Complex Problem & Enduring Question Courses

Deborah De Chiara-Quenzer, Philosophy
L. Matthew Petillo, Theology

What is the relationship between human beings and God?

These paired courses explore conceptions of the divine that have been a fundamental part of Western civilization as well as the relationships that human beings have with the divine. The Philosophy course will examine how the Greeks viewed their gods in their literature and philosophy. The Theology course will explore various perspectives on God in ancient, medieval, and contemporary theological writings. There will be many intersections and divergences on the divine between the two courses. 

These course lectures meet:

• MWF 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
• MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• M 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Daniel Callahan, Music
Brian Robinette, Theology

How might we train for encounters with beauty and the sacred?

One objective of these linked courses is to help students realize that their own personal experiences can be the departing point for—and even the subject of—scholarly inquiry, that theology, the arts, and philosophy are not mere disciplines to be learned but practices that are indispensable to being alive and serving the common good. Another aim is for students to realize that deeply meaningful experiences—whether of the true, the beautiful, and the good, or the divine in the world and in one’s self—often do not just happen. Instead, such experiences are usually the result of being situated in the right place and time with the right preparation and mindset; in other words, they are usually the result of a certain type of exercise.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
• TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

R. Michael Cassidy, BC Law School
Marla De Rosa, English

What is justice?

In these paired courses, we will consider the role that lawyers and authors play in illuminating the complex issues underlying the concept of justice. Through the study of works of philosophers, political scientists, novelists, and dramatists, we will explore how societies define justice as well as an individual's responsibility when they confront injustice in society.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
• TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Ingu Hwang, International Studies
Christina Klein, English

What is the relationship between politics and popular culture?

How did East Asia emerge from the wreckage of the Second World War to become the dominant political, economic, and cultural force it is in the world today? What is the relationship between politics and popular culture? Since 1945, East Asia has experienced the Cold War, civil war, communist revolution, modernization, capitalism, democratization, and economic booms and busts. It has also become a powerhouse producer of popular and art cinema. In these paired courses, students will explore the relationship between politics and culture as they learn how historians and filmmakers have grappled with the tumultuous events of the past 75 years.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
• TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Film screenings will be held:

• M 7:00 – 8:50 p.m.
  

Dermot Moran, Philosophy
Thomas Sapsford, Classical Studies

What is the relationship between the individual self and its social roles?

These paired courses examine what factors make us free individuals and how that freedom has historically been removed from certain people. One course will explore the nature of the self in historical and contemporary perspectives from East and West to look at the nature of self-consciousness and personhood. The other will investigate how ancient Greeks and Romans justified the enslavement of individuals for material gain and how ancient slavery influenced American society both in terms of its use of slave-labor and in the arguments made for abolition.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
• TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Elizabeth Kensinger, Psychology and Neuroscience
Amy Boesky, English

What is memory, and why does it matter?

These paired courses explore complex and fascinating aspects of human memory through twodisciplines: neuroscience and literature. In five short modules, we will consider enduring andemerging questions about memory: how it works (both scientifically and literarily); how it canbe distorted or misrepresented; how it intersects with cultural values and beliefs; how stress ortrauma can change or damage memory; and how monuments (built and literary) help us bothto remember and to heal. Shared texts will include Maya Lin’s Boundaries, Christopher Nolan’s 2001 film Memento and the short story “Memento Mori” by Nolan’s brother Jonathan, and essays by Oliver Sacks.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
• TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Deanna Danforth, English
Liam Bergin, Theology

What is the role of food in shaping identity and building community?

More than daily acts that provide physical nourishment, eating and drinking are primordial human experiences that inform our relationships with others. The food we choose to eat and the gatherings at which we partake in these meals have social, cultural, environmental, religious, political, and ethical dimensions. These paired courses examine the deeper meanings of food encountered in literary forms and in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Discussions will be enriched by opportunities to cook and eat together.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
• TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Stephanie Leone, Art History
Sarah Ross, History

How do women shape culture and society?

In 1971, Linda Nochlin posed the trailblazing question, “Why are there no great women artists?” A few years later, in 1976, medievalist Joan Kelly similarly inquired, “Did women have a Renaissance?” Prior to that time, women scarcely appeared in the pages of history and art history books. Since then, scholars have unearthed abundant evidence of women’s productivity beyond the domestic sphere. These paired courses examine how women made significant contributions in political, intellectual, creative, and artisanal work during the long Renaissance (1400-1650), and explore connections with creative women in our own time.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
• TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Greer Muldowney, Art
Renée Pastel, Communication

How do artists and authors unmask the human condition?

In a culture hungry for authenticity, we often forget how masking through code switching, using social media filters, and conforming to popular brands and media can be a form of self-expression and/or an act of safety, especially for members of marginalized groups. This course considers the ways in which artists use various forms, ranging from poetry and short essays to photography and collage to film and television, in order to approach questions of truth, identity and, often, our own humanity.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
• TTh 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Andrew Dwyer, Connell School of Nursing
Latrica Best, Sociology

How does our biology and the larger society shape our understanding of ourselves, health, and illness?

These paired courses address enduring questions about nature and nurture by exploring fundamental human experiences of health and illness from both biological and sociological perspectives. One aim is to examine the concept of self in relation to genomics, the microbiome, and society. Another aim is to critically appraise human difference from biological, social, and environmental perspectives. Using examples from biomedical discovery and precision healthcare, students will examine their values and discuss how we as a society can manage the ethical, legal, and societal implications of this rapidly changing healthcare landscape.

These course lectures meet:

• MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
• MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Thomas Epstein, Classical Studies
Jeremy Wilkins, Theology

What is the good life?

These paired courses explore the question of the good life from a variety of perspectives and from two disciplines: literature/literary analysis and theology. What constitutes a good life? How can I know it? What must I do? In what shall I believe? Grounded in careful reading of great works of literature by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekov, along with theology and the Bible, each course will center on discussion, reflection, and writing about the great questions of life as expressed both by others (in the texts we read) and by ourselves. Reflection sessions will seek to deepen our understanding and our commitments by meeting with people outside the Boston College community and engaging in dialogue among ourselves.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
• TTh 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Guy Beiner, History
Colleen Taylor, English

What is the value of tradition in the modern world?

What insights can we find in local vernacular knowledge that address global concerns about excesses of scientific-technological innovation, postcolonial injustices, geopolitical conflicts, and environmental crises? These paired courses uncover the many ways in which traditional knowledge and oral storytelling continues to inform and contribute to our understanding of the past and the present. Bringing history and anthropology in dialogue with literature and environmental humanities, these courses critically examine traditions and customs from around the world, with a special interest in the folklore of Ireland.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
• TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Christy Pottroff, English
Rebekah Mitsein, English

What is the relationship between where we are and who we are?

Where we are shapes our being, enables our thinking, inspires creativity, and facilitates connection. In these paired courses, students will think about where we are at a range of scales, from the local (What does it mean to be at BC?) to the historical (How are we part of the story of Boston?) to the global (What does the far-away have to do with us?). Students will cultivate a mindful and ethical relationship to place by bridging the imaginative possibilities that literary analysis facilitates with the sense of empowerment and personal agency that writing affords.

These course lectures meet:

• MWF 1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
• MWF 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Jean Franzino, English
Vincent Portillo, English

How can we learn to overcome loneliness and foster connection?

In recent years a number of government officials have recognized loneliness as a public health crisis, with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy describing loneliness as an epidemic, and the U.K. appointing an official Minister of Loneliness. Media has followed suit, with articles entitled, “Why Is the Loneliness Epidemic So Hard to Cure?” (The New York Times) and “How We Learned to Be Lonely” (The Atlantic). These paired courses will explore the causes, experience, and consequences of loneliness by thinking through its relationship to reading and writing. Further, it will explore how norms around literacy (reading and writing) have alienated certain populations while providing a mode of expression for others, and how reading, writing, and discussing literature may both elucidate and ameliorate the experience of loneliness.

These course lectures meet:

• TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
• TTh 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Peter Giraudo, Core Fellow
Gayathri Goel, Core Fellow

Why does poverty persist and how can we remedy it?

In an individualistic society such as ours, poverty is often framed as a personal failing. In these paired courses, however, we will look at some of the systemic factors, notably capitalism, as mechanisms that create and sustain a poorer class of people. We will also consider how poverty complicates narratives of markets as fostering progress and individual freedom. If freedom for some requires the regimentation and exclusion of the many, is it genuine progress? By examining enduring accounts of poverty, we will explore its origins as a mass phenomenon, consequences for civic bonds, and influence on political participation. In addition to making poverty visible, literary texts will also demystify the complex nexus of factors that produce poverty and inhibit true progress. Understanding  what causes poverty is the first step in alleviating the suffering of the poor, so that everyone has the right to a life of dignity and fulfillment.

These course lectures meet:

Section 01

• MWF 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
• MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.

OR

Section 02

• MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
• MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
  

Ethan Tupelo, Core Fellow
Evan Fernández, Core Fellow

How and why is political power created, obeyed, and resisted?

The state is the dominant political institution, claiming dominion over every speck of habitable land on the planet. Seemingly omnipresent, the modern state is a relatively new development in human affairs. These paired courses examine methods of state-making and state-breaking through an interdisciplinary approach of political theory and Latin American history, asking: What is the state? Where, when, and for whom did it originate, outcompete other political forms, and appear inevitable, in Latin America and beyond? How does it promote or undermine justice? How might the relationship between state power and society shape understandings of the common good?

These course lectures meet:

Section 01

• MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
• MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.

OR

Section 02

• MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
• MWF 12:00 – 12:50 p.m.

Reflection will be held four times during the semester:

• T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.