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Popular Culture and Music in Post-Colonial Africa — MET2140.01

Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Days & Time: TU 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 2

In this course we will examine the role of music as a vehicle for political and social change in Africa. Our focus will be music-making throughout the continent of Africa during the nationalist struggles that resulted in independent African states and how musicians responded (and continue to respond) to the persistent challenges faced by those post-colonial states.

Fiddle — MIN4327.01

Instructor: John Kirk
Days & Time: F 1:00PM-1:50PM
Credits: 2

For the experienced (3+years of playing) violinist/violist. Lessons in traditional styles of fiddling 鈥 Quebecois, New England, Southern Appalachian, Scandinavian, Cajun, Irish, and Scottish. This course is designed to heighten awareness of the variety of ways the violin is played regionally and socially in North America (and indeed around the world) and to give practical music skills for furthering personal music making. Students will be expected to perform at Music Workshop, or as part of a concert, in ensemble and/or solo.

Global Environmental Politics — POL2108.01

Instructor: John Hultgren
Days & Time: MO,TH 10:00am-11:50am
Credits: 4

Contemporary efforts to confront our most pressing ecological problems are characterized by a tension between the global realities of these problems and the territorial borders and logics that define sovereign nation-states. This course will explore this tension in three parts. First, we will engage with a variety of theoretical and conceptual debates introduced by scholars of global environmental politics 鈥 a heterodox field that draws insights from international relations theory, international political economy, ecological economics, and environmental sociology (among others).

Latin American Ensemble — MPF4113.01

Instructor: Michael Wimberly
Days & Time: WE 10:00am-11:50am & WE 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 4

This course will focus on the performance of Latin American music from all over the Americas, including South, Central, and North America, the Caribbean, and beyond. The ensemble will combine hands-on learning of diverse vocal and instrumental repertoire, traditional instruments (particularly percussion), and performance practices. Students will receive a thorough background in the cultural context of the music through in-class activities, listening assignments, and in the experience of learning the music.

Performance, Gender, and Sexuality in the Middle East — MET4103.01

Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Days & Time: MO,TH 1:40pm-3:30pm
Credits: 4

This course will explore the construction and experience of gender and sexuality in the Middle East through a performative lens. Drawing on research in ethnomusicology, queer and gender studies, anthropology and Middle Eastern history, the course will examine performance (music, dance, theater, poetry and more) as a process of representation, assertion, and sometimes transgression of sexuality and gender identities. This course will delve into the ways that performance, gender, and sexuality relate to ethnicity, nationalism, modernity, colonialism, and religion.

Traditional Music Ensemble — MPF4221.01

Instructor: John Kirk
Days & Time: W 10:00AM-10:50AM
Credits: 2

We will study and perform from the string band traditions of rural America. Nova Scotia, Quebecois, Irish, New England, Scandinavian, African-American dance and ballad traditions. In addition, these will be experienced with listening, practice (weekly group rehearsals outside of class), and performing components. Emphasis on ensemble intuition, playing by ear, and lifetime personal music making skills (transposition, harmonizing, etc.).

Sustainable Agriculture, Building Regenerative and Resilient Communities — APA2348.01

Instructor: Kelie Bowman
Days & Time: TU 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 2

Climate change, poverty, and food access are all compelling and urgent issues confronting our society. Growing local food is one significant way we can respond. Having received the Bennington Fair Food Initiative Grant with the mission to develop educational training programs in agriculture/food system workforce development and to create small business, this class will be practice based learning in regenerative agricultural practices and the creation of sustainable food systems.

Mandolin — MIN2229.01

Instructor: John Kirk
Days & Time: W 2:00PM-2:50PM
Credits: 2

Beginning, intermediate and advanced group lessons on the mandolin will be offered. Students will learn classical technique on the mandolin and start to develop a repertoire of classical and traditional folk pieces. Simple song sheets with chords, tablature, and standard notation, chord theory, and scale work will all be used to further skills. History of the Italian origins of mandolin and its introduction to the western world will be discussed as well as past and present practices.

Scanning Electron Microscopy Research Methods — ES4107.01

Instructor: Tim Schroeder
Days & Time: TU 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 2

Scanning electron microscopes are a fundamental tool in the physical and life sciences. When equipped with an X-Ray spectrometer, a SEM can provide rapid physical and chemical data of specimens on extremely small scales. This class with cover the theory and practical applications of SEM imaging and analysis for advanced science students who have their own research interests. Students will be expected to develop and conduct an independent research project through this class.

Energy, Environment, and Climate — ENV2120.01

Instructor: Tim Schroeder
Days & Time: MO,TH 3:40pm-5:30pm
Credits: 4

The comforts and amenities of modern life require vast inputs of energy to power an industrial society. While the benefits of industrial society are significant, if unevenly shared, the environmental costs of energy extraction and production are significant. These environmental costs are also unevenly shared.

Economics in the Postcolonial Context — PEC4107.01

Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Days & Time: MO,TH 3:40pm-5:30pm
Credits: 4

How have economic histories and past structures shaped present-day realities? Why do patterns of inequality persist between the Global North and South? This course examines these questions by exploring the long-lasting economic effects of colonial encounters鈥攏ot just on the economies of formerly colonized countries, but also on those of the colonizers.

Environment and Public Action — APA2122.01

Instructor: David Bond
Days & Time: MO,TH 1:40pm-3:30pm
Credits: 4

Today it is clear that the environment matters. In activism and scholarship and public policy, the environment has become a potent (if sometimes obligatory) point of reference. Less attention, however, has focused on the emergence of the environment itself as a converging field of action for advocacy, science, and statecraft. In this seminar, we will reflect not only on what we know of the environment but also on how we came to know the environment.

The Economics of Our Time — PEC2283.01

Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Days & Time: TU 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 2

In this seminar, we will dive into the complexities of today鈥檚 global economy, engaging with the most pressing economic challenges of our time. We will explore how economic policies, geopolitical dynamics, and global trends intersect, shaping the economic landscape. Through real-time data, contemporary research, and case studies, we鈥檒l analyze the forces driving change and the key decisions shaping the future of the global economy.