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CC 211 – Paris:  The City as Text

Paris ranks high among the literary, artistic and cultural capitals of the world.  Some would call it the most beautiful city in the world; nearly everyone considers it the culinary capital of the world.  In this course, which will fulfill the Texts and Ideas requirement in the new core curriculum, we will read about Paris in historical and literary texts (drawn from the 18 th to 20 th centuries), and we will read Paris itself as a text by walking the streets, exploring how the city has changed shape over the course of the past 200 years.  We will ascend to the heights of the city, on Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower (and more modestly to the top of the Samaritaine department store, the best free view of Paris), and descend to its depths as well, in the Catacombs and the sewers (made famous by Jean Valjean).  We will explore its churches, its markets, its shops and patisseries; we will visit some of its many museums and wander through the cemetery of Père Lachaise; we will tour the Pantheon, the national shrine to France’s most honored citizens; the Invalides, where Napoleon’s remains lie in state; and the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned.  At the end of two weeks you will feel that you have begun to know Paris, although only just begun; and as soon as you leave you will know that you have to go back.

CC 212 –- Seeing the World, Seeing the Self in Art and Nature

 This course, which satisfies the Perspectives in the Creative Arts requirement, will encourage you to see the world through the eyes of an artist by focusing on the natural world. England’s renowned Lake District, a dense cluster of mountains, lakes, and picturesque towns that has inspired numerous artists and poets, will serve as our base of operation. Part of our days will be spent discussing aesthetic concepts such as the sublime, the beautiful, and the picturesque alongside poetry, personal essays, paintings, and photographs that represent nature.  Most of our time, though, will be spent outdoors exploring the regions many natural wonders.  We might hike along the exposed spine of the Cat Bells or up the more gentle slopes of Silver Howe, visit Rydal Falls, stroll through Grasmere, take a cruise of Lake Windermere, spend afternoons at Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin, or Dove Cottage, where William Wordsworth spent much of his life.  These excursions will provide the raw material which we will then use to create our own works of art.  No prior artistic experience is necessary, simply a willingness to explore and a sturdy pair of boots! 

CC 213– Sport, Empire and Identity

Have you ever wondered why soccer is the most popular sport in the world? Or, about the origins of "American pastimes" such as baseball and footall and why these sports have become multibillion dollar industries in our country? At a minimum, many of you have probably wondered why you have been required to take PE all the way from your earliest grade school years to your time as a college student at Butler! These questions can be answered in large part by looking at the history of sport and physical culture in Great Britain. IN this course, we will delve into these questions and explore more contemporary topics related to the cultural and social importance of sport through an examination of both the history and present-day status of sport in England and Scotland. In the process, you will come to better understand that role of sport in shaping British citizens (past and present) and colonial and post-colonial subjects of the British Empire. Class activities, including visits to some of sport's most hallowed grounds in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and ethnographic observation and interview activities with fans, will help students to better understand the linkages between sport and political importance of sport for people in England, Scotland--and even back home in Indianapolis! Whether you love or hate sports, this course will increase your understanding of its cultural effects and its manipulations by political, capitalistic and governmental actors.

BI103 – Genetics and Evolution

This course focuses on three milestones in Biology: Mendel’s laws of genetics, Watson and Crick’s structure of DNA, and Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Imagine visiting the places where these discoveries were made. Mendel did his experiments with peas in a monastery in Brno, now part of the Czech Republic. Watson and Crick built their model of DNA in the Cavendish Lab at Cambridge University in England. Darwin wrote the Origin of Species at his house in the village of Downe, just outside London. We will visit these sites and others associated with these men and their discoveries, and we will read their words and others about their work and times. The goal is to create a fuller understanding of scientific discovery by experiencing the culture and location where important discoveries were made.
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