Category Archives: Cultures and Contexts

Cultural (Mis)translations: China and the West (GCHN-SHU 225)

What happens when one major human civilization that originates from one end of the earth comes to meet with another that thrives on the other? Will they prove themselves capable of a fruitful engagement that leads to peace and friendship based on mutual respect and understanding rather than distrust or even mutual destruction? What is the role of language in this cross-cultural encounter? This course aims to explore one such encounter, a truly unusual case in terms of its scale and splendor, namely that between China and the West in the modern period broadly defined. Surely we will not ignore the problems–political, ideological, as well as technical–that arise in this interactive process, but our focus will be on the sunny side of that encounter, on the example of those who embrace and embody through their creative and intellectual work the ideal of a harmonious though culturally diverse world. Prerequisite: None Fulfillment: CORE HPC/IPC; GCS Chinese Media, Arts, and Literature.

Global China Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

GCHN-SHU 225-000 (22037)
02/03/2025 – 05/16/2025 Wed
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Chen, Lin

Cultures and Contexts, Societies & the Social Sciences, Undergraduate

Good Death: China and Comparative Perspectives (GCHN-SHU 177)

What makes a “good death”? How do people imagine, interpret, and describe the processes of dying? How do individuals respond to, live through, and move beyond the death of others? How do beliefs, customs, material cultures, and social structures co-constitute the lived realities of death? Drawing on insights from medical anthropology, anthropology of religion, and anthropology of ethics, this course explores diverse perspectives on the “good death”. With a primary ethnographic focus on China, using an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, we will investigate: 1) the sociocultural constructions of death, 2) the processes of aging and dying, 3) the practices of end-of-life care, 4) debates about voluntary death, 5) how the living deal with the deceased, and 6) how people live with irrevocable losses. Prerequisite: GPS Fulfillment: CORE SSPC/IPC; GCS Major Elective: Chinese History, Society, and Culture.

Global China Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

GCHN-SHU 177-000 (21415)
02/03/2025 – 05/16/2025 Mon,Wed
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Zhang, Liangliang

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Geographies of China (GCHN-SHU 250)

Our goal is to map China. But rather than making maps through calculations or grids, we will be mapping China conceptually and theoretically. This is to say that in studying China’s regions, physical geography, political territories, cities, counties, and people, our goal is to develop skills for thinking about China spatially. With thousands of years of recorded history and a political system oriented to progress and national development, China is often imagined in terms of linear time. However, from ancient walled cities to the Mao-era work-unit system to the more recent migrations of rural labor, understanding how political, commercial, and social spaces are organized is essential for understanding China’s past and present. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: CORE SSPC or IPC; GCS elective The Politics, Economy, and Environment of China; Social Science Focus Environmental Studies 200 level; Humanities Interdisciplinary or other Advanced course ( 18-19: Critical Concepts or Topic).

Global China Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

GCHN-SHU 250-000 (21419)
02/03/2025 – 05/16/2025 Tue,Thu
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Morning)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Klingberg, Travis

Cultures and Contexts, Societies & the Social Sciences, Undergraduate

Psychology and Modernity in China (GCHN-SHU 216)

In this course, we will see how people in China have used psychology to build a modern nation and promote modern values. Beginning in the early 20th century, we will encounter missionaries trying to replace superstition with science, reformers challenging gender relationships, and intellectuals who critiqued the Chinese character. As we move through the century, we will trace how various people have applied psychological techniques for very different purposes: creating healthy citizens for a new state, instilling a revolutionary spirit, managing corporate employees, and raising exemplary children. During the semester, each student will conduct textual and/or ethnographic research about an aspect of psychological expertise or mental health in contemporary China. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: CORE STS; GCS Elective: Chinese History, Society, and Culture; Social Science Focus Anthropology 200 level.

Global China Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

GCHN-SHU 216-000 (21413)
02/03/2025 – 05/16/2025 Mon,Wed
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Hampel, Amir

Cultures and Contexts, Societies & the Social Sciences, Undergraduate

Medicine in China (GCHN-SHU 277)

How did people in ancient and modern China understand health and treat illness? Historically and now, has “Chinese medicine” been an insular or open system? What can health perceptions and healing practices tell us about historical changes in China and its changing relationship with the world? Drawing on insights from the history of medicine and medical anthropology, this course explores health and healing in China through five chronologically organized units and one diachronically comparative unit. We will consider the cosmological, philosophical, and sociological factors that shape different visions of health. We will examine how local and global political processes affect healing practices and their perceived legitimacy and investigate what illness and remedy-seeking experiences reveal about the wider contexts in which medical activities take place. Prerequisite: CCSF-SHU 101L GPS

Global China Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

GCHN-SHU 277-000 (21416)
02/03/2025 – 05/16/2025 Tue,Thu
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Zhang, Liangliang

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Environmental History of Migration in Europe and the Americas (HIST-UA 9186)

This four credit course explores how the dynamics of migration have shaped identity and citizenship. By providing students with a range of theoretical approaches, the course will address questions of migration, national identity and belonging from a multidisciplinary perspective drawing from (amongst other fields): Sociology, History, Geo-Politics, Gender Studies, Black European Studies, and Cultural Studies. Taking the so called “refugee crisis” as a starting point, the course will pay particular attention to the figure and representation of the “migrant” going from Italian mass migration in the late 19th century to the migrants crossing every day the waters of the Mediterranean in order to reach Fortress Europe. Yet, a course on migration processes undertaken in 2017 Italy cannot limit itself to a purely theoretical framework. Migration means movements of people bringing along personal histories, families and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore the presence of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers reaching Europe is having a significant impact on the current social and political agenda of European government, as in the case of Italy. Therefore the course will include a series of fieldtrips aimed at showing students how immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers insert themselves into the labor market and society in Italy.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Migration and Cultural Diversity in Spain: Anthropological Approaches (in English) (SPAN-UA 9475)

Migration and Cultural Diversity in Spain analyzes current migratory flows and their implications, one of the key topics in Spain and the European Union today. This course explores anthropological approaches to developing theoretical and analytical frameworks for understanding the diversity and complexity of migrations and their effects on society and culture. Taught in English.

Spanish (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2024)

SPAN-UA 9475-000 (21153)
at NYU Madrid (Global)
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Berlin: Capital of Modernity (IDSEM-UG 9104)

Some of the most thrilling, momentous, and terrible events of the 1900s occurred in Berlin, which present tales of warning and inspiration to the present century. This four-week interdisciplinary seminar tracks these major events and traces change through the study of primary materials (literature, film, art, buildings, music, political discourse) and secondary readings drawn from a range of disciplines including history, sociology, philosophy, and critical theory. Berlin’s streets, buildings, memorials, and cultural monuments offer cautionary tales about the folly of nationalist ambition; inspiring sagas of intellectual and physical courage; cold testimonials of crime and retribution; lyrical ballads of brutal honesty; personal records of hope and despair. From one perspective, all of these narratives are episodes in an epic whose grand and central scene is World War II; this is the point of view to be adopted in this course. Students will take in many of the sights and sounds of old and contemporary Berlin but will focus on the involvement of twentieth-century, Berlin-based politicians, activists, artists, architects, bohemians, writers, and intellectuals with the causes, experience, and consequences of World War II. Our period of study begins just before the outbreak of World War I and ends during the astonishing building boom of the post-Wall 1990s and early 2000s.

Interdisciplinary Seminars (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 6 Weeks

Sections (Summer 2024)

IDSEM-UG 9104-000 (3987)
at NYU Berlin (Global)
Instructed by Hornick, Karen · Smoler, Fredric

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Global Culture Wars (HSED-UE 1033)

This course will examine the origins, development, and meanings of so-called cultural conflict in the United States. Topics will include abortion, gay rights, bilingualism, and the teaching of evolution in public schools. Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Cultures & Contexts

History of Education (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HSED-UE 1033-000 (17263)
01/21/2025 – 05/06/2025 Tue,Thu
11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Cultures & Contexts: Topics (CORE-UA 500)

For course description, please consult the College Core Curriculum website: http://core.cas.nyu.edu

College Core Curriculum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

CORE-UA 500-000 (10506)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue,Thu
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Igsiz, Asli

CORE-UA 500-000 (10507)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10508)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10509)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10510)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10511)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Mon,Wed
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Juette, Daniel

CORE-UA 500-000 (10512)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10513)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10514)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu
11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10515)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10516)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10517)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10518)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Mon,Wed
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Bottex-Ferragne, Ariane

CORE-UA 500-000 (10519)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10520)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10521)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue
11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10522)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10523)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue,Thu
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Stark, Soren

CORE-UA 500-000 (10524)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Zhou, Jingyi

CORE-UA 500-000 (10525)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Zhou, Jingyi

CORE-UA 500-000 (10526)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Fiorio, Soraya

CORE-UA 500-000 (10527)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Fiorio, Soraya

CORE-UA 500-000 (10528)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Cordivari, Braden

CORE-UA 500-000 (10529)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Cordivari, Braden

CORE-UA 500-000 (10530)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10531)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Cultures & Contexts: Multiculturalism in France (CORE-UA 9547)

With an important history of immigration, France has long been a site of cultural contact and exchange. This course considers the country’s multicultural make-up and the ideologies, institutions, conflicts, and paradoxes that shape how that diversity has taken form through time. Conflicts and controversies of the past 40 years, which include the rise of the extreme right, the problem of the disadvantaged suburbs, the question of Islamic headscarves, and more, have in particular pushed these questions to the front of the country’s domestic agenda. Looking historically and across several case studies, we ask as well as what the French example can add to our understanding of culture, diversity, and race. Conducted in English.

College Core Curriculum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

CORE-UA 9547-000 (6345)
at NYU Paris (Global)
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Youth in the Middle East (ACS-UH 2613X)

Roughly one third of the Middle East population today is between 15 and 29 years old – a demographic “bulge” which has brought Middle Eastern youths at the forefront of media and government concerns both at the regional and global scale. But from the figure of the young jihadist to that of the Arab spring revolutionary, dominant perceptions of these youths often fall into highly polarized archetypes. Moving the focus away from politics and religion, this course explores the everyday worlds of Middle Eastern youths and the complex interactions – with institutions, peers and family members – which characterize their daily lives. By analyzing multiple youth cultures divided along the lines of gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, or social class, students will address the diversity of Middle Eastern youths and question the universality of age categories. A large space will also be devoted to the voices of Middle Eastern youths themselves, from Egyptian literature and Emirati cinema to Moroccan hip-hop. These cultural productions will allow students to look at the way Arab youths use globalized artistic genres to address regional issues and express their fears, hopes and desires.

Arab Crossroads Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

ACS-UH 2613X-000 (4460)
01/21/2025 – 05/09/2025 Tue,Thu
12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Abu Dhabi
Instructed by Assaf, Laure

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Texts and Ideas, Undergraduate

Religions of India (RELST-UA 337)

Investigates religious developments in India within their historical context. Familiarizes students with the religions of the subcontinent—including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, and Judaism—through secondary source readings and English translations of primary source materials. Rather than survey religious traditions as closed systems divorced from time or place, students grapple with the central theories and historiographical challenges pertaining to religion in India, especially those that impact our ability to understand everyday religious experience, both past and present.

Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

RELST-UA 337-000 (23005)
09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Introduction to Food History (FOOD-UE 1210)

Examination of food from historical and transnational perspectives. Topics considered are: the origins of agriculture, the phenomenon of famine, the co-evolution of world cuisines and civilizations, the international exchange and spread of foods and food technologies following 1492, issues of hunger and thirst, and the effects of the emergent global economy on food production, diets, and health. Liberal Arts Core/MAP Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Cultures and Contexts

Food Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

FOOD-UE 1210-000 (17333)
01/21/2025 – 05/06/2025 Tue,Thu
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Berg, Jennifer

Cultures and Contexts, Texts and Ideas, Undergraduate

Readings in Chinese Philosophy and Culture (EAST-UA 722)

Basic introduction to the writings of Confucius, his adversaries, and his successors, followed by a reading of several novels regarded as national classics.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Art and Architecture of the Islamic World (ARTH-UH 1810X)

A broad survey, we will consider works of architecture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and the arts of the book. Given the span of centuries embraced by the term ’Islamic art’ – from the 7th century up to the present day – and the expanse of geography – from Spain to China and beyond – this course cannot be a complete survey within the constraints of a single semester. Instead, this course will present a select group of materials within a chronological and dynastic framework, with an emphasis on specific case studies. These selections will highlight important internal developments as well as ’points of contact’ between cultural entities. This approach – at once global and local – speaks to the dynamic and fluid qualities of many of the arts produced in the regions under scrutiny.

Art History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2021)

ARTH-UH 1810X-000 (18559)
01/17/2021 – 05/03/2021 Tue,Thu
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Abu Dhabi
Instructed by Teece, Denise

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

France and Islam (FREN-UA 9806)

Islam is the second most important religion in France (after Roman Catholicism) and France has the highest Muslim population in Europe. Complex events from the mid-20th century forward have led to continuous heated debate and controversy about the place of Muslim citizens within the secular Republic. France’s interwoven history with Islam dates back, however, to the first Umayyad conquests of the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century and then to the period of the Crusades. Through the use of primary sources, literary and filmic texts, and critical readings (notably in history, sociology and cultural studies), this course traces the complexity and heterogeneity of French perceptions of Islam within a broad historical perspective beginning with these early encounters and continuing up to the present day.

French (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

FREN-UA 9806-000 (2402)
01/20/2025 – 04/29/2025 Wed
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU Paris (Global)
Instructed by Champion, Renee

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Varieties of Mystical Experience (HBRJD-UA 240)

Hebrew & Judaic Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 2 Weeks

Sections (January 2023)

HBRJD-UA 240-000 (1107)
01/03/2023 – 01/20/2023 Mon,Wed,Thu
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Russ-Fishbane, Elisha

Cultures and Contexts, Societies & the Social Sciences, Undergraduate

Hist of Nationalism in Cent & Eastern Europe (HIST-UA 9176)

The goal of this course is to introduce the students into nationalism studies and into a plethora of historical and present roots of national identities and manifestations of nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. The course will examine how selected aspects of national histories have been used (and misused) in 19., 20. and 21. century to support/justify national political programs and leaders; specifically, how a romantic picture of national history influenced the development of national identity and what role its interpretation has had in political struggles and programs of Central and East European nations. The course focuses on forces that triggered many eruptions of ethnic hatred and atrocities in Central and Eastern Europe including Holocaust, post World War II expulsion of Germans, civil war in former Yugoslavia, and most recently the nationalist aspects of conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The course will focus on Ukraine and Russia, Poland, Hungary, former Czechoslovakia, present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia, on former Yugoslavia and on independent states on its territory, and it will motivate the students to formulate a positive and cooperative prospect for the region’s future.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HIST-UA 9176-000 (2430)
01/20/2025 – 04/28/2025 Mon,Wed
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU Prague (Global)
Instructed by Polisenska, Milada

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Germany and East Central Europe (HIST-UA 9514)

This course will focus on the history of the culturally rich region of “Mitteleuropa” through analysis of the parallel evolution of Germany and the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Mitteleuropa as a region produced such important figures as Franz Kafka, Gustav Mahler, Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl and Milan Kundera; historical personalities whose influence internationally is indisputable. We’ll delve into the history of the region and on the central role played by German politics and culture from the end of the 19th century, through the turbulent 20th century to the present day. Emphasis will be on the evolution of the concept of nationalism as well as on Germany’s foreign policy in the “concert of nations”, especially towards its Eastern neighbors. The aim is to achieve an understanding of the complex evolution of national entities and their interaction between the birth of the modern German state and the integration of the Visegrád countries in NATO and the European Union.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HIST-UA 9514-000 (2132)
at NYU Prague (Global)
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Societies & the Social Sciences, Undergraduate

Comp Modern Societies: Pol & Soc in 20C Germany (HIST-UA 9133)

The history of Germany in the twentieth century offers rich material to explore various approaches to organizing modern society. Beginning with Imperial Germany in 1900 and moving forward to today’s reunited Germany, we will look at different ways in which the relationship between the state and the individual, and relationship between politics, economy, and society developed over five different political systems. We will interrogate how these institutional arrangements were envisioned and structured and how they were experienced in everyday negotiations. In this course, principle narratives and events will be situated in a European and global context, allowing us to place the concept of German modernity in a comparative framework. Lectures will provide an overview of Germany in the twentieth century; readings and in-class discussions will explore different approaches to analyzing German history and society. During museum visits and walking tours, we will analyze contestations over the various attempts to integrate – both in concerted efforts to memorialize as well as to forget and erase – Germany’s oft-problematic pasts within the narrative of Germany’s present.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HIST-UA 9133-000 (1864)
01/20/2025 – 04/30/2025 Wed
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Morning)
at NYU Berlin (Global)
Instructed by Minkin, Shana

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Virgins Martyrs Monks & Saints: Early Christianity (RELST-UA 846)

What was it about Christianity that it made it so popular in the ancient world? Was it the martyrs volunteering for public execution? Monks’ sexual renunciation? The isolation of hermits living on the tops of columns in the wilderness? Or perhaps orthodoxy and its politically divisive anxieties about heretics and Jews? In fact, all these things (and more) explain how a small Jewish messianic sect from Palestine became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. This course will provide an introduction to the big questions in the history of early Christianity. The focus will be on early Christian literature, such as martyr texts, saints’ lives, and works of monastic spirituality and mysticism. Issues addressed will include the Christian reception of Greco-Roman antiquity, the origins of anti-Semitism, gender and sexuality in the early Church, and the emergence of Christian theology.

Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Introduction to The New Testament (RELST-UA 302)

Introduces students to issues and themes in the history of the Jesus movement and early Christianity through a survey of the main texts of the canonical New Testament as well as other important early Christian documents. Students are given the opportunity to read most of the New Testament text in a lecture hall setting where the professor provides historical context and focus on significant issues, describes modern scholarly methodologies, and places the empirical material within the larger framework of ancient history and the theoretical study of religion.

Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2022)

RELST-UA 302-000 (26095)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Tue,Thu
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Cady, Alyssa

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Europe Since 1945 (HIST-UA 9156)

The course will begin with an examination of the background to and condition of Europe in 1945. The outbreak of the Cold War and the division of Europe will be discussed as will the promotion of European unity, the establishment of NATO and the emergence of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact. The pressures leading to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) will be considered together with the firm establishment of the democratic principle in Western Europe. The Suez Crisis and Decolonisation in Britain and France will be explored together with the corollary, the first application by Britain for membership of the EEC. The effect of President de Gaulle’s presidency on France, NATO and the EEC will be considered. The end of Stalinism in the USSR will be examined as will the first cracks in the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe in Hungary and Poland. This will be followed by a discussion of the merits and demerits of Khrushchev’s period in power, the U2 crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall. The Prague Spring off 1968 will be discussed. The continued integration of Europe will be analyzed together with the impact of Ostpolitik in Germany. Brezhnev’s domination of the USSR and Détente in the 1970s will be examined. Following this, the forces that led to the triumph of Neo-Liberalism in Britain will be considered, as will the return of conservatism in Germany and the cohabitation of Mitterrand’s France. The re-launch of the European Community in the 1980s will be analysed. In Eastern Europe the Gorbachev era and the rise of Solidarność will be explored and the course will conclude with an examination of the disintegration of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe, the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet state and the conclusion of the Maastricht Treaty.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HIST-UA 9156-000 (1978)
01/20/2025 – 05/01/2025 Wed
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU London (Global)
Instructed by Giannakopoulos, Georgios

Cultures and Contexts, Expressive Culture, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

The Performing Arts in Global Cultures (MPATC-UE 1505)

The study of the intersection of key philosophical and ethical systems with the analysis of performing art works and the music industry. Students learn an “Eclectic Method” of analysis to holistically explore and study works of art from cultures from around the world while studying ethical complexities and analytical systems in relation to the performing arts industries.

Music Theory and Composition (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

MPATC-UE 1505-000 (16548)
01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue,Thu
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Online
Instructed by White, Leonard · Bush, Christopher

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Modern Italy (ITAL-UA 9868)

This course introduces contemporary Italy in all its complexity and fascination. Reviewing politics, economics, society, and culture over the past two centuries, the course has a primary goal — to consider how developments since the 1800s have influenced the lives and formed the outlook of today’s Italians. In other words, we are engaged in the historical search for something quite elusive: Italian “identity”. Topics will include the unification of the country, national identity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the First World War, and Italian fascism, World War Two and the resistance, the post-war Italian Republic, the economic “miracle”, the South, the Mafia, terrorism, popular culture, and the most recent political and social developments, including Italy and the European Union. Lectures combine with readings and films (taking advantage of Italy’s magnificent post-war cinema).

Italian (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

ITAL-UA 9868-000 (2216)
01/20/2025 – 04/30/2025 Tue
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Morning)
at NYU Florence (Global)
Instructed by Lombardo, Davide

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

East Asian Cultures (EAGC-UF 101)

This course introduces East Asian cultures, focusing to a greater or lesser extent on China, Japan, and Korea. Aspects of East Asia?s traditional and modern culture are presented by study of some of the area?s Great Books, as well as other literary, political, philosophical, religious and/or artistic works from the traditional, modern, or contemporary periods. Issues raised may include national or cultural This course introduces East Asian cultures, focusing to a greater or lesser extent on China, Japan, and Korea. Aspects of East Asia?s traditional and modern culture are presented by study of some of the area?s Great Books, as well as other literary, political, philosophical, religious and/or artistic works from the traditional, modern, or contemporary periods. Issues raised may include national or cultural identity in relation to colonialism/imperialism, East-West tensions, modernism?s clash with tradition, the persistence of tradition with the modern, the East Asian Diaspora, and the question of East Asian modernities.

East Asian Cultures- Global Cultures (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2022)

EAGC-UF 101-000 (19791)
01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Tue,Thu
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Chandler, Jeannine

EAGC-UF 101-000 (13268)
01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Tue,Thu
11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Chandler, Jeannine

EAGC-UF 101-000 (13269)
01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Tue,Thu
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Chandler, Jeannine

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

A History of London (HIST-UA 9127)

This course examines the growth and importance of London from the Roman invasion of 43 AD to the present day. Students will learn about London’s changing economic and political role, and will understand how London grew to dominate the commerce, industry and culture of England. They will find out how London became the biggest city the world had ever known, and how it coped (or failed to cope) with the social and environmental problems created by its enormous size. The classroom sessions will be divided between a lecture and a class discussion. From week two onwards the class will begin with a discussion of the topic or period covered in the previous week‚s lecture, in which students will be expected to use knowledge and ideas gathered from lectures and from their weekly reading. There will also be four walking tours of parts of London which relate to the period we are studying at a particular time.

History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

HIST-UA 9127-000 (2251)
01/20/2025 – 05/01/2025 Mon
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU London (Global)
Instructed by Cartolano, Antonio

HIST-UA 9127-000 (1976)
01/20/2025 – 05/01/2025 Mon,Wed
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU London (Global)
Instructed by Kersh, Daliany

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Approaches to Chinese Cinema (EAST-UA 618)

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

EAST-UA 618-000 (19323)
09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Foley, Todd

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Cultures & Contexts: Russia Since 1917 (CORE-UA 528)

Major periods, developments, and interpretative issues in Russian politics, history, and society, from the 1917 revolution to the present. The emphasis is on the Soviet experience, though the Tsarist past and post-Soviet developments are also considered. Special attention is given to the role of historical traditions, leadership, ideology, ramifying events, and socioeconomic factors.

College Core Curriculum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2022)

CORE-UA 528-000 (19720)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Tue,Thu
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by O’Donnell, Anne

CORE-UA 528-000 (19721)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Wed
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 528-000 (19722)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Wed
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 528-000 (19723)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Wed
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 528-000 (19724)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Wed
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 528-000 (19725)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Wed
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

CORE-UA 528-000 (19726)
09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Wed
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)
at Washington Square
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Cities on the Move: Migration and Urban Landscapes (SASEM-UG 9104)

The rapid expansion of urban areas is the major driving force of global environmental change. As most urban landscapes expand in number and size, their inhabitants place increasing demands on resources and energy. These demands pose great challenges for ensuring human welfare and protecting biodiversity. Urban land use change has always been a question for urban planners and researchers, but understanding contemporary competition for urban land and associated resources is perhaps more urgent than ever. The inflow of large numbers of migrants, not only from the rural counterparts of larger cities but also from all over the world, poses new challenges to environmental processes and the functioning of urban systems. A critical question emerges: how can we sustainably integrate new migrants into large urban areas without compromising the environmental wellbeing and livelihood of existing local populations? Urban development concepts like smart growth, eco-cities and sponge cities have previously grappled with this question; through them, researchers, urban planners, architects, and other professionals have imagined new forms and functions for buildings, material infrastructure, and open or vegetated spaces. The central challenge is to improve the resilience capacity of urban landscapes. Here, the notion that cities themselves may be reinvented in more ecologically vital ways portends to offer solutions to the dire environmental stresses that climate change, natural resource scarcity, and geopolitical instability promise. There is an important interdisciplinary dimension to this challenge: different stakeholders speak different scientific and functional languages. This course emphasizes inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches in an effort to highlight the multiple and distinct knowledge forms and data types relevant to understanding linkages between landscape structure, landscape function, and urban socio-natural transformation.

Study Away Seminar (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2022)

SASEM-UG 9104-000 (18839)
at NYU Berlin (Global)
Instructed by

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Place-Building-Time:The Architecture of Berlin (ARTH-UA 9651)

Berlin is a unique modern Metropolis. Its alternating history with often drastic changes offers a comprehensive background to explore and investigate the nature of architecture in correlation to the various developmental processes of urban life and culture. Architecture is embedded in the urban fabric in which place and time serve as the main threads, constantly changing their multifaceted and layered relationships. This urban fabric provides the fertile soil for urban life and culture, which literally takes place in various scales between the public and the private realm, two further threads intertwined in the urban fabric. Experiencing the city through walking is essential for learning how to observe, see and read “Place, Building and Time” in Berlin. Tours will alternate with classroom discussions and workshops.

Art History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

ARTH-UA 9651-000 (1848)
01/20/2025 – 04/30/2025 Mon
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU Berlin (Global)
Instructed by Sigel, Paul

Cultures and Contexts, Undergraduate

Tibetan Buddhism (RELST-UA 835)

Identical to EAST-UA 833. Offered periodically. 4 points. An introduction to Tibetan Buddhism doctrine and practice. Approaches the subject from historical and thematic perspectives, beginning with a close study of one of the classic Tibetan guides to Tibetan Buddhism for a solid foundation in the principles of the tradition. Proceeds along a historical track, beginning with the seventh-century arrival of Buddhism in Tibet to the present-day encounter with Western devotees of exiled Tibetan lamas. Topics include doctrinal innovation, ritual, myth, art, sacred geography, revelation, and the role of Buddhism in Tibet’s relationship with its neighbors. Readings consist of primary texts in translation and secondary literature on the study of religion and Tibetan Buddhism.

Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts

Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Korean Culture and Society through K-pop (HUMN-SHU 180)

Considers the trajectory of changes in the production, circulation, and reception of Korean popular music from the turn of the twentieth century to the latest K-pop hits across successive political, social, and economic junctures, with regard for major themes such as nationalism, race, gender, technology, and globalization; and investigates music culture in relation to hybridity, authenticity, transculturation, cyber-culture, and fandom, among other subjects Prereq: None Fulfillment: Humanities Introductory Course (18-19 Topic Courses).

Humanities (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 13 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2022)

HUMN-SHU 180-000 (22093)
09/13/2022 – 12/16/2022 Mon,Wed
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Shanghai
Instructed by Choi, Hye Eun

Core, Cultures and Contexts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate

Cultures & Contexts: The Black Atlantic (CORE-UA 9534)

The Black Atlantic considered as a socio-cultural and economic space from the 15th-century first arrival of Africans in the ’New World,’ through the rise of slavery in the Americas, continuing on to slave emancipation and decolonization in the 19th and 20th centuries, and concluding with contemporary black life in the Atlantic world. Traces the origins and importance of the concept of the Black Atlantic in the context of European imperial expansion and the transformation of indigenous structures of governance in the Americas, paying special attention to shifting social relations that shaped community formation among people of African descent and laid the foundations for political and economic institutions. Topics include: civilization, slavery, colonialism, capitalism, freedom, and justice, approached through focused engagement with African enslavement and settlement in Africa and the Americas; the development of transatlantic racial capitalism; variations in politics and culture between empires in the Atlantic world; creolization, plantation slavery, and slave society; the politics and culture of the enslaved; the Haitian Revolution; slave emancipation; and contemporary black Atlantic politics and racial capitalism.

College Core Curriculum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

CORE-UA 9534-000 (2298)
01/20/2025 – 05/01/2025 Mon,Wed
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Morning)
at NYU London (Global)
Instructed by Kersh, Daliany

CORE-UA 9534-000 (2299)
01/20/2025 – 05/01/2025 Mon,Wed
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU London (Global)
Instructed by Kersh, Daliany

Cultures and Contexts, Expressive Culture, Undergraduate

Expressive Culture: Film (CORE-UA 9750)

The course description for this CORE class varies on the location where taught. Please view the course description in the course notes below.

College Core Curriculum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

CORE-UA 9750-000 (2075)
01/20/2025 – 04/29/2025 Tue,Thu
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU Paris (Global)
Instructed by Azulys, Sam

CORE-UA 9750-000 (1882)
at NYU Berlin (Global)
Instructed by

CORE-UA 9750-000 (2326)
01/20/2025 – 04/30/2025 Wed
9:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at NYU Madrid (Global)
Instructed by Vela, Carlos

CORE-UA 9750-000 (2039)
01/20/2025 – 04/30/2025 Tue,Thu
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)
at NYU Madrid (Global)
Instructed by Vela, Carlos

CORE-UA 9750-000 (20794)
02/24/2025 – 05/30/2025 Tue
9:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)
at NYU Sydney (Global)
Instructed by Barnes, Annette

CORE-UA 9750-000 (22036)
02/24/2025 – 05/30/2025 Tue
12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at NYU Sydney (Global)
Instructed by Barnes, Annette

Cultures and Contexts, IMA Major Electives, Studies (aka "Seminar") (Old Structure), Undergraduate

Space and Place in Human Communication (MCC-UE 1002)

This course will build on a core concept of Lewis Mumford who understood media ecology as a component of spatial and urban ecology. Emphasis will be given on how space socially organizes human meaning and on the ’inscription’ of space. How do people, through, their practices and their being in the world, form relationships with the locales they occupy (both the natural world and the build environment)? How do they attach meanings to spaces to create places? and how do the experiences of inhabiting viewing and hearing those places shape their meanings, communicative practices, cultural performance memories and habits? Course themes include; mapping and the imagination; vision and space, soundscape, architecture and landscape; new media and space/time compression; space and identity; spatial violence; spatialization of memory. Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Cultures & Contexts

Media, Culture & Communication (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2025)

MCC-UE 1002-000 (12072)
01/21/2025 – 05/06/2025 Tue,Thu
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)
at Washington Square
Instructed by Watter, Seth

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A site for IMA NY Students to find equivalent courses outside of IMA NY