Trump supporters who staged an attempted coup in January 2021?
This course is dedicated to both sets of questions. First, we will look at the actual lives, beliefs, and political behavior of people who could be
categorized as white and poor or working class. Then we will take up the question of the ways this category is deployed in our political discourse,
for what purposes, and by whom. In the course of reading and writing about these issues, we will develop our understanding of class, race,
inequality and politics in the United States.
Social science.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 007B. Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Today, most sociologists and anthropologists acknowledge that race is a social construct and not a biologically measurable and discrete
category. Although race does not exist in any consistent physiological way, it remains a central aspect of personal and cultural identity, often
standing in for the concept of culture or ethnicity and usually connoted by physically identifiable (or marked) difference. Race is also one of the
most significant predictors of quality of life for groups and individuals in the United States. With this in mind, we will examine the concepts of
race and its history in the United States. Paying particular attention to the legacy of white supremacy in the United States, we will explore the
multiple ways that race and ethnicity function in this country.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Spring 2022. Johnson, Veras.
Spring 2023. Veras.
Spring 2024. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 007C. Sociology Through African American Women's Writing
Interrogating the explicit and implicit claims that black women writers make in relation to work by social scientists, we will read texts closely for
literary appreciation, sociological significance, and personal relevance, examining especially issues that revolve around race, gender, and class.
Of special interest will be where authors position their characters vis-à-vis white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and the U.S.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 016B. Research Methods in Social Science (M)
This course is designed to provide an in-depth view of quantitative and qualitative research methods in the social sciences. Topics covered
include (1) hypothesis formulation and theory construction (2) the measurement of sociological variables (3) data collection techniques -
experimental, survey, and observational. At the end of the course, students should appreciate both the strengths and the limitations of
sociological research techniques and will have a solid foundation for beginning to conduct research on their own.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Laurison.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 016E. Marriage and Family
The family is often considered the most fundamental social institution. It is within the family that early socialization and care-giving usually take
place, shaping our ideas about the world. Yet we often find it difficult to see how a social institution as private as the family is shaped by
historical and social forces. This course will give students the opportunity to learn about the diverse forms the family has taken over time and the
social forces that have shaped them. This knowledge will be useful in examining ongoing debates about social policy and the place of the family
in social life. By taking a sociological approach to learning about the family and by gaining knowledge about national family trends and patterns
in the U.S., this course will give students the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how family life is linked to social structure; to
economic, cultural, and historical events and transitions; and to status characteristics like race, class, and gender.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 020C. Global Colorism
"I don't see color." The common adage is an allusion to a society in which phenotype bares minimal weight on one's life chances. Scholars have
long noted that the opposite is true-what we look like matters and greatly impacts our lives. Only coined in the 1980s, colorism, the preferential
treatment of those with lighter skin and "desirable" features, has plagued communities of color for centuries. In this course, we will trace the
origins of colorism considering global contexts for communities of color in general, and the African diaspora in particular. We will use emerging
theories of colorism to examine the role of racism, colonialism, media, and capitalism in engendering and maintaining colorist ideals in
contemporary society. We will engage academic and 'non-academic' texts to expose the variations of systemic colorism on a global scale often
impacted by other demographic markers including: gender, region, class, ethnicity, and culture.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-paired
Fall 2021. Veras.
Fall 2022. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 020D. Race in Latin America and the Caribbean
Is it the "one-drop rule," phenotype, or something else? Indeed, as a social construct, racial categories are created, codified, and contended
based on their unique sociopolitical histories. This course will introduce you to the sociological study of race and ethnicity throughout the
Americas-North, Central, and South. We will learn how white supremacy, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, and imperialism have shaped the
sociohistoric construction of race over time and space and its implications for racial inequality in respective societies. Central to this course, is
understanding comparative perspectives with how anti-Blackness and anti-indigeneity is constructed in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the
United States. The course invites us to consider how the legacies of European domination persist, and to think critically about how to move
forward.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS
Fall 2021. Veras.
Fall 2023. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 025B. Transforming Intractable Conflict
(Cross-listed as PEAC 025B)
This course will address the sociology of peace process and intractable identity conflicts in deeply divided societies. Northern Ireland will serve
as the primary case study, and the course outline will include the history of the conflict, the peace process, and grassroots conflict transformation
initiatives. Special attention will be given to the cultural underpinnings of division, such as sectarianism and collective identity, and their
expression through symbols, language, and collective actions, such as parades and commemorations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Spring 2022. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 025C. Globalization and Global Inequality
Globalization, it is widely recognized, is profoundly remaking social structure and transforming the lives of people in every corner of the planet.
Our personal biographies are linked to increasingly dense networks of global interrelations, as the integration of societies, economies, and
cultures fundamentally transforms human life. The concept of globalization is contested, meaning that there are different and competing
understandings of what the term means and how to assess the process. Regardless of how we conceive globalization, the concept occupies an
increasingly prominent place in the social sciences and humanities and for a very good reason: it is impossible to understand the world in the
early 21st century without understanding globalization and its consequences. The objective of this course is to explore what has come to be
known as globalization studies, and in particular, to survey the distinct themes sub-areas that make up the sociology of globalization. These
include: theories of globalization; the global economy; political globalization; globalization and culture; transnational social movements;
globalization and the environment, transnational migration; global conflicts and global inequality.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 026B. Class Matters: Privilege, Poverty and Power
This class examines the ways our social origins (or class backgrounds) impact our lives, and the ways in which class positions are passed down
(or not) across generations. We will discuss what we mean by "class"; economic inequality and poverty; intersections of class with racial,
gender, and other forms of inequality; cultural and social capital; tastes and lifestyles; the role of education in both promoting social mobility
and reproducing class inequalities; and the role of the state in shaping inequalities and mobility chances.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Laurison.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 026D. Sociology of Gender
What is gender and how do we make sense of it? This course will offer students an overview of the various ways social scientists describe how
societies think about and are built on gender and gender differences. This course has two aims. First, the course will introduce students to some
of the main frameworks used to define and explain gender in sociology and social science research. Second, it will focus more specifically on
how these frameworks and gender-based issues manifest in the world around us. This is an overview course meant to give students a broad
introduction into different areas of theory and research in gender studies from a sociological view-point. It focuses primarily on gender in the
West with a specific emphasis on the United States although we will touch on theories and research beyond the U.S. context.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 026E. Introduction to Social Statistics (M)
We frequently encounter statements or claims based on statistics, such as: women earn less than men, the American population is becoming more
racially and ethnically diverse, or married people are healthier than unmarried people. On what information are these statements based? What
kinds of evidence support or refute such claims? How can we assess their accuracy? This course will show students how to answer these sorts of
questions by interpreting and critically evaluating statistics commonly used in the analysis of social science data. Hands-on data analysis and
interpretation are an important component of the course.
Methods Course
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 027D. Qualitative Methods (M)
This course expands students' knowledge of qualitative research methods, including ethnography and semi-structured interviewing. Through
qualitative methods researchers can develop rich and detailed understandings of social processes and problems. These methods allow
researchers to examine phenomena in relationship to particular social contexts. Qualitative research is also unique in its focus on the
experiences and voices of research participants. In this course, students will read studies that employ qualitative methods and will discuss
theoretical approaches, as well as ethical issues involved in designing and implementing a qualitative study. Course readings will include
practical guides to conducting qualitative research. Students will gain experience in qualitative methods by conducting interviews and
observations and writing a research proposal.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 028. Black Liberation 2020
(Cross-listed as BLST 028)
2020 has been a tumultuous year. Economic, social, environmental and political events around the world have put global racial hierarchy in
stark relief. In the United States, the Coronavirus pandemic is revealing and exacerbating existing racial inequalities. The continued state
sponsored killing of Black people has sparked the latest iterations of the Black Liberation Movement within and across multiple boundaries. In
this interdisciplinary course, we will investigate and uncover the seeds of these movements in previous eras, the conditions of white supremacy
that continue to call forth resistance, and the manifestations of that constant resistance globally, nationally, and local to our city of Philadelphia.
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, students will work with preeminent journalists, local organizers and community members to create a
podcast that will serve as a digital archive to tell multifaceted stories of Black Liberation 2020.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 030C. The Black Atlantic: Diasporic Perspectives and Resistance
(Cross-listed as BLST 030C)
Triumph, failure, defeat, and resistance vis a vis slavery, colonization, and emancipation, are central in shaping the vastness of Black
experiences. In this course we bridge individual and historical processes. Our engagement with Black authors' historical fiction and empirical
works invites us to consider the day-to-day negotiations of Black: struggles, joys, sorrows, and freedoms as both intimately personal and
ideological endeavors. Our focus spans slavery in the US and Caribbean and colonization of sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting important
connections and distinctions unique to locales and their relationality to white supremacy.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Spring 2022. Veras.
Spring 2024. Veras.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 031C. Indian Nations and Native America
This course traces the 500 years of conquest, colonialism, genocide, resistance, survivance and revitalization of Native Nations in the Americas,
with a special focus on North America. It also covers contemporary issues and social realities (of Indigenous peoples) within the United States,
Canada, Mexico and Turtle Island generally. We discuss origins and struggles over sovereignty, social movements, federal recognition,
enrollment, tribal citizenship, mascotry, Indian gaming, socio-cultural identity and Native worldviews, including alternatives to ongoing
environmental degradation. The class provides students with opportunities to develop their specific knowledge of individual tribal nations,
including Pueblos Indígenas in Central America and the First Nations of Canada and the Arctic.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, ESCH, GLBL-core
Spring 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 035B. Anti-Capitalism, Revolution and Resistance in the "Third World"
This class will introduce students to the long history of struggle in the so-called third world. We will read and analyze the various movements
that have sought to resist and challenge the imposition of the oppressive systems of capitalism, colonialism and racialization. The aim of the class
is to question the naturalization of these systems of oppression and to appreciate the many ways in which people have sought to resist and
challenge their imposition. The class is framed from the perspective of the oppressed and presents as history from below. We will cover such
themes as the resistance against the privatization of the commons; slave revolts; the Third World Movement; Socialism in Latin America and the
Cuban Revolution.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 035D. Capitalism and Migration
The issue of transnational migration has been much debated by politicians, the media and laypeople alike. This is especially the case in the last
few years. Images of migrants making their way to the nearest border, families being separated through deportation and children being detained
in cages fill our screens. But, do we understand what causes people to migrate in the first place? To understand this, we need to analyze the root
causes of transnational migration as well as the politics involved in it. This will require engagement with issues of power, the legal system and
the production of migrant illegality, race, the nation-state, etc. Rather than only a survey of theories related to the topic, this class is designed to
provide you with a holistic approach to the study of migration from a critical sociological perspective.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, LALS, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 035E. Immigration, Race, and the Law
"What part of 'illegal' don't you understand?" is perhaps the most common phrase that immigration restrictionists offer as a way to support their
opposition to undocumented migration while seemingly supporting the "rule of law." The phrase is usually an attempt to shut down debate
around the issue of undocumented migration by appealing to the perceived infallibility of the law. As we will learn in this class, however, there is
much that we don't understand when it comes to how the presence of certain groups of people in the country is rendered "illegal". We will also
examine how the notion of illegality is a profoundly racialized one, with some people's citizenship commonly viewed as suspect, regardless of
their legal status in the country. With the aid of theory and history, we will question the presumed neutrality and infallibility of the law and study
the inherent exclusionary nature of citizenship under capitalism.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 036B. Field Methods (M)
In this course students are introduced to the theory and practice of field methods and their utility to sociologists. Students will design and carry
out their own semester long research project employing both participant observation and in-depth interviewing.
Methods course.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 036E. Gender, Family, and Work in East Asia
This course examines issues regarding gender, family, and work in contemporary East Asian societies from a sociological perspective. The major
goals of this course include: understanding how family life and work interconnect and interfere with each other and the implications that this has
for women and men; and gaining empirical knowledge about gender, work, and family in East Asia. By taking a sociological approach to
learning about the family and work and by gaining knowledge about empirical trends and patterns in East Asia today, this course will give
students the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how family life is linked to social structure; to economic, cultural, and historical events
and transitions in non-western contexts.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 037C. Racial Geographies
This course considers how racially oppressed peoples have imagined and interpreted place in ways that affirm life, foster belonging, expose
conflict, and create change. We will consider how the meaning and value of place is always being contested by differently situated social actors.
Moreover, we will consider how the loss of place can have destructive implications for collective identity and memory, but can also promote
collective action. Course readings will examine processes of forced migration, segregation, urban renewal, gentrification, displacement, and
community building.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 037G. Sociology of Gentrification
This course offers an in-depth examination of gentrification as a process of urban change. Students will learn about the various ways that
researchers have defined and explained gentrification. The course will consider the following questions: What are the origins and causes of
gentrification in cities in the U.S. and globally? How is gentrification tied to race and class inequality? What are the consequences of
gentrification for longtime residents? Who are gentrifiers and what motivates their residential choices? What are the implications of
gentrification for the future of cities?
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Evans.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 041C. Indigenous Peoples and Globalization
(Cross-listed as ENVS 033)
This course provides a sociological look at Indigenous Peoples from the local to the global, including Native Nations (and Tribes) of the U.S.,
Latin America, the Maori (New Zealand), Adevasi (India), and the many Peoples from East Asia, Africa and Europe. We discuss models for
understanding Indigenous struggles in the 21st century, especially in line with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UN DRIP), and levels of Sovereignty, Autonomy, and Minority status (world-systems analysis). We pay special attention to Indigenous
peoples (tribes) who continue to survive and thrive in a modern world of global climate change, neoliberal capitalist hegemony and extreme
cultural domination. The class provides students opportunities to view interdisciplinary global issues - environmental world threats, social
change and refugees, hegemonic decline, regional warfare of nation-states, spirituality, food sovereignty - from Indigenous perspectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2021. Fenelon.
Fall 2022. Fenelon.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 145. Sociology of Capitalism
This class will provide students with an in-depth examination of capitalism and its logics and the impact that it has on their everyday lives. The
first part of the class will provide an overview of the main ways in which sociologist approach the study of capitalism, focusing particularly on
Max Weber and Karl Marx's views of the origins of the capitalist system. After this, we will explore the inner logics of the capitalist system,
learning not only how it works, but also tracing some of its main contradictions and why it regularly leads to economic and social crisis. The last
part of the course will focus on the impact of capitalism on various aspects of our daily life, presently and in the future.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Fall 2022. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 046B. Data Visualization (M)
Data visualization provides one of the most powerful ways to understand and communicate patterns in the social world. They say a picture tells a
thousand words; when done well, images can help us understand and remember complex patterns at a glance. In this class you will learns about
the properties of effective data visualization and apply them to survey data. Surveys can tell us about who supports the president, how levels of
religiosity vary across the world or across time, the income rewards of a college education, and more. You will use survey data to examine (some
of) *your* questions about the social world and design visuals to effectively communicate your answers.
Methods Course.
Prerequisite: Basic familiarity with one or more of the following: survey data (datasets, variables), Stata, R, or probability/inference.
If you have taken SOCI 016B, Econ 031, and/or Stat 11, you are prepared enough to take this class.
Social sciences.
One laboratory per week.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048G. Between the "Is" and the "Ought" Black Social and Political Thought
(Cross-listed as BLST 040G)
Our study of black social and political thought will include not only the pivotal scholarly texts, but also the social and political practice and
cultural production of abolitionists, maroons, Pan-Africanists, club women, freedom fighters, poets, and the vast array of "race men and women"
across the spectrum of crusades. We will explore the range of intellectual and cultural production and protest ideology/action of Blacks through
the politics and social observation of the pre-emancipation period, post-emancipation liberation struggles, and the post-colonial and post-civil
rights period.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048I. Race and Place: A Philadelphia Story
Using Philadelphia neighborhoods as our site of study, this course will analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and spatial
inequality, emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of urban dwellers. We will survey major theoretical
approaches and empirical investigations of racial and ethnic stratification in cities, their concomitant policy considerations, and the impact at
the local level in Philadelphia. As part of The Tri-Co Philly Program, this course will engage scholars, practitioners, community members, and
leaders as teachers, learners, and researchers alongside students in the course.
Prerequisite: Requires permission of the Instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048K. Political Sociology: The Mafia and the State
This course will introduce students to the comparative study of criminal organizations across the globe. In it, we will explore the social, political
and economic conditions in which organized crime develops. Analyses will be focused on the organization of criminal networks, rules and codes,
activities both in legitimate business and illegal markets, and their relationship to politics. This comparative approach will enable students to
identify those factors facilitating the emergence, migration and persistence of organized crime across nation states and global polities -
emphasizing the mechanisms, processes and institutions that structure and are structured by criminal organizations. We will survey the major
theoretical approaches and empirical investigations of Mafias and like organizations in Italy, Russia, China, Japan, Central Asia, Central and
South America, the United States, and locally in Philadelphia.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core
Spring 2024. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 048L. Urban Crime and Punishment
This course takes a sociologically based yet interdisciplinary approach to the study of the politics of crime and the criminal justice system in U.S.
cities. We investigate the origins of the politics of law and order from the mid-twentieth century to today, against a broader backdrop of
macrostructural changes in the social, economic, and political landscape including but not limited to urban de-industrialization and
suburbanization. Using Philadelphia neighborhoods as our site of study, this course will analyze the relationship between urbanity, criminality
and spatial inequality, emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of urban dwellers. We will survey major
theoretical approaches and empirical investigations of politics, crime and stratification in cities, their concomitant policy considerations, and the
impact at the local level in Philadelphia. Readings and in-class discussions will be supplemented by experiences in the field and guest speakers
drawn from organizations involved in the crime/criminal justice system.
Requires permission of the Instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, ESCH
Fall 2021. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 050B. Medicine as a Profession
This course will bring a sociological perspective to the history of the healing arts; the professionalization of medicine; the corporatization of
health care; the elaboration of health occupations and specializations; public health; socialization and medical education; emotional labor;
caring work; and organizational contexts within which health care work is embedded.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 056C. What Happened? Philadelphia and the 2020 Election
This course will cover, as the title suggests, the role of people and political organizations in Philadelphia in the 2020 Election. We will work
together to understand how people understand politics, and how political campaigns, PACs, and non-profit organizations work to persuade and
mobilize potential voters.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH
Fall 2023. Laurison.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 056D. Race, Class and Political Power: The Sociology of Elections
In this course, we will use the unfolding 2022 elections as a case study for understanding some of the most pressing issues in American
democracy: the rise of Trumpism, the stark inequality in political participation, the sense many people have that electoral politics doesn't
represent them, and the ways in which the rules & structure of our electoral system skew representation towards those with more resources. We
will work together to better understand how people understand politics, and how political campaigns, PACs, and non-profit organizations work
to persuade and mobilize potential voters.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 058B. Black Feminisms
In this course, we will examine the contours of Black women's (womyn's/womxn's) ways of naming, being and knowing, their resistance to gender
and race hierarchies, violence, domination, and oppression, and their insistent love, joy, art, and creative practices. We will center black queer
feminisms, explore the intersections of race, gender and sexuality with class, region, religious and spiritual practices, generation, space and
place; explore black feminist thought and its relationship to womanism and other feminisms; explore the multitude of positionalities of black
women (womyn/womxn); examine mediated representations of black women; the commodification of black women's aesthetics, bodies and
sexualities, and the resistance to the same; and highlight black women (womyn/womxn) and femme centered spaces and collectives.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, GSST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 058C. Manufacturing Scarcity: The Housing Crisis in American Cities and the People's Fight for A
Home
In this course, we will investigate the social, political, and economic conditions that led to the current housing crisis in American cities. We will
cover the history of private property and its role in the developing and maintaining multiple social hierarchies, including and especially those of
race, class, gender and gender expression, sexuality, ability, immigration status, nation of origin, carceral status and others. We will also analyze
the ways in which these social categories, and the ways they intersect, determine access to housing and all the other social goods tied to it.
Finally, we will look at how policies at the state, federal, and local level and importantly, resistance and resistance movements have shaped how
people live in cities now.
Social sciences.
1 credit
Eligible for ESCH
Spring 2022. Johnson
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 062B. Sociology of Education
(Cross-listed as EDUC 062)
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 071B. Research Seminar: Global Nonviolent Action Database (M)
(Cross-listed as PEAC 071B)
This research seminar involves working with The Global Nonviolent Action Database built at Swarthmore College. This website is accessed by
activists and scholars worldwide. The database contains crucial information on campaigns for human rights, democracy, environmental
sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will investigate a series of research cases and write them up in two
ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a narrative describing the unfolding struggle. Strategic implications will be
drawn from theory and from what the group is learning from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people's struggles.
Methods Course.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 095. Independent Study/Directed Reading
Two options exist for students wishing to get credit for independent work. All students wishing to do independent work must have the advance
consent of the department and of an instructor who agrees to supervise the proposed project.
Option 1 - consists of individual or group directed reading and study in fields of special interest to the students not dealt with in the regular
course offerings.
Option 2 - credit may be received for practical work in which direct experience lends itself to intellectual analysis and is likely to contribute to a
student's progress in regular course work. Students must demonstrate to the instructor and the department a basis for the work in previous
academic study. Students will normally be required to examine pertinent literature and produce a written report to receive credit.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Sociology Seminars
SOCI 109. Distinction: On Class and the Judgment of Tastes
This honors seminar is centered on reading Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. This book lays out and applies a
set of principles for understanding social inequality, with a particular focus on how people's cultural tastes or practices are often used to justify
their dominated social position. We will read the entire book carefully, in conversation with a number of strains of sociology that engage with it,
foreshadow it, or complicate it. Readings include work by WEB Du Bois (Black Reconstruction, Souls of Black Folk) and Thorstein Veblen (The
Theory of the Leisure Class), and contemporary American scholars Prudence Carter (Keepin' It Real: School Success Beyond Black and
White), Betsy Leondar-Wright (Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures), Lauren Rivera (Pedigree: How
Elite Students Get Elite Jobs) and Anthony Jack. 2019 (The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students).
We will tackle topics such as: how people make judgments about one another; the role of judgments of taste, style, and embodiment in
reproducing class and race advantages & disadvantages; the role of class, class cultures, race and racism in American (and European) politics.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 127. Race Theories
Contemporary theories of race and racism by sociologists such as Winant, Gilroy, Williams, Gallagher, Ansell, Omi, and others will be explored.
Concepts and controversies explored will include racial identity and social status, the question of social engineering, the social construction of
justice, social stasis, and change. The U.S. is the focus, but other countries will be examined. Without exception, an introductory course on race
and/or racism is a prerequisite.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 135. Social Movements and Nonviolent Power
(Cross-listed as PEAC 135)
In this two-credit Honors seminar, we will study the global proliferation of the strategic use of nonviolent tactics and methods and investigate the
power in social relations upon which collective nonviolent action capitalizes. We will also address sociological literature on the emergence,
maintenance, and impact of social movements. For examples of the kinds of case studies covered in this seminar, visit
https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu
Social sciences.
2 credit.
Eligible for PEAC, GLBL-core
Fall 2023. Smithey.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 138. DuBois and the 21st Century Color Line
(Cross-listed as BLST 138)
This course will generate an understanding of the sociology of W. E. B. DuBois and the role of insurgent theory. In it, we will uncover DuBois'
role as a founder of American sociology and analyze the social and political factors that relegated DuBois to the margins of the sociological
enterprise for over a century. Further, we will explore the significance of W.E.B. DuBois' contributions to projects of collective racial
advancement and the intellectual climate of twentieth-century America; identify critical junctures in the scholar's life related to his evolving and
some would argue increasingly radical worldview; highlight the importance of DuBois' sociological, philosophical, artistic, and educational
contributions to the transformation of 20th century American society; and ruminate on what lessons the life and work of DuBois offer us in this
contemporary moment.
Social sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for BLST
Fall 2023. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOCI 148. Topics in Political Sociology: Power, Governance and the State
Using the US case, this course will examine the influence of social forces on formal politics as well as politics in non-formal settings,
emphasizing the institutions, processes, and mechanisms that shape the lives of citizens. We will survey major theoretical approaches and
empirical investigations of key issues and debates in political sociology, their concomitant policy implications, and the impact on the populace-
including definitions of power, elites and decision making, social cleavages in participation, and the role of economic interests in governance.
Social Sciences.
2 credits.
Eligible for ESCH
Fall 2021. Johnson.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Sociology/Anthropology Courses
SOAN 020B. Urban Education
(Cross-listed as EDUC 068)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, ESCH
Fall 2023. Liu.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020D. Music and Dance Cultures of the World
(Cross-listed as MUSI 005A)
In this course we take an ethnomusicological approach to examine music and dance cultures from around the world. We will
consider music and dance both in and as culture with attention to social, political, and historical contexts. Topics will include identity, race,
ethnicity, gender, class, religion, memory, migration, globalization, tourism, and social and political movements. The course will provide an
opportunity to develop critical listening and analytical skills to discuss sound and movement.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Stewart.
Fall 2022. Stewart.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020E. Music & Mao: Music and Politics in Communist China
(Cross-listed as MUSI 008A)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 020M. Race, Gender, Class and Environment
(Cross-listed as ENVS 043, ENGL 089)
This course explores how ideologies and structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class are embedded in and help shape our perceptions of and
actions in the "environment." Drawing on key social and cultural theories of environmental studies from anthropology, sociology, feminist
analysis, and science and technology studies, we will examine some of the ways that differences in culture, power, and knowledge construct the
conceptual frameworks and social policies undertaken in relation to the environment. The course draws on contemporary scholarship and social
movement activism (including memoir and autobiography) from diverse national and international contexts. Topics addressed include, for
example, ideas/theories of "nature," toxic exposure and public health, environmental perception and social difference, poverty and natural
resource depletion, justice and sustainability, Indigenous environmentalisms, eco-imperialism, and disparate impacts of global climate change.
The course offers students opportunities for community-based learning working in partnership with local organizations.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ENVS, GSST, BLST, GLBL-core, ESCH
Spring 2022. Di Chiro.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 040B. Sociolinguistics: Language, Culture and Society
(Cross-listed as LING 025)
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Conrod.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 096. Thesis
The senior thesis project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through
working directly with a faculty member. Students develop their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting a
substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript.
Seniors will normally take two consecutive semesters of thesis tutorial. Students are urged to discuss their thesis proposals with faculty during the
spring semester of their junior year, especially if they are interested in the possibility of fieldwork. Students enrolled in SOAN 096 must attend
SOAN 098.
Course sequence SOAN 096-097, students who start in SOAN 096-097 sequence must complete SOAN 097 to receive credit for SOAN 096.
Required for course majors housed in the department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 097. Thesis
The senior thesis project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through
working directly with a faculty member. Students develop their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting a
substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript.
Seniors will normally take two consecutive semesters of thesis tutorial. Students are urged to discuss their thesis proposals with faculty during the
spring semester of their junior year, especially if they are interested in the possibility of fieldwork.
Course sequence SOAN 096-097, students who start in SOAN 096-097 sequence must complete SOAN 097 to receive credit for SOAN 096.
Required for course majors housed in the department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 098. Thesis Writers Master Class
This class meets weekly to support sociology and anthropology students in developing the skills necessary for writing their theses, including
conducting literature searches, interpreting data, formulating research questions, and writing in a way that contributes to the disciplines. The
class complements and supports the work that students are doing with their thesis advisers. Students who have signed up for a senior thesis credit
are automatically enrolled in the class. The class is open to only senior thesis writers.
Required for all SOAN thesis writers.
0 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 100. Ethnomusicology Seminar
(Cross-listed as MUSI 100)
Ethnomusicology is an academic discipline that examines music in and as culture. This seminar examines how the interdisciplinary field has
developed over the 20th and 21st centuries through an investigation of its origins, approaches, methodologies, and contemporary theoretical
questions. Course readings will address the relationships between music and a variety of conceptual themes including race, ethnicity, identity,
nationalism, Diaspora, globalization, and gender. The music cultures we will examine in this course represent a wide range of cultures,
geographic regions, musical genres, and historical periods. Students will complete introductory exercises in research, transcription, analysis,
ethnographic fieldwork, & performance.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2022. Ouyang.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
SOAN 180. Honors Thesis
The senior thesis project represents the centrality of research to our disciplines, and allows students to develop their research interests through
working directly with a faculty member. Students develop their analytical and writing skills and learn the process of developing and conducting a
substantial research project from proposal to completed manuscript.
Candidates for honors will write theses during the senior year and it will be sent to an external honors examiner.
Students are urged to have their thesis proposals approved as early as possible during the junior year, especially if they are interested in the
possibility of fieldwork.
Students enrolled in SOAN 180F must attend SOAN 098.
Course sequence SOAN 180F-180S, students who start in SOAN 180F-180S sequence must complete SOAN 180S to receive credit for SOAN
180F.
Required for honors majors housed in the department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Social sciences.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology
Spanish
Courses
Faculty
MARÍA LUISA GUARDIOLA, Professor of Spanish
NANCI BUIZA, Associate Professor of Spanish, Chair
LUCIANO MARTÍNEZ, Associate Professor of Spanish
1
DÉSIRÉE DÍAZ, Assistant Professor of Spanish
JAIME HERNÁNDEZ, Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
BEATRIZ RAMÍREZ CANOSA, Instructor of Spanish
EDUARDO MARTÍN MACHO, Visiting Instructor of Spanish
SUZANNE MCCARTHY, Administrative Assistant
1
Absent on leave, 2021-2022.
Built on a solid competence in Spanish language, the major and minor develop students' skills in critical analysis and provide an understanding
of the literatures and cultures of Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Latinos in the United States.
The Academic Program
The Department of Spanish's curriculum is organized in three tiers:
Spanish language courses: Our language courses give students ample opportunity for practice, encouraging the development of
communicative proficiency and cultural competency.
Introductory courses: Our writing courses enable students to move toward writing proficiency in Spanish and provide a panoramic
view of the literary and cultural histories of the Hispanic world.
Advanced courses and seminars explore specific trends and topics pertaining to the literatures and cultures of Spain, Mexico and
Central America, South America, and the Hispanic Caribbean as well as those of Latino/a communities in the United
States. Additionally,
courses taught in English allow a wide range of students to explore this rich literary and cultural heritage.
With the goal of enabling students to communicate fluently in Spanish, we base our curriculum upon a linguistic and pedagogical continuum
beginning at the elementary language level and culminating in the most advanced courses and Honors seminars.
Learning Goals for the Spanish Major and Minor
1. Linguistic Competence. Students will achieve an advanced level of communication in Spanish using a variety of linguistic registers,
acquiring a more idiomatic use of the language, and writing accurately and effectively in academic Spanish.
2. Critical Thinking. Students will develop analytical skills to interpret and appreciate different texts including literature, media and
visual arts, and other cultural practices, using various critical and theoretical approaches.
3. Content Knowledge. Students will acquire knowledge of a range of literary movements and historical periods from Spain, Mexico,
Central America, South America and the Hispanic Caribbean, as well as those of Latino/a communities in the United States.
4. Cultural Awareness. Students will gain an informed appreciation of the complex and diverse cultural, political, and socio-historical
processes that shape the Spanish-speaking world.
Course Major
The Spanish major seeks to provide training in literary and cultural analysis while enabling students to acquire linguistic proficiency.
Requirements
1. Students must complete a minimum of 8.5 credits of work in courses numbered 008 and above. One of these courses must be SPAN
022 or SPAN 023, except in special cases when the department waives this requirement.
2. Majors must maintain a curricular balance in their overall program. Students are encouraged to choose courses representing each
one of the following areas: Caribbean, Mexico/Central America, South America, and Spain.
3. Students may count only one of these courses toward the major: SPAN 008 or SPAN 012. Note that neither AP nor IB credits will
count towards the major.
4. One of the 8.5 credits of advanced work may be taken in English from the courses listed under "Spanish Courses Taught in English"
(LITR.S) that appear below.
5. All majors are encouraged to take at least one seminar in the department. Students can take a seminar after they have completed one
advanced course (numbered 040 to 089). Only one seminar in the major will count for two credits. (A seminar can also be taken for 1
credit depending on student's needs.)
6. In the spring semester of their senior year, Spanish majors will register in SPAN 097 (0.5 credits) to prepare their Spanish final
paper.
7. A minimum of four of the eight courses must be taken at Swarthmore.
8. Students majoring in Spanish must spend one semester in a Spanish-speaking country enrolled in a program approved by the
Department of Spanish. Only two courses taken abroad that pertain to the curriculum of the department may count toward fulfillment
of the major. For full immersion, all courses taken abroad must be taken in Spanish. Only advanced language courses taken abroad
may receive Spanish credit.
Exceptions to the study abroad requirement: In special cases, depending on the student's language
proficiency, this requirement may be waived or fulfilled with a summer-long study abroad program identified and approved by the
Department of Spanish. (For summer programs, only one relevant course taken abroad may count towards fulfillment of the major.)
The requirement will be waived for students who have recently arrived in the US and/or have had extensive schooling in Spanish in
Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish/English bilingual students who have grown up in Spanish-speaking environments in the United
States may petition to have the requirement waived or fulfilled with a summer-long study abroad program. The Spanish faculty will
evaluate each case individually.
9. Upon returning from abroad, students must enroll in a one-credit advanced course in the department.
10. To graduate with a major in Spanish, a student must maintain a minimum grade of B in the discipline, and a C average in course work
outside the department.
Culminating Exercise/Final Examination
Along with development of analytical literary and cultural abilities, majors are expected to reach an advanced level of linguistic proficiency. The
Spanish Final Exam has oral and written components, both entirely in Spanish.
In the spring semester of their senior year, Spanish majors will register in SPAN 097 to develop their Spanish final paper and prepare for their
oral examination. Spanish majors will re-write one of the best term papers they wrote for courses in the department. The new research paper
will: a) deepen the original analysis; b) enhance the critical work on which it is based to include ample documentation; and c) increase the
paper's length to at least 20 pages, plus bibliography.
Once the student has selected the paper to be revised, he/she needs to meet with the specific Spanish faculty member to agree on a timeline to
turn in drafts, and discuss changes and revisions.
The oral examination is based on the content of the written essay and on overall course preparation. This essay-and the student's overall course
preparation-will provide the basis for the oral examination in May, conducted exclusively in Spanish. The Spanish language ability of majors, as
exhibited in this paper and the oral examination, will be part of the final evaluation.
Acceptance Criteria
For admission to the course major, the student needs a minimum of B level work in courses taken at Swarthmore taught in Spanish or the
required introductory-level literature course (SPAN 022 or SPAN 023), demonstrated ability and interest in language and literature, and a
minimum C average in course work outside the department.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or its equivalent is the language prerequisite for entering the Spanish major. It does not count as one of the 8.5 credits
required for the major.
Course Minor
Requirements
1. All minors must take a total of five courses and/or seminar offerings numbered 008 and above. Only one of these may overlap with the
student's major or other minor. Note that AP and IB credits will not count towards the minor.
2. Courses taught in English will not count towards fulfillment of the minor.
3. All minors must take either SPAN 022 or SPAN 023, except in special cases when the department waives this requirement.
4. Minors must maintain a curricular balance in their overall program. Students are encouraged to choose courses representing the
following areas: Caribbean, Mexico/Central America, South America, and Spain.
5. Students may count only one of these courses toward the major: SPAN 008 or SPAN 012. Note that neither AP nor IB credits will
count towards the major.
6. All minors are strongly encouraged to take seminars offered by the department. Students can take a seminar after they have completed
one advanced course (numbered 040 to 089). Seminars count as one credit toward the minor.
7. Completion of at least one semester of study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country in a program approved by the Department of
Spanish. Only two courses taken abroad that pertain to the curriculum of the department may count towards fulfillment of the minor.
To ensure full immersion, all courses taken abroad must be taken in Spanish. Only advanced language courses taken abroad may
receive Spanish credit.
Exceptions to the study abroad requirement: In special cases, depending on the student's language proficiency,
this requirement may be waived or fulfilled with a summer-long study abroad program identified and approved by the Department of
Spanish. (For summer programs, only one relevant course taken abroad may count towards fulfillment of the minor.) The requirement
will be waived for students who have recently arrived in the US and/or have had extensive schooling in Spanish in Spanish-speaking
countries. Spanish/English bilingual students who have grown up in Spanish-speaking environments in the United States may petition
to have the requirement waived or fulfilled with a summer-long study abroad program. The Spanish faculty will evaluate each case
individually.
8. Upon returning from study abroad, students are expected to register in a one-credit advanced course in the department.
9. To graduate with a minor in Spanish, a student must maintain a minimum grade of B in the discipline, and a C average in course work
outside the department.
Acceptance Criteria
For admission to the course minor, the student needs a minimum of B level work in courses taken at Swarthmore taught in Spanish or the
required introductory-level literature course (SPAN 022 or SPAN 023), demonstrated ability and interest in language and literature, and a
minimum C average in course work outside the department.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or its equivalent is the language prerequisite for entering the Spanish minor. It does not count as one of the 5 credits
required for the minor.
Honors Major and Minor
Requirements
Candidates for the major or minor in Spanish must meet these requirements to be accepted into Honors:
1. A "B+" average in Spanish coursework at Swarthmore.
2. Completion at Swarthmore of either SPAN 022 or SPAN 023 (except in cases when the department waives this requirement or
approves a similar course taken abroad) and one course numbered 040 to 089.
3. Completion of one semester of study in a Spanish-speaking country in a program approved by the Department of Spanish. (Depending
on their linguistic proficiency, as evaluated by the Spanish faculty, honors majors and minors may petition to have the requirement
waived or fulfilled with a summer-long off-campus study program.)
4. Demonstrated linguistic ability in Spanish in academic settings.
5. Present fields for external examination based on Honors seminars offered by the department. (In exceptional cases, a two-course
combination approved by the department might be used as an Honors preparation. Students must consult with their sophomore plan
advisor and/or department chair.)
6. All majors in the Honors Program must do three (3) preparations for a total of six units of credit while all minors must complete one
(1) preparation consisting of two units of credit.
7. Honors majors and minors must submit a Senior Honors Study (SHS) portfolio to be assessed by the examiner(s).
Senior Honors Study
Senior Honors Study (SHS) portfolio materials are Honors materials sent to the examiner to be used as part of the evaluation.
All honors majors and minors will select one paper from each seminar to be sent to the external examiner for that seminar. The student is free to
submit the paper with minor or major revisions or no revisions at all. 4,000 words is the senior honors limit set by the college. Majors will,
therefore, submit three such papers, and minors will submit one.
The Honors Exam for Majors and Minors
Majors will take three (3) three-hour written examinations prepared by the external examiners, as well as three (3) 45 minute oral exams based
on the contents of each field of preparation.
Minors will take one (1) three-hour written examination prepared by the external examiner, as well as one (1) half-hour oral exam based on the
contents of the written examination, senior honors study portfolio materials, and their overall preparation in the field presented.
All Honors exams will be conducted exclusively in Spanish.
Special Majors
Special Major in Linguistics and Languages
Spanish requirements for the special major:
1. Complete three credits numbered above SPAN 022.
2. One of the three credits must be SPAN 022 or SPAN 023 but not both.
3. Spanish Courses Taught in English (LITR.S) will not count towards the fulfillment of the three-credit requirement.
4. In special circumstances, by permission of the Department of Spanish, one of the introductory writing courses (SPAN 008 or SPAN
012) could count toward the three-credit requirement.
5. If the student is pursuing study abroad in a Spanish speaking country, only one literature course taken abroad that pertains to the
curriculum of the Department of Spanish may count toward fulfillment of the three-credit requirement. For full immersion, all courses
taken abroad must be taken in Spanish. (Advanced language courses taken abroad may receive Spanish credit but will not count
toward the special major's three-credit requirement.)
See Linguistics for department specific requirements.
Special Major in Spanish and Educational Studies
The Department of Spanish and the Department of Educational Studies prepare students who wish to pursue a special major in Spanish and
Educational Studies, and also those who are seeking PreK-12 certification to teach Spanish in primary and secondary schools in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The following courses of studies are available:
Course Special Major in Spanish and Educational Studies
Course Special Major in Spanish and Educational Studies with PA Spanish Teacher Certification
Course Major in Spanish, and Educational Studies Minor with PA Spanish Teacher Certification
Students can also seek PreK-12 Spanish certification without the need to pursue a special major, or major/minor in either department, as long as
they take the required Spanish and Educational Studies courses.
For further information about the relevant requirements, please refer to the academic requirements chart that appears below, and
read the section PA Teacher Certification on the Educational Studies Department website (which also discusses how students can
explore whether PA certification will transfer to other states).
Review department specific requirements for Spanish & Educational Studies [pdf].
Requirements for the Special Major in Spanish and Educational Studies
In addition to the requirements of the Department of Educational Studies, students must meet the following requirements:
1. Students must complete 6 credits of work in courses numbered 008 and above. None of these courses may be taught in English.
2. Only one of the following courses may count toward the 6-credits requirement: SPAN 008 or SPAN 012. One of the 6 credits must be
SPAN 022 or SPAN 023.
3. One credit special major thesis in Educational Studies and Spanish.
4. One semester/summer abroad in a Spanish speaking country in a program approved by the Department of Spanish. Only two courses
taken abroad may count toward the 6 credit requirement. (For summer programs, only one relevant course taken abroad may count
towards fulfillment of the major.) This requirement may be waived; consult the catalogue/department for study abroad waiver
information.
5. Students must complete 5 credits in Educational Studies.
Note: The special major itself does not constitute preparation toward certification. The required Educational Studies courses are described
elsewhere.
See Educational Studies for department specific requirements.
Requirements for the Special Major in Spanish and Educational Studies with PA Spanish
Teacher Certification
In addition to the requirements of the Department of Educational Studies, students must meet the following requirements:
1. Students must complete 8 credits of work in courses numbered SPAN 008 and above.
2. Only one of the following courses may count toward the 8-credits requirement: SPAN 008 or SPAN 012. One of the 8 credits must be
SPAN 022 or SPAN 023.
3. One of the eight credits may be taken in English from the courses listed under "Spanish Courses Taught in English" (LITR.S) that
appear below.
4. One credit special major thesis in Educational Studies and Spanish.
5. One semester/summer abroad in a Spanish speaking country in a program approved by the Department of Spanish. Only two courses
taken abroad may count toward the 8 credit requirement. (For summer programs, only one relevant course taken abroad may count
towards fulfillment of the major.) This requirement may be waived; consult the catalogue/department for study abroad waiver
information.
See Educational Studies for department specific requirements.
Application Process for the Major or the Minor
In addition to the process described by the Dean's Office and the Registrar's Office for how to apply for a major/minor, we recommend you to
meet with the Spanish faculty to discuss your plans. If after applying you are denied admission to the major/minor, you may apply again once you
have addressed the recommendations made by the Department of Spanish. If your application is deferred, the department will make a decision
immediately after you have taken the necessary steps to address the reasons for being deferred.
PreK-12 Spanish Teacher Certification
Students can also seek PreK-12 Spanish certification without the need to pursue a special major, or major/minor in either department, as long as
they take the required Spanish and Educational Studies courses.
For further information about the relevant requirements, please refer to the academic requirements chart that appears below, and read the
section PA Teacher Certification on the Educational Studies Department website (which also discusses how students can explore whether PA
certification will transfer to other states).
Review department specific requirements for Spanish & Educational Studies [pdf].
The Language Requirement
To receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, candidates must fulfill a foreign language requirement. The foreign language
requirement can be fulfilled by:
1. Successfully studying 3 years or the "block" equivalent of a single foreign language in grades 9 through 12 (work done before grade 9
cannot be counted, regardless of the course level);
2. Achieving a score of 600 or better on a standard achievement test of a foreign language;
3. Passing either the final term of a college-level, yearlong, introductory foreign language course or a semester-long intermediate
foreign language course; or
4. Learning English as a foreign language while remaining demonstrably proficient in another.
Students whose Spanish placement recommendation is above the language sequence should consider taking introductory and/or advanced
Spanish courses, many of which fulfill the College's writing requirement.
Spanish Placement Test
The Department of Spanish offers a placement test so as to appropriately position students in language classes when they arrive on campus. New
students who have previously studied or have fluency in Spanish should plan to take the placement test.
The Spanish Placement Test is in an online multiple-choice format, which allows you to take it at your convenience. Immediately upon
completion of the test, you will receive a score and placement recommendation. You may register in the designated course during the registration
period, unless an oral interview is required.
It is important to emphasize that the online placement test and survey are for diagnostic purposes only. These diagnostic tools may be
supplemented by your instructor's evaluation during the first week of classes, at which time he or she may recommend a change of course level.
The test must represent your own work. When taking it, you will be bound by Swarthmore College's Code of Academic and Personal Integrity.
You may take this test only once. Please remember to complete the language survey that appears at the beginning of the test.
First-year students and new transfer students must log into Moodle after July 15 and select the New Student Orientation 2021 course.
In the Placement Exams section of the course, you will find detailed instructions on how to access placement exams. It is important
that you complete the language survey that appears at the beginning of the test. Upon completion of the exam, students can register in
the designated course during the registration period, unless an oral interview is required.
Upper-class students interested in taking the test should contact the Spanish department for information and instructions at
spanish@swarthmore.edu.
The Spanish Placement Test is not a substitute for an official standard achievement test of a foreign language (such as the College Board exams
or the International Baccalaureate). Therefore, it does not serve as proof of achievement for the purpose of fulfilling the language requirement.
This test is only intended to assist instructors in placing students in the appropriate Spanish courses at Swarthmore.
The Spanish Placement Test is required for all students with previous experience in the language, including students with AP/IB scores.
Advancement Placement and International Baccalaureate Credit
The department will grant 1 credit for incoming students who achieved a score of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement Spanish examinations once they
have successfully completed a one-credit course in Spanish at the College.
The department will grant 1 credit for incoming students who have achieved a score of 6 or 7 in a foreign language on the International
Baccalaureate once they have successfully completed a one-credit course in Spanish at the College.
Note: Students with Spanish AP-IB scores are nonetheless required to take the online placement test.
Off-Campus Study
Academic Benefits of Off-Campus Study
Off-campus study is an enriching intellectual experience when it is fully integrated into the student's overall academic experience at Swarthmore.
Since the principal educational advantages of study abroad are in-depth cross-cultural exposure and language learning, the best study abroad
programs are those that maximize these benefits by fully immersing students in the host country's culture and society. This goal can only be
effectively achieved by choosing full immersion off-campus study programs. Pursuing academic coursework in English in a Spanish-speaking
country does not comply with the academic goals and mission of the Department of Spanish.
All Spanish majors and minors are required to complete an off-campus study program in a Spanish-speaking country. The Department of Spanish
recommends students interested in studying abroad several programs listed in its website under the Off-Campus Study
section (https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/study-abroad-0).
Waiver of the study abroad requirement for students of Spanish: Majors and minors of Spanish who cannot go abroad for one semester due to
academic or other constraints should speak to the chair of the department to discuss their circumstances. In special cases, depending on the
student's language proficiency, the off-campus study requirement may be waived or fulfilled with a summer-long off-campus study program
identified and approved by the department. (For summer programs, only one relevant course taken abroad may count towards fulfillment of the
minor or major.) Please contact the department chair if you have any questions.
Upon returning from abroad, majors or minors must enroll in an advanced course in the department.
Advising
We strongly suggest that majors and minors as well as non-specialists meet with a Spanish faculty member to discuss the possibilities and find
the program that best suits their academic needs and interests.
Our primary role in study abroad advising is to help students choose an international experience that complements their intellectual pursuits and
their Swarthmore education. We help students frame their goals for study abroad as they prepare for living and studying while immersed in a
foreign culture. Many students in our department who succeed in obtaining post-graduate fellowships, such as the Fulbright, have studied
abroad.
Students on financial aid may apply that aid to designated programs of study abroad.
The Department of Spanish encourages students to choose programs that build on previous language study. In order to be better prepared for
academic work in Spanish,
we recommend students take a writing course in Spanish (SPAN 008, SPAN 012, SPAN 022, or SPAN 023) at
Swarthmore prior to going abroad.
Pre-Estimation and Final Credit Review
By College regulation, to receive credit for college level work done elsewhere, domestic or abroad, it must be pre-approved and evaluated upon
completion by the appropriate Swarthmore academic department to determine how much Swarthmore credit it may receive. (Technically,
Swarthmore doesn't transfer credit. We award credit for work done elsewhere, and we casually call this transfer credit.)
Students enrolled at the college may, at the department's discretion, receive transfer credit for Spanish courses taken at comparable universities
during the summer or semester on leave. Under no circumstances will students be given credit for a college class taken prior to enrolling at
Swarthmore. Generally, neither study-abroad nor off-campus courses in Spanish fulfill the College's Language Requirement.
Once you have been admitted to an off-campus study program, you must get credit pre-approval for the courses you intend to take abroad, using
the OCS Credit Evaluation System (https://www.swarthmore.edu/off-campus-study-office/ocs-credits). The amount of credit granted for each
Spanish course will be determined by the OCS office following the department's recommendation.
Students are encouraged to take courses that do not duplicate those offered in the Spanish department. Neither vocational-technical courses nor
orientation sessions can receive academic credit.
Before departure, you must consult with the department's transfer credit advisor to get your proposed Spanish courses pre-estimated for credit.
Pre-approved courses will not receive credit until a final evaluation of the coursework completed is done, which must correspond to what was
pre-approved. (It is important you keep all notebooks, assignments, and exams from the class, and upload them to OCS Credit Evaluation System
for final review.)
For additional information please consult the OCS website. https://www.swarthmore.edu/off-campus-study-office
For the 2021-2022 academic year, the advisor for programs in Spain is Prof. Guardiola and for Latin American programs is Prof. Buiza.
Spanish Courses
Students wishing to major or minor in Spanish should plan their program in consultation with the department. Spanish is the only language used
in class discussions, readings, and assignments in all courses, except in courses taught in English (LITR.S).
Language Courses
Our language courses give students ample opportunity for practice, encouraging the development of communicative proficiency and cultural
competency.
SPAN 001. Elementary Spanish 001
Students who start in the SPAN 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
This course is intended for students who begin Spanish in college. The first year of Spanish is designed to encourage the development of
communicative proficiency through an integrated approach to the teaching of all four language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
The course also helps students develop as global citizens. This is achieved through a range of activities, which asks students to explore and
interpret authentic materials as well as engage in interpersonal and presentational communication.
Note: SPAN 001 is offered in the fall semester only. The class is taught by one instructor, and meets 4 days per week (M/T/W/Th).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Martín Macho.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 002. Elementary Spanish 002
This course is intended for students who begin Spanish in college. The first year of Spanish is designed to encourage the development of
communicative proficiency through an integrated approach to the teaching of all four language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
The course also helps students develop as global citizens. This is achieved through a range of activities, which asks students to explore and
interpret authentic materials as well as engage in interpersonal and presentational communication.
Students who start in the SPAN 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001.
Note: SPAN 002 is offered in the spring semester only. The class is taught by one instructor, and meets 4 days per week (M/T/W/Th).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2023. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2024. Ramírez Canosa.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 002B. Spanish for Advanced Beginners
SPAN 002B is intended for those students who have had at least a year of Spanish but have not yet attained the level of SPAN 003. This
accelerated course covers the materials of SPAN 001 / SPAN 002 in one semester, allowing for the review of basic concepts learned in the past.
It encourages development of communicative proficiency through an interactive task-based approach, and provides students with an active and
rewarding learning experience as they strengthen their language skills and develop their cultural competency. After completing this course,
students will be prepared to take SPAN 003.
Note: SPAN 002B is offered in the fall semester only. The class is taught by one instructor, and meets 4 days per week (M/T/W/Th).
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Martín Macho.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 003. Intermediate Spanish
This intermediate-level Spanish course continues to develop students' functional, communicative language skills through reinforcement,
expansion, and synthesis of the concepts learned during the first year. It seeks to develop students' fluency and accuracy in order to express,
interpret, and negotiate meaning in context. The course offers contextualized activities that review language and foster skill development, while
at the same time, preparing students to continue their Spanish coursework and for real-life communicative tasks.
Note: This class is taught by one instructor, and meets 3 days per week (T/W/Th).
Prerequisite: SPAN 002 or SPAN 002B or the equivalent
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2022. Martín Macho.
Fall 2022. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 004. Advanced Spanish
This course features a thematic approach that exposes students to current topics, and offers a comprehensive look at Spanish grammar through
communication-oriented activities. It encourages students to build on their current Spanish language skills and learn more advanced grammar
points. Students will improve their linguistic accuracy and develop their cultural knowledge and critical thinking skills in Spanish. SPAN 004
prepares students to take introductory writing courses in literature and culture.
Note: The class is taught by one instructor, and meets 3 days per week (T/W/Th). Students who receive a final grade of "B" or below in SPAN 004
need to take SPAN 008 or SPAN 012 as their next course. Students who receive a final grade of "B+" or higher in SPAN 004 may continue to any
of the introductory literature/culture courses (SPAN 012, SPAN 022 or SPAN 023). Students should consult with their instructor to determine
which one of these courses might be more beneficial to them.
Prerequisite: SPAN 003 or the equivalent.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2022. Martín Macho.
Fall 2022. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Ramírez Canosa.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 008. Spanish Conversation and Composition
Recommended for students who have finished SPAN 004, have received a 5 in the AP/IB exam or want to improve Spanish oral and written
expression. This is a practical course for writing and rewriting in a variety of contexts, and it will prepare the student to write at an academic
level of Spanish. It includes a review of grammar and spelling, methods for vocabulary expansion, and attention to common errors of students of
Spanish living in an English-speaking society. Films and literary texts will serve as a stimulus for advanced conversation with the goal of
improving fluency and comprehension in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Martín Macho.
Spring 2022. Díaz.
Fall 2022. Martínez.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Martínez.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Introductory Courses
Our writing courses enable students to move toward writing proficiency in Spanish and provide a panoramic view of the literary and cultural
histories of the Hispanic world.
SPAN 012. Imágenes y contextos hispánicos
This course provides an introduction to the Hispanic world with an emphasis on its visual culture. The goal is to understand the key cultural
processes that have shaped Latin America and Spain. We will begin by examining early contact between Europeans and Amerindian civilizations.
We will analyze how the history of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions in Spain had a great impact on how the Spanish colonial empire
developed in the New World. We will then study the nation-building processes of the nineteenth century in Latin America, and continue on to
more recent topics, such as the periods of war and postwar in Spain and some Latin American countries.
Students will develop advanced skills in written Spanish by completing several written assignments over the course of the semester.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2022. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 015. First Year Seminar: Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 015S, ENGL 009F, LALS 015)
This course is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S. with emphasis on the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the
experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latino/a communities. We will focus particularly in works produced by the three major
groups of U.S. Latino/as (Mexican Americans or Chicanos, Puerto Ricans or Nuyoricans, and Cuban Americans). By analyzing works from a
range of genres including poetry, fiction, film, and performance, along with literary and cultural theory, the course will explore some of the
major themes in the cultural production of these groups. Topics to be discussed include identity formation in terms of language, race, gender,
sexuality, and class; diaspora and emigration; the marketing of the Latino/a identity; and activism through art.
Offered each fall. Taught in English.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, CPLT
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 022. Introducción a la literatura española
This course covers representative Spanish works from medieval times to the present. Works in all literary genres will be read to observe times of
political and civic upheaval, of soaring ideologies and crushing defeats that depict the changing social, economic, and political conditions in
Spain throughout the centuries. Each reading represents a particular literary period: middle ages, renaissance, baroque, neo-classicism,
romanticism, realism, naturalism, surrealism, postmodernism, etc. Emphasis on literary analysis to introduce students to further work in Spanish
literature.
This course has 2 sections: Section 1 on T/TH 8:30-9:45 and Section 2 on T/TH 9:55-11:10
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2022. Hernández.
Fall 2022. Hernández.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 023. Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana
This course introduces students to the richness of Latin American literature through the critical analysis of texts that represent many different
moments in the complex history of an extraordinary region.
Special emphasis will be placed on the shifting relationships between aesthetics, politics, and social change.
Students will be able to compare and contrast how major writers (Quiroga, Borges, Rulfo, García Márquez, Fuentes, Neruda) as well as
emerging ones confront one key question: "Who are we?" Students will analyze individual texts using appropriate literary terminology; and
engage critically in questions about Latin America's colonial legacy, nation-building; revolutionary processes; race and ethnicity; gender and
sexuality.
This is an ideal course for those students who want to strengthen their oral and writing proficiency in Spanish. Especially recommended for those
planning to study abroad.
Prerequisite: SPAN 004 or the equivalent or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, ESCH, CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Advanced Courses and Seminars
These courses explore specific trends and topics pertaining to the literatures and cultures of Spain, Mexico and Central America, South America,
and the Hispanic Caribbean as well as those of Latino/a communities in the United States.
Students must have taken SPAN 022 or SPAN 023 before they can take an advanced literature, culture or film course in Spanish unless they
receive special permission from the instructor.
Courses numbered 040 to 089 belong to the same level of complexity, requiring the same level of
preparation. The numbering does not imply a sequence.
Students wishing to take seminars must have completed at least one course in Spanish numbered 040 and above. Students are admitted to
seminars on a case-by-case basis by the instructor according to their overall preparation.
SPAN 042. Borges: Aesthetics & Theory
(Cross-listed as LITR 042S)
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent reader. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly quoted. In his texts Borges not only anticipated but also discussed the major topics of
contemporary literary theory: the theory of intertextuality, the limits of the referential illusion, the relationship between knowledge and language,
and the dilemmas of representation and of narration. We will explore how Borges fictionalized these theoretical problems without ever allowing
the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance. We will also read Borges as a universal writer working inside all the cultural
traditions, and also as a writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, INTP, CPLT
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 043. Horror y maravilla en la literatura hispana
This course is an introduction to political and ideological uses of the fantastic genre and horror fiction in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia
during the Early Modern period. We will study texts such as short stories, novels, poetry, theater, painting, inquisition records, and films. The
course examines how texts that blur the lines between the real and the unreal, the natural world and the supernatural can be used as mechanisms
of social control that seek to propagate concerns, fears, and stigmas on racial minorities and marginalized groups. Students will learn about the
key sociopolitical, religious, and historical contexts of the era that will help us understand how the fantastic and horror fiction engage with their
society. We will explore themes such as the world of the witches, monsters and prodigies, religious miracles, and diabolical metamorphoses, or
the boundaries between life and death. Students will become familiar with the following terms: horror, fantastic, miracle, magic, diabolical,
metamorphosis, and sensationalism. At the end of the semester, students are expected to know how the popular imagination and the fiction of the
Early Modern period can help us understand the complex sociohistorical vision of that era.
Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Hernández.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 051. Cuba contemporánea: utopía, revolución y reforma
This course will focus on Cuban literature and culture produced during the historical period of the Cuban Revolution. By reading varied-and
often opposed-literary accounts and artistic representations of those years, the course seeks to analyze the complex socio-economical, political,
and ideological processes that have informed Cuban society and culture since 1959 until the present day. Although it will use a panoramic and
chronological approach, emphasis will be given to works produced in the last three decades. Issues to be discussed include the relation between
national identity, ideology and political discourse; the politics of representation in terms of race, gender and sexuality; exile and diaspora, the
social role of the intellectual, ethics and aesthetics, and the current period of political and economic transition.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Díaz.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 056. Don Quijote
Ciencia y tecnología en Don Quijote
Don Quijote states, "Chivalry is a science that comprehends in itself all or most of the sciences in the world." Elaborating on this idea, this
course studies Cervantes' masterpiece through the lenses of science and technology. This approach explores the roles of multiple disciplines of
knowledge in the creation of this novel as well as their influence on early modern thought. Our readings and writings will include disciplines
such as medicine, physiology, botany, zoology, mathematics, astronomy, geography, printing, and robotics, among others. Through these areas
of expertise, students will see the contemporaneity of the book and will take a look inside Cervantes' thinking when he wrote Don Quijote.
Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for CPLT
Fall 2021. Hernández.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 061. El "otro": voces y miradas múltiples
This course is an overview of literary and artistic expressions as a response of the presence of the "other", contributing to build a collective
cultural imaginary of a diverse society where immigration is a compelling influence. Migrant movements within and outside Spain, and their
impact on transforming Spanish society, will be studied in theatre, film and literature. The imaginary vision of the "other" will be unveiled as an
integral part of the imagined self-identity. Through different readings and visual art forms we will observe the challenge to identity definition
caused by an array of people from different races, cultures and religions.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Spring 2022. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 066. La voz de la mujer
In this course we will explore the work of representative Spanish women writers of the last three centuries in order to study the development of
female self-awareness. We will read texts by Carolina Coronado, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Mercé Rodoreda, Esther
Tusquets, Carme Riera, Almudena Grandes, etc. The main objective of the course is to analyze female discourse within the historical,
psychoanalytical, metafictional and allegorical realm of the texts to find multiple female voices.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2021. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 067. Legado artístico y cultural de la Guerra Civil
A literary and filmic study of different works generated by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). We will contemplate the antagonistic
interpretations of the conflict itself, its roots, and its impact for a better understanding of modern Spain. We will study the themes and questions
of the war echoed in Spanish poetry, short fiction, novels, and films from the time of the war up through the present day. Readings will include
works by Machado, Cernuda, Hernández, Sender, Matute, Orwell, Laforet, Llamazares, Mendez, etc. Films will include documentaries as well as
classic and contemporary features.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, PEAC
Fall 2022. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 075. Debates in Latinx Culture: Today and Tomorrow
Crosslisted with LITR 075S.
This advanced course on Latinx culture focuses on contemporary debates and polemical issues involving Latinx cultural production and
representation. In a colloquium and seminar style, students will discuss a wide range of thought-provoking topics such as social movements and
the political participation of Latinos; new trends in film and media; the politics of the literary market; social media presence; new linguistic and
bilingual developments; fashion, music, and the commodification of identity politics in popular culture; among other controversial topics that are
fundamentally shaping the presence and impact of Latinx in the US and the world, today and tomorrow.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
SPAN 079. García Márquez y su huella
This course examines the work of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014), and his literary influence on a younger generation
of Colombian writers.
García Márquez has been involved in many of the crucial literary, political and cultural issues of this era, in Colombia, Latin America and
globally. His work exemplifies these conflicts and ranges from so-called realismo mágico (Cien años de soledad) to historical fiction (El general
en su laberinto) and documentary writing (Relato de un náufrago).
We will also read works by Laura Restrepo, William Ospina, and Juan Gabriel Vázquez. The goal is not to trace the inheritance of the
Macondian imaginary world, but rather to reflect on a particular understanding of literary genres, and the power of fiction to represent social,
economic and political challenges.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2022. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 080. Los hijos de la Malinche: Representaciones culturales de la Revolución Mexicana
This course will examine the representations of the Mexican Revolution in novels, short stories, essays, theatre, films, and corridos by Mexican
authors and artists. We will pay attention to the complexity of perspectives generated by this sociopolitical upheaval, whose legacy has been
riddled with ambivalence. The objective is to gain a critical understanding of how and why the Revolution became such a fundamental part of
Mexican identity and culture. Topics include: political disenchantment, solitude, class division, gender roles, national myths, and identity
construction.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Spring 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 087. Cruzando fronteras: migración y neoliberalismo en el cine mexicano
This course studies the rich history of Mexican cinema. It begins by analyzing how the Golden Age of Mexican cinema fomented a national
identity that still prevails in culture today. We then move to contemporary transnational Mexican cinema to study the influences of globalization
and neoliberalism in internationally acclaimed Mexican directors such as Natalia Almada, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu,
and Guillermo del Toro, among others. This part of the course studies Mexican cinema as a transnational product of cosmopolitan filmmakers
who go beyond traditional ideas of national cinema in their quest for creativity, freedom of expression, and broader audiences. In addition to
studying films, the course will take into account the recent scholarship pertaining to Mexican cinema. Throughout the course, we'll examine
issues of displacement, nonbelonging, migration, class, race, gender identity, and social inequality.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Fall 2021. Buiza.
Fall 2023. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
SPAN 088. Pasados desgarradores: revolución y trauma en la literatura centroamericana
This course focuses on contemporary Central American literature. It begins with the revolutionary poetry, narrative of resistance, and testimonio
that emerged out of the sociopolitical turmoil of the isthmus during the decades of war, revolutions, and genocide. We will then study the
atmosphere of disenchantment during the postwar period and the aesthetic shift in representations of trauma, violence, and disaffection. We will
study novels, short stories, poems, films, music, and read scholarly articles to understand the sociohistorical and literary context of the war and
the postwar periods in Central America.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Fall 2022. Buiza.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 097. Senior Course Majors Colloquium
This colloquium is required for all seniors majoring in Spanish. Focusing on the senior essay required to complete the major, students will
participate in workshop-style activities designed to polish students' writing in Spanish, refine their arguments and enhance their writing style, in
addition to providing research guidance as needed. Students will work in peer-centered environments as well as individually with the instructor.
The class will also offer resources aimed at helping students prepare for their oral examination. Students will complete their senior essays by the
end of the spring semester.
Students are urged to have their essay proposals approved as early as possible during the fall semester of their senior year. Offered every spring.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2022. Hernández.
Spring 2023. Hernández.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 103. Trauma y derechos humanos en la literatura centroamericana
This seminar studies contemporary Central American literature and culture with a focus on theories of trauma to discuss cultural representations
of human suffering, empathy, and pain.
The seminar explores the social disintegration and legacy of violence left by decades of civil wars, genocide, and revolution in the region, as well
as theories of trauma, memory, affect, aesthetics, philosophical cynicism, and human rights. These theoretical approaches will help us reflect on
the relation between literature and human rights; the sociopolitical upheavals and their cultural representations; and how cultural production
engages with issues of peace and conflict in the neoliberal era. We will pay special attention to representations of social disaffection, political
disillusionment, and survival in a postwar context shaped by socio-economic precarity. In addition to reading literary works by some of the main
authors in the region-such as Horacio Castellanos Moya, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, and Claudia Hernández-we will analyze scholarly debates
surrounding Central American literature, as well as watch films and performances that probe into the issues of ethics, historical truth, social
justice, reconciliation, and the human predicament in a postwar society.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC, GLBL-Paired, CPLT
Spring 2022. Buiza.
Spring 2024. Buiza.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 105. Federico García Lorca
We will examine the masterful literary production of this internationally known Spanish writer who speaks to the "outcasts." Lorca's work
synthesizes traditional Spanish themes and values with contemporary European trends. The readings will cover different periods and genres of
Lorca's literary production in works of poetry such as Romancero Gitano and Poeta en Nueva York, and dramatic works, including Doña Rosita
la soltera, Yerma, La casa de Bernarda Alba, Bodas de sangre, and others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for CPLT
Spring 2023. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Spanish Courses Taught in English
Spanish majors may count one course taught in English from the courses listed below towards the fulfillment of their course major requirements.
Courses taught in English will not count towards fulfillment of the minor.
LITR 015S. First Year Seminar: Introduction to Latinx Literature and Culture
(Cross-listed as SPAN 015, ENGL 009F, LALS 015 )
This course is an introduction to the writings of Latino/as in the U.S. with emphasis on the distinctions and similarities that have shaped the
experiences and the cultural imagination among different Latino/a communities. We will focus particularly in works produced by the three major
groups of U.S. Latino/as (Mexican Americans or Chicanos, Puerto Ricans or Nuyoricans, and Cuban Americans). By analyzing works from a
range of genres including poetry, fiction, film, and performance, along with literary and cultural theory, the course will explore some of the
major themes in the cultural production of these groups. Topics to be discussed include identity formation in terms of language, race, gender,
sexuality, and class; diaspora and emigration; the marketing of the Latino/a identity; and activism through art.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Humanities.
Writing course. Taught in English.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, CPLT
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
LITR 042S. Borges: Aesthetics & Theory
(Cross-listed as SPAN 042)
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent reader. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly quoted. In his texts Borges not only anticipated but also discussed the major topics of
contemporary literary theory: the theory of intertextuality, the limits of the referential illusion, the relationship between knowledge and language,
and the dilemmas of representation and of narration. We will explore how Borges fictionalized these theoretical problems without ever allowing
the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance. We will also read Borges as a universal writer working inside all the cultural
traditions, and also as a writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Taught in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for INTP, LALS, CPLT
Spring 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
LITR 075S. Debates in Latinx Culture: Today and Tomorrow
Crosslisted with SPAN 075.
This advanced course on Latinx culture focuses on contemporary debates and polemical issues involving Latinx cultural production and
representation. In a colloquium and seminar style, students will discuss a wide range of thought-provoking topics such as social movements and
the political participation of Latinos; new trends in film and media; the politics of the literary market; social media presence; new linguistic and
bilingual developments; fashion, music, and the commodification of identity politics in popular culture; among other controversial topics that are
fundamentally shaping the presence and impact of Latinx in the US and the world, today and tomorrow. This course is taught in English.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, INTP
Fall 2021. Díaz.
Catalog chapter: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
Department website: Spanish
Spanish Courses Not Currently Offered
SPAN 050. Afrocaribe: literatura y cultura visual
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination mainly through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts from the Hispanic Caribbean. We will analyze the political
and economical forces that have affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-
Caribbean philosophy, religion, music, and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will
pay special attention to ideas of colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation; myth and performativity; and transculturation,
syncretism and transvestism.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for BLST, LALS, GLBL-Paired
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 052. Afro-Caribbean Literature and Visual Culture
(Cross-listed as LITR 052S and LALS 052)
The African heritage has been an essential part in the constitution and evolvement of the Caribbean. This course will survey the Afro-Caribbean
imagination through the study of literary works and visual culture artifacts. We will analyze the political and economical forces that have
affected the experience of Africans and African descents in the region and will study the relevance of Afro-Caribbean philosophy, religion, music,
and other symbolic expressions in contemporary Caribbean culture and artistic experimentations. We will pay special attention to ideas of
colonialism and subalternity; race, mestizaje, and nation formation; transculturation and syncretism; and myth and performativity.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 053. Memorias a la deriva. El Caribe y sus diásporas
This course will focus on the study of the central role that notions of diaspora and insularity have played in the formation of Caribbean cultures
with emphasis in the symbolic representation of these issues during the 20
th
and 21
st
centuries. Particularly, we will pay attention to icons,
images, and metaphors that have become an essential part of Caribbean aesthetics and subjectivity like the island, the sea, the boat, the
hurricane, the bird, the cannibal, and the runaway. By tracing the representation of those emblems in a wide variety of texts and visual culture
works we will reflect on the intersections between history, politics, diaspora, ecology, and affects.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, BLST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 055. Puerto Rico y su discurso literario
Puerto Rico is one of the last standing colonies in the world. Puerto Rican and Nuyorican artists and writers have faced their anachronistic
status with intelligence, inventiveness and humor. This class will study the Puerto Rican imagination through the analysis of a range of works,
including narrative, theater, creative essays, as well as film and the visual arts. We will focus particularly on 20th- and 21st- century works
produced by both mainland and diaspora creators. We will pay special attention to the relationship between aesthetics, nationalism and
colonialism, diaspora, race and gender.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, ESCH.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 057. Performing Latinidad: Latinx Theater, Film, and Performance Art
(Cross-listed as THEA 007, LITR 057S and LALS 057)
This course will introduce students to Latinx performance in the U.S., from the mid- 20th century to today. Students will study different modes of
performances such as theater, film, the work of performance artists and everyday performances (such as political events) through various Latinx
lenses. Following a critical performative pedagogy, the class will combine seminar-style discussions with performance workshops. Topics
covered will include the representation and embodiment of gender and race, acts of decolonization, memory construction and diasporic
experiences, citizenship and community building, and the politics of latinidad. By analyzing these and other relevant issues through discussions
and performance exercises, we will be able to survey the state of contemporary Latinx performance in the U.S. while gaining a better
understanding of the connection between performance theory and practice, and the relevance of performance in everyday aesthetics and life.
This course is taught in English.
Prerequisite: No prerequisites required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 060. Memoria e identidad
This course will focus on memory making as an identity building agent. We will study literary texts, films and other cultural artifacts to
commemorate the silenced voices of the past. The work of several Spanish authors, film directors and intellectuals of the last decades, who try to
recover the silenced voices of the past in an effort to contest the "rhetoric of amnesia", so persistent in the early transition to democracy in Spain,
will be studied through close readings and a theoretical component. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of memory in literary, film and
cultural narratives to build national identity.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for PEAC
Fall 2023. Guardiola.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 062. The Politics of Latinx Art and Activism
(Cross-listed as LITR 062S and LALS 062)
(Art)ivism, or the practice of social and political activism through art and artistic devices, has been fundamental for the development and
strengthening of Latinx communities in the US since the beginning of the Chicano movement until today when Latinx writers and artists are
actively involved in politically contentious issues such as racial discrimination, gender equality, immigration rights, environmental justice,
among others. In this course, we will explore and discuss the work of established and emergent Latinx writers and artists that engage in practices
of artivism trying to expose, better understand and fight the many forms of injustice and oppression faced by Latinx communities while promoting
practices of radical democracy. Artivists such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Guillermo Gómez Peña, Tania Bruguera, Favianna Rodriguez, Daniel
Alarcón, among others, use their art not only to raise awareness about social injustices and oppression; their works function also as
springboards for community building, solidarity, and political action that can have lasting impacts. The work of many artivists will also open the
door to discuss how non-traditional forms of literary and artistic expression such as street art, spoken word, performance art, and artistic
pedagogical projects are powerful forms of political intervention and citizenship participation. Furthermore, we will discuss issues such as the
relevance of art in the contemporary world, the reception and distribution of politically engaged art, the ethics of artivism, and the importance of
pedagogical practices based on a radical democracy model.
This course is taught in English.
Prerequisite: No pre-requisites required.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Fall 2023. Díaz.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 069. Cartografías urbanas
The city as a cultural artifact offers writers myriad narrative possibilities; mere location, cultural symbolism or the link for values and concepts
that determine the human being's place in its own society and historical moment. We will explore cultural representations of the city as an icon of
industrialization in the nineteenth century and the declining of the modern city and its narratives in post-industrial and post-colonial times.
Cultural cartographies of the city will help us to better understand new urban configurations and subjectivities. The discussion will focus on
Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. We will see urban representations in novels by Galdós, Pardo
Bazán, Baroja, Laforet, Cela, Rodoreda, Roig, Mendoza and representative films.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 070. Género, diversidad y minorías en Latinoamérica
In recent years, sexual minorities achieved major political victories in several Latin American countries, which opened a new social and legal
horizon not only for them but also for the society as a whole by strengthening democratic values. This course seeks to analyze the complex socio-
political and cultural process that enabled these changes, and to challenge preconceived notions about gender and sexuality in Latin American
shaped in the "progressive" center. A selected body of literature, essays and films will allow us to study the cultural politics of gender and
sexuality in Latin America. We will explore these issues through theoretical concepts provided by Latin Americanists active in such fields as
cultural studies, history, literary criticism, queer studies, and other relevant disciplines.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GSST
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 071. The Short Story En Las Américas
(Cross-listed as LITR 071S and ENGL 071A)
This team-taught course will offer a wide-ranging overview of the short story in the Americas from a comparative perspective, emphasizing
continuities and also identifying areas of innovation and transformation. The course will begin in the early 19 th century with masters whose
daring work in this "minor" form gave the short story new prominence in literary history: Poe, Hawthorne, and Chesnutt. Later, the class will
focus on Quiroga and Borges whose innovations redefined the genre, and moved Latin American fiction into the forefront of world literature.
By focusing on close reading and class discussions, we will seek to discover the distinctive characteristics of the short story, and outline its
development and transformation across the continents. Does the short-story bind together the diverse
literatures of the United States and Latin America? How should we identify and understand parallels between the works in English and those in
Spanish? How should we explain contrasts? Of particular interest will be dialogues and influences crossing languages and literary traditions:
Poe and Horacio Quiroga; Hemingway and Borges; Borges/Cortázar inspiring Barth; Rulfo's and García Márquez's (and others') influences on
US-based Latinx writers.
Readings, assignments, and class discussions will be in English. No prior knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary. This class is open to
all students, without prerequisites.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
SPAN 076. Identidad y conflicto cultural
This class studies contemporary Latin American social identities and their representations in literature, cinema, and other media from Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
The selected texts present different strands of cultural conflict due to the simultaneous presence of markedly different modes of identity.
LGBTQ diversity, sexual identities, femicides and gender violence will be of special relevance.
Several primary questions will guide our analysis: What is identity? What are the socio-historical, cultural and political influences on identity?
What does the study of these texts reveal about the relationship among economic development, the construction of social identities, and
citizenship? How can this class help us to better understand the dynamics of race, class, gender and sexuality in specific Latin American
contexts?
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, GLBL-Paired, GSST
Fall 2023. Martínez
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 077. Cine y literatura: la adaptación fílmica
The aim of this course is to study a particular set of Latin American texts and their film adaptations. Incorporating relevant critical terminology,
the immediate focus will be on the medium-specific language of the visual text and on the close reading of literary texts. We will identify and
analyze the strategies used to adapt novels and short stories to the film medium. The approach of this class will set aside the issue of fidelity to
understand how the film presents its own interpretation of literary texts. The works chosen pose special challenges for adaptation. Novels/stories
and film adaptations may include, but are not limited to, Plata quemada, "Patrón", Oriana, Tan de repente, Pantaleón y las visitadoras, Ilona
llega con la lluvia, among others.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 078. Laberintos borgeanos
Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but also as an
irreverent and subversive reader. None of his lines, none of his declarations happened inadvertently. Hated or held dear, Borges is incessantly
quoted. As literary critic Beatriz Sarlo explains, reading Borges as a writer without nationality is an act of aesthetic justice because Borges won,
for Latin Americans, the prerogative of working inside all the cultural traditions. However, this universalistic reading ignores the ties that unite
him to Argentine and Latin American cultural traditions. We will read Borges from this double perspective: as a universal writer, and also as a
writer who seeks to reinvent the history and the traditions of his own country.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, INTP
Spring 2024. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 084. México 1968: La violencia del Estado de ayer y hoy
This course will examine the cultural representations of violence in contemporary Mexico, from the 1968 student massacre in Tlatelolco to the
female homicides in Ciudad Juárez to the social unrest brought about by the war on drugs. The objective will be to understand not only the
dynamics of political and social violence in Mexico, but also the bearing that it has had on literature and film. We will analyze the ways in which
literary works, poetry, chronicles, and films contend with the issues of state terror, institutionalized oblivion, trauma, violence, and cultural
identity formation. In addition to film and literature, the course will incorporate the scholarly and theoretical interventions that will help make
sense of this crisis of violence plaguing Mexico.
Prerequisite: SPAN 022, SPAN 023, the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS, PEAC
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 101. Alejo Carpentier
In this seminar, we will study the work of Cuban master writer Alejo Carpentier, who famously coined and developed the concept of "lo real
maravilloso." Carpentier wrote in a myriad of genres using journalism, creative essays, short stories and novels to explore and expose what he
considered to be a wondrous and unique sense of history, space, and time in Latin American and the Caribbean. While reading some of his most
relevant works such as El reino de este mundo, La música en Cuba, Los pasos perdidos, El siglo de las luces, and El arpa y la sombra, we will
explore his exquisite craft of the novelistic discourse and his studies on Afro-Caribbean history and culture, the baroque and neo-baroque styles
seen as a historical and post-colonial ethos, and his meditations and experimentations in literary representations of space and time.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 104. La voz de la mujer a través de los siglos
The seminar will look into the work of a few outstanding women writers from Spain throughout the centuries to study the development of a
feminine conciousness. The text selection will include works by Santa Teresa, María de Zayas, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Carolina
Coronado, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Carmen de Burgos, Rosa Chacel, Carmen Martín Gaite, Carmen Laforet, Mercé Rodoreda, Esther Tusquets,
Carme Riera, Almudena Grandes and others. The essential aim of the seminar will be to analyze feminine discourse in the realm of the historical,
psychoanalytical, metafictional, and allegorical fiction in order to search for a diversity of feminine voices.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
SPAN 108. Jorge Luis Borges
This seminar focuses on one of the most influential writers of all time: Jorge Luis Borges, who devoted his entire life to literature, as a writer but
also as an irreverent and subversive reader. His works have shaped all of modern and contemporary fiction, but also influenced fields as diverse
as critical theory, philosophy, film, and computer science.
We will study how Borges's short stories blend Latin American localism and universalism, often through philosophical parables, metafictional
commentaries, and detective fiction, without ever allowing the development of the tale to lose its aesthetic brilliance.
To help enrich our seminar discussions, each class session will be organized around one of Borges's major themes: labyrinths, infamy, crime
fiction, memory and time, fate and identity, among others.
Humanities.
2 credits.
Eligible for LALS, INTP
Fall 2023. Martínez.
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish
LITR 071S. The Short Story En Las Américas
(Cross-listed as SPAN 071 and ENGL 071A)
This team-taught course will offer a wide-ranging overview of the short story in the Americas from a comparative perspective, emphasizing
continuities and also identifying areas of innovation and transformation.
The course will begin in the early 19 th century with masters whose daring work in this "minor" form gave the short story new prominence in
literary history: Poe, Hawthorne, and Chesnutt. Later, the class will focus on Quiroga and Borges whose innovations redefined the genre, and
moved Latin American fiction into the forefront of world literature.
By focusing on close reading and class discussions, we will seek to discover the distinctive characteristics of the short story, and outline its
development and transformation across the continents. Does the short-story bind together the diverse
literatures of the United States and Latin America? How should we identify and understand parallels between the works in English and those in
Spanish? How should we explain contrasts? Of particular interest will be dialogues and influences crossing languages and literary traditions:
Poe and Horacio Quiroga; Hemingway and Borges; Borges/Cortázar inspiring Barth; Rulfo's and García Márquez's (and others') influences on
US-based Latinx writers.
Readings, assignments, and class discussions will be in English. No prior knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is necessary. This class is open to
all students, without prerequisites.
Note: Spanish courses taught in English (LITR.S courses) do not count towards the Spanish minor. One Spanish course taken in English may
count towards the Spanish major.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Spanish
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/spanish/courses
Theater
Courses
Faculty and Staff
K. ELIZABETH STEVENS, Associate Professor, Chair
ALLEN KUHARSKI, Professor
MATT SAUNDERS, Associate Professor
LAILA SWANSON, Assistant Professor, Co-Chair for Production
ELIZABETH ATKINSON, Visiting Assistant Professor (part time)
GABRIEL QUINN BAURIEDEL, Visiting Assistant Professor (part time)
JAMES MAGRUDER, Visiting Assistant Professor (part time)
ALEX TORRA, Visiting Assistant Professor (part time)
ADRIANO SHAPLIN, Visiting Instructor (part time)
JAMES MURPHY, Associate in Theater Performance (part time)
SCOTT CASSIDY, Production Manager and Technical Director
MICHAEL LAMBUI, Production Intern
JEAN TIERNO, Administrative Assistant
The theater major uses the study of all aspects of performance as the center of a liberal arts education. It is intended to be of broad benefit
regardless of a student's professional intentions. All courses in the department address the processes of play production, especially as they
involve collaboration; all production for performance in the department is part of coursework.
The Theater Department emphasizes writing as an important aspect of discursive thinking and communication. Many courses have a significant
writing component, the nature of which varies from course to course.
The Academic Program
Planning a major or minor in theater requires thoughtful care and deliberate planning. First- and second-year students thinking about a theater
major should read these requirements and recommendations closely and should consult with their faculty adviser or the chair of the Theater
Department early and often. Leave schedules, study abroad, a wide variety of intern and apprentice programs, and the importance of course
sequences make long-range planning essential. Almost all theater courses and seminars are offered on a regular, annual schedule.
Courses numbered 001 to 010 are introductory and are prerequisite to intermediate courses.
Courses numbered 011 to 049 are intermediate and are prerequisite to advanced courses numbered 050 through 099.
Seminars carry numbers 100 and above.
Intermediate work in each of the course sequences requires a beginning course in that area.
Some advanced courses carry additional prerequisites that are listed in the course descriptions.
For those majors who intend a career in theater, whether academic, not-for-profit, or commercial, internships in professional theaters are
strongly recommended. Because of scheduling difficulties, students should plan and apply for internships, time spent off campus, and community
projects as far in advance as possible.
Alumni guest artists are typically in residence on campus during the summer as part of the Swarthmore Project in Theater. Positions are usually
available in production, development, public relations, marketing, box office, and house or stage management. Positions are usually not
available in acting, directing, or design.
First course recommendations
THEA 001, Theater and Performance provides an understanding and appreciation of the importance of live performance in the
world. It introduces the various aspects and elements of theater as it it practiced today while helping you to identify areas of interest so you can
pursue them further. The class will attend live performances, read plays and critical texts, participate in performance workshops, and focus on
the process of writing effectively about theater and performance. This is a writing course that fulfills a general requirement for all theater major
and minors. Next offered in Fall 2020.
THEA 002A, Acting I is designed as a practical introduction to some of the principles, techniques, and tools of acting using theater games and
improvisational exercises to unleash the actor's imagination, expand the boundaries of accepted logic, encourage risk-taking, and free the body
and voice for the creative process. This course is open to all students without audition and requires no previous experience. It fulfills a general
requirement for all Theater majors and minors and is a prerequisite for several intermediate courses.
THEA 004 courses in design (THEA 004A Set Design; THEA 004B , Lighting Design; THEA 004C , Costume Design; THEA 004D , Integrated
Media; THEA 004E Sound Design) are introductory in nature, have no prerequisite, and require no previous experience. These are hand-on
courses that introduce students to various aspects of creating live theater and may lead to independent projects and/or opportunities to design for
Theater Department productions under the mentorship of the Department's faculty. Design courses fulfill a general requirement for all Theater
majors and minors.
THEA 006 , Playwriting Workshop introduces students to essential elements of dramatic writing. In-class writing exercises and weekly
assignments lead to the development of character monologues, scenes, and two original one-act plays. Students will explore their individual
creative voice, learning how to translate their visions through character, image, and story. This course is open to all students without
prerequisite and requires no previous experience. Playwriting Workshop fulfills a general requirement for all Theater majors and minors.
Course Major
Requirements
9 credits of work including:
THEA 001 : Theater and Performance (formerly called Introduction to Theater)
THEA 002A : Acting I (or ARTT 001 : Foundation Drawing for design-emphasis students)
Any Course in Design (THEA 004A , THEA 004B , THEA 004C , THEA 004D , THEA 004E )
THEA 015 : Performance Theory and Practice or THEA 021A : Fundamentals of Dramaturgy
THEA 022 : Production Ensemble (or THEA 034: Special Project in Design)
THEA 099 : Senior Company
THEA 106 : Theater History Seminar or THEA 121 : Dramaturgy Seminar
One additional credit in acting, design, playwriting, solo performance, directing, dramaturgy or theater history
Technical/Crew Hours (approximately 40 hours, to be arranged with Production Manager Scott Cassidy or Costume Shop Manager
Tara Webb)
NB: Theater majors must complete written and oral comprehensive exams in the spring of the senior year.
The areas of specialization are acting, solo performance, directing, design, playwriting, dramaturgy, and theater history. Special arrangements
will be made for students who seek secondary school certification. Prospective majors should consult with the chair or their department adviser
about their choice.
In addition to these course requirements, the major includes a comprehensive examination in two parts: (1) an essay relating the student's
experience in Senior Company; and (2) an oral examination on the essay and related subjects by theater faculty.
Course Minor
Course minors are required to take 6.0 credits of work including:
THEA 001 : Theater and Performance (formerly called Introduction to Theater)
THEA 002A : Acting I (or ARTT 001 : Foundation Drawing for design-emphasis students)
Any Course in Design (THEA 004A , THEA 004B , THEA 004C , THEA 004D , THEA 004E )
THEA 015 : Performance Theory and Practice or THEA 021A : Fundamentals of Dramaturgy
THEA 022 : Production Ensemble (or THEA 034: Special Project in Design)
One additional credit in acting, design, playwriting, solo performance, directing, dramaturgy or theater history
Technical/Crew Hours (approximately 40 hours, to be arranged with Production Manager Scott Cassidy or Costume Shop Manager
Tara Webb) NB: Theater majors must complete written and oral comprehensive exams in the spring of the senior year.
Honors Major
General requirements include:
THEA 001 : Theater and Performance (formerly called Introduction to Theater)
THEA 002A : Acting I (or ARTT 001 : Foundation Drawing for design-emphasis students)
Any Course in Design (THEA 004A , THEA 004B , THEA 004C , THEA 004D , THEA 004E )
THEA 015 : Performance Theory and Practice or THEA 021A : Fundamentals of Dramaturgy
THEA 022 : Production Ensemble (or THEA 034: Special Project in Design)
THEA 099 : Senior Company
THEA 106 : Theater History Seminar or THEA 121 : Dramaturgy Seminar
One additional credit in acting, design, playwriting, solo performance, directing, dramaturgy or theater history
Two additional thesis projects or seminars to be arranged individually in consultation with the student's major advisor.
Technical/Crew Hours (approximately 40 hours, to be arranged with Production Manager Scott Cassidy or Costume Shop Manager
Tara Webb)
NB: Theater majors must complete written and oral comprehensive exams in the spring of the senior year.
Each major will choose an area of specialization and take one additional course in that area. One specialization will constitute the normal
honors major in theater. Honors students will take Senior Company THEA 099 the fall of senior year while they are planning their production
project. The usual schedule will be:Theater Seminar in the spring of junior year; fall of senior year, and pre-rehearsal thesis project preparation
in the fall of senior year; and, rehearsal and performance of the thesis project in the spring of senior year.
Double majors taking three examinations in theater will also follow that schedule.
For double majors taking one honors examination and comps in theater, the examination may be a production project, depending on available
resources.
Approval of the Sophomore Plan for any honors major is conditional upon;
the student maintaining good academic standing through the end of the junior year.
theater honors majors approved for production thesis projects in the senior year are required to notify the department chair of their
intention to drop or change their Honors Program by the end of the junior year.
an honors major in theater must receive the approval of their major adviser before committing to any extracurricular or off-campus
projects during the junior or senior year in order to avoid potential conflicts with their honors thesis work.
students who prove unable to fulfill the expectations of the faculty for their Honors Programs in theater may be dropped from honors
at the department's discretion.
unless for reasons of health or other personal circumstance beyond the student's control, leaving the department's Honors Program
after the end of the junior year is considered a significant compromise of a student's academic performance.
Honors students majoring in theater will typically make a total of three preparations as follows:
1. Seminar (listed earlier), written examination, and an oral set by an outside examiner.
2. Production project in one of the following fields: Acting, Design, Directing, Dramaturgy, Playwriting, or Solo Performance (see
descriptions below).
3. A third preparation for honors will be approved at the discretion of the faculty at the end of the student's junior year.
In the student's Sophomore Plan of study and again in the junior year, they will be asked to indicate their first and second preference for their
third honors preparation, only one of which may be for an additional production thesis. In addition to thesis preparations in the form of
performance projects, the third preparation may consist of a second seminar, staged readings in playwriting or production dramaturgy, portfolio
projects in design, written thesis work in performance theory, playwriting, dramaturgy, etc. Due to scheduling and staffing constraints, the
department can only guarantee one individual performance thesis project per student. Decisions on the third preparation in honors will be made
on a case-by-case basis, in part on the quality and completeness of each student's coursework in the department through the end of the junior
year.
Acting
The student, together with their adviser, will undertake a project that will take place over the course of two semesters. The fall semester will
consist of a series of workshops and assignments designed to further develop the critical and practical skills required for performance. This
preparatory work in the fall semester will be put to use in the spring through the production of a play or performed by the students and directed
by the acting faculty. An external examiner will attend as many rehearsal sessions as possible to observe the student's process. The examiner also
attends one or more of the public performances. The examination proper will consist of an extended interview directly following the performance
and a briefer oral during honors weekend. The subject of the first interview will be the student's processes as he or she relates to the production.
The second oral will concern the student's assessment of the entire process as a part of his or her undergraduate education and future plans.
Design
The student will function as the designer for a production presented by the Theater Department in one area of design. The student will produce
appropriate preparatory materials for this project (research, sketches, color renderings, drafting, models, digital media, light or sound plots,
etc.). Because this is a collaborative project, a production time line will need to be prepared and production meetings scheduled. In addition to
the development of the design, the student will collaborate with all relevant staff and craftsmen during the fabrication stage, ensuring the full-
scale design is executed as designed. The local instructor will supervise these activities appropriately, on the model of a special project in
theater. The external examiner will receive copies of all materials as the student creates them and will pay close attention to the way in which the
project develops under continual revision. The examiner will attend one of the public performances and in advance of honors weekend will
receive in digital form the student's completed portfolio for presentation. The examination proper will consist of an extended interview directly
following the performance and a briefer oral during honors weekend. The subject of the first interview will be the student's processes as he or she
relates to the production. The second oral will concern the student's assessment of the entire process as a part of his or her undergraduate
education and future plans.
The student may also prepare a portfolio project in design as an honors thesis, with all appropriate studio work but without being linked to a
specific production in the department. Such a project permits the student to create a project beyond the givens of the department's specific
production environment.
Directing
The student will, under faculty supervision, read around a given playwright's work, make a director's preparation for the entire play, and
rehearse for public presentation a locally castable portion of the chosen play. Original developmental projects may be proposed, subject to the
approval of the faculty adviser for the thesis. The department will hire a professional collaborator (usually an actor) for a set number of
rehearsal hours in connection with the project. The instructor will supervise these activities appropriately, on the model of a special project in
theater. The external examiner will visit this project several times (depending on schedule and available funds). These visits (to rehearsal or
planning session) will not include feedback from the examiner. The examiner attends rehearsal to know as much as possible about the student's
methods of making the work. The examiner also attends one or more of the public performances. The examination proper will consist of an
extended interview directly following the performance and a briefer oral during honors weekend. The subject of the first interview will be the
student's processes as he or she relates to the production. The second oral will concern the student's assessment of the entire process as a part of
his or her undergraduate education and future plans.
Dramaturgy
This project will be done in one of the following ways:
1. As a production project in the form of a one-credit attachment to the Fundamentals of Dramaturgy class (THEA 021A ) or Production
Dramaturgy Seminar (THEA 121 ) consisting of work with a faculty or student director. This will typically be in connection with
Production Ensemble (THEA 022 ) or an honors thesis in directing. The student will create a body of writing appropriate to the
specific project. This will include (but is not limited to) notes on production history, given circumstances, script analysis, program and
press-kit notes, study guide, and a grant proposal. The student's work will continue in rehearsal. The external examiner will receive
all materials as they are generated. The examiner also attends one or more of the public performances. The examination proper will
consist of an extended interview directly following the performance and a briefer oral during honors weekend. The subject of the first
interview will be the student's processes as he or she relates to the production. The second oral will concern the student's assessment
of the entire process as a part of his or her undergraduate education and future plans.
2. The completion of a stage adaptation of a non-dramatic text or combination of texts. A complete draft of the adaptation will be
completed under the supervision of a faculty member in production dramaturgy, and a staged reading of a revised version of the text
will be presented in collaboration with a professional director as guest artist. This is a two-credit thesis project to be completed over
two semesters in the senior year, generally parallel to the honors thesis model for playwriting. The examiner will attend at least two
rehearsals and the final staged reading, in addition to reading the final text and its original source. The examination will consist of an
extended oral presentation given during honors weekend.
3. Students fluent in a second language can apply to do a translation of a play into or out of English as an honors thesis attachment to
Production Dramaturgy. This may be a one-credit attachment for a written draft only (done with a member of the faculty) or as a two-
credit thesis with a staged reading done in collaboration with a guest director, as in the adaptation thesis above. In the case of a
staged reading, the examiner will attend at least two rehearsals and the final staged reading, in addition to reading the final text
together with the original source. The examination proper will consist of an extended interview directly following the performance
and a briefer oral during honors weekend. The subject of the first interview will be the student's processes as he or she relates to the
production. The second oral will concern the student's assessment of the entire process as a part of his or her undergraduate
education and future plans.
Playwriting
The student will write a complete draft of a play over the course of a semester in collaboration with a faculty member or other professional
production dramaturge. In a second semester, the department will hire a professional director for a set number of rehearsal hours in preparation
for a staged reading, with whom the student will work through a rehearsal and revision process based on the earlier work with the production
dramaturgy. The faculty adviser and/or the production dramaturgy faculty will continue to assist during the rehearsal/revision process. The
external examiner will read the completed first draft and attend as many rehearsal sessions as possible and the final staged reading to observe
the student's writing and collaborative process. The examination proper will consist of an extended interview directly following the staged
reading, the reading of the student's revised draft based on the rehearsal process and performances, and a briefer oral examination during
honors weekend. There is also the option of a purely written playwriting thesis preparation, without the production component.
Solo Performance
The student, with guidance from their adviser, will create and perform a solo performance. The program will hire a professional director for a
set number of rehearsal hours, which the student will supplement with practice and other writing, acting, and design "homework." The adviser
will assist in this work on a regular basis. The external examiner will attend as many rehearsal sessions as possible to observe the student's
process. The examiner attends rehearsal to know as much as possible about the student's methods of making the work. The examiner also attends
one or more of the public performances. The examination proper will consist of an extended interview directly following the performance and a
briefer oral during honors weekend. The subject of the first interview will be the student's processes as he or she relates to the production. The
second oral will concern the student's assessment of the entire process as a part of his or her undergraduate education and future plans.
Honors Minor
Seven credits of work including:
THEA 001 : Theater and Performance (formerly called Introduction to Theater)
THEA 002A Acting I (or ARTT 001 : Foundation Drawing for design-emphasis students)
Any Course in Design (THEA 004A , THEA 004B , THEA 004C , THEA 004D , THEA 004E
THEA 015 : Performance Theory and Practice or THEA 021A : Fundamentals of Dramaturgy
One additional credit in acting, design, playwriting, solo performance, directing, dramaturgy or theater history
Theater Seminar (THEA 100-level) or two-credit Honors thesis in Dramaturgy (THEA 180E - THEA 181E ) or two-credit Honors
thesis in Playwriting (THEA 180C - THEA 181C )
Technical/Crew Hours (approximately 40 hours, to be arranged with Production Manager Scott Cassidy or Costume Shop Manager
Tara Webb)
Honors minors who complete these requirements and complete a sequence in acting, design, directing, or playwriting/dramaturgy by the end of
the junior year may petition to enroll in THEA 099 : Senior Company in the fall semester of their senior year.
There is an option for students to pursue a course major in conjunction with an Honors minor, in which case the student may be eligible for an
individual thesis project along the lines of those described for honors majors above. Interested students should discuss the details of this with
their major advisers before preparing their sophomore papers.
Department Policies for All Theater Majors and Minors
Co-curricular and extracurricular work in the Theater Department, although not specifically required, is strongly recommended for majors.
Opportunities include paid and volunteer staff positions with the department, in-house projects for various classes, production work in The
Eugene M. and Theresa Lang Performing Arts Center, and Drama Board productions.
While the Theater faculty recognizes the value of co-curricular and extra-curricular performance work by students, such commitments at times
can create serious stress and scheduling conflicts that can negatively impact a student's health and academic performance. The department
therefore requires all majors and minors to receive written pre-approval from either their advisers or the chair before committing to any
performance work outside of the department.
In the case of conflicts for students between dress rehearsals or performances in the department and other classes, the faculty will gladly make
arrangements for excused absences with professors in other departments. Students should alert the department faculty about any such conflicts in
the first weeks of rehearsals for any given production in the department, and never less than two weeks before the date of the conflict with dress
rehearsals.
Working consistently with faculty on such time-management issues is essential for all rising theater majors and minors, and is of the highest
priority for students planning to participate in the Honors Program.
With respect to the 20-course rule, courses in dramatic literature taught in the English Literature, Classics, or Modern Languages and
Literatures departments may be designated as part of the major. Courses in non-dramatic literatures taught in those departments will not be
considered part of the major.
Theater Courses
THEA 005E. First Year Seminar: Collaborative Art-Making
ARTT 005
In this co-taught, collaborative, project-based course, participants will produce artwork (artist books, internet art, zines, video art, mail art,
sound art and performances) through collaborative interactions with fellow students, the instructors, and others. We will examine the
collaborative processes of various artists and interrogate the binary of individual vs. collaborative production. Previous artistic experience is not
a requirement; willingness to create and share is.
Prerequisite: None.
Humanities
1.0 credit
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
Introductory Courses
All introductory courses are open to all students without prerequisite.
THEA 001. Theater and Performance
An introduction to the art form and practice(s) of theater and live performance. We will study a variety of approaches, theories, genres and
critiques of live performance. This study will focus on contemporary, as well as historic practice(s). This course should provide the student with
exposure to a wide variety of live performance across genres and time periods. The student will develop an understanding and appreciation of
the importance of theater and live performance to the ever-changing world at large, and how the art form explores the nature and complexities of
the human condition and can be a mirror to society. The course will also provide basic knowledge and context for all disciplines of live
performance including, playwriting, dramaturgy, directing, choreography, performance and design, thus encouraging students to identify areas
of interest so they can pursue them further. We will study live performances inside as well as outside of class. In addition, we will read plays,
librettos, and critical theory. Ultimately, the student will focus on the process of writing effectively about theater and performance by cultivating
a point of view on each work covered that is both analytical as well as personal.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Saunders.
Fall 2022. Saunders.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 002A. Acting I
This course is designed as a practical introduction to some of the principles, techniques, and tools of acting. We will use theater games and
improvisational exercises (from Stanislavsky, Viola Spolin, Uta Hagen and other sources) to unleash the actor's imagination, expand the
boundaries of accepted logic, encourage risk taking, and free the body and voice for the creative process. We will also focus on beginning to
analyze text, understanding scene-work and monologues in relation to an entire play, listening and responding to self, others and space, and
developing the ability to play actions. Finally, each student will have the opportunity to test our principles of work through one scene with a
partner, no longer than ten minutes, to be assigned by the instructor. This scene will be performed in front of the class.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Torra.
Spring 2022. Torra.
Fall 2022. Stevens.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Bauriedel.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 002B. Special Project in Voice Performance
By individual arrangement with the directing or acting faculty for performance work in connection with department directing workshops, honors
thesis projects, or Senior Company.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 002C. Special Project in Acting
By individual arrangement with the directing or acting faculty for performance work in connection with department directing workshops, honors
thesis projects, or Senior Company.
CR/NC grade.
Prerequisite: (or Concurrent) THEA 002A
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 004A. Set Design
This course will focus on set design and introduce methods that apply to designing for stage. In class, we will take a look at the set designer's
responsibilities as an artist and collaborator and explore the relationship between text, concept, and production in addition to learning the basic
skills of drafting and model making. In addition, we will discuss the relationship between scenery, costumes, and light in performance. A lab
component of this class will include an introduction to computer drafting and model making. The course is designed to serve all students
regardless of prior experience in theater production.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Saunders.
Spring 2023. Saunders.
Fall 2023. Saunders.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 004B. Lighting Design
This class explores the fundamentals of lighting design. The course objective is to introduce lighting concepts and how to express them for both
theater and dance. It is intended to demystify an enormously powerful medium. Reading and class discussion provide a theoretical basis for such
creativity while the assignments and projects provide the practice for this artistic endeavor. The course is designed to serve all students
regardless of prior experience in theater production.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Murphy.
Fall 2022. Murphy.
Fall 2023. Murphy
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 004C. Costume Design for Queer and Transgender Actors & Characters
In the studio component of the course, we will look at the history of queer and transgender fashion. We will discuss two plays and design
costumes from this perspective, while simultaneously learning about the Costume Designer's responsibilities as an artist, researcher and
collaborator. The lab component of this course will introduce students to the relationship between the Designer and the Costume Shop, providing
ample projects for learning about textiles, equipment and sewing techniques. No previous experience with theater, sewing or design required.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Swanson.
Fall 2023. Swanson.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 004D. Integrated Media Design for Live Performance
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the application of various visual and audio technologies in live theater and dance
performance. Discussion of the historical and theoretical context of contemporary mixed-media performance will be combined with an
orientation to the available technologies found at Swarthmore and beyond. The class will include the conceptualization and preparation of a
series of individual studio projects. The course is designed to serve all students regardless of prior experience in theater production.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for FMST
Fall 2021. Saunders.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 004E. Sound Design
MUSI 004E
This course will provide an introduction to sound design concepts for live performance. Course work will emphasize research, design
development, collaboration, and the creative process. Laboratory work will focus on basic audio engineering, software, field recording, and
documentation in a theatrical context. The course is designed to serve all students regardless of prior experience in theater production.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Atkinson.
Spring 2023. Atkinson.
Fall 2023. Not offered.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 005A. Special Project in Interdisciplinary Performance
By individual arrangement with directing, acting, or design faculty in Theater for interdisciplinary performance projects under department
faculty mentorship and advising.
Graded CR/NC.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 005E. First Year Seminar: Collaborative Art-Making
ARTT 005
In this co-taught, collaborative, project-based course, participants will produce artwork (artist books, internet art, zines, video art, mail art,
sound art and performances) through collaborative interactions with fellow students, the instructors, and others. We will examine the
collaborative processes of various artists and interrogate the binary of individual vs. collaborative production. Previous artistic experience is not
a requirement; willingness to create and share is.
Prerequisite: None.
Humanities
1.0 credit
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 006. Playwriting Workshop
This course will focus on playwriting and introduce methods that apply to writing for live performance. Weekly writing assignments will lead to
the development of scenes, characters, and dramatic worlds culminating in the creation of two short plays. Weekly readings and discussion of
21st century plays will introduce and explore a wide range of stylistic approaches to playmaking. Students will hear their work read aloud in
class, and will develop their own theatrical voice through the creation of characters, images, and stories for the stage.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Shaplin.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Shaplin.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 007. Performing Latinidad: Latinx Theater, Film and Performance Art
SPAN 057
This course will introduce students to Latinx performance in the U.S., from the mid-20
th
century to today. Students will study different modes of
performances such as theater, film, the work of performance artists and everyday performances (such as political events) through various Latinx
lenses. Following a critical performative pedagogy, the class will combine seminar-style discussions with performance workshops. Topics
covered will include the representation and embodiment of gender and race, acts of decolonization, memory construction and diasporic
experiences, citizenship and community building, and the politics of latinidad. By analyzing these and other relevant issues through discussions
and performance exercises, we will be able to survey the state of contemporary Latinx performance in the U.S. while gaining a better
understanding of the connection between performance theory and practice, and the relevance of performance in everyday aesthetics and life.
HU
Eligible for LALS, ESCH
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 008. Movement Theater Workshop
(Cross-listed as DANC 049)
Starting with the fundamentals of how to stay grounded and present in stillness and motion, this class will explore movement vocabulary and
articulation grounded in metaphor, Suzuki, the teachings of Jacques Lecoq as well as pop culture and the quotidian. The class will invite
rehearsal and discovery with other students outside of class time and will culminate with a public showing of work generated by students.
Note: Movement Theater Workshop cannot be taken in lieu of THEA 012 by students seeking a major or a minor with an emphasis in acting.
Prerequisite: THEA 002A, any dance course numbered 040-044, or consent of the instructor.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Norris.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Spring 2024. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
Intermediate Courses
THEA 012. Acting II
Acting II is designed to deepen a student's comfort and ability with the principles, techniques, and tools of acting introduced in Acting 1. The goal
of the course is to further develop the student-actor's ability to be "present" on stage, to work as an ensemble, to take big risks, to work with play
texts, and to fully engage the body and voice in the creative process. Acting II students will work with a variety of advanced performance styles
and texts including Shakespeare, Ancient Greek Theatre, and contemporary works whose style moves beyond realism and features challenging,
heightened language. Additionally, Guest Artists will visit the class throughout the semester for one-day workshops introducing students to the
actor's role in physical theater and devising. Students will be asked to perform frequently in front of the class, at times improvising and at times
using existing texts. The course provides an opportunity for students to deepen the practice of the actor by working with challenging material that
requires significant risk-taking and full mental, physical, and emotional engagement.
Prerequisite: THEA 002A
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Torra.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Stevens.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 012A. Intermediate Special Project in Acting
By individual arrangement with the acting or directing faculty for performance work in connection with department directing projects, honors
thesis projects, or Senior Company. May be taken concurrently with THEA 008 or THEA 012.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: THEA 002A, THEA 002C, and THEA 008 or THEA 012 or THEA 022.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 012B. Voice Workshop
MUSI 093A
This course provides foundations for opening possibilities in the full range of the human voice-from speaking to singing to raw sound expression-
to help students cultivate an integrative personal practice, unlock creative potential, and connect with what their unique voices have to say.
Themes to explore: vocal mechanics and self-care; the voice as a bridge between body, emotion, and imagination; working with song and text;
tools for improvisation and composition. The class is strongly recommended to all acting students and may be taken without prerequisite.
0.5 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Pernell.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 013. Special Project in Theater Practicum
By individual arrangement with the design or directing faculty for production work in connection with department directing workshops, honors
thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Any 004 design class
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 014. Special Project in Stage Management
By individual arrangement for a production project in connection with department directing workshops, Production Ensemble, honors thesis
projects, or Senior Company.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 014A. Special Project in Set Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004A.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 014B. Special Project in Lighting Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004B.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 014C. Special Project in Costume Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004C.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 014D. Special Project in Integrated Media Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004D.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 014E. Special Project in Sound Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004E.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 015. Performance Theory and Practice
This seminar-format course provides a global road map to written and embodied theories and practices of live performance: cross-
culturally, cross-historically, and across genres. The emphasis is on the aspects of live performance that complete and complement the work of
playwrights, with particular attention to performers, director/choreographers, designers, composers, etc. Rather than pre-scripted drama and
commodified models of theatrical production, we emphasize movement-based, ensemble-generated, non-verbal/non-
discursive, interdisciplinary, political and ritual dimensions of performance. The class includes units on performance traditions and genres
beyond Europe, North America, and the anglophone world. Assigned readings will emphasize the practice-based writings by or about theater
artists such as Bharata Muni, Zeami, Stanislavsky, Artaud, Brecht, Mei Lan Fang, Lecoq, Grotowski,Schechner, Chaikin, Mnouchkine, Wilson,
and Castellucci, along with selected theoretical and critical texts by nonpractitioners. Each week will include a video lab of relevant
performances (and field trips to live performances when possible). Assigned writing will consist of a series of short analytical seminar papers
and two major research papers, at least one of which will be devoted to research on performance beyond the Euro-American/anglophone
cultural context. The course will be taught remotely, and each week will consist of a required non-synchronous weekly video screening, a non-
synchronous recorded lecture by the professor, and a 75-minute seminar discussion centered around student papers. The course will end with
final critical research paper on a topic of the student's choice (no final exam).
Recommended in sophomore or junior year.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Prerequisite: THEA 001 or consent of instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Fall 2021. Kuharski.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 016. Special Project in Playwriting
An independent study in playwriting taken either as a tutorial or in connection with a production project in the department. By individual
arrangement between the student and department faculty.
Prerequisite: THEA 006.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 021A. Production Dramaturgy
This course will investigate a tripartite nature of dramaturgy as it is currently regarded and practiced in American theater. Structural
dramaturgy: tragedy, comedy, melodrama, farce, the well-made play, and modern departures thereof. Production dramaturgy: collaborative
process, methods and strategies for historical research, note taking, script editing, and adaptation. Institutional dramaturgy: script evaluation,
season planning, mission statements, grant proposals, marketing and audience outreach. Through readings, discussions, writing assignments,
and engagement with campus productions (and perhaps area productions), students will sidestep the deathless-and deadly-question, "What is a
dramaturg?" to focus on how dramaturgs think and what they do with what they know.
Prerequisite: THEA 001 helpful but not required.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Fall 2022. Magruder.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 022. Production Ensemble I
This course usually provides students the opportunity to participate in a professionally directed and designed full-length production. Required for
all course majors and honors majors in acting, directing, and dramaturgy; also required for course minors in acting, directing and dramaturgy.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stevens.
Fall 2022. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 023. Special Project: Intermediate Theater Practicum
By individual arrangement with the design or directing faculty for production work in connection with department directing workshops, honors
thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Any 004 design class and THEA 013
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 024. Special Project: Intermediate Stage Management
By individual arrangement for a production project in connection with department directing workshops, honors thesis projects, Acting III, or
Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004B or THEA 035
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 025. Solo Performance
This course serves as both a study and practice of different forms of solo performance including the first-person autobiographical monologue,
multiple-characters played by a single performer, and performance art. Part-survey course, part-performance workshop, students will be asked
to intellectually engage with the work of renowned solo performance makers. Additionally, students will create their own work, generating
original performance material on a weekly basis, culminating in 3-4 individual solo performance pieces throughout the semester. The work made
during the course will explore personal storytelling, the body as subject, and the transformative actor. This class is rooted in empowering artists
to articulate what matters to them and finding a translation of that into performance. If circumstances permit, this class will be hybrid with some
in-person meetings for students on campus.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 034A. Special Project: Intermediate Set Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004A and THEA 014A.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 034B. Special Project: Intermediate Lighting Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004B and THEA 014B.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 034C. Special Project: Intermediate Costume Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004C and THEA 014C.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 034D. Special Project: Intermediate Integrated Media Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004D and THEA 014D.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 034E. Special Project: Intermediate Sound Design
By individual arrangement for a production project in connection with department directing workshops, Production Ensemble, honors thesis
projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004E and THEA 014E.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 035. Directing I: Directors' Lab
This course focuses on the theater director's role in a collaborative ensemble and on the ensemble's relation to the audience. Units cover the
director's work with playscripts, actors, designers, and technicians. The student's directorial self-definition through this collaborative process is
the laboratory's ultimate concern. Final project consists of an extended scene to be performed as part of a program presented by the class.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Prerequisite: THEA 001, THEA 002A
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stevens.
Fall 2022. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 042. Production Ensemble II
Available by audition or consent of instructor to students who have successfully completed THEA 022.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stevens.
Fall 2022. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 045. Special Project: Solo Performance
An independent study in solo performance by individual arrangement between the student and department faculty.
Prerequisite: THEA 025
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 046. Intermediate Special Project In Playwriting
An independent study in playwriting by individual arrangement between the student and department faculty.
Prerequisite: THEA 006 and THEA 016 .
Humanities.
1.0
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
Advanced Courses
THEA 052. Production Ensemble III
Available by audition or consent of instructor to students who have successfully completed THEA 022 and THEA 042.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stevens.
Fall 2022. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 053. Special Project: Advanced Theater Practicum
By individual arrangement with the design or directing faculty for production work in connection with department directing workshops, honors
thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: Any 004 design class, THEA 013, THEA 023
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 054A. Special Project: Advanced Set Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004A and THEA 014A and THEA 034A.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 054B. Special Project: Advanced Lighting Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004B and THEA 014B and THEA 034B.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 054C. Special Project: Advanced Costume Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004C and THEA 014C THEA 034C.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 054D. Special Project: Advanced Integrated Media Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004D and THEA 014D and THEA 034D.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 054E. Special Project: Advanced Sound Design
By individual arrangement with instructor for a portfolio project or a production project in connection with department directing workshops,
Production Ensemble, honors thesis projects, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004E and THEA 014E and THEA 034E.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 055. Directing II: Devising for Directors
This course explores a variety of approaches to generating performance texts for the stage, including improvisation, game structure, adaptation
of nondramatic texts for performance, and verbatim theater techniques. We will also discuss varying approaches and best practices with respect
to artistic collaboration. We will have the opportunity to put these approaches into practice while working with actors and designers to create
original characters and play-worlds. The course culminates in the public presentation of final projects. This class is offered in Spring 2021
without prerequisite.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2022. Stevens.
Spring 2023. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 062. Production Ensemble IV
Available by audition or consent of instructor to students who have successfully completed THEA 022, THEA 042, and THEA 052.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Stevens.
Fall 2022. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 064. Advanced Special Project in Scenography, Sound, and Technology
A portfolio design or other design project in connection with a production completed on or off campus. To be taken concurrently or following
THEA 054A, THEA 054B, THEA 054C, THEA 054D, or THEA 054E. By individual arrangement between the student and the department faculty.
Prerequisite: Any THEA 004 group, THEA 014 group, and THEA 034 group
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 065. Advanced Special Project in Solo Performance
An independent study in solo performance by individual arrangement between the student and department faculty.
Prerequisite: THEA 025 and THEA 045
Humanities.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 072. Advanced Special Project in Acting
By individual arrangement with the acting or directing faculty for performance work in connection with department directing projects, honors
thesis projects, or Senior Company. With faculty approval, acting in a production off campus may qualify for this credit.
Graded CR/NC.
Prerequisite: THEA 002A, THEA 002C, THEA 008 or THEA 012 or THEA 022, THEA 012A.
0.5 - 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 074A. Special Project: Senior Project in Set Design
This course is an independent study in Set design. This special project will examine the forms and techniques of design applied in actual
production. By individual arrangement under the mentorship of the design faculty for work in connection with department directing workshops,
honors thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004A, THEA 014A, THEA 034A, and THEA 054A.
0.5-1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 074B. Special Project: Senior Project in Lighting Design
This course is an independent study in lighting design. This special project will examine the forms and techniques of design applied in actual
production. By individual arrangement under the mentorship of the design faculty for work in connection with department directing workshops,
honors thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004B, THEA 014B, THEA 034B, and THEA 054B.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 074C. Special Project: Senior Project in Costume Design
This course is an independent study in costume design. This special project will examine the forms and techniques of design applied in actual
production. By individual arrangement under the mentorship of the design faculty for work in connection with department directing workshops,
honors thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004C, THEA 014C, THEA 034C, and THEA 054C.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 074D. Special Project: Senior Project in Integrated Media Design
This course is an independent study in integrated media design. This special project will examine the forms and techniques of design applied in
actual production. By individual arrangement under the mentorship of the design faculty for work in connection with department directing
workshops, honors thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004D, THEA 014D, THEA 034D, and THEA 054D.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 074E. Special Project: Senior Project in Sound Design
This course is an independent study in sound design. This special project will examine the forms and techniques of design applied in actual
production. By individual arrangement under the mentorship of the design faculty for work in connection with department directing workshops,
honors thesis productions, Production Ensemble, or Senior Company.
Prerequisite: THEA 004E, THEA 014E, THEA 034E, and THEA 054E.
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 075. Advanced Special Project in Directing
By individual arrangement with the directing faculty. With faculty approval, directing or assistant directing off campus may qualify for this
credit.
Prerequisite: THEA 001, THEA 015 or THEA 021A, THEA 022, THEA 035, THEA 106.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 091. Advanced Special Project in Production Dramaturgy
Production dramaturgy in connection with a production on or off campus. By individual arrangement between the student and the department
faculty.
Prerequisite: THEA 001, THEA 021A, 051
0.5 or 1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 092. Off-Campus Projects in Theater
Residence at local arts organizations and theaters. Fields include management, financial and audience development, community outreach, and
stage and house management.
Prerequisite: appropriate preparation in the major.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 093. Directed Reading
Independent work for advanced students under the supervision of an instructor.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Staff.
Spring 2022. Staff.
Fall 2022. Staff.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 094. Special Projects in Theater
Humanities.
1 credit.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 099. Senior Company
A workshop course emphasizing issues of collaborative play making across lines of specialization, ensemble development of performance
projects, and the collective dynamics of forming the prototype of a theater company. Work with an audience in performance of a single project or
a series of projects.
This course is required of all theater majors in their senior year and can not be taken for external examination in the Honors Program. Class
members will consult with the instructor during spring semester of their junior year, before registration, to organize and make preparations.
Course and honors minors may petition to enroll, provided they have met the prerequisites.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Prerequisite: THEA 001, THEA 002A; any course in design; THEA 015; THEA 006, THEA 025, or THEA 035; THEA 022; a 100-level seminar;
and the completion of one three-course sequence in theater.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2021. Swanson.
Fall 2022. Swanson.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
Seminars
THEA 102A. Acting Capstone
Originally designed as a two-semester project for Honors Acting majors, this course has become an opportunity for all theater majors and
minors who are focusing on acting to synthesize and showcase their cumulative knowledge and skills attained in the Theater Department. The
course will culminate in a spring semester production of a play directed by the acting faculty. It will continue to be offered as a two-semester
course when Honors majors are involved and will otherwise be a one-semester course in the spring. Students will be expected to meet with the
faculty director during the fall semester to discuss the process.
By arrangement with the theater faculty.
Humanities.
1.0
Fall 2022. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 102B. Acting Capstone
Originally designed as a two-semester project for Honors Acting majors, this course has become an opportunity for all theater majors and
minors who are focusing on acting to synthesize and showcase their cumulative knowledge and skills attained in the Theater Department. The
course will culminate in a spring semester production of a play directed by the acting faculty. It will continue to be offered as a two-semester
course when Honors majors are involved and will otherwise be a one-semester course in the spring. Students will be expected to meet with the
faculty director during the fall semester to discuss the process.
By arrangement with the theater faculty.
1.0
Spring 2022. Torra.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Torra.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 106. Theater History Seminar
A comparative study of theater history from its origins through the 21st century, along with a critical examination of a given theatrical company
as a case study. Emphasis on the coherence of specific performance traditions and periods, significant companies as well as individual artists,
the placement of theatrical performance within specific cultural contexts, and their relevance to contemporary theatrical practice. Readings will
include, but not be limited to, dramatic texts as one form of artifact of the theatrical event. The spring 2015 seminar will focus on the work of
Ariane Mnouchkine and the Théâtre du Soleil.
Prerequisite: THEA 015.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Eligible for GLBL-Core
Spring 2022. Not offered. See THEA 121.
Spring 2023. Staff.
Fall 2023. Kuharski.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 121. Dramaturgy Seminar
What does Joe Orton owe to Terence and Wycherley? How does a "monstre sacré" like Don Juan repeat across the centuries? How does "stage
realism" shift over time? In this cross-temporal, cross-cultural bolt through post-classical western drama-four plays a week-emphasis will be
placed on works from famous "periods" (Spanish Golden Age, Restoration comedy, French Neo-Classicism, Sturm und Drang, etc.) and on
examples of forgotten or usurped genres. Theatrical gauntlets thrown down by Collier, Strindberg, Stein, Lukács, Schiller, Zola, Brustein,
Wilson, Shaw, and others, will be studied as well.
Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Prerequisite: By permission of instructor.
Humanities.
Writing course.
2 credits.
Spring 2022. Magruder.
Spring 2023. Not offered. See THEA 106.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180A. Honors Thesis Preparation in Acting
Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the
student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180B. Honors Thesis Preparation in Directing
Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the
student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180C. Honors Thesis Preparation in Playwriting
Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the
student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180D. Honors Thesis Preparation in Design
Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the
student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180E. Honors Thesis Preparation in Dramaturgy
Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the
student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180F. Honors Thesis Preparation in Solo Performance
Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the
student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 180G. Honors Thesis Preparation in Performance Theory
Fall and spring semesters. Staff. Credit either for honors attachments to courses or for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so
on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181A. Honors Thesis Production in Acting.
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181B. Honors Thesis Production in Directing
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181C. Honors Thesis Production in Playwriting
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181D. Honors Thesis Production in Design
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181E. Honors Thesis Production in Dramaturgy
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181F. Honors Thesis Production in Solo Performance
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
THEA 181G. Honors Thesis Production in Performance Theory
Honors Thesis Project Credit for honors thesis projects in directing, design, acting, and so on. By arrangement with the student's faculty adviser
in theater.
Catalog chapter: Theater
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/department-theater
