Art History Courses
Film Studies Courses
History Courses
Philosophy and Theory Courses
Religious Studies Courses

Art History Courses

DHM-ARH/1010 - Art History Survey I (Ancient through Medieval)
This is the first part of a general survey in Western Art. The course will touch on all major periods and styles with concrete examples taken from the art collections of the Piedmont and Lombardy regions. 
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/1020 - Art History Survey II (Renaissance through 21st Century)
This is the second part of a general survey in Western Art. The course will touch on all major periods and styles with concrete examples taken from the art collections of the Piedmont and Lombardy regions.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/1030 - History of Photography (W)
A survey of the methods and styles used to produce photographic images from the early days of Daguerreotypes and Calotypes, to the latest forms of digitalized photography. Of particular interest will be the theoretical literature produced in an attempt to define the elusive nature of this type of image. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2100 - Art and Architecture in Ancient Egypt
This course will provide a background of Egyptian civilization and its presence in Mediterranean cultures through archaeological documents and museum collections. This survey will begin with a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Torino, which has One of the most important collections of Egyptian art outside of Cairo. Students will be required to write a formal analysis paper on an object in the Egyptian Museum. Attention will be given to the connections and differences between royal sites and private sites, focusing on archaeological sites in the Delta valleys of Thebes, Abido, the Memphis area and Tanis.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2120 - Introduction to Architectural History
Introduction to Architectural History. A general overview of the development of urban architectural form in cultural context throughout history. The evolution of the architectural discipline is studied within the context of social, cognitive, and technological transformation.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2130 - Architectural History I
Prehistory to Renaissance. Introduces the development of urban and architectural form in a cultural context from the first settlements of Neolithic times to the consolidation of architecture as a discipline in the 1450's.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2140 - Architectural History II
Renaissance to Modern. Introduces the fundamentals of architectural design from the theory and practice of the 1450's to the built and written manifestos of modern times. The evolution of the architectural discipline is situated within the context of social, cognitive and technological transformation.
Prerequisite: DHM-ARH 2130 Architectural History I

DHM-ARH/2150 - Museum Studies
Topics range from the history of art museums, current theories, and methodologies of display to museum administration. In addition to class discussion, students meet with staff members at the various museums in the city of Torino and other institutions to learn the basics of museum operations, including curatorial work, exhibition design, registration, educational and public programming, marketing and public relations, and finance. On- and off- campus museum visits required.
Prerequisite: DHM-ARH/1010 Art History Survey I and DHM-ARH/1020 Art History Survey II

DHM-ARH/2200 - Greek Art and Architecture
Developments in Greek sculpture, vase painting, and architecture are traced from the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces (c. 1200 B.C.E.) to the rise of the Roman Empire (1st and 2nd centuries B.C.E.). Topics include: the impact of Near Eastern civilizations on early Greek culture; the "classical" style's florescence in 5th-century Athens; creation of the Hellenistic world by Alexander the Great. Visits to Torino's Antiquities Museum and on-site presentations will supplement class readings and discussions. Students will be required to write a formal analysis paper on an object in the Antiquities Museum.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2250 - Museum Architecture
This course investigates the relationship between the physical structure of the museum and the objects housed within it. Students will focus both on the different kinds of exhibitions (archaeological, anthropological, scientific, and artistic) as well as on the possible modifications to the architectural structure and spaces in order to meet the exigencies of the particular exhibition. A case-history examination of past exhibitions and their spaces will introduce students to the politics of display adopted by museums and galleries. The goal of this course is to provide students with the critical skills necessary to create the ideal space for various kinds of exhibitions.
Prerequisite: DHM-ARH/2150 Museum Studies

DHM-ARH/2300 - Ancient Roman Art and Architecture
A survey of Roman culture and history through material remains. Sculpture, painting, architecture, and the "minor" arts are examined with respect to aesthetic considerations, stylistic developments, and social significance. Topics include: the influence of Greek visual culture on Rome; the "Romanization" of the empire's far-flung provinces; and the Roman foundations of Christian art and architecture. Visits to Torino's Antiquities Museum and on-site presentations will supplement class readings and discussions. Students will be required to write a formal analysis paper on an object in the Antiquities Museum.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2350 - Exhibition Planning and Design
The course, taught in the manner of a laboratory, will offer students experience in the hypothetical planning of a permanent exhibition. Group projects will encourage the teamwork that is an essential part of the museum environment. Students will choose and assemble objects for display and will also address such practical issues as climate control, lighting and conservation. Particular attention will be given to reconciling the exhibition's curatorial goals with the exigencies of the public. Visits to museums will supplement class discussions and readings.
Prerequisite: DHM-ARH/2250 Museum Architecture

DHM-ARH/2400 - Medieval Art and Architecture
Explores the development of architecture, sculpture, and painting from the fall of Rome to c. the late 13th century.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2500 - Italian Renaissance Art
An examination of painting, sculpture, and architecture produced in Italy from the late 13th century to the 16th century, including Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Piero Della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Bramante, Giorgione and Titian. The regional styles of Florence, Rome and Venice, and Piemonte will be discussed. Visits to the Galleria Sabauda and on-site presentations will supplement class readings and discussions. Students will be required to write a formal analysis on a museum object.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2600 - Italian Baroque Art
Surveys art and architecture from the 1580s to 1700 in Italy. Artists to be considered include the Carracci, Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Guercino, Domenichino, Bernini, Guarini and Poussin. Special attention is given to the social, political, and religious conditions that helped to shape the art of the early modern period. Visits to the Galleria Sabauda and on-site presentations will supplement class readings and discussions. Students will be required to write a formal analysis on a museum object.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2700 - 19th-Century Art
European art from the French Revolution to 1900, with movements in France, Germany, and England receiving particular attention. Major artists studied include David, Gericault, Delacroix, Ingres, Frederich, Constable, Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites, Daumier, Manet, Degas, Monet, and Gauguin. A visit to the Modern Art Gallery in Torino (GAM) will be an integral part of this course. Students will be required to write a formal analysis paper on an object in the museum.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2800 - Introduction to Modern Art: 1900-1945
This class begins with a survey of the revolutionary modern movements of the 20th century (e.g., Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, and Surrealism). In examining the most important objects of art produced between 1900 and 1945, we will focus on style, materials, subject matter, and philosophy. Visits to the Modern Art Gallery (GAM) in Torino and on-site presentations will supplement class readings and discussions.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2850 - Futurism
This course will introduce the time period and works of Futurism, an avant-garde artistic movement that originated in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, which evolved from the idea that the arts should be free from their cultural, historical and artistic heritage and embrace the activism of the new century. Futurism found its expression in almost every genre: painting, sculpture, poetry, theater, music, architecture, photography, cinema and even gastronomy. This course examines the concept of Futurism in an in-depth way by analyzing not only its most important literary experiments, but also its most important paintings and sculptures by famous artists such as Balla, Carrà and Boccioni.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey

DHM-ARH/2900 - Art Since 1945
Introduces the diversity of practices that have dominated the history of art since World War II. Movements include: Abstract Expressionism, postwar European painting, Happenings, Fluxus, Pop art, minimalism, conceptual art, performance art, and postmodernism. While European and North American art are emphasized, Asian and Latin American art are also addressed, particularly in the context of increasing globalization. Visits to the Rivoli Castle and the Re Rebaudengo Foundation to view contemporary art in context will supplement class readings and discussions. Students will be required to write a formal analysis on an object in One of these museums.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-ARH/2950 - Arte Povera and Its Protagonists
Arte Povera is One of the key movements in contemporary art. Since 1967, the term refers to an aesthetics grounded on the mutual relation between nature and culture through the use of humble materials, both natural and industrial. The course is intended to offer a synoptic view of Arte Povera, focussing on its relevance within the history of Italian culture and the international context. Taking advantage of the strong links between Arte Povera artists and the cultural mileu of Turin and the Piedmont region, the course also offer the possibility to directly meet the artists and their works, through a number of studio visits and sessions in several of the major museums and foundations located in the area.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

DHM-ARH/3030 - Dada and the Readymade
This seminar focuses on the inception of the "readymade" and the abandonment of traditional forms of painting in the work of Marcel Duchamp, as well as the later development of readymade practices in the context of New York and Paris Dada. The history of the readymade as an artistic strategy is traced.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3040 - The Body in Art
While ostensibly a theme steeped in naturalism and verisimilitude, the body in art was actually a topic greatly influenced by contexts, hierarchies, and systems. This course investigates the way "natural" bodies have been represented from ancient Egypt until the present day.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3050 - The Portrait in Western Art
Changing conceptions of the production, reception, functions and use of the portrait genre will be discussed from Egypt to the present day. Issues to be considered include likeness and presence, the problematic question of realism, funerary portraiture, and self-portraiture.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3080 - Prints and Drawings
An examination of Two media of great importance for the codification and dissemination of artistic styles. Focus will be on the Early Modern period. Class readings and discussions will be supplemented by visits to the Royal Library in Torino, which has an excellent collection of Early Modern prints and drawings.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3090 - Decorative Arts
This course examines decorative arts and interiors as material culture throughout time. We will begin by examining what constitutes the decorative arts, and how they are distinguished from more codified objects of art-historical inquiry. We will study the ways that objects such as furniture and household goods, which combine both useful and aesthetic principles, reflected the private and public lives of those who owned them. Visit to the Decorative Arts Museum (Museo Accorsi) in Torino will supplement class discussions and readings. Students will be expected to write a paper on an object in the collection.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3120 - Dutch and Flemish Art
Investigates the themes, diverse genres, and major figures in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painting. Artists to be considered include Rembrandt, Rubens and Vermeer. Current problems of interpretation are examined, including the idea that there may have been a specifically northern form of visual thinking.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3130 - Word and Image in Western Art
Examines the relationship between text and image in art from Egypt to the present day. Covering topics as diverse as hieroglyphs, illuminated manuscripts, and the performative pieces of contemporary artists such as Jenny Holzer, whose works have been projected in the squares of Torino, this course will not be framed by chronology but will instead investigate the central themes surrounding written discourse and visual art.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3140 - Theories of Representation
An introduction to the poststructuralist discourses that have inflected and changed the way that art history has been written in the last century. Topics to be considered include constructions of sexuality, gender, and race, the social history of art, deconstruction, phenomenology and psychoanalysis.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3150 - Visual Culture and the Scientific Image
Topics to be considered include documentaries, medical illustrations, and depictions of dissections, as well as the relationship between text and image in these media. Visits to the Royal Library to examine rare books, prints, and drawings first hand, as well as a visit to the Human Anatomy Museum, will supplement class discussions.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3170 - Design History, Theory, and Criticism
Examines the history of design as it relates to the history of technology and industrialization. Covering a variety of design disciplines, including architecture and urban planning, graphic design, fashion, and industrial design, this course focuses less on aesthetics than on the cultural programs and policies that have shaped buildings, objects, and communication systems for more than Two centuries
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3180 - Abstract Expressionism and Abstraction in Modern Art
Focuses on the leading American avant-garde painters who emerged in the 1940s, including Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. The course relates their art to cultural, intellectual, social, and political developments of the period, with special attention to recent revisionist approaches to Abstract Expressionism. We will also investigate the stages involved in the pursuit of abstraction and the nonrepresentational in modern art, with special attention given to the careers of Kandinsky and Mondrian.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3190 - Surrealism
Presents a historical approach to the development of the Surrealist movement, from its inauguration in Paris in the 1920s to its later transformations. The course examines the multiple media in which the Surrealists worked, the contradictory approaches of such figures as André Breton and Georges Bataille, and influence of Surrealism on postwar artistic practices.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3200 - African Art
This survey of art and architecture from the African continent introduces students to objects from prehistoric, ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary periods. Our discussion of the visual arts will be supplemented with considerations of contemporary ritual life, music, and dance. Equal weight will be given to the urban cultures of Ethiopia, Ife, Zimbabwe, and Jenne and works from small-scale societies throughout the continent. Emphasis will be on social contexts, ritual life, and historical processes. Meets non-Western art history requirement.
Prerequisite: Art history major or Permission of Instructor

DHM-ARH/3300 - Pre-Columbian Art
This course is a survey of the arts and architecture of the Americas before European contact in the 16th century. Special emphasis will be given to the religious and social contexts of the arts as well as the identification of regional ethnic styles. Meets non-Western art history requirement.
Prerequisite: Art History Major or Permission of Instructor

DHM-ARH/3400 - Asian Art in Context from Prehistory to the Present
This course familiarizes students with the painting, sculpture, and architecture of China, Japan and India, focusing on periods of transition and stylistic innovation. Particular emphasis will be given to the arts of Asia as reflections of changing religious culture, as well as to the emergence of Asian centers of contemporary art. Meets non-Western art history requirement.
Prerequisite: Art History Major or Permission of Instructor

DHM-ARH/3450 - Museum Education
Introduces the diversity of practices that characterize the writing of museum didactics today. The theoretical component of the seminar will concentrate on the ideas of the fathers of the modern educational system: Steiner, Read, Dewey, Stern, Bruno Munari and Marco Dallari. Lectures will include guests from the educational departments of the Modern Art Gallery in Torino (GAM) and Rivoli Castle.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/3550 - Museum Management
This course provides basic training in the business of museum management. The goals will be as follows: developing the organizational expertise necessary to manage complex projects; offering theoretical and methodological crafts needed to understand the business politics of the museum; and selecting strategies that make all museum activities most competitive. The public relations aspect of museum management will also be explored. To supplement this class, the University will organize internships with museum managers in Torino.
Prerequisite: DHM-ARH/2150 Museum Studies

DHM-ARH/3750 - Restoration: History and Methodology
An historical analysis of the methods, tools and materials used by restorers, as well as a field survey of the restoration of monuments, sculptures, paintings, photographs and film in Torino. Class meetings will be supplemented with hands-on laboratories and visits with object restorers in various museums in Torino.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above

DHM-ARH/4200 - Art and the Market
The practical and often vexed relationship of art to the market will be discussed, with workshops and on-site visits to galleries in Torino and showrooms in Milan, including at Christie's auction house.
Prerequisite: DBE-BUS/2700 Principles of Marketing and 90 credits or Permission of the Instructor.

DHM-ARH/4300 - Studies in Art History
The study of a particular theme (e.g., politics, gender, warfare) or of a particular artist in any given period is used as a springboard to familiarize students with various art historical methodologies. Topics will be proposed that coincide with exhibitions opening in museums in the city of Torino. Students work individually on some aspect of this theme, making class presentations and completing a research paper.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above.

DHM-ARH/4600 - Orientalism and Exoticism in Western Art
Explores reciprocal influences of Western and non-Western art from the Renaissance to the modern period. The class will begin with a reading of Edward Said's seminal book Orientalism to familiarize students with the critical discourse of the "other." Topics include diverse artistic movements such as "Orientalism," "Japonism," and "Primitivism." The class also examines the impact of non-Western art on specific artists, including Delacroix, Manet, Whistler, Picasso, and Pollock.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above and 90 credits.

DHM-ARH/4800 - Pop Art
A survey of One of the most successful art movements in recent history. Both the art and the literature produced in the wake of this movement will be taken into consideration, with particular attention to the work of Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Charles Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. Also their legacy will be assessed in the work of later generations, from Jeff Koons to Gerhad Richter.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above and 90 credits.

DHM-ARH/4990-4991 - Senior Project in Art History
Students use the methodology of art history in an extended project (e.g., a research thesis, an internship at a museum or gallery in Torino, a critical study, or a project based on monuments found within the Piemonte Region).
Prerequisite: 90 credits or Permission of advisor
Credits: 8 credits total (4 credits per semester. It is not possible to receive credit for the first semester until the second is completed).

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Film Studies Courses

DFA-FLS/1010 - Introduction to Film Studies
This course, through a critical study of cinema, outlines basic theoretical concerns in this field. Many important film genres will be discussed, both narrative and non-narrative. This course may include lectures presented by faculty members and will involve a considerable amount of writing.
Prerequisite: None

DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis (W)
The course approaches the art of screen emphasizing the type of skills necessary to produce the proper imagery, character formation, and  narrative structures needed on sets to stage and shoot modern films. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1010 Introduction to Film Studies

DFA-FLS/1050 - History of Cinema I
The course surveys the history of cinema from its early beginnings in 1895 to 1935. Particular emphasis is given to the progressive development of narrative techniques, from the Lumiere brothers sound passing through Griffith, German Expressionism, American silent features, Soviet theories of montage. This course also includes visits to the archives of the Museum of Cinema in Torino.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/1100 - History of Cinema II
The course surveys the history of cinema from its early beginnings in 1895 to 1935. Particular emphasis is given to the progressive development of narrative techniques, from the Lumiere brothers sound passing through Griffith, German Expressionism, American silent features, Soviet theories of montage. This course also includes visits to the archives of the Museum of Cinema in Torino. The course surveys the history of cinema from its early beginnings in 1895 to the present. It starts with Renoir and Welles in the 1930s and 1940s and follows evolution of narrative films to the present. The course also approaches Italian Neorealism, French New Wave cinema, and more recent experimental productions bordering with contemporary art.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1050 History of Cinema I

DFA-FLS/2050 - Modern US History through Film
This course deals with aspects of U.S. history in the twentieth century with regard to the public released feature motion pictures. Often there is much to be learned about the relationship between the culture and society and its use of visual media such as motion pictures, television and photography. In fact, students come in contact with images of history through visual media on an almost daily basis. With this in mind, it is essential for the student to think critically about visual media. This course will show ten motion pictures to display ten different aspects of American culture. These films will be discussed and analyzed in terms of plots and the historical assumptions that provided the intellectual underpinning of the movies. Papers will be written based on students' abilities to comprehend these matters.
Prerequisite: None

DFA-FLS/2100 - The History of Italian Cinema
This course covers the history of Italian cinema from its beginnings to the present time. Students will study works from the period just after the Second World War and will examine important contemporary works made by some of the most important directors today. During the course, students will watch and discuss films that are characteristic of the different periods from the birth of the film industry (1903-1915), to the year 2000.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/2150 - Recent Italian Cinema
This course will introduce the students to the important Italian film-makers of today, and will give them a good understanding of present-day Italian cinema and its recurrent preoccupations. It will discuss the critical and commercial reception Tornatore's "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" and Benigni's "La Vita è Bella". No prior knowledge of Italian is required as all films include subtitles.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/2100 The History of Italian Cinema

DFA-FLS/2200 - Film and Fiction (W)
This course will comparatively examine six novels which have been made into films. Through class lectures and discussions students will learn about the following subjects: various fictional techniques and themes, the rendering of these themes and techniques in literature and film, and the application of those themes in literature and cinema in contemporary culture. (Designated Writing Intensive Course).
Perquisite: DFA-FLS/1030 Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/2300 - History of French Cinema
This course will examine the evolution of modern French culture and its relationship to cinema. Students will discuss the early influence that literature and theater have had on cinema and will learn about its subsequent detachment and independence as an art form. No prior knowledge of French is required, as all films include subtitles.
Prerequisite: None

DFA-FLS/2400 - History of American Cinema
This course analyzes the evolution of American cinema from its origins in 1895 to the present. It will discuss the development and expansion of narrative cinema and the classical Hollywood studio system.
Prerequisite: None

DFA-FLS/2500 - Non-Western Film (G)
This course will discuss selected non-Western film and may include One or all of the following countries: Japan, India, Korea and/or China. Students will learn about important directors and significant works as well as the social and political impact of film in its respective country. Students will also compare and contract Western and non-Western film.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/2600 - Eastern European Film (G)
This course surveys the most significant exponents of Eastern European cinema from the 1940's to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Important national and international directors such as Polanski, Chytilová, Szabó, Forman, Makavejev, and many others will be discussed along with their works. Emphasis will be placed on themes such as: nationalism and socialism in Eastern European cinema, cinema as propaganda and the rise of cinematic traditions in Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity Course)
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/3010 - Recent International Cinema (G)
This course will allow students to become familiar with current directors, themes and other aspects of international cinema. The viewing of specific films in class and various reading and writing assignments will be included. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity Course)
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/3020 - Major Film Directors
This course will introduce students to a variety of major film directors and analyze a vast selection of significant exponents of international cinema. Directors discussed may include Fellini, Buñuel, Hitchcock, Bergman, Eisenstein, Welles, Altman, and Kurosawa.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/3100 - Cinema and Neorealism
This course will examine the Neorealism movement in Italian cinema, which developed between 1943 and 1952. Students will study the works of directors Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica and screenplay writer Cesare Zavattini. Neorealist cinema, characterized by stories involving the poor and working classes and long, outdoor shots, often made use of amateur actors for the secondary roles and, occasionally, for the main roles. Students will better understand the Italian post-war reality through these films; a reality which takes into consideration the moral and economic situation during those years, as well as the change in feelings and life conditions: frustration, poverty and desperation.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/2100 - The History of Italian Cinema

DFA-FLS/3200 - Environmental Documentary Film
This course analyzes the relationship between cinema and the environment with specific reference to environmental issues in films and presentations of the natural world. Through the use of Erocriticism, we will discuss how film has responded to and portrayed environmentalism and nature. Through the combination of Ecocriticism and Film Studies, we will see how cinema both educates and illustrates the state of environmentalism in society. We will look at how Hollywood portrays nature, environmentalism and environmental problems, and we will strive to see how America is dealing with "environmental problems" today.
Perquisite: DFA-PHC/2200 - Scientific Imaging

DFA-FLS/3230 - Classical Literature into Film
How is a text adapted for cinema, and what are the questions underlying these semiological, ideological, or technical choices? Students will read the literature and view the films.
Prerequisite: MLL-ENG/1020 - English Composition II or permission of instructor

DFA-FLS/3300 - Women and Film (G, W)
This course examines the gender of film and the filming of gender. We will discuss the various ways in which cinema deals with the important themes of masculinity and femininity. In addition, the works of women directors such as Dorothy Arzner, Maya Deren, Monika Treut, and Julie Dash will be discussed. This course, though having the aim of focusing on women film makers, will also discuss the general representation of women in films. Students must have a strong and clear writing ability. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity and Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis

DFA-FLS/3500 - The Business of Film
This course will introduce the students to the fundamental role that business planning plays in film production and film distribution. Focus will be placed on methods of preparing a business plan, casting, pitching a project, fundraising, financing equipment and many other relevant issues. Students will learn how to approach a financial budget and understand how to wisely use money to invest in a film. Emphasis will also be placed on risk and the allocation of revenues.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis or permission of the instructor.

DFA-FLS/4100 - Special Topics: Selected Directors
This course will discuss in detail One or more important historical or contemporary film directors and their films. Directors may include Alfred Hitchock, Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick, and/or Orson Welles. The selection of directors may vary from year to year.
Prerequisite: 90 credits or permission of the instructor.

DFA-FLS/4200 - Special Topics: Selected Film Genres
This course will examine and discuss One or more selected film genres. Genres to be discussed may include the Hollywood Musical, Westerns, Gangster Film, Animated Film, and/or Melodrama. The specific genre addressed in this course may vary from semester to semester.
Prerequisite: DFA-FLS/1030 - Introduction to Screen Analysis or permission of the instructor.

DFA-FLS/4300 - European Film Festivals
This course compares and contrasts various European Film Festivals such as those held in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Madrid and Locarno. Students will be required to participate in some capacity in the Torino Film Festival applying their critical skills and knowledge gained about film towards papers, discussions and/or projects.
Prerequisite: Senior Standing or permission of instructor

DFA-FLS/4990-4991 - Senior Project
This involves a Two-semester study towards the senior thesis and may take many different forms: it may be either a group project with the goal of pursuing an identifiable problem along with a faculty sponsor or may involve choosing a topic from the literature for critical review. Students who are not represented by a faculty member may look for research project supervisors from another field of study or institution which, however, must be approved by an SJIU faculty member.
Prerequisite: 90 credits
Credits: 8 credits total (4 credits per semester. It is not possible to receive credit for the first semester until the second is completed).

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History Courses

DHM-HIS/1010 - Introduction to Western Civilization I
From Prehistory to the Renaissance. The course is designed to offer the broadest outline of the division into different eras that historians have used to organize and narrate the more ancient phases of th history Western Civilization. Primary as well as secondary source material will be used to acquaint students with the difficult task of assessing the past. 
Prerequisite: None

DHM-HIS/1020 - Introduction to Western Civilization II
From the Reformation to the Present. The course is designed to offer the broadest outline of the division into different eras that historians have used to organize and narrate the more modern phases of the history of Western Civilization. Primary as well as secondary source material will be used to acquaint students with the difficult task of assessing the past.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-HIS/1025 - Europe in a Trans-Atlantic Perspective, from the Age of Discovery to the Present (G)
The course takes the whole Atlantic quadrant as a unit of space in approaching European, American, and African history. The rationale behind this approach is that important aspects of their history is go unnoticed when each area is approached in isolation. Its goal is to foster a dynamic rather than static understanding of cultural diversity across time and space. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity Course).
Prerequisite: None

DHM-HIS/1030 - The History of the European Union (W)
The European Union is of growing importance as a supranational level of government. The politics of this institution cannot be understood, however, without familiarity with the broader background of the individual European entities and their increased interdependence. This course will discuss: the birth of the European Union as a supranational political entity, its economic, political, social and cultural context within European history and the balance between a shared European heritage on One side and each country's differences and national rivalry on the other. The course will finish with a discussion concerning social and democratic successes and failures in the European Union as well as the possibility of new developments. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: None

DHM-HIS/1240 - History of the United States I
The course takes at its object the history of North America from the foundation of Jamestown to the end of American Civil War, 1607-1865. Particular emphasis will be give to the Colonial, Revolutionary, Early National, National, and Antebellum periods in US history. The course will make abundant use of primary as well as secondary source material.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-HIS/1250 - History of the United States II
The course takes at its object the history of the United States from the end of the American Civil War to the present. Particular emphasis will be give to the Reconstruction Era, the 'New West' and the 'New South,' to the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, the World Wars, and the Cold War. The course will make abundant use of primary as well as secondary source material.
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS 1240 - History of the United States I

DHM-HIS/1260 - U.S. Intellectual History, A Survey
The course offers a survey of American public discourse from the Puritan Era to our days. Based on the Capper-Hollinger reader, the course is to familiarize students with some of the fundamental texts in the tradition, as well as with the best secondary literature of the field.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

DHM-HIS/1270 - American Environmental Thinking, A Survey
The course is designed to survey the long American engagement with the theme of the environment, from the Puritan conception of Nature to the Park Movement and beyond. Particular emphasis will be put on the way the theme was modulated and re-modulated through history.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

DHM-HIS/2310 - History of Ancient Rome (W)
The course surveys the history of ancient Rome. Important themes will be: the establishment, conflicts and expansion made during the Republican period, the cultural revolution of the Augustan "Principate" and the rise and decline of the Roman Empire. Readings (in translation) of famous writers such as Cicero, Polybius, Virgil, Livy, Suetonius, Marcus Aurelius and Tacitus will be examined and studied along with significant works of Roman art and Architecture. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS/1010 - Introduction to Western Civilization I.

DHM-HIS/2320 - History of Ancient Egypt (W)
The course takes into account the culture and history of Ancient Egypt from the old kingdom to the new kingdom. This course will examine the disciplines and methods used in the study of ancient culture and will include a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Torino. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS/1010 - Introduction to Western Civilization I

DHM-HIS/2330 - Renaissance and Reformation Europe (W)
This course is designed to explore the origins of modern Europe from the beginning of the Renaissance to the Protestant Reformation and the age of religious wars. Both primary-source readings and secondary historical scholarship will be used. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS/1025 - European History in A Trans-Atlantic Perspective

DHM-HIS/2340 - The European Age of Nationalism
This course discusses the basic events and developments in Europe between the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War. The aim of the course is primarily that of introducing political history, but attention will also be given to specific the social, cultural, and scientific developments of the times.
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS/1025 - European History in A Trans-Atlantic Perspective

DHM-HIS/2350 - The European Age of Imperialism
The course discusses the main themes in European history starting from the Imperial rivalry in the late 19th century, to the First World War, to the age of totalitarianism, and finishes with the events of World War II.
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS/1025 - European History in A Trans-Atlantic Perspective

DHM-HIS/2360 - Europe Since 1945
This course is structured in a way which combines traditional historical studies with other elements of political science and economics. It is a course which follows a chronological path, though some themes, such as the role played by Western Europe in the cold war, and the emergence of the European Union will be dealt in theoretical perspective.
Prerequisite: DHM-HIS/1025 - European History in A Trans-Atlantic Perspective

DHM-HIS/3200 - Italy from the Risorgimento to the First World War (1815-1918)
This course explores Italian history from the Congress of Vienna to the eve of the First World War. Emphasis will be placed on the emergence of modern nationalism and liberalism, the construction of the new kingdom, the crisis at the end of the century and the age of Giolitti. The principal focus of this course will be on political structures, but with attention to topics such as Italian economy and society, culture and ideas.
Prerequisite: Lower level History Survey course

DHM-HIS/3300 - Italy from Mussolini to the Crisis of the First Republic (1918 to present)
This course surveys the phenomenon of fascism from its origins to the crisis of the first Italian republic in the early 1990's. Specific attention will be placed on the emergence and nature of fascism, the breakdown of the Liberal system, Mussolini's "new state", as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the post-war democratic republic which followed fascism.
Prerequisite: Lower level History Survey course

DHM-HIS/3400 - Modern China (G)
We will examine the course of history that China has taken, the major factors which have contributed to this course, and the system of values which operates in China today. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity Course)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

DHM-HIS/3500 - Russia: Revolution, State, and Empire (G)
This course outlines the struggle that Russia and the people of other former Soviet republics are engaged in to interpret and understand their recent history: the visions for which it was founded, the victories and losses that altered these visions and its final collapse. In 1991, in fact, ex-Soviet Union found itself to be only the latest in a series of revolutions and upheavals that occurred in the course of the 20th century. Emphasis will be placed on: the shift from absolute monarchy to dictatorship under Stalin, the changes made from Khrushchev to Gorbachev and the economic changes that made the Soviet economy second in the world. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity Course)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

DHM-HIS/3600 - Studies in United States History: the Environmental History of Urban America
This course focuses on American cities with strikingly diverse geographic and ecological settings, and whose settlement and development occurred at different rates and times. The various themes analyzed will be: the effect of environmental transformation on the world, the tension between growth and environmental sustainability, and cultural construction and contingency.
Prerequisite: Lower level History Survey or Permission of instructor

DHM-HIS/3900 - Independent Study: Special Topics in History
Independent and directed readings on a chosen topic for history students. Students should make arrangements with an appropriate faculty member.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

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Philosophy and Theory Courses

DHM-PHI/1010 - Introduction to Philosophy
The course is intended to introduce students to philosophical questions, to make them aware of how some of history's greatest philosophers have approached those questions and what they have had to say about them. Students will also articulate philosophical concerns of their own and, most importantly, learn how to address them. Among the areas of philosophy will explore this semester are ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics and theory of knowledge.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-PHI/2050 - Philosophy and Film Theory
This course explores the many ways in which philosophy and film can form a productive relationship. The courses begin by looking at recent 'high-concept' cinema as a tool for teaching philosophical topics such as time, personal identity, freedom, reality and appearance, good and evil. The films chosen will be mostly contemporary, such as The Matrix, Memento, Total Recall, AI, Crimes and Misdemeanours, Vanilla Sky or Gattaca. This leads to an examinations of recent philosophical theories of film, and concludes by asking how film-art can make us think through its narrative, visual, and auditory structure: in other words, can film philosophize?
Prerequisite: None

DHM-PHI/2100, DSE-ENV/2100 - Environmental Ethics
This is an attempt to consider the value of environmental policies through the study of the major traditions in moral philosophy. It will raise questions about mankind's relationship with nature, animals' rights and our obligations to future generations in regards to the environment. It will also discuss the importance of the social and political institutions that affect it.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-PHI/3200 - Modern Social Philosophy
An examination of principal modes of 20th century moral philosophy and its possible applications. Attention will be paid especially to writings about political ethics, bioethics, violence and war, family, global food supply, but not to the exclusion of other topics.
Prerequisite: Lower Level Philosophy course

DHM-PHI/3500 - Aesthetics
Introduction to problems in the philosophy of art, including the nature of art and beauty, the function of art, the objectivity of aesthetic evaluation and politics and the arts.
Prerequisite: Lower Level Philosophy course

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Religious Studies Courses

DHM-REL/2100 - The Religions of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
This course explores the religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam through the discussion, reading and interpretation of religious texts (New Testament, Hebrew Bible and Koran). The institutions and practices of each religion will then be discussed. The course begins with the study of Abraham and studies the links between the notions of faith and sacrifice that Abraham embodied on the One hand, and the Three above-mentioned religions, on the other.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-REL/2200 - Ritual and Myth
An investigation into ritualistic practices and mythic traditions across the world and at various points in history. We will look at the patterns, figures, and symbolic relations that have been both overlapping and diverse among different lands.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-REL/2300 - The History of Christianity and its Culture
This course is a survey of the historical events, ideas, and figures ranging from the birth of Christianity to the Counter Reformation. It includes a visit to the Duomo of Torino, in which the Holy Shroud is held. With significant Italian cultural sources at hand, students will be able to appreciate significant cultural manifestations of Christianity as they learn of its history.
Prerequisite: None

DHM-REL/2400 - Religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism (G)
This course discusses the basic ideas, written works and practices of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and Hinduism through primary sources and secondary literature. Students will gain familiarity with the problems inherent to comparative religion and compare these Asian beliefs with Western faith-based definitions of what is and what is not religion. The course begins with the concept of Orientalism and finishes with the analysis of New Age religions and the political implications they have. (Designated Global Perspectives/Diversity Course)
Prerequisite: None

DHM-REL/2500 - DHM-ICL/2500 - Medieval Italian Literature in Translation: Dante's Divine Comedy
This course focuses on Dante's visionary poem The Divine Comedy, examining the social, cultural, political, and moral concerns that shape this work, considered One of the great monuments of world literature. We will read selected "cantos" in English translation and follow Dante's journey: his descent into the "Inferno", home of all human depravity, his meeting of the redeemed souls in the "Purgatorio", and finally his ascent to the mystical realm of the blessed, the "Paradiso".
Prerequisite: None

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