Category Archives: Liberal Arts & Sciences – Core

All Liberal Arts Core Courses: Cultures & Contexts, Texts & Ideas

Fall 2024

Asian American Literature (SCA-UA 306)

This overview begins with the recovery of early writings during the 1960s-1970s and proceeds to the subsequent production of Asian American writing and literary/cultural criticism up to the present. The course focuses on significant factors affecting the formation of Asian American literature and criticism, such as changing demographics of Asian American communities and the influence of ethnic, women?s, and gay/lesbian/bisexual studies. Included in the course is a variety of genres (poetry, plays, fiction and nonfiction, literary/cultural criticism) by writers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The course explores the ways in which the writers treat issues such as racial/ethnic identity; immigration and assimilation; gender; class; sexuality; nationalism; culture and community; history and memory; and art and political engagement.

Social and Cultural Analysis (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2024)

SCA-UA 306-000 (22140)09/03/2024 – 12/12/2024 Mon,Wed12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Parikh, Crystal

Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Fall 2024

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
Summer 2024

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 Undergraduate

Introduction to the Study of Literature (ENGL-UA 9101)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates:

Gateway course to the major that introduces students to the demands and pleasures of university-level investigation of English literature. Develops the tools necessary for advanced criticism: close-reading skills, knowledge of generic conventions, mastery of critical terminology, and skill at a variety of modes of analysis, from the formal to the historical. Also emphasizes frequent writing.

English (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Texts and Ideas Undergraduate

Writing London (SCA-UA 9886)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed
Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed

This course will study a variety of texts written at particular times in the history of London. The aims of the course are to encourage the student to think historically, in terms of the way London and representations of the city have changed and developed over time; and theoretically, in terms of the way the city is mediated through different forms and genres (e.g. poetry, novels, essays, film; satire, detective and crime fiction), and the interrelationship of literary and material spaces. We will also examine the significance of gender, the definition of the modern metropolis as a labyrinthine city of Babylon, the influence of metropolitan culture on Modernism and Modernity, assimilation versus multiculturalism, immigration, and the effects of new modern spaces on individuals.

Social and Cultural Analysis (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Expressive Culture Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Texts and Ideas Undergraduate

History of French Philosophy (PHIL-UA 9026)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Thu

Offered only at NYU Paris. An overview of important developments in French philosophy from the 16th century to the 1950s. We will look at the epistemological and metaphysical debates that followed the rediscovery of Ancient philosophy and the Copernican revolution, with Montaigne’s skepticism, Descartes’ rationalist theory of knowledge, and Condillac’s empiricism. We will then focus on developments in French political philosophy in the 18th and 19th centuries, closely intertwined with political events. We will read Rousseau, an important influence on the French revolutionaries, before turning to 19th-century debates about equality, with Proudhon’s anarchist criticism of property rights, and Tocqueville’s cautious liberal perspective on the political consequences of equality. Finally, we will look at two key movements in French philosophy in the first half of the 20th century, Bergson’s attempt at understanding the temporal duration conscious beings inhabit, and Sartre and de Beauvoir’s distinctive development of existentialism, a philosophy that grapples with the consequences of human freedom.

Philosophy (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Societies & the Social Sciences Spring 2026 Texts and Ideas Undergraduate

Global Culture Wars (HSED-UE 1033)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed

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 for Steinhardt students.

History of Education (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Global Fashion Industry: Italy (PRACT-UG 9200)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed

THIS COURSE TAKES PLACE AT NYU-FLORENCE. Global Fashion Industry: Italy will provide students with a deep understanding of the contemporary fashion industry in Italy, as well as of Italy’s position in the global fashion arena. The course will drive students through the entire lifecycle of the fashion business, from forecasting trends to retailing, through design, sourcing, product development and production. Particular attention will be dedicated to different marketing aspects of the process, such as: identity building, brand positioning, merchandising, buying, costing, communication. All levels of retail, from luxury to mass market will be covered. The course will end with an analysis of the new challenges, such as sourcing globalization, emerging markets, sustainability and growing significance of technology. A strong effort will be put into organizing site visits to studios, showrooms and factories, as well as meeting with professional players. Each session will be structured to give students an overview of a particular stage of the Industry, through a mix of lectures from the course leader and visiting professionals, studio and showroom visits, walking tours, reading assignments and practical projects. Conducted in English.

Practicum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Expressive Culture Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Fall 2023

The Meaning of Life (PHIL-UH 1110)

Is there a point or significance to life as a whole? That is the question about the “meaning of life.” Though this question is notoriously hard to make precise, in one form or another it has animated much literature and art, and also much philosophy. Some philosophers have provided disheartening answers: life is suffering, and then it ends; life is absurd and never gains any meaning. But other philosophers have provided more uplifting answers that support the quest for personal significance. Bot h kinds of answers deserve scrutiny. After reviewing various pessimistic and more optimistic approaches to the meaning of life, we will turn to the subject of death. We will all die eventually. We normally encounter the death of our family and friend s before we must deal with our own. These themes too are the subject of philosophical reflection. We finish the semester with a discussion of the connection between individual significance and the future of humanity. This class will integrate references to art and literature as well as to science where appropriate, but its main focus is on contributions by recent thinkers in the analytical tradition of philosophy.

Philosophy (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

PHIL-UH 1110-000 (18561)08/29/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Paul, Sarah

Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Spring 2024

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,Thu2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Igsiz, Asli

CORE-UA 500-000 (10507)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10508)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10509)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10510)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10511)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Mon,Wed3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Juette, Daniel

CORE-UA 500-000 (10512)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10513)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10514)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10515)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10516)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10517)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Thu3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10518)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Mon,Wed4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Bottex-Ferragne, Ariane

CORE-UA 500-000 (10519)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10520)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10521)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10522)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10523)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue,Thu9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Stark, Soren

CORE-UA 500-000 (10524)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Zhou, Jingyi

CORE-UA 500-000 (10525)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Zhou, Jingyi

CORE-UA 500-000 (10526)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Fiorio, Soraya

CORE-UA 500-000 (10527)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Fiorio, Soraya

CORE-UA 500-000 (10528)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Cordivari, Braden

CORE-UA 500-000 (10529)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Cordivari, Braden

CORE-UA 500-000 (10530)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

CORE-UA 500-000 (10531)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Wed9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by

Cultures and Contexts Undergraduate
Spring 2024

Mod Chines Fiction (EAST-UA 732)

This course will survey literature produced at various points in the tumult of modern Chinese history, from the late Qing through to the present day. While the time period will be broad, we will hope to engage in close, critical readings of significant works of fiction from a selection major authors primarily from Mainland China. How do certain concerns of modernity arise in different texts, at different times, and for different writers? What different relationships do we see being shaped between literature, life, and politics, and how does fiction negotiate certain tensions and anxieties about modern and contemporary life? By exploring a variety of engaging novels and short stories, we will hope to gain a more nuanced understanding of modern China and the role that fiction has played as both an agent of modernity and a reflection of modern Chinese life.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

EAST-UA 732-000 (7696)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Tue,Thu2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Foley, Todd

Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Fall 2023 Spring 2025

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,Thu12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Assaf, Laure

Cultures and Contexts Undergraduate

Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Stage: Text and Performance (ENGL-UA 9412)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Tue
Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Tue

This course provides an introduction to the dramatic work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Students read and attend representative comedies, tragedies, and histories, their selection to be determined by the plays actually in production in and around London, particularly at the Barbican, New Globe, and Stratford to which at least one excursion will be made. Special attention will be given to the playhouses and the influence they had on the art of the theatre, actors’ companies, and modes of production and performance. Lectures and discussions will focus on the aesthetic quality of the plays, their relationship with the audiences (then and now), the application of the diverse attitudes and assumptions of modern critical theory to the Elizabethan stage, the contrasting structures of Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean drama, the new emphasis on selfhood and individuality, and the major themes of hierarchy, order, and justice, the conflict of Nature and Fortune, the role of Providence, the ideals of love, and the norms of social accord. Opportunities will be given to investigate the interrelations of the plays and other arts, including film, opera, and ballet.

English (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Fall 2023

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,Wed3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by

Cultures and Contexts Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Texts and Ideas Undergraduate

Introduction to Food History (FOOD-UE 1210)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue,Thu

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 for Steinhardt students.

Food Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Fall 2022

Marx and the Culture of Capitalism (GERM-UA 242)

The course serves as an introduction to the thought and legacy of Karl Marx. Marx’s theory of capitalism centers on the concept of value. Value is the interface between culture and commerce, the hinge on which Marx’s theory and Marxism turn. Although Marx sometimes distinguished between an economic “base” and a legal-cultural “superstructure,” he managed to depict the culture of capitalism as a whole. This method forms one of his crucial legacies, which we will explore in and after Marx. Organized around a slow reading of Capital, Volume 1, the course will also feature short readings from those who inspired Marx (David Ricardo, G. W. F. Hegel, Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace) and those his work influenced (Rosa Luxemburg, Theodor W. Adorno, Stuart Hall, Donna Haraway). We will follow the trajectory that Capital itself takes, from the commodity and the concept of value to machinery, cooperation, and accumulation.

German (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2022)

GERM-UA 242-000 (20010)09/01/2022 – 12/14/2022 Tue,Thu3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Weatherby, Leif

Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Fall 2021 Fall 2023

Living a Good Life: Greek and Jewish Perspectives (RELST-UA 422)

Key questions: Does living well require acquiring knowledge and wisdom? What is the place of moral responsibility in the good life? Is the good life a happy life, or does it require sacrificing happiness? Does religion lead to living well or does it hinder it? What is friendship and how does it contribute to the good life? Study of primary texts by Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Avot, Maimonides, Spinoza, and Hermann Cohen.

Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

RELST-UA 422-000 (20451)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Gottlieb, Michah

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Fall 2023

Engaging Early Christian Theology (RELST-UA 840)

What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ was both human and divine? How can the Christian divinity be one yet three? How are the sacraments such as baptism effective? Do we have freewill? These were some of the pressing questions the Church Fathers addressed in the early centuries of Christian history and their answers contributed to the Christian theological tradition for centuries to come. In this course we will examine some of the classic works of early Christian theology. Despite the often highly rhetorical and polemical character of their writings the Church Fathers nevertheless developed an intellectually rigorous field of knowledge, one that has had a significant intellectual historical as well as socio-political impact in the history of the Church. This is not a theological course but rather an introduction to some of the key texts in a historically significant mode of theological inquiry.

Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

RELST-UA 840-000 (19704)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Becker, Adam

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Texts and Ideas Undergraduate

Kafka and His Contexts (COLIT-UA 9136)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Tue

The course is focused on exploring Franz Kafka’s work – stories, novels, diaries and letters – in the context of fin de siècle Prague and the birth of modernism. We will take a closer look at the cultural and social context of Central Europe (literature and the arts, but also the Modernist architecture of Adolf Loos, Simmel’s sociology of the metropolitan life, Freud’s analysis of the unconscious, Brentano’s psychology, the resonance of Nietzsche’s philosophy, or the emergence of new media like phonograph and silent film) in the first two decades of the 20th century. In addition, we will discuss the adaptations of Kafka’s work and its impact on later art, fiction and film (Borges, Welles, Kundera, Roth, Švankmajer). The topics discussed through Kafka’s writings and other related works include: man and metropolis, family, estrangement, authorship, time, writing and media, travelling, territories and identities, languages, animals, art and pain. We will be especially interested in how these phenomena transform when represented in and through the medium of literary fiction.

Comparative Literature (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Texts and Ideas Undergraduate