Complex Problems & Enduring Questions

Aurelia Campbell, Art, Art History & Film
Matthew Vale, Theology

What can we learn from religious traditions' contemplative and artistic responses to suffering?

These paired courses explore theological and artistic responses to human suffering. We take up Asian Buddhist traditions and investigate them in two modes: one theological and one art historical. In our theological investigation, we put Buddhist and Christian traditions into conversation with one another, exploring each as a contemplative response to human suffering. We consider how each tradition diagnoses the causes of human suffering, and the practical ways each proposes to transform those causes into occasions for insight, freedom, and ultimately, self-giving love. In our art historical investigation, we examine how Buddhism’s vision of suffering, death, and liberation from suffering has been enacted across Asian Buddhist religious practice. We explore the role sacred texts, images, relics, and other objects play in how Buddhism has been lived out over the centuries. We will enrich both sides of our investigation by working closely with the material objects in an exhibition of Himalayan Buddhist art held at Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art during the fall 2023 semester.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 1–2:45 p.m.
• T TH 3–4:15 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Susan Michalczyk, MCAS College Faculty
John Michalczyk, Art, Art History & Film

When do we come of age?

We ask whether the depiction of coming of age experiences provides readers/viewers with ways to navigate and contextualize concepts of self and community within the complex social, political, religious, and psychological forces that create the worlds in which we live. When do we come of age? What influences our actions and reactions throughout our journey into adulthood? How do these experiences affect the lives we choose to lead? From times of crisis to moments of calm, childhood memories cover a range of experiences, from the mundane to the transformational. Literature and film adaptations can capture both the individual and collective experience of these critical years of development and memorialize a common experience of both private and public struggles. In both courses, students will analyze approaches used by authors and directors to connect these individual moments to current social concerns.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Thomas Epstein, Classical Studies
Hanne Eisenfeld, Classical Studies

How does grappling with death, individually and as a community, inform the way we live?

What does death mean to the living? How do different cultures, eras, and people understand death? How is death represented in ways that are meaningful in the present and that retain meaning in future generations? How do we participate in this process? Our paired courses will seek answers to these universal questions in two very different cultures, ancient Greece and modern Russia. Through the lens of two disciplines, history and literature, we will examine how engagements with death, from battlefields to street corners, religious ritual to poetic imagination, resonated in their own time and how they might resonate differently with us today.

These course lectures meet

• M W 3–4:15 p.m.
• T TH 10:30–11:45 a.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

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

What is the relationship between human beings and God?

Together, these courses will be exploring 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. It is expected that there will be many intersections between the two courses. For example, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas (on the reading list in Petillo’s course) deploy the insights and methodologies of Plato and Aristotle (on the reading list for De Chiara-Quenzer’s course) in a theological exploration of Christian faith. In addition, the mystical account of God in the works of Plotinus (De Chiara-Quenzer’s course) bears similarity to the contemplative theology of Martin Laird (Petillo’s course). Both the mystical account of Plotinus and the contemplative theology of Laird challenge the modern separation of the religious and the philosophical. 

These course lectures meet

• M W F 10–10:55 a.m.
• M W F 11–11:55 a.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Christina Klein, English
Ingu Hwang, International Studies

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

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• M 7–8:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Tara Casebolt, Core Fellow, Global Public Health and the Common Good
Jessica Black, School of Social Work

In what ways is the maternal experience informed and determined?

Birth is one of the building blocks of the human experience. Throughout history, cultures around the world have developed specific beliefs, traditions, and rituals regarding menstruation, pregnancy, birth, and infant care. These are related to the societal structures in which they have emerged. An understanding of these beliefs and traditions and the society in which they have developed is an important part of delivering culturally competent reproductive health care. In addition, specific populations have been and continue to be mistreated by the medical establishment regarding pregnancy and birth, including Indigenous communities, prisoners, people living in poverty, and African Americans. It is essential to be aware of historically mistreated populations to create a health care system based on justice and equity. In this survey course, a number of topics related to the historical, societal, and cultural elements of reproductive health will be discussed through the lens of public health.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 10:30–11:45 a.m.
• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Ling Zhang, History
Suzanne Matson, English

How does nature act upon us and our imaginations, and how do we act upon it–transforming and representing it?

How do our links with nature change across time and place to produce the modern world and contemporary consciousness? These paired courses use global comparative case histories and in-depth literary readings of the American place to trace changing conceptual frameworks of both conquest and conservation. Students will think critically, write analytically and reflectively, and venture beyond the classroom for urban walks, museum visits, and a field trip to Walden Pond.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 9–10:15 a.m.
• T TH 10:30–11:45 a.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Brian Robinette, Theology
Daniel Callahan, Music

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 don’t 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

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Jonathan Laurence, Political Science
Kevin Ohi, English

How does art shape or mediate the formation of larger and smaller, mainstream and minority political and social groups?

How do the arts help define the “public” in a republic? How do aesthetic objects shape minority communities and their place in a larger social world? Can examining artists’ use of inherited forms illuminate the political and affective consequences of individuals’ banding into groups? Tracing representations of citizenship, political participation, and the nation-state since the late nineteenth century, and, on the other hand, queer film and literature (mainstream and avant-garde) from the same period, we will consider national narratives and national identity in Europe and the United States, and queer art and the formation of minority sexual cultures.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Michael Magree, Theology
Sarah Byers, Philosophy

How did Greco-Roman philosophy contribute to rational Christian theology?

These courses address the enduring question of the relationship between faith and reason. In the early Christian era, leading intellectuals attempted to integrate the Jewish and Christian scriptures and traditions with rational philosophy. They employed Greek and Roman philosophy to reflect upon foundational issues in metaphysics, human psychology, epistemology, ethics, and God’s action in time. We will examine important concepts, arguments, and theories of ancient pagan philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Epictetus, Plotinus) and trace their adoption and adaptation by leading Christians (Justin Martyr, Origen, Lactantius, Athanasius, Augustine).

These course lectures meet

• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
• T TH 3–4:15 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Carlo Rotella, English
David Quigley, History, Provost and Dean of Faculties

What does a city–this city in which we find ourselves–mean?

Meaning flows through a city just as populations, capital, power, resources, and ideas do, and each of these flows conditions the others. As we consider what Boston has meant in different moments and to different people, we engage follow-on questions: How does the form of a text express meaning? How can we understand the relationship between that text and the historical moment in which it took form, and/or the historical moment it seeks to capture? What happens when we consider the local in relation to national and international events and artistic movements? Our students will develop skills of historical reasoning, will learn how to interpret works of literature and allied arts, and will sharpen their analytical thinking and writing skills within the disciplinary traditions of history and literary/cultural studies. We will encourage them to move beyond the received meanings and standard tropes of Boston– the accent, the city on a hill, the regular-guy mythos retailed by Hollywood–and explore questions that Boston has consistently raised about human beings and nature, race and class difference, the form and function of the good life, the double-edged quality of moral causes, and the contest between the persistence of old ways and the succession of new ones.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

R. Michael Cassidy, Law School
Marla DeRosa, English

How do societies define justice, and what role do lawyers, authors, and dramatists play in illuminating the many complex issues underlying this concept?

In this course, we will explore the range of experiences of law for its ministers (lawyers, judges, law enforcement agents) as well as for its recipients/ supplicants (citizens, plaintiffs, defendants, and victims). We will first begin with the question of what is “justice” and approach that issue from the standpoint of political theorists. What does justice mean? Is it fairness? equality? morality? maximization of utility? We will use Michael Sandel’s Justice: A Reader as an introductory text to major political theorists on the justice question, from the ancients to the moderns. We will then examine how the law is mobilized and deployed by professionals as an instrument of justice.

What do we mean by the “rule of law,” what roles do lawyers and judges play in safeguarding and promoting the rule of law, and what, if anything, does the rule of law have to do with justice? A set of topics has been selected to develop an understanding of the situational and systemic demands under which legal actors perform their roles in the United States. For this part of the course, we will use Lord Thomas Bingham’s reader The Rule of Law. The course concludes with an investigation of where lawyers stand in American society today, assessing whether they have succeeded or failed in their larger ambitions to protect the rule of law and to serve as architects of a just society. If not, how might they better serve both society and themselves in uncertain times? For this latter part of the course, we will examine the work of two lawyers, one a criminal defense lawyer and one an environmental litigator, in the texts Just Mercy and A Civil Action.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Micah Lott, Philosophy
Aeron Hunt, English

What role and significance does work have in flourishing lives and good societies?

This course pair offers Boston College students the opportunity to reflect on the significance and meaning of the human activity of work; an activity that is likely to occupy a large portion of their lives. Around the globe, politicians promise “good jobs,” and scholars discuss automation and “the future of work;” But what is a good job? What form of value is most central to work as a part of a good life financial reward? social purpose? personal fulfillment? How do individuals and communities understand and achieve justice and meaning at work?

These course lectures meet

• T TH 9–10:15 a.m.
• T TH 1–1:55 p.m.
  

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Vena Offen, Core Fellow, Environmental Studies
John Yargo, Core Fellow, English

Are we a part of nature or apart from nature?

These courses address the relationship between humans and their environment. Exploring both imaginative and scientific approaches to ecology, we will study how humans have exploited nature, but also how the environment is inextricable from the human experience. Through case studies from ecological literature and conservation science, we will develop skills in identifying environmental degradation, crafting equitable solutions, and expressing ourselves in writing and speech. These courses take a comparative approach to analyzing the history and tradition of diverse narratives of environmental exploitation and conservation through readings from South Asia, small island nations, the Americas, West Africa, and others

These course lectures meet

Section 01

• T TH 9–10:15 a.m.
• T TH 10:30–11:45 a.m.
  

Section 02

• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.
• T TH 1:30–2:45 p.m.

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)
  

Amy Boesky, English
Elizabeth Kensinger, Psychology and Neuroscience

How is memory more than a simple record of the past? What are the challenges and opportunities associated with the malleability of human memory?

This course will explore some of the most mysterious and fascinating aspects of human memory through two disciplines: neuroscience and literature. Six short modules will allow us to look closely at “enduring” (and emerging) questions about memory: how it works (both scientifically and literarily); how it can be distorted or misrepresented; how it intersects with cultural values and beliefs; what ethical challenges are evoked when we treat or interfere with memory; how stress, trauma, or abuse can change or damage memory; and what happens when memory is diminished or lost, either through aging or disease. Shared texts will include Lisa Genova’s Still Alice, essays by Oliver Sacks and Jorge Luis Borges, and Christopher Nolan’s 2001 film Memento. On the literary side, we will consider how varied literary forms work to capture, re-imagine, and/or probe the contours of memory. We’ll read memoirs by Tim O’Brien, Natasha Trethewey, and Allison Bechdel as well as shorter science fiction pieces by Ted Chiang, working in both analytic and creative assignments. On the scientific side, students will read journal articles, including seminal behavioral studies (by Ebbinghaus, Loftus, Tulving, among others) and learn about recent discoveries using neuroscientific methods including MRI, brain stimulation, and optogenetics.

These course lectures meet

• T TH 10:30–11:45 a.m.
• T TH 12–1:15 p.m.

Reflection will be held 4 times in the semester

• TH 6–7:50 p.m. (By arrangement)