Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

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Summer 2005 Courses

MLS 736    Architecture, Memory, and Meaning: The World Trade Center and Memorial Architecture in America

This seminar examines the role of architecture in the creation of memorials, and the symbolic roles that memorials play in creating environments and in shaping public memory.  What framework can we develop to establish our own standards for evaluating architectural proposals, drawing from the history of memorials in America?  What role does the urban fabric and its history play in the design of the memorial site?  Finally what lessons can be learned about the ways in which our physical design of the environment can be shaped to address our spiritual needs?  Following an exploration of the potential of architectural design to be symbolic, and a review of the ways in which American culture provides a framework for the development of spiritual and symbolic architecture, class members will examine the case of New York City and the debates surrounding the plan to incorporate a memorial into the World Trade Center site.

MLS 777    Paradise or Prison:  Utopian Novels of the 20th Century

The concept of a Utopian society has existed since Plato’s Republic.  However, in the last century a growing number of distopian novels have emerged.  These writings reflect a growing concern that unbridled increases in technology, behavioral genetics, pollution, and the global economy may have unforeseen detrimental consequences.   This course will focus on famous literary novels of the 20th century that speak to human desire to maximize its potential in the face of ambitious times.  Through writing, discussion, and presentations, students will be encouraged to explore some of the ramifications inherent in the “advances” made possible in the 20th century.  This will provide a basis for what to expect in the new millennium.  The novels to be read will include:  Looking Backward 2000-1887 (Bellamy, 1887), We (Zamyatin, 1924), Civilization and Its Discontents (Freud, 1930), Walden Two (B.F. Skinner, 1948), A Clockwork Orange (Burgess, 1962), and Ishmael (Quinn, 1992).