DRAMA 171: The Broadway Musical
The Broadway musical was created predominately by people marginalized from mainstream society. Examine this uniquely American art form through issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, social justice, and equality. Taught by the emeritus artistic director of Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre.
David Armstrong (Drama)
5 credits, DIV, VLPA
POL S 355: The American Presidency
How much do you know about the highest office in the U.S.? Learn about the formal powers of the presidency, how that power has changed over time, the nomination and election process, recurring leadership patterns throughout history, the presidency and civil rights, and more.
Scott Lemieux (Political Science)
5 credits, I&S
DANCE 287: Capoeira
Capoeira was developed in Brazil by enslaved Africans as a martial art disguised as a dance, in rebellion and resilience to the bonds of slavery. Students will learn the technique, history, music, and cultural significance of this formerly outlawed art form, while developing trust and community with classmates.
Silvio Dos Reis (Dance)
2 credits, VLPA
FRENCH 222: Human and Machine Translation
“Hey Google, can you translate that post into Italian?” Learn how machine translation developed and the implications of its use, with an emphasis on the role of humans and the changes to how we approach translation today. This course is pre-approved for the data science minor.
Richard Watts (French)
5 credits, I&S
GEOG 342: Geography of Inequality
Learn about the theoretical underpinnings of social, political, and economic inequality from a geographer’s perspective. Topics include the spatial distribution of wealth and poverty, the geographies of exclusion, and discrimination in paid employment and housing.
Kim England (Geography)
5 credits, DIV, I&S
NEAR E 296 / ANTH 269 / JSIS 478: Music Cultures of the Silk Road
Explore the music cultures of the Silk Road lands of Central Eurasia, China, and the Middle East from anthropological perspectives. You’ll have opportunities to enjoy live music and learn a new musical instrument. (No musical background required.)
Talant Mawkanuli (Near Eastern Languages & Civilization)
5 credits, I&S
More Winter Quarter Courses
AIS 375: American Indian and Indigenous Storytelling
Stories tell us who we are, where we come from, and how to properly relate to the other creatures with whom we share this world. In telling and listening to stories, we build community. Students will learn through listening to a master storyteller, reading stories, and learning to tell their own stories. (Listed in MyPlan as "Special Topics in American Indian and Indigenous Studies.")
Chris Teuton (American Indian Studies)
5 credits, DIV, VLPA
JSIS A 325 / HSTLAC 325 A: Modern Mexico: Culture, Politics and Society
The world’s first social revolution erupted in Mexico in 1910. Learn how this groundbreaking event shaped the country’s history and politics for the rest of the century. We will approach topics of Indigenous politics, migration, and revolution through a variety of sources, from academic texts to popular Mexican films.
Vanessa Freije (International Studies)
5 credits, I&S
LING 234: Language and Diversity
We transfer information through language, but we also deliver key social messages about who we are, where we come from, and who we associate with — sometimes with just a single word. Explore the intersectionality between language, society, diversity, and identity, and the nuances of language contact, spread, variation, and loss.
5 credits, DIV, I&S
CLAS 435: The Ancient Greek and Roman Novel
The earliest prose fiction in the European tradition, these accessible and engaging 2000-year-old novels tell exciting stories of young love and adventure in a cosmopolitan and unpredictable world. Reading and discussing them offers unexpected and intimate perspectives on ancient Greek and Roman experiences of desire, resilience, and religious belief.
Catherine Connors (Classics)
3 credits, VLPA
CMS 320 A / SPAN 335: The Cinema of Barcelona, Inside and Out
Through examination of cinematic representations of Barcelona, we will consider how cinema made this city a site of revolution and crisis — and even a touristic product. We will critique films produced by Catalans, Spaniards, and international "outsiders."
Leigh Mercer (Spanish)
5 credits, VLPA
NEAR E 314 / ARCHY 369: Archaeology of Early Islam
Learn what really happened during and after the Islamic conquests from Arabia to Egypt to Spain. Archaeology can tell us the personal stories that history left out of this important period.
Stephanie Selover (Near Eastern Languages & Civilization)
5 credits, I&S
AFRAM 498: “How Does it Feel to be a Problem?”: A Sociology of Blackness, Violence, and the Body
This course explores the historical underpinnings that have rendered blackness as a problem in need of discipline, and interrogates how social practices construct Black bodies as natural signs of dangerousness.
Oliver Rollins (American Ethnic Studies)
5 credits, I&S
ITAL 262 / C LIT 361: Dante and the Middle Ages
Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy is among the most fascinating and influential masterpieces of Western literature, exploring questions about the nature of evil, the possibility for spiritual improvement, and the experience of true happiness. The course, taught in English, identifies parallels with the modern day.
Beatrice Arduini (Italian)
5 credits, VLPA
POL S 249 / HSTCMP 249 / SOC 266: Introduction to Labor Studies
Why do you have to work for a living? Why do you get paid the wage you do? Why do we connect our value to our job? Explore these and other questions as you learn how labor movements and debates about labor have played an important role in shaping the modern world and today's political landscape.
Jake Grumbach (Political Science)
5 credits, I&S
CHSTU 466 A / SPAN 466A / C LIT 321B: Chicano Literature: Fiction
Examines 19th and early 20th-century fiction, as well as contemporary works in attempts to trace the development of Chicano fiction in the proper historical trajectory. Taught in English.
Lauro Flores (American Ethnic Studies)
5 credits, VLPA
ART 200 A: Artist Mindset
Where do ideas come from? How does the practice of art connect across disciplines? Promotes critical curiosity. Students gain experience evaluating images and developing ideas. Demystifies each individual's capacity to be an imaginative thinker, and dispels myths about what it means to be an artist today.
Whitney Lynn (Art)
5 credits, VLPA
ART 255: Making Meaning; Art and Mathematics as Embodied Practices
What does it mean to make meaning? To make objects that have meaning? We will explore, via projects of making, a continuing dialogue between two seemingly disparate disciplines: art and mathematics.
Timea Tihanyi and Jayadev Athreya (Art)
5 credits, VLPA
More Stories
Democracy by the Numbers
Mathematics and Democracy, an undergraduate mathematics course, explores the role of math in many aspects of democracy, from elections to proportional representation.
Dancing Across Campus
For the dance course "Activating Space," students danced in public spaces across the University of Washington's Seattle campus this spring.
Four Students Shine as 2024 Dean's Medalists
Meet the four new graduates honored as College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Medalists for 2024.