Ethnic Studies

This course examines a wide range of Maori writing in English, and situates these works within a vast and vibrant whakapapa of Maori creative production in Aotearoa and beyond. Key themes within the course include: purakau and their contemporary retellings, Maori futurism(s), representations of kai and palate politics, the relationship between birds, writers, and the written word, and narrative sovereignty.

This course examines Indigenous literature which presents Indigenous creative production in Aotearoa in relation to Indigenous literatures around the globe. 

This course examines Indigenous Māori cultural framework as a lens to better understand contemporary organizational issues, such as bicultural governance, structure, ethical leadership and organizational behaviors.

This course provides an introductory, holistic overview and understanding of North Korean political, ideological, cultural, and economic structures. The course will analyze principles governing these structures and their relationship to the everyday lives of its citizens and to the country's foreign relations with neighboring countries.

What was the attitude of European culture towards non-Europeans in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance? How were African, Arab, Turk, Mongol, but also Native American and Jewish people represented in Western art and why? From the fabulous East described by Marco Polo to the myth of Prester John, from the clash with the Islamic world to the conquest of America, the imagery of non-European peoples reveals a broad spectrum of symbolic, social, and religious meanings. The analysis of these portrayals provides insight into the processes of self-identification of Western Europeans and the emergence and development of categories of "otherness". This course enables students not only to understand the classification of human groups in the past, but also to better assess critically the modern and present-day use of such categories. The course takes a thorough multidisciplinary approach, encompassing social, political, religious, and broader cultural history. Florence offers a unique opportunity to analyze on-site, and often in their original context, works representing non-Europeans from the 13th to the 17th century. 

Students taking this course learn about the history, theory, and practice of decolonization. This includes a critical look at decolonization versus decolonial thinking in practice, including the institutionalization of calls to ‘decolonize’ which seek finalized end points rather than ongoing modes of decolonial critique. Students undertake specialized study through examples and case studies which may include topics such as decolonizing history, heritage, public history and museums, decolonizing universities, curricula and education, decolonizing environmental activism, art and art history, literature and public spaces.

This course examines histories of sovereignty, land and water protection, decolonial activism, and artistic movements, focusing on connections between Indigenous peoples' in Aotearoa, the Pacific, Australia, and the Americas, as well as Asia, and Northern Europe.

In this course, students explore the German-speaking world through a range of cultural materials drawn from the Medieval period to the contemporary. Work in the course is rooted in an understanding of race as a culturally constructed category whose meanings shift in different historical and cultural contexts. From year to year the course’s primary texts might include films, short literary texts, performances, objects, visual artefacts, music and other forms. These are allocated to thematic blocks that focus on key concepts including borders, language, and the body. Weekly exercises in close analysis, alongside key short readings in theory and method, equip students with the critical skills to analyze how cultural materials both construct and challenge ideas about race and ethnicity. 

This course examines Pacific Studies and the worlds of Te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa (The Pacific). Through the study of taonga or cultural treasures drawn from specific cultures and societies, insights into Indigenous Pacific knowledges and practices are developed. Spanning deep history and the contemporary moment, this course provides a critical understanding of change in the Pacific over time and space.