Perspectives Course Listings, Emerson College

The Perspectives curriculum guarantees that students will discover a variety of liberal arts disciplines beyond their major. Through exposure to the major liberal arts traditions, they emerge with an understanding of the different kinds of questions and methods that each of these knowledge communities engages, as well as tools to develop critically informed perspectives that are conducive to becoming ethical, informed, and active participants in society. Students are given a great deal of flexibility to choose individual courses that particularly interest or challenge them, and even to build clusters of courses that promise the greatest degree of integration with their major.

Interdisciplinary Seminars

First-Year Courses
Upper-level Courses

Full Course List

Aesthetics

DA 203 - Perspectives in World Dance
MU 137 - Listening to Music
MU 201 - History of Music: European
MU 202 - History of Music: American
MU 203 - Perspectives in World Music
MU 239 - History of Jazz
MU 256 - Deconstructing 20th-Century Art Music
MU 304 - History of the American Musical
MU 413 - Seminar in Music History and Culture
TH 203 - Perspectives in World Theatre
TH 204 - Theatre into Film
TH 205 - Dress Codes: American Clothes in the 20th Century
TH 315 - Topics in Contemporary Theatre
VM 105 - Introduction to Visual Arts
VM 203 - History of Photography: 19th Century to the 1970's
VM 205 - History of Photography: 1970 to the Present
VM 210 - History of Renaissance and Baroque
VM 211 - History of 18th- and 19th-Century Art in Europe and North America
VM 212 - History of Modern Art in Europe and North America
VM 213 - History of Art After World War II
VM 214 - History of East Asian Arts
VM 215 - History of South Asian Arts
VM 368 - Topics in Art History and Digital Photography (offered at Kasteel Well only)

Global Diversity

CC 203 - Intercultural Communication
CC 204 - Communication and Cultural Identity in a Global Perspective: The Netherlands
CC 290 - Communication and Cultural Immersion: Paris, France
DA 203 - Perspectives in World Dance
HE 300 - Culture and Global Health
HI 200 - Contemporary World History
HI 201 - Africa, Asia, and the Middle East in Popular History
HI 204 - Islam in the World HI 240 Topics in World History
HI 227 - Radical Women in Contemporary World History
HI 310 - Demystifying Revolutionaries: Race, Imperialism, and Transformative Change in Latin America
HI 340 - Advanced Topics in World History
IN 203 - Post-Colonial Cultures
IN 208 - Rainbow Nation? Race, Class, and Culture in South Africa
IN 209 - Women Warriors of Latin America
IN 210 - Topics in Global Studies
IN 211 - Africana Thought and Practice
IN 213 - Introduction to Global Studies
IN 235 - The Arab Uprisings: A Social History of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
IN 236 - Global Revolts and the Crisis of Neoliberalism
IN 301 - Post-Colonial Cinema
IN 304 - Encountering Africa on Page and Screen
IN 307 - Gender, Sexuality, and the Middle East
IN 318 - Worldwide Underground: Hip Hop As Resistance Around the Globe
IN 321 - Asian/Pacific Rim Film and Literature
IN 322 - Food and Globalization
IN 325 - Space, Race, and Power
IN 335 - 500 Years of Globalization
IN 351 - Global Social Movements and Radical Social Thought
IN 360 - Visual Art, Theatre, and Culture in Barcelona, Spain
IN 361 - Global Media Literacy: Information and Activism Across Borders, Across Cultures, Across Divides
IN 370 - Advanced Topics in Global Studies
IN 421 - Key Contemporary Thinkers: Fanon
LI 211 - Topics in Global Literature
LI 213 - Latin American Literature and Cinema
LI 310 - Advanced Topics in Latin American Literature
LI 311 - Topics in Global Literature
LI 324 - Latin American Short Fiction
LI 381 - Global Literatures
LI 396 - International Women Writers
LI 423 - Topics in Global Literature
LI 424 - Imagining the Caribbean
MU 203 - Perspectives in World Music
PL 220 - International Politics
PL 222 - Human Rights
PL 230 - The U.S. and Latin America
PL 322 - Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation
PL 410 - Collective Action and Identity Politics
RL 115 - Islamic Ways of Life
SO 305 - Religion and Globalization
TH 203 - Perspectives in World Theatre
VM 214 - History of East Asian Arts
VM 215 - History of South Asian Arts
VM 280 - Global Media
VM 301 - Post-Colonial Cinema
VM 311 - Latin American Cinema
VM 418 - Transnational Asian Cinemas

U.S. Diversity

CD 153 - Disability and the Media
CD 193 - Introduction to Communication Disorders: Diversity and Difference
HI 203 - Social Movements in the U.S.
HI 211 - African American History
HS 102 - First-Year Honors Seminar II (honors students only)
IN 200 - Feminisms
IN 211 - Africana Thought and Practice
IN 223 - Blacks, Whites, and Blues
IN 230 - Evolution of Queer Identity
IN 239 - Introduction to Latinx Studies
IN 310 - Gender, Sexuality, and the American Music Industry
IN 316 - The War on Drugs
IN 319 - Feminist Cultural Theory
IN 327 - REEL Race: In and Out of Hollywood
IN 339 - The Latinx Body and Power
IN 406 - Queer Dreams
IN 423 - Key Contemporary Thinkers: DuBois
LI 208 - Race and Resistance in U.S. Literatures
LI 209 - Topics in U.S. Multicultural Literature
LI 210 - American Women Writers
LI 212 - Black Revolutionary Thought
LI 214 - U.S. Latinx Literature
LI 215 - Slavery and Freedom
LI 309 - Topics in U.S. Multicultural Literature
LI 312 - Harlem Renaissance
LI 361 - Native American Literature
LI 362 - Topics in U.S. Latinx Literature
LI 382 - African American Literature
LI 481 - Topics in African American Literature
MU 239 - History of Jazz
PL 332 - Civil Rights
PS 306 - Psychology of Prejudice
SO 200 - Race and Ethnicity: The Key Concepts
TH 313 - African American Theatre and Culture
TH 404 - U.S. Theatre and Performance
VM 307 - Communication Ethics and Cultural Diversity
VM 309 - REEL Race: In and Out of Hollywood

Ethics & Values

HS 202 - Sophomore Honors Seminar II (honors students only)
PH 105 - Introduction to Ethics
PH 110 - Ethics and Justice
PH 200 - Contemporary Ethics
PH 203 - Special Topics in Ethics or Value Theory
PH 204 - Environmental Ethics
PH 205 - Virtues, Vices, and Temptations
PH 206 - Free Will, Responsibility, and Agency
PH 210 - Narrative Ethics
PH 212 - The Ethics of Eating
PH 215 - Political Philosophy
PH 220 - On Friendship
PH 221 - How to be Human
PH 300 - Special Topics in Philosophy
PH 303 - Citizenship as Civic Engagement
PH 305 - Great Philosophers
PH 306 - Liberal Politics and Religion
PH 307 - Genesis
PH 308 - Moral Sentiments
RL 115 - Islamic Ways of Life
RL 116 - Christian Ways of Life
RL 117 - Jewish Ways of Life
RL 210 - Topics in Religion
RL 310 - Advanced Topics in Religion

Literary

CC 264 - Oral Presentation of Literature
HS 102 - First-Year Honors Seminar II (honors students only)
LI 201 - Literary Foundations
LI 202 - U.S./American Literatures
LI 203 - Literatures in English
LI 204 - Topics in Literature
LI 208 - Race and Resistance in U.S. Literatures
LI 209 - Topics in U.S. Multicultural Literature
LI 210 - American Women Writers
LI 211 - Topics in Global Literature
LI 212 - Black Revolutionary Thought
LI 213 - Latin American Literature and Cinema
LI 214 - U.S. Latinx Literature
LI 215 - Slavery and Freedom
LI 216 - Literature of the Gothic
LI 217 - Literature, Culture, and the Environment

History & Politics

HI 200 - Contemporary World History
HI 201 - Africa, Asia, and the Middle East in Popular History
HI 203 - Social Movements in the U.S.
HI 204 - Islam in the World
HI 208 - Europe in Wartime: Conflicts of the 20th Century
HI 211 - African American History
HI 214 - Topics in U.S. History
HI 235 - History of the United States
HI 240 - Topics in World History
HI 310 - Demystifying Revolutionaries: Race, Imperialism, and Transformative Change in Latin America
HI 340 - Advanced Topics in World History
PL 220 - International Politics
PL 222 - Human Rights
PL 225 - U.S. Government and Politics
PL 230 - The United States and Latin America
PL 240 - Communication, Politics, and Law
PL 250 - Special Topics in Political Science
PL 310 - Collective Action and Identity Politics
PL 322 - Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation
PL 332 - Civil Rights
PL 333 - The First Amendment

Scientific

HS 201 - Sophomore Honors Seminar I (honors students only)
SC 210 - Human Health and Disease
SC 211 - Food and Nutrition
SC 212 - Evolution of Human Nature
SC 213 - The Brain and Behavior
SC 214 - Plagues and Pandemics
SC 215 - Personal Genetics and Identity
SC 216 - DNA and Society
SC 220 - Energy and Sustainability
SC 221 - Meteorology
SC 222 - Earth Science: Natural Disasters
SC 223 - Climate Change
SC 224 - Ecology and Conservation
SC 225 - The Science and Politics of Water
SC 226 - Plants and People
SC 232 - Physics of Everyday Life
SC 290 - Topics in Science
SC 291 - Topics in Human Biology and Health
SC 292 - Topics in Environmental Science

CC 214 - Mental Health, Media, and Public Policy
CD 153 - Disability and the Media
CD 201 - Language Acquisition
EC 203 - Principles of Economics
EC 204 - Cultural Economics
EC 205 - History of Economics Through Film
EC 210 - Topics in Economics
EC 310 - Internet Economics and Digital Media
EC 311 - Hollywood Economics
EC 410 - Common Pool Resources
PS 101 - Introductory Psychology
PS 200 - Social Psychology
PS 201 - Abnormal Psychology
PS 202 - Developmental Psychology
PS 203 - Cognitive Psychology
PS 210 - Topics in Psychology
PS 301 - Personal Growth and Adjustment
PS 306 - Psychology of Prejudice
PS 307 - Psychology of Relationships
PS 340 - Narratives of Disorder
PS 380 - Advanced Topics in Psychology
SO 150 - Principles of Sociology/Anthropology
SO 180 - Culture and Power
SO 200 - Race and Ethnicity: The Key Concepts
SO 208 - Visual Society
SO 210 - Topics in Sociology/Anthropology
SO 212 - Sociology of Emotions
SO 221 - Gender in a Global Perspective
SO 222 - Humor and Society
SO 305 - Religion and Globalization
SO 310 - Advanced Topics in Sociology/Anthropology
SO 321 - The Culture of Money: Markets and Morals
SO 360 - Sociology of Insiders and Outsiders

Quantitative Reasoning

MT 102 - Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning
MT 105 - Mathematics of Media, Music, and Art
MT 106 - Business Mathematics
MT 207 - Statistics
MT 210 - Topics in Math

World Languages

CD 162 - American Sign Language I
CD 208 - American Sign Language II
CD 309 - American Sign Language III
CD 409 - American Sign Language IV
LF 101 - Elementary French I
LF 102 - Elementary French II
LF 201 - Intermediate French I
LF 202 - Intermediate French II
LS 101 - Elementary Spanish I
LS 102 - Elementary Spanish II
LS 201 - Intermediate Spanish
LS 202 - Intermediate Spanish II

Seminar List — Interdisciplinary

First-Year Courses

IN 108 - Love and Eroticism
IN 110 - Culture, the Arts, and Social Change
IN 117 - Women Artists in Cultural Contexts
IN 120 - The Science and Psychology of Survival
IN 123 - First-Year Seminar Topics
IN 123 - Top: Ethics & Communication
IN 123 - Top: Literature of Photography
IN 126 - Extreme Situations
IN 135 - Ways of Seeing
IN 146 - Making Monsters
IN 150 - Creativity in Context
IN 152 - Cultural Constructions of Identity
IN 154 - Power and Privilege
IN 155 - Post-Racial America?

Upper-Level Courses

IN 200 - Feminisms
IN 203 - Post-Colonial Cultures
IN 206 - Introduction to Digital Media & Culture
IN 208 - Rainbow Nation? Race, Class, and Culture in South Africa
IN 209 - Women Warriors of Latin America
IN 210 - Topics in Global Studies
IN 211 - Africana Thought and Practice
IN 212 - Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies
IN 213 - Introduction to Global Studies
IN 214 - Topics in Gender Studies
IN 216 - Topics in Digital Media & Culture
IN 223 - Blacks, Whites, and Blues
IN 224 - Souls for Sale: The Sales Effort, from Snake Oil to Dividual Selves
IN 227 - Topics in Psychoanalysis As Cultural Criticism
IN 230 - Evolution of Queer Identity: History, Literature, and Theory
IN 234 - Topics in Environmental Studies
IN 235 - The Arab Uprisings: A Social History of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
IN 236 - Global Revolts and the Crisis of Neoliberalism
IN 301 - Post-Colonial Cinema
IN 303 - Poetry and Song
IN 304 - Encountering Africa on Page and Screen
IN 307 - Gender, Sexuality, and the Middle East
IN 310 - Gender, Sexuality, and the American Music Industry
IN 315 - Advanced Topics in Psychoanalysis As Cultural Criticism
IN 316 - The War on Drugs
IN 317 - Special Topics in Health and Society
IN 318 - Worldwide Underground: Hip Hop as Resistance Around the Globe
IN 319 - Feminist Cultural Theory
IN 321 - Asian/Pacific Rim Film and Literature
IN 322 - Food and Globalization
IN 323 - Global Cities
IN 324 - Visual Ethnography
IN 325 - Space, Race, and Power
IN 326 - Too Thick to Navigate: The Ecology and Economics of Rivers
IN 327 - REEL Race: In and Out of Hollywood
IN 333 - Power and Public Spheres
IN 334 - Code: Culture and Practice
IN 335 - 500 Years of Globalization
IN 336 - It's Not Paranoia if They're Really After You
IN 346 - ACT (Action for Community Transformation) Leadership Seminar (1 non-tuition credit)
IN 350 - Sexual Outcasts and Uncommon Desires
IN 351 - Global Social Movements and Radical Social Thought
IN 352 - Sex, Society and Health
IN 353 - Topics in Peace and Social Justice
IN 360 - Visual Art, Theatre, and Culture in Barcelona, Spain
IN 361 - Global Media Literacy: Information and Activism Across Borders, Across Cultures, Across Divides
IN 370 - Advanced Topics in Global Studies
IN 374 - Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies
IN 402 - Living Art in Real Space: Multidisciplinary Art and the Collaborative Process
IN 403 - The Shock of the Old: Representations and Renaissance Culture
IN 406 - Queer Dreams: Politics, Culture, and Difference
IN 410 - Digital Media and Culture Lab
IN 411 - Civic Media in Action
IN 420 - Topics in Key Contemporary Thinkers
IN 421 - Key Contemporary Thinkers: Fanon
IN 422 - Key Contemporary Thinkers: Marx
IN 423 - Key Contemporary Thinkers: DuBois
IN 424 - Key Contemporary Thinkers: Freud
IN 498 - Directed Study

Perspectives Course Listings