This seminar is titled “Brazil: Race, Class, and Gender,” and while the objective of the course is to attend to and explore each of these facets of Brazilian life, the structure of the course in fact reveals the difficulty and indeed impracticality of isolating for study any of the above components – race, class, or gender. Although drawing primarily on the work of anthropologists, we will also read from an interdisciplinary sampling of sociology, social history, literature, and poetry produced by both Brazilian and foreign authors.

The course begins with a brief, historical overview of contemporary Brazil, starting with the region’s indigenous populations, European contact, colonization, and early nation building. We will examine the significance of slavery in Brazil, explore the multiple meanings of “racial democracy” as the term relates to notions of Brazilian national identity, and unpack shifting racial ideologies of the 20th Century. The course will be similarly concerned with shifting notions of masculinity and femininity, sexuality, and of course what all of this might mean in a country that is understood by much of the “outside world” as an epicenter of sensuality. Finally, this course looks to the history of social thought concerning race, class, and gender in Brazil to make sense of current social and political unrest.

Contemporary Spanish Literature in Translation (SPAN264) will examine, in English, major Spanish authors, literary periods and artistic trends through narrative, poetic, dramatic and visual filmic cultural artifacts produced from 1936-1940 to the present day while learning about the historical, political and cultural contexts that surround them.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Analyze and formally interpret the assigned texts, visual and filmic artifacts.
Examine and reflect critically upon the cultural values and ideas conveyed by them.
Become familiar with basic cultural, social and political aspects of contemporary Spanish history.
Demonstrate knowledge of the themes, problems and ideas that appear in the texts.
Learn some key concepts, including literary and rhetorical terminology, for the analysis of contemporary literature and cultural production.

This course aims to develop a sociological frame to describe and analyze the nature, function, and causes of “crime” and legal institutions in our society. The class begins with a broad overview of criminology as a field and some of the major classic and contemporary theories. The second part of the course reviews empirical works which illustrate, explore, and/or critique these theories. The final part of the course builds on Part 2 and reviews three recent topics of interest in modern criminology.

At the end of the course, you will be able to:
Describe, discuss, and critique arguments about how our society defines crime, why crime occurs, and how our society reacts to and controls behavior deemed “criminal”
Apply criminological theories to social problems of interest
Understand, critique, and/or apply reform and abolitionist frameworks to current key topics related to the nature and role of our criminal legal system

This course was created as part of the Open Pedagogy Fellowship, through the Mina Rees Library at The Graduate Center, CUNY.
Read more about the process of course design here: Criminology - A Critical and Open Approach
https://gclibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2021/03/19/criminology-a-critical-and-open-approach/

World Theatre I is meant to provide a historical survey of performance practices across the globe covering early theatrical forms until broadly the 15th century and traveling through performance traditions in Africa, Western Europe, Asia, and the Americas. This course provides a historical survey of theatre across the globe, covering early theatrical forms until the 15th Century. Through traditions in Africa, Western Europe, Asia, and the Americas, we will examine a variety of theatre forms and styles, as well as individual plays, playwrights, and designers. We will study theoretical texts on theatre and performance from the periods and locales covered. We will also consider the influences on theatre from different cultural, social, political, and economic contexts, and the manners in which theatre has engaged critically and politically in different societies.

We’ll read scripts, theatre/performance theory, and look at some primary sources. All the materials for the class will be housed on this website, including our syllabus, videos from the series Theater CrashCourse, podcasts on Theatre History @Howlround Commons, Library Research Guides (Tools), and other Open Educational Resources. This site is also a work-in-progress platform for rethinking our class’s contents. It will host thoughts and open-access resources to question, research, and practice performance history. [This site was created as part of the Open Pedagogy Fellowship, hosted by the Mina Rees Library, The Graduate Center, CUNY].

This website was created by Julie Van Peteghem (Hunter College) for the course ITAL 37001 Prose Works of Dante with the support of a CUNY Academic Commons OER Faculty Teaching Fellowship during the Spring 2018 semester. A work-in-progress, the site provides the English translations of Dante’s Vita nuova, De vulgari eloquentia, Convivio, De monarchia, and the letters at zero cost, and other OER materials related to Dante’s works and world, including some created by the ITAL 37001 students. Unless otherwise indicated, the entries are written by Julie Van Peteghem.

The students will familiarize with Dante’s Divine Comedy 1) as a poetic and encyclopedic text that borrows and adapts from ancient texts and from contemporary culture 2) and as a text that, its turn, has influenced our imagination over the centuries.
While learning about the major characters, scenes and literary strategies of the Divine Comedy, the students will engage in discussions, research, writing and peer reviewing. Students will learn to describe a visual artifact in relation to Dante’s text.

With an emphasis on close reading, English 220 is intended to develop in students the analytical and interpretive skills necessary for both written and verbal critical response to literature that is firmly grounded in the text. It also establishes a common knowledge base, however minimal, in literature in English, and it equips students with the vocabulary and techniques for describing and analyzing literary works, with an emphasis on developing critical writing skills specific to literary analysis. In addition, the course develops in students an appreciation and understanding of the aesthetic qualities of literature, as well as an awareness that literature is part of a larger ongoing cultural, social, and historical dialogue that informs, influences, and inspires our experience.

As important, English 220 introduces students to discipline specific academic writing, with an emphasis on thesis driven analytical and interpretive essays, including a substantial research paper. While each academic discipline has its own writing and research requirements, style, and conventions, 220 students will gain an understanding of the basic components of academic writing: thesis creation and development, argumentation, analytical reasoning, evidence, and the engagement of both primary and secondary sources. Students will be able to use the academic writing skills learned in this class across the disciplines, adapting them to the specific field of study they pursue.

Chemistry is a challenging and often abstract science, but as you progress through this course we
hope you will discover that chemistry is also exciting and that many of the key concepts in chemistry
are both important and relevant to life on earth. Throughout this semester we will provide you with
the basic skills and knowledge to think and feel like a chemist. You will learn that chemistry is
exciting!

Chemistry is a challenging and often abstract science, but as you progress through this course we hope you will discover that chemistry is also exciting and that many of the key concepts in chemistry are both important and relevant to life on earth. Throughout this semester we will provide you with the basic skills and knowledge to think and feel like a chemist. You will learn that chemistry is exciting!

This course was created as part of the Open Pedagogy Fellowship, through the Mina Rees Library at The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Read more about the process of course design here: https://gclibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2021/04/29/oer-in-science-catching-up-in-stem/

This class is primarily skills-oriented; here are some of the things you will be able to do by the end of our time together:

Read and write many aspects of Western classical music notation
Analyze and describe music (both written and heard) using vocabulary and concepts of Western classical music theory
Perform rhythms and melodies, both from call & response with a group leader and from reading notation
Specific topics include: pitch, rhythm, meter, major and minor scales, keys and key signatures, intervals, and triads and seventh chords

In addition to the practical aspects of the course, we will also think critically about music by asking the following questions (and more!):

What am I hearing?
Who is playing this and in what context?
How has my understanding of music been shaped by my personal life experiences and in what ways might that understanding differ from people of different times and spaces?
What is music theory and how does it help me?

Warmup, ungraded review exercises. Instructor can collect these after about five minutes and use them to take attendance for the day, as long as students put their name on their submissions. Also meant to review material from the previous class in a low-stakes format. Instructors can save paper by printing out half the number of copies as there are students in the class then cutting the quizlet sheets in half.

Lesson plan for the entirety of Days #2–3, covering the topics of note naming in treble and bass clefs as well as the notation and meaning of accidentals. Both classes begin a with short “attendance ticket” quizzes, which allows students to warm up and review material from last class, and gives the instructor an easy way to take attendance by collecting the worksheets. The bulk of the classes are then spent on the topics for the day: the treble clef and the bass clef in the case of Day #2 and the grand staff and accidentals for Day #3. Includes bullet point notes for explaining each concept as well as practice activities for students.

Lesson plan for the entire first day of class. After the instructor introduces themselves and attendance is taken, an open-ended activity meant to hook student interest in the class and get to know their experiences and personalities takes place centered around the question “what is music?” Following this discussion, the two main topics for the day—the musical staff and the keyboard—are presented by the instructor, punctuated by practice and activities by the students.

Syllabus for online synchronous edition of the introductory music theory course for non-majors.

Variety of question formats (short answer, multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc.) on syllabus content, musical staff, and keyboard. Assigned during the first class session and due during the second class session.

Two assignments geared towards establishing and practicing the basics of keys and key signatures using staff music notation in the tradition of Western Art Music. First assignment focuses on major keys while second focuses on minor keys. Topics include key signatures, transposition, and relative and parallel major and minor keys.

Two homework assignments given in sequence to practice note naming, staff notation, and treble and bass clef in the tradition of Western Art Music. First assignment uses only natural notes (i.e., the white keys of the keyboard) and second assignment adds accidentals (i.e., black keys on the keyboard). Variety of question formats used, including multiple choice, short answer, and skills-based questions on staff notation.

Four homework assignments given in sequence to practice the basics of rhythmic notation and listening in the tradition of Western Art Music. Topics include time signatures, various durations (quarter notes, half notes, etc.), dots, ties, strong and weak beats, barlines, and compound and simple meter. Variety of question types including short answer, multiple choice, skills basic music notation questions, and listening exercises using a course Spotify playlist.

Lessons plans for the entirety of Days #4–7, which introduce concepts and skills related to notating and hearing rhythm and meter in Western Art Music staff notation. Each day begins with a short attendance ticket quiz, an ungraded check-in activity that allows instructors to take attendance for the day by collecting student slips and gives students the opportunity to review material from previous sessions. The bulk of each lesson plan is then devoted to the main topics for the days, which include common rhythm durations, measures, beats, simple vs. compound meter, time signatures, and syncopation. Bullet point notes on how to explain each concept are given as well as activities to students.

Two assignments geared at practice concepts and skills related to scales. First and second assignment are about major and minor scales, respectively. Topics include the patterns of whole and half-steps, scale-degree numbers, solfege syllable, and scale-degree names.