Topics vary

Topics vary

Topics vary

Topics vary

This course offers an overview of the cultural history of Rus from its origins to the eighteenth century, a period which laid the foundation for the Russian Empire. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the evolution of the main cultural paradigms of Russian Orthodoxy viewed in a broader European context. Although this course is historical in content, it is also about modern Russia. The legacy of Medieval Rus is still referenced, often allegorically, in contemporary social and cultural discourse as the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian societies attempt to reconstruct and reinterpret their histories. In this course, students learn that the study of the medieval cultural and political history explains many aspects of modern Russian society, its culture and mentality.

This course is an introduction to major forces that shape urban life in the United States from the eighteenth century to the present, with a focus on Philadelphia. Through weekly assignments and discussions, students will examine the physical formation and historical development of cities and learn to "read" the sociological and geographic organization of the contemporary city. Prominent themes include urban growth, decline, and restructuring; the ecological bases of urban life; race, class, and gender relations in urban space; and the formation and re-formation of neighborhoods, downtowns, and suburbs.