CHID 250 A: Special Topics: Introduction to the History of Ideas

"UTOPIAS GONE AWRY: CONFLICT AND PARADISE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION" (VLPA) THIS COURSE INTRODUCES STUDENTS TO THE HISTORY AND POLITICAL DYNAMICS OF THE BLACK SEA REGION THROUGH CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE, ART, FILM, MUSIC AND FOOD. WE WILL LOOK AT THE MULTICULTURAL MAKEUP OF THE COUNTRIES SURROUNDING THE BLACK SEA - BULGARIA, ROMANIA, UKRAINE, RUSSIA, GEORGIA, AND TURKEY - AND INVESTIGATE WHY CONFLICTS PERSIST IN THIS BORDER AREA BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, EUROPE AND ASIA. IDENTIFYING PATTERNS OF TURBULENCE, GENDER POLITICS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, WE WILL ALSO EXPLORE POSITIVE CULTURAL CONTINUITIES IN THE REGION. IN THIS SEMINAR STYLE COURSE, STUDENTS WILL CONTRIBUTE THROUGH REPORTS, DISCUSSIONS, AND CREATIVE PROJECTS.