Instructor: Yemok Jeon

How have Eastern and Western medicine perceived the body and disease differently? How do these different understandings of the body contribute to different approaches to diagnosis and treatments? How has “traditional” medicine in Asia evolved into “modern” traditional medicine? How can we experience Asian medicine at home and understand our bodies through Asian medical traditions? By the end of our five weeks, we will realize that Asian medicine is closer than we might think, and we will gain a new lens to understand our body and disease through Asian medical concepts.

We will begin by exploring foundational and profound concepts in medical traditions in Asia, such as qi, meridians, and yin-yang balance, through both modern and classical texts, as well as key treatments like acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine. However, we will also explore how Asian medical traditions have not remained static; they have evolved over time, been shaped into “modern” forms, traveled to the West, been adapted by diverse communities, and interacted with biomedicine.

Together, our course is not a one-way transmission of knowledge. Instead, both the instructor and students contribute to creating a more immersive, firsthand experience of Asian medicine. We will explore and experience Asian medicine in diverse ways—through personally recorded videos featuring interviews with practitioners, visits to contemporary clinics and herbal stores, and reconstructions of traditional medicinal tea recipes. You are also encouraged to share information about local traditional medicine practitioners, merchants, or teas from your own region to enrich our collective learning experience. Your contributions may be incorporated into our lectures, helping us deepen our understanding of local medical knowledge from around the world.

Instructor: Noushin Ahdoot

What does it mean for a work of art to be ‘bad’? Moreover, what does it mean for a work of art to be so bad, it’s good? What does it say about us as viewers and human beings to announce our enjoyment of trashy, kitschy, and cringey things? This course will define key categories of bad taste and investigate the guilty pleasure that we derive from them.

We will begin by unpacking the notion of taste (What is taste? Can it be cultivated? What makes taste bad or good? To what degree is liking a work of art akin to liking red velvet cake?) as it arose in aesthetic theories of the eighteenth century (David Hume, Edmund Burke, and Immanuel Kant), before looking toward modern interventions by Susan Sontag (Notes on ‘Camp’ ) and Walter Benjamin (Dream Kitsch). We will work toward understanding camp, kitsch, the sentimental, and cringe as they appear in our everyday lives, considering phenomena like hate watching, soap operas, B-movie screenings, John Waters films, and the recent Y2K fashion revival.

Instructor: Tori Finlayson

Humans have an innate fascination with mortality, the ancient Egyptians were no different. Ancient Egypt has become famous for its funerary beliefs, tombs, and temples. You may have seen depictions in modern media such as the movie The Mummy, or the video game Assassin’s Creed Origins. Or perhaps you are familiar with King Tut and his burial, or have heard of the ‘Book of the Dead.’ But, how did the ancient Egyptian really conceptualize the hereafter? Were the ancient Egyptians obsessed with death? How have we come to know about their beliefs? How similar or different are the philosophies of the ancient Egyptians to our own? (Add something about ghosts)

This course will examine key pieces of funerary literature such as the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead. We will break down the necessities of preparing for the afterlife by examining tomb art and structures, as well as funerary artifacts such as coffins, sarcophagi, and shabtis (who do your work for you in the afterlife!). We will examine the similarities and differences in funerary preparation for royalty vs. common people, and how temples were used to preserve the king in the afterlife. This course will examine the funerary culture of the ancient Egyptians including a study of tombs, literature, artifacts, and artwork in order to unravel the ancient Egyptian beliefs about what happens when you die.

Instructors: Alaa Saad and Jonas Johnson

Many of us find ourselves crocheting scarves while watching TV, making collages with found materials, building architectural wonders in virtual worlds, or perfecting our sourdough starter one loaf at a time. But what does “craft” mean, to practitioners and to the society in which these practices emerge? In the shift from one of the oldest forms of economic activity to a bourgeois pastime, the handicrafts have been a site for prolonged philosophical, artistic, and political reflection (and debate!). Two anthropologists of craft drawing insights from two very different field sites— gunsmiths in the US and Egyptian heritage artisans—invite you to join them in critically examining what is made in the process of making: how knowledge, power, and politics become embedded in the products of our crafts and embodied in the movements of our hands.

Through modular video lectures (15-20 minutes each) focused on specific concepts rather than long-form traditional lectures, we’ll engage with contemporary theorists of craft to help participants define craft as it emerges historically, separate (or in continued tension with) the arts, science, industrial modernity, and design. These scholarly debates will enliven our engagement with a diverse array of source material: from MineCraft and AI-empowered artists to traditional artisans and YouTube craft schools. Each week will feature a “Craft of the Week” showcase of contemporary practitioners through curated YouTube interviews or studio tours, and “Making in Progress” segments where instructors demonstrate their own crafting processes while discussing theory.

Participants will engage in “craft-along” sessions where they can work on personal projects while reflecting on the course material. They will have the option to contribute to journaling prompts connected to their own craft practices, and participate in “material scavenger hunts” to photograph/ record audio examples of craft concepts in their everyday lives. Our digital “craft circle” discussion board will be a space to collectively share questions and reflections on course concepts, and connections to students’ existing making practices.

Ultimately, this course aims to empower participants to be critical ethnographers of their own craft practices—from amateurs to pros and anything in between—and we look forward to hand-tailoring course materials to match the interests of the makers among us! Through collaborative development of a digital “craft manifesto” that evolves throughout the course and “maker spotlights” where students can voluntarily share their craft projects and reflections, we’ll create a collaborative art piece from our diverse making practices.

Instructor: Magdalene Klassen

How does a moral panic happen? This term often gets thrown around to explain how society responds to fears about crime, sin, and sex. In this course, participants will have the chance to learn about how past moral panics played out in media, law, and the activity of “moral entrepreneurs.” Together, we’ll consider pressing questions about truth, media, and information: how do emotion, belief, and prejudice fuel media scandals? How do media and policy interact? Who generates such panics, who benefits, and whom do they target? Are moral panics irrational?

We will first consider the thought of the British and American sociologists who developed the concept of the moral panic as response to the perceived threat of deviance alongside contemporary critiques of the term’s limitations. Then we’ll consider three aspects of moral panic: media, law, and moral entrepreneurs.

We will attend to the different interest groups involved in generating and sustaining panic, and consider the raced, classed, and gendered nature of moral panics in relation to other categories of difference including age, sexuality, migration status, and health status. Given the highly polarized nature of media and morality today, this course will provide students with a solid historical understanding of how evidence and belief intersect in past panics that will assist them in interpreting and evaluating present discourses.

Instructor: Marco Pomini

Across the globe, devotees have relied on the Virgin Mary’s help during moments of despair, entrusting their hopes to her and seeking her protection in times of vulnerability. Countless artists have attempted to visually render the Mother of Jesus, thereby contributing to her becoming one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. But how do artists select which episodes of her life to represent? Why do certain representations of this Holy Woman gain popularity while others don’t? What emotions were felt by those who prayed in front of her likeness?

We will address these questions by attending to visual depictions of the Virgin Mary produced between the Late Medieval and the Early Modern periods. In this class, we will discuss not only masterpieces by famous artists like Michelangelo and Caravaggio but also anonymous works, while also placing images in dialogue with significant passages from religious texts. We will piece together the many lives of the Virgin Mary as we trace the making and re-making of her image from Rome to Mexico City. By gaining familiarity with this vast body of images, students will cultivate a critical understanding of the connections between the experience of the sacred as mediated by images, and the changing political, economic, and social forces that influenced the creation of those images.

No previous knowledge of Christianity or Art History is required.

Instructor: Brad Harmon

How does one read a book that’s been translated? On the one hand, it’s easy: you just start reading. Depending on the book you’re holding, you might not even know it’s a translation. On the other hand, that same book is the result of some of the most complex tasks the human mind can undertake. Yet translation is often talked about in negative terms. Whether it’s a metaphor for miscommunication (“lost in translation”), or a back-handed compliment in a book review (“the translation is so good you don’t even know it’s a translation!”), the idea of translation has unjustly received a bad reputation. But the tide is turning, with translation increasingly seen as its own artform, translators receiving more recognition, and new awards for translated literature being created.

As an introduction to reading in translation, this course has something to offer anyone who reads literature, whether you’re an avid follower of Nobel laureates or you’ve never really thought about it at all. We will consider broad questions such as: How has the meaning of translation changed from the Bible to ChatGPT? Why are some books and authors constantly re-translated while others are ignored? What’s the difference between an author and a translator? We will also spend time focusing on more “hands-on” things, such as comparing different translations (of, for example, a Rilke poem, a bible verse, a Proust sentence, or a Dante verse), reading translator’s notes, analyzing “blurbs,” or critiquing book reviews. The overall goal is to identify, unpack, and undo the many assumptions and rhetorical tropes that plague literary translations, and to become more informed readers of them.

Instructor: Keisuke Nakajima

This course explores the intimate relationship between our exercise and fitness culture and the ancient Greek and Roman world. The central questions of the course are: How did the ancient Greeks and Romans think about and engage with exercise? What influence does the ancient aesthetics have on our concept of health, beauty, and fitness? How could ancient thoughts on exercise perhaps help us cultivate a healthier lifestyle, as physical inactivity and increasing sedentary time continue to harm the modern population and chronic illnesses become more prevalent?

The instructor, both a Classicist and a fitness enthusiast, invites you on a journey through the world of exercise, ancient and modern. We will explore how many authors in the ancient world considered exercising as an essential part of human wellbeing. The course materials will cover texts of a variety of genres and time periods, including Homer’s epics, Plato’s philosophical dialogues and Galen’s (Ancient Roman Physician) medical treatises. We will also take a look at how modern physical culturists, such as Eugen Sandow and Bernarr MacFadden, have engaged with, and sometimes abused the ancient world in order to advocate for their missions.

I encourage you to be a part of this journey, since health is a concern for everyone. Whether you are a trained athlete, or interested in ancient medical/philosophical thoughts, or starting to think about exercising more, or just curious about things, this course welcomes you all!

Instructor: Sandy Peeples

For a little over 3 years from 1854 until 1857, the Republic of Maryland existed as an independent nation in West Africa. Named after the state of Maryland and fostered by the plantation owners and enslavers who ran the Maryland State Colonization Society (MSCS), the nation was an attempt to resettle formerly enslaved Africans from Maryland back in Africa. This effort aimed at closing off Maryland from free Africans and controlling Africa from Maryland begins to capture the unique relationship Maryland, and Baltimore in particular, has had with the African continent. This course will provide a brief overview of some of the key entanglements between Africa and Baltimore.

The course will start from the role of African labor in building the initial colony of Maryland before discussing the role that colonization of West Africa played in fights for liberty and freedom in Baltimore and Maryland. Moving into the 20th century, we will then discuss the role of Baltimore in the lives of key Pan-Africanist figures like Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. DuBois, who sought to build linkages between the Americas and Africa as part of a larger Black Freedom struggle. The class will finish in the contemporary moment, looking at the contributions of African migrants to Baltimore and the impact of Maryland companies and institutions in maintaining coercive relationships between the United States and African nations. Students will be given opportunities to engage with historical documents, local landmarks, and cultural production, all as part of understanding the history of Africa in Baltimore and Maryland in Africa.

Summer 2024

• “Don’t Lose Your Head!: Tracing the Disembodied Head Through Culture, Fairy Tales, Food, and Beyond” with instructor Rini Barman (Anthropology)
• “Truth & Historical Dramas: Slavery, Data & Film” with instructor Arianna Browne (History)
• “‘Exquisite is her Splendor’: Women in Ancient Egypt” with instructor Tori Finlayson (Near Eastern Studies)
• “From Clay to Code: A Journey Through the History of Writing” with instructor Marc Flores (Near Eastern Studies)
• “Shakespeare on Screen and Stage: Adaptations and Us” with instructor Neah Lekan (English)
• “Fatal Allure: Imagining Death” with instructor Keisuke Nakajima (Classics)
• “More Than a Feeling: Sensory Experience in Ancient Egypt” with instructor Maarten Praet (Near Eastern Studies)
• “Sushi, Ramen, and Tempura: The History of Food (Ex)Change in Japan” with Wesley Sampias (History)
• “Chess as Art— From Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’ to ‘The Queen’s Gambit’” with instructor Jonah Shallit (English)
• “Ancient Highways: Trade Routes of the Middle East and North Africa” with instructor John L. Shannon (Archaeology/Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies)
• “2500+ Years of Artificial Life: A.I. and the Idea of the Human” with instructor Dr. Chris Taylor (CTL)
• “The Image of China Abroad and at Home” with instructor Shengshuang Wang (Modern Languages/Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies)
• “Poetic Architectures, Building Worlds” with instructor Jess Yuan (Writing Seminars)

Summer 2023

• “1000 Bread, 1000 Beer: Food & Drink in Ancient Egypt,” Instructor: Dr. Morgan Moroney (Near Eastern Studies)
• “Insurrection & Conspiracy: America & Ancient Rome,” Instructor: Juan Dopico (Classics)
• “Listening to the Past: Clues to the Social Lives of Ancient Egyptians,” Instructor: Alison Wilkinson (Near Eastern Studies)
• “The Meaning of Extinction: Cinema and the End of the World,” Instructor: Brad Harmon (German/Modern Lang. & Lit.)
• “Nature Poetry,” Instructor: Martin Michálek (Classics)
• “Power, Pleasure, Personhood: Indian Painting, 1500-2000,” Instructor: Meghaa Ballakrishnen (Art History)
• “Reform or Revolution: Political Rebellion in German Thought and Literature from Plato to Star Wars,” Instructor: Luke Beller (German/Modern Lang. & Lit)
• “The Stories Maps Tell: Ancient Civilizations to Modern Readers,” Instructor: Paige Paulsen (Near Eastern Studies)
• “Writing Poetry of the Environment,” Instructor: Samantha Neugebauer (Writing Seminars)

Summer 2022

• “The Atomic Age Today,” instructor: Ruoyu Li (Political Science)
• “Ancient Poetry at the End of the World,” instructor: Martin Michalek (Classics)
• “Fast Fiction,” instructor: Eric Emmons (Writing Seminars)
• “A Voyage and the Marvel: Discovering Maryland in the 17th Century,” instructor: Ambra Marzocchi (Classics)
• “Glory of an Ancient, Storied Land: Tolkien and the Ancient World,” instructor: Kathryn H. Stutz (Classics)
• “Cut and Paste: Remediating the DIY Archive through the Creation of Cyber-Zines,” instructor: Lauren Mushro (MLL)
• “Where Are We at Home? Literature of Exile,” instructor: Marta Cerreti (MLL)
• “Tomorrow Will Be Too Late: Reading The Second Sex,” instructor: Thomas Mann (Political Science)
• “Talk Like an Egyptian: Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs,” instructor: Maarten Praet (Near Eastern Studies)
• “The Production of Forensic Space in Crime Fiction,” instructor: Antonia Grousdanidou (MLL)  

Summer 2021

• “Exploring Uncanny Valleys in Contemporary Literature” – instructor: Antonia Grousdanidou [Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures]
• “Surgery, Herbs, and Amulets: A Social History of Ancient Medicine” – instructor: Dr. Lingxin Zhang [Dept. of Near Eastern Studies]
• “Medieval Irish Sagas” – instructor: Daniel McClurkin [Dept. of English]
• “Reading Poetry for Everyday Life” – instructor: Martin Michalek [Dept. of Classics]
• “Letters from Prison—Homegrown Terrorism and Basque Nationalism” – instructor: Lauren Mushro [Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures]
• “Introducing Gilgamesh” – instructor: Michael Chapin [Dept. of Near Eastern Studies]
• “Science and Utopian Fiction” – instructor: Mitchell Cram [Dept. of English]

Summer 2020

• “Modern Painting and Prostitution” – instructor: Meghaa Ballakrishnen [Art History]
• “How to Read Poetry” – instructor: Joel Childers [English]
• “Science and Utopian Fiction” – instructor: Mitchell Cram [English]
• “What is Knowledge?” – instructor: Cara Cummings [Philosophy]
• “Discriminating Taste: Understanding the French Approach to Fashion, Conversation, Food, and Art” – instructor: Nicole Karam [Modern Languages and Literatures]
• “Latinx Immigration and Literature: Interpreting the Border” – instructor: Alexandra Lossada [English]
• “The Northern Irish Troubles: Literature of Conflict” – instructor: Daniel McClurkin [English]
• “Bad Mothers in Literature, On Screen, and Across History” – instructor: Sarah Ross [English]
• “Conceptualizing the Pandemic: Emergency Humanities during COVID-19” – instructor: Arpan Roy [Anthropology]
• “Astronomy and Astrology in Ancient Egypt” – instructor: Lingxin Zhang [Near Eastern Studies]