300

This interdisciplinary course represents the culmination of the Spartan Studies Program. Through common readings, students explore a selected historical topic or theme. The class examines how historians draw upon the humanities and/or natural sciences, as well as other social sciences, and how historians have analyzed the histories of these disciplinary areas. Students reflect upon their previous coursework in History and in their Spartan Studies courses, and complete a guided project integrating methods from different disciplinary areas. This course is open to students of all majors.

Reading provides us with tools to better understand ourselves and others by shaping a sense of our place in the communities and social networks that we inhabit. By connecting disciplines outside of literary studies and the humanities, students will bring interdisciplinary perspectives that have been emphasized by the Spartan Studies curriculum to our discussions and analyses of literature and will produce and design an interdisciplinary project. Through critical exploration of a selected topic, we will study cultural productions that explore crucial questions and issues in our world. The course is designed for students in any major who have completed all components of the Spartan Studies Core other than the Culminating Experience.