The Denison Seminars for Fall 2017 include “Looking for Richard III,” “The Nature of Numbers,” “African and Diaspora Communities,” and “Shakespeare by the Sword.” Read more about them:
DS 200 “Looking for Richard III”
Fred Porcheddu and Dave Goodwin
MWF 12:30-1:20
We will explore the life, death, and cultural legacy of England’s most notorious malevolent monarch, King Richard III (1452-1485). He was reputedly a ruthless, deformed usurper who murdered members of his family before dying a coward's death at a battle that signaled the end of the Middle Ages. But the discovery of his remains in 2012 prompts us to challenge this narrative using textual, historical, and forensic analyses, as well as through on-site adventures in central England during Fall Break.
DS251 “Big, Small, and Nowhere at all: The Nature of Numbers”
Sam Cowling and May Mei
MW 1:30pm-2:50pm
What kinds of things are numbers? Are they artifacts of human thought like Hamlet or eternal entities that somehow exist outside of spacetime? This course will introduce some of philosophical puzzles within mathematics and some of the remarkable mathematical results that inform philosophy. (No prerequisites, mathematical or otherwise.)
DS 251 “Representations of African and Diaspora Communities: Race, Space, Gender, and Health”
Joanna Grabski and Fareeda Griffith
Tuesday and Thursday 10-11:20am / Bryant Arts Center 305
This course looks at cases in Senegal, South Africa, Haiti, Somalia, New York City, and Columbus and focuses on the multiple, and often intersecting, representations of African and Diaspora communities. Using multiple mediums and experiential learning, we will examine visual constructions and sociological narratives about African and Diaspora communities as they relate to the themes of race, space, gender, and health. We will do experiential learning in NYC (Fall Break) and Columbus Ohio (November TBA).
DS 251 “Shakespeare by the Sword”
Cheryl McFarren and Peter Grandbois
MWF 1:30-2:50.
“Shakespeare by the Sword” engages students in acting, fencing, and stage combat while exploring selected Shakespeare plays. This fall, the class will contrast Shakespeare with Molière, another great man of the theatre whose language scintillates with challenging turns of phrase. A course fee of $500 per student defrays the cost of travel to Stratford, Ontario for a long weekend of play-going at the Stratford Festival in September. Students must have a passport (valid until the end of March, 2018) as of the first day of class.
