Hist 4381: Special Topics - History of the Body and Mind
This course will explore the history of modern medicine and psychology in Europe, from the nineteenth century to the immediate post-WWII period. Special attention will be paid to the German-speaking world as two major late modern centers of medicine and psychology were located in Vienna and Berlin. After an introduction to the origins of Western medicine and psychology, students will critically examine the developments, institutions, professions, and practices of these two related fields - taking into consideration their social context and factors such as politics, war, culture, race, class, gender, able-bodiedness, and gender. Students will come away from the course with an understanding of how the modern hospital, public health measures, and the scientific research of the human body and mind have developed over time.
English 3361- Vampires in European Literature and Film
This course will focus on the origins and the historic impact of the vampire myth and its literary and cinematic treatment in European literature and film. After an initial in-depth presentation of the origins of the vampire myth in Europe, we will focus on the socio-historical and political impact the myth had on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We will also investigate the myth’s far-reaching influence on the philosophers of the French enlightenment. Students will then read a selection of literary texts in English or English translation (Stoker, Dracula; LeFanu, “Carmilla”; Wachsmann, “The Mysterious Stranger”, and Agnon,“The Lady and the Peddler”) all set on the lands that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and that we will be visiting in the course of our study abroad program. Students will also engage in a critical viewing of two important vampire films, Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) and Dreyer’s Vampyr (1932), that address questions of gender and sexuality.
