Courses in RC Humanities (Division 865) RC Hum. 214. Fundamentals of Narrative Fiction. (Comparative Literature) (4). (HU). Students read a variety of tales, novellas, and novels that demonstrate comparable or divergent styles of narrative. Chosen from different cultural contexts, the works are grouped to emphasize different aspects of narrative – historical, autobiographical, realistic, allegorical, or fantastic – revealing the distinctive and universal elements of all narrative prose. RC Hum. 215. Poetry. (Comparative Literature) (4). (HU). Approximately ten poets are read and discussed in some depth in order to give students concrete experience in the poetic tradition of English speaking cultures. The latter third of the course surveys several dozen recent poets who are either rebelling against or extending that tradition in new directions. Two novels with poetic style and organization are also read. RC Hum. 220. Narration. (Creative Writing) Permission of instructor. (4). (CE). Students submit approximately 5 pages of prose fiction every two weeks in addition to rewriting previous submissions. Collections of short fiction and short novels by established writers are read. Each student meets privately with the instructor weekly. RC Hum. 221. The Writing of Poetry. (Creative Writing) Permission of instructor. (4). (CE). The class meets three hours a week as a group, and each student receives additional individual criticism from the instructor. Assigned poetry is read and discussed and student's poems are presented to the class for appraisal and criticism. Poetic forms and the relation of form to content are stressed. In addition each student is required to read extensively the work of one poet. RC Hum. 222. Writing for Children and Young Adults. (Creative Writing) (4). (CE). Students are offered an opportunity to gain experience in the preparation of fiction for children and young adults. Instruction aims at the development of story ideas and narrative forms relevant and comprehensible to young people. Emphasis is also placed on the purpose of children's literature and its relationship to literature as a whole, the experience of childhood, and the visual arts. RC Hum. 230. Biblical, Greek, and Medieval Texts: Original Works and Modern Counterparts. (Comparative Literature) (3). (HU). This course is constituted of two tracks: classic texts from the Biblical, Greek, and Medieval worlds and a number of 20th-century literary and film adaptations and re-creations of these classic works – or themes and problems they embody. RC Hum. 235. Topics in World Dance. (Arts and Ideas) (3). (HU). Theatrical, religious, popular, and social dance traditions are examined in a variety of cultures. Several comparative issues are explored. In addition to lectures and readings, the class features guest artist lecture demonstrations and viewing of performances both live and on films and videos. RC Hum. 236/Film-Video 236. The Art of the Film. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Laboratory fee ($50) required. Lectures and demonstrations isolate the different elements and techniques (i.e., film stock, lighting, camera placement and movement, actors, special effects, sound, and editing) that the director and crew utilize in film-making to shape the viewer's response. Some historical developments, artistic and technological, are discussed. Recitation sections analyze and interpret significant films. RC Hum. 242. Creative Adaptation: Fact Into Fantasy. (Creative Writing) Completion of the Introductory Composition requirement. (4). (CE). Students adapt research from various sources into creative forms, e.g., short stories, poetry, drama, film. The course expands students' knowledge in their own fields while offering opportunities for creative expression. RC Hum. 250. Chamber Music. (Music) (1-2; 1 in the half-term). (CE). Offered mandatory credit/no credit. May be repeated for a total of 16 credits. Studying and performing vocal and instrumental chamber music. Responsibilities include three to four hours of group and individual rehearsal time each week and participation in one or more chamber music concerts. RC Hum. 251. Topics in Music. (Music) (4). (HU). An in-depth aesthetic, historical, and musical analysis of several significant masterworks from a given period or style of music. RC Hum. 252. Topics in Music. (Music) (4). (HU). An in-depth aesthetic, historical, and musical analysis of several significant masterworks from a given period or style of music. RC Hum. 253. Choral Ensemble. (Music) (1). (CE). Offered mandatory credit/no credit. Students rehearse and perform some of the great choral literature from 1600 to the present. The class studies the historical significance of each composition, and a complete musical and aesthetic analysis is made of each work studied. RC Hum. 254. The Human Voice as An Acoustical Instrument. (Music) (4). (CE). Practical training through exercises and songs to teach control of the vocal mechanism for acoustically correct singing. Acoustic and physiological principles related to voice control, and principles of the Alexander Technique are studied. RC Hum. 255. Film Experience. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (Excl). Study of film theory and practice as manifested in the work of such directors as Sergei Eisenstein, Jean Renoir, Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen, Frank Capra, Satajit Ray. RC Hum. 257. Visual Sources. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Introduction to analysis of the visual arts: painting, architecture, photography, performance. Training in practical skills of formal analysis and in theory of perception, with attention given to issues of medium, materials, craft, and cultural context. RC Hum. 260/Dance 220 (Music). The Art of Dance: An Introduction to American and European Dance History, Aesthetics, and Criticism. (Arts and Ideas) (3). (HU). An introduction to dance history, aesthetics, criticism for non-dance majors: dance form and content; dancer and choreographer; styles of dance; role of dance in society. Course offers a basic survey of American and European dance in 19th and 20th Cent. RC Hum. 275. The Western Mind in Revolution: Six Interpretations of the Human Condition. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (Excl). Treats six major reinterpretations of the human condition from the 16th to 20th centuries generated by intellectual revolutions in astronomy (Copernicus); theology (Luther); biology (Darwin); sociology (Marx); psychology (Freud); and physics (Einstein). RC Hum. 280/English 245/Theatre 211. Introduction to Drama and Theatre. (Drama) No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in RC Hums. 281. (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU). This course aims to introduce students to as many basic aspects of the theatre, practical and theoretical, as time allows. It also presents them with a number of key plays from various periods, and examines them from the point of view of their dramatic qualities, their theatrical strengths, their social and political contexts, their performance history, and their relevance today. The course functions by lecture and sections, the latter allowing more detailed discussion and some elementary scene-work. RC Hum. 282. Drama Interpretation I: Actor and Text. (Drama) (4). (CE). The dramatic text is studied from the actor's perspective as a script which communicates verbal and gestic cues by means of written dialogue. The course focuses upon the manner in which this is done, and upon methods of translating these written cues into appropriate human behavior. Attention is given to theories and criticism of performance techniques, and to specific acting problems presented by differing styles and genres. RC Hum. 290. The Experience of Arts and Ideas in the Twentieth Century. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Introduction to major aesthetic movements of 20th century art: cubism, dada, surrealism, abstract expressionism, post-modernism through close reading and comparison of selected examples of literature and the visual arts. Emphasis on formal analysis of each work. RC Hum. 291. The Experience of Arts and Ideas in the Nineteenth Century. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Introduction to major aesthetic movements of 19th century art: Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Symbolism, through close reading and analysis of selected examples of literature and the visual arts. Emphasis on formal analysis of each work. RC Hum. 305(RC IDiv 257). Cultural Confrontation in the Arts. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Course focuses on the aesthetic responses of minority groups when they come into contact with the dominant culture. The emphasis is on an intensive engagement with representative artistic texts or visual images that are produced at such “moments” of confrontation. RC Hum. 309. Classical Sources of Modern Culture. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Traces the development of narrative and dramatic literary form from Homer to Late Roman Prose. In the visual arts, traces evolution of style from geometric abstraction to Classical idealism, to Roman historical portraiture and illusionistic wall painting. RC Hum. 310. Medieval Sources of Modern Culture. (Arts and Ideas) Sophomore standing. (4). (HU). Examines representative works of literature and the visual arts from late Pagan/Early Christian times, through the high Medieval period. Emphasis on close reading of text and image, exploration of iconographical repertory, and distinctive formal systems, such as typology and allegory. RC Hum. 311. Intellectual Currents of the Renaissance. (Arts and Ideas) Sophomore standing. (4). (HU). Interdisciplinary study of a configuration of works in literature and the visual arts selected to disclose a particular problem in renaissance aesthetics: space, textuality, representation. Emphasis on close reading and analysis of Shakespeare, Rabelais, Titian, Bosch, Brueghel, Dürer, and others. RC Hum. 312/Slavic Film 312. Central European Cinema. (Arts and Ideas) A knowledge of Russian is not required. (3). (HU). Laboratory fee ($50) required. Central European (Polish, Czechoslovak, Hungarian, Yugoslav) cinema studied against the background of the political, social, ideological, and artistic factors which helped shape it. The course spans the period 1958-1995, and covers the works of major directors: Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Milos Forman, Jiri Menzel, Vera Chytilova, Marta Meszaros, Istvan Szabo, Dusan Makavejev, and Srdan Karanovic. Films by many of the above directors and others are viewed, analyzed, and discussed both with respect to their intrinsic aesthetic structure and with respect to the cultural trends and socio-political events of the period and country. Special emphasis is given to issues of ethnicity and gender. RC Hum. 313/Slavic Film 313. Russian Cinema. (Arts and Ideas) (3). (HU). Laboratory fee ($50) required. Russian cinema studied against the background of the artistic and political revolutions which helped shape it. The course spans the period 1917-present, from the Russian pioneers of film montage (Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Dziga Vertov, Alexander Dovzhenko) to the varied cinematic approaches of recent directors such as Andrei Tarkovsky, and Nikita Mikhalkov. Films by all of the above directors and others are viewed, analyzed, and discussed both with respect to their intrinsic aesthetic structure and with respect to the cultural trends and socio-political events of the period and country. RC Hum. 314/MEMS 314. The Figure of Rome in Shakespeare and 16th Century Painting. (Arts and Ideas) (3). (HU). An interdisciplinary course including literature and the visual arts focused on the figure of "Rome" in four of Shakespeare's Roman plays and in painting by Caravaggio, Mantegna, and Titian. RC Hum. 315. Representations of History in the Literature and Visual Arts of Rome. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). An interdisciplinary course including literature and the visual arts focused on strategies of self-representation through history and prophecy in the Roman period. RC Hum. 317. The Writings of Latinas. (Arts and Ideas) A course in women's studies or Latina/o studies. (4). (HU). This course has its focus on the writings of Latinas in the U.S. It explores their confrontations of such issues as colonial domination and political or economic exile. The required texts address the position of women within their own cultural/ethnic/racial group as well as within a dominant culture. RC Hum. 318. Critical Approaches to Literature. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). Introduction to major currents in contemporary critical theory, structuralist, semiotic, psychoanalytic, deconstructionist, through reading of primary texts in conjunction with exemplary works in literature and the visual arts. RC Hum. 319. Topics in Film. (Arts and Ideas) (3). (HU). May be repeated for a total of nine credits. Course content varies with specific topic and instructors. The course offers opportunities for in-depth study and analysis of genre, style, and other aspects of film. RC Hum. 320. Advanced Narration. (Creative Writing) Hums. 220 and permission of instructor. (4). (CE). Three short stories of at least twenty-five pages each, or three long segments of a novel-in-progress are submitted during the term and are read by all members of the class. The class meets together as a workshop and each student meets individually with the instructor for private discussion of work completed and in progress. RC Hum. 321. Advanced Poetry Writing. (Creative Writing) Hums. 221 and permission of instructor. (4). (CE). This is an advanced poetry writing workshop. Students must be willing to read their poems in class and actively participate in the critical evaluation of other students' work. A finished manuscript of 25-30 poems is a course requirement. RC Hum. 322. Advanced Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. (Creative Writing) Hums. 222 and permission of instructor. (4). (CE). Course emphasizes elements of narrative fiction in writing for young readers. Group meetings alternate with private conferences with instructor. Readings assigned on an individual basis. Course work is determined jointly by the student and instructor. RC Hum. 325. Creative Writing Tutorial. (Creative Writing) Hums. 220, 221, 222 and permission of instructor. (4; 2 in the half-term). (Excl). Independent programs in supervised writing. RC Hum. 326. Creative Writing Tutorial. (Creative Writing) Hums. 325 and permission of instructor. (4; 2 in the half-term). (Excl). Independent programs in supervised writing. RC Hum. 331. Picasso to Tharp: Collaboration in Art, Film, and Dance in the Twentieth Century. (Arts and Ideas) (3). (Excl). Examines the way in which painters, sculptors, choreographers, and film makers have collaborated to create some of the most intriguing multi-media works of the century, beginning with early modern artists in Europe and continuing with artist-choreographer collaborations in America. RC Hum. 333. Art and Culture. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (Excl). The concern of this course is to examine the mechanics, theories, and the effects of the interaction of art and culture. Topics include the political function of the arts, the impact of new technologies, the effect of popular taste on high art, and the role of art criticism. RC Hum. 340. Four Interdisciplinary Studies in 19th and 20th Century Intellectual History: Psychoanalysis, Mysticism, Nihilism and Marxism. (Comparative Literature) Junior/senior standing. (4). (HU). This course compares and contrasts the presentation in several disciplines and literary genres of several ideas that have redefined western man's concept of himself: the emergence of "psychological man"; the attack upon science and reason; the decay of Christian morality; the rise of totalitarian states. RC Hum. 341. Latin American Literature. (Comparative Literature) (4). (Excl). Examines themes of major novelists, short story writers, and poets. The literature is considered in historical, social, and anthropological contexts as well as in the artistic context. RC Hum. 344. Tradition and Invention: Aspects of the Arts in 18th Century Europe. (Arts and Ideas) Sophomore standing. (3). (HU). Seminar with slides examining art and ideas in the age of reason, sensibility, satire and social reform. Direct study of painting and architecture, supplemented by readings which explore art works in broader cultural contexts. RC Hum. 350. Creative Musicianship. (Music) (4). (CE). This music theory-composition course is designed to give students the skills necessary to create and understand music. No previous background is required. RC Hum. 351. Creative Musicianship Lab. (Music) Hums. 350. (1-2). (CE). Required lab course to be taken with Humanities 350. It provides additional training in the three basic elements of music (melody, harmony, rhythm) through reading, writing, singing, and the use of ear-training tapes and computer programs. RC Hum. 357. What Television Means: Research, Analysis, and Interpretation. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (Excl). This course is devoted to investigations of both content and multiple meanings in television broadcasts. Students are expected to critique the work of published media researchers as well as conduct their own research on differing genres of television text. RC Hum. 360. The Existential Quest in the Modern Novel. (Comparative Literature) Junior/senior standing. (4). (Excl). This course studies existentialism as a literary as well as philosophical movement united by a number of common theological, social and psychological themes and problems. RC Hum. 372. The Subject in the Aftermath of Revolution. (3). (HU). Intended to introduce to undergraduates the concept of the "subject" important in recent critical theory, the course traces shifts from ideas of natural or authentic selfhood to those of the constructed self, situating the change in the context of revolutions and their aftermath, when notions of identity are disrupted. The issue are addressed in interdisciplinary fashion through sets or groupings in literature and the visual arts, each accompanied by readings in theory or philosophy. RC Hum. 380. Greek Theatre. (Drama) (4). (Excl). A special seminar section exploring particular stage and production elements of the plays covered in Greek 463. RC Hum. 381. Shakespeare on the Stage. (Drama) Hums. 280. (4). (HU). An introduction to Shakespeare as a dramatic artist through close study of eight of his major plays; appreciation of the plays as dramatic experiences; a functional notion of the shape of Shakespeare's career as a whole; and a basic grasp of the historical, philosophical, social, and theatrical contexts of Shakespearean drama. RC Hum. 385. The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht. (Drama) (4). (HU). A comprehensive study of the development, nature, and influence of Bertolt Brecht's playwriting, dramaturgy, and dramatic theory both in its German setting and in its impact on international theatre. RC Hum. 386/MEMS 421. Medieval Drama. (Drama) Hums. 280. (4). (Excl). Designed to trace parallel developments in the medieval drama of France and England, with special reference to problems of production, from the tenth century to the sixteenth century. The Germanic origins and the German carnival play are included as well. RC Hum. 387. Renaissance Drama. (Drama) (4). (Excl). Examines common interests and techniques in the works of the major dramatists of the Renaissance, from its beginnings in the Italian Commedia Dell'arte and Spanish Golden Age, through Elizabethan and Jacobean England, to its culmination in the classic theatre of France. The playwrights include Lope de Vega, Ben Johnson, Molière’s, and Racine, but the greatest emphasis falls upon Shakespeare. RC Hum. 389. The Modern Theatre. (Drama) Hums. 280. (4). (HU). May be repeated for credit. This course is intended to complete the student's overview of the development of drama by outlining major themes, ideas, and characteristics of theatre from approximately 1880 to the present day. The development of drama within one particular country, e.g., France, England, Germany, is covered. The country studied varies each term the course is offered. RC Hum. 390. Special Period and Place Drama. (Drama) Hums. 280. (4). (Excl). May be repeated for credit. Covers the development and major characteristics of drama from a particular area or period. The period or place varies each term the course is offered, e.g., the "Irish Dramatic Movement", "Melodrama". RC Hum. 410. Upperclass Literature Seminar. (Comparative Literature) (4). (HU). May be repeated for credit. Varies in content from term to term. In principle the course explores in considerable depth aesthetic and critical problems in comparative literature. This can include the study of particular authors, general themes and motifs in a given period, literary theory, practical criticism, artistic creation. RC Hum. 411. Translation Seminar. (Comparative Literature) Reading proficiency in a foreign language. Upperclass standing. (4). (Excl). This seminar is concerned with the theory and practice of translating literature and with the recognition of the problems involved in the art of translation. RC Hum. 425. Creative Writing Tutorial. (Creative Writing) Permission of instructor. (4; 2 in the half-term). (Excl). Independent programs in supervised writing. RC Hum. 426. Creative Writing Tutorial. (Creative Writing) Permission of instructor. (4; 2 in the half-term). (Excl). Independent programs in supervised writing. RC Hum. 451/Russian 451. Survey of Russian Literature. (Comparative Literature) A knowledge of Russian is not required. No knowledge of Russian literature or history is presupposed. (3). (HU). Russian literature 1820-1870, with emphasis on Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. Lectures, assigned reading, and discussions. RC Hum. 452/Russian 452. Survey of Russian Literature. (Comparative Literature) A knowledge of Russian is not required. (3). (HU). Russian literature from circa 1870 to 1905 with emphasis on Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Leskov, and Chekhov. Lectures, assigned readings, and discussions. RC Hum. 475/Chinese 475/Phil. 475/Asian Studies 475/Hist. of Art 487. The Arts and Letters of China. (Arts and Ideas) (4). (HU). An interdisciplinary introduction to Chinese civilization through the study of significant and representative works from philosophy, art, drama, and literature. Taught jointly by a team of faculty specialists. RC Hum. 476/Chinese 476/Asian Studies 476. Writer and Society in Modern China. (Comparative Literature) No knowledge of Chinese is required. (4). (HU). A course examining the role and self-conception of the writer in relation to the changing historical context of modern China, through the study of works of narrative fiction, criticism, and literary theory. RC Hum. 481. Play Production Seminar. (Drama) (4). (Excl). The course, an upper-level seminar for drama majors, is an intensive study of all the essential activities preparatory to the realization of a single full-length play production. The aim is to engage thoroughly and cooperatively in the preparation of a dramatic text for production, to discover what the chosen text contains and how it realizes its content in its intended medium, the theatre. RC Hum. 482. Drama Interpretation II: Performance Workshop. (Drama) Hums. 280 and either Hums. 282 or playwriting. (4). (CE). A workshop-style class which integrates the studies of playwriting, acting, and directing. Students of each art work with each other's material. The course culminates in an end-of-term production in which directors direct actors in original plays by playwrights. RC Hum. 484. Seminar in Drama Topics. (Drama) Upperclass standing, Hums. 280, and three 300- or 400-level drama courses. (4). (Excl). May be repeated for credit. A course in specialized topics intended for upperclass drama students who have considerable experience in drama study at introductory, major figure and period/place levels. Subject matter varies from term to term and is appropriate to the needs of the students and the special competencies of the instructors. RC Hum. 485. Special Drama Topics. (Drama) Sophomore standing. (1-2). (Excl). May be repeated four times, for a total of four credits. Can be elected more than once in the same term. Special topics in drama. University of Michigan | College of LS&A | Student Academic Affairs | LS&A Bulletin Index | Department Homepage Queried: 5:52 PM EST on Thu, May 4, 2000 This page maintained by LS&A Academic Information and Publications, 1228 Angell Hall Copyright © 2000 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA +1 734 764-1817 Trademarks of the University of Michigan may not be electronically or otherwise altered or separated from this document or used for any non-University purpose.