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P.O. Box 400126
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4126
Phone: (434) 924-3741
Fax: (434) 924-1467
Overview The Department of Religious Studies is a multidisciplinary department that attempts to define and interpret dimensions of human culture and experience commonly regarded as 'religious.' Courses in the department stress skills such as critical thinking, clear writing, and persuasive use of evidence to support one's views; these skills are central to the analysis and interpretation of the social and intellectual systems which constitute the data of religious studies.
The department offers a wide range of courses covering different approaches to the study of religion, and provides students with the opportunity to examine the major religious traditions of human history (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism), as well as other traditions that have flourished independently of Asian and European influences. With one of the largest faculties of religious studies in the United States, the department is able to offer courses not only in traditional areas such as the history of Christianity and introductions to the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, but also in Buddhist meditation, Hindu mythology, Islamic mysticism, Jewish social ethics, and African religions, as well as courses that are multidisciplinary in their emphasis such as theology, ethics and medicine, religion and science, and religion and modern fiction.
Faculty The thirty-member department is nationally recognized for its outstanding teaching and research. Several of the faculty are scholars of international repute, having recently been awarded fellowships for study and research in England, India, Israel, Jordan and Nigeria. Several have been recipients of University-wide teaching awards. All of the faculty teach undergraduate courses and are firmly committed to undergraduate education, holding office hours during the week in order to talk with students about ideas, paper topics, or future course work.
Students There are more than 100 students majoring in religious studies, a number of which are double majors. To complete a major in religious studies, students must take at least three courses in one world religion and at least two courses in another. The required majors seminar, taken in the third or fourth year, provides an overview of the different methodologies employed in the study of religion, emphasizing the development of the humanistic and social-scientific skills necessary for the interpretation of religious phenomena. Most students begin their study of religion in an introductory level course, which is generally large (between 100 and 250 students) and covers a broad topic (e.g., introduction to Eastern religions; archaic cult and myth). All large survey courses are supplemented by discussion sections of fewer than twenty students per section, which are led by advanced graduate students. Many of the faculty teaching the survey courses also lead one or two of these discussion sections themselves. Advanced courses generally have enrollments between twenty-five and fifty students and seminar enrollments are limited to twenty students. These courses focus on a more specialized topic (e.g., medieval Christianity, religion and the literature of American immigrants, Islamic fundamentalism). Independent study options are also available in which a student works closely with a faculty advisor.
Requirements for Major In order to complete a major in religious studies, each student must:
Students interested in declaring a major can obtain the major declaration form in the religious studies office, B10 Cocke Hall. Prospective majors must consult with a member of the department in order to plan their courses and choose an advisor.
Requirements for Minor The minor program in religious studies requires the completion of a minimum of 15 credits in religious studies. Six credits must be taken in the same religious tradition or cultural area and at least three credits must be taken at the 300 level or above. A minimum GPA of 2.0 must be maintained in all courses taken in religious studies. A student interested in the minor program must obtain the approval of a departmental faculty member.
Distinguished Majors Program The Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in Religious Studies affords qualified students the opportunity to do advanced research, and to receive, at graduation, the honor of high distinction or highest distinction.
Entry into the program
Requirements for completion of the program:
Additional Information For more information, contact the Undergraduate Advisor, Department of Religious Studies, Cocke Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903; (434) 924-3741; Fax: (434) 924-1467; www.virginia.edu/~relig.
Course Descriptions
First-Year Seminar
Introduces a specific topic, research and study techniques, and use of the library.
Introduction to Western Religious Traditions
Studies the major religious traditions of the Western world; Judaism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam.
Introduction to Eastern Religious Traditions
Introduces various aspects of the religious traditions of India, China, and Japan.
Archaic Cult and Myth
Surveys scientific and popular interpretations of prehistoric, ancient, and traditional religions.
Religion in American Life and Thought to 1865
Topics include the influence of Puritanism, the character of American religious freedom, and the interaction between religion and social reform.
Religion in American Life and Thought from 1865 to the Present
Includes American religious pluralism, religious responses to social issues, and the character of contemporary American religious life.
Religion and Modern Fiction
Studies religious meanings in modern literature, emphasizing faith and doubt, evil and absurdity, and wholeness and transcendence in both secular fiction and fiction written from traditional religious perspectives.
Business Ethics
Studies contemporary issues in business from a moral perspective, including philosophical and religious, as well as traditional and contemporary, views of business. Topics include international business, whistleblowing, discrimination, the environment, and marketing.
Religious Ethics and Moral Problems
Examines several contemporary moral problems from the perspective of ethical thought in the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish traditions.
Faith and Doubt in the Modern Age
Examines religious skepticism in the modern world.
Theism and Humanism
Studies contemporary understandings of religious faith in response to the challenge of humanism.
Human Nature and Its Possibilities
Examines psychological, literary, philosophical, and theological perspectives on human existence with a view to seeing what possibilities are contained in the linguistic, theoretical, practical, poetic, and ecstatic capacities of human beings.
Theology, Ethics, and Medicine
Analyzes various moral problems in science, medicine, and health care (e.g., abortion and euthanasia) as viewed by religious and philosophical traditions.
Religions of Western Antiquity
Studies Greco-Roman religions and religious philosophies of the Hellenistic period, including official cults, mystery religions, gnosticism, astrology, stoicism; emphasizes religious syncretism and interactions with Judaism and Christianity.
Major Themes in American Religious History
Examines a major religious movement or tradition in American history.
Women and Religion
Introduces the images of women in the major religious traditions, the past and present roles of women in these traditions, and women's accounts of their own religious experiences.
Religion and Society
Critical appraisal of classical and contemporary approaches to the sociological study of religion and society.
Religion and Psychology
Major religious concepts studied from the perspective of various theories of psychology, including the psychoanalytic tradition and social psychology.
Existentialism: Its Literary, Philosophical and Religious Expressions
Studies Existentialist thought, its Hebraic-Christian sources, and 19th and 20th century representatives of the movement (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Buber, and Tillich).
Mysticism and Religious Experience
Examines classical and contemporary forms of mystical and religious experience, including the study of religious conversion and altered states of consciousness.
Religion and Modern Theatre
Examines the works of several playwrights, some of whom dramatize explicitly religious themes or subjects, and others who are predominantly concerned with secular situations and contexts that imply religious questions and issues.
Religion, God, and Evil
Studies the 'problem of evil,' using philosophical, literary, and various religious sources.
Systems of Theological Ethics
Examines one or more contemporary systems of Christian ethics, alternating among such figures as Reinhold Niebuhr, C.S. Lewis, Jacques Ellul, and Jacques Maritain.
Issues in Theological Ethics
Studies a moral problem or set of related problems (e.g., human experimentation, special moral relations, or warfare) in the context of recent work in theological ethics.
Taoism and Confucianism
Studies classical Chinese and Taoist texts, their use by religious Taoist groups, and how they have influenced folk religion.
Human Bodies and Parts as Properties
Prerequisite: RELG 265.
An analysis and assessment of theological, philosophical, and legal interpretations of rights holders and rights held in living and dead human bodies and their parts, in the context of organ and tissue transplantation, assisted reproduction, and research.
Evil in Modernity: Banal or Demonic
Prerequisite: Any course in religious studies.
Investigates how modern thinkers have understood the character of evil and the challenge it poses to human existence. Evaluates the proposals made in response to that challenge.
Majors Seminar
Introduces the study of religion as an interdisciplinary subject, utilizing methods in history of religions, theology, sociology, depth psychology, and literary criticism. Limited to twenty religious studies majors.
American Religious Autobiography
Multidisciplinary examination of religious self-perception in relation to the dominant values of American life. Readings represent a variety of spiritual traditions and autobiographical forms.
Readings in Chinese Religion
Examines selected readings from a specific text, figure, or theme. Readings emphasize possible structures of religious language and questions of translation.
Interpretation of Myth
Seminar with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of myth, focusing on structuralist, hermeneutical, and history of religions methodologies.
Interpretation Theory
Analyzes existentialist, phenomenological, structuralist, literary, historical, and psychological approaches to the interpretation of texts, especially narrative religious texts; and the interactions of language, history, and understanding.
Seminar on Religion and American Culture I
Prerequisite: A course in either American history or American religious history. Open to upper-level undergraduates.
Historical examination of Americans' religious identities in relation to the dominant values of American social and intellectual life, with particular attention to the concept of community. Subjects include Puritanism, the Mennonites, the Shakers, Mormonism, and the growth of Evangelicalism.
Seminar on a Major Religious Thinker
Studies the relationship between philosophical and religious thought as seen in a selected philosopher and theologian.
Issues in Religious Ethics
Studies selected issues such as mysticism and morality, conscience, natural law, nonviolence, and methodology in religious ethics.
Seminar in History of Religions
Introduces the basic thinkers in the field of history of religions and to fundamental problems in the study of religious sociology, mythology, and ritual.
Seminar in Philosophical Theology
Studies ideas of God in Western thought, selected topics, from Plato to the present.
Problems in Philosophy of Religion
Examines classic and contemporary discussions of selected problems in philosophy of religion.
Seminar in Social and Political Thought
Examines the social and political thought of selected religious thinkers.
Seminar: Issues in the Study of Religion and Literature
Analyzes terms of fundamental theory, the purposes, problems, and possibilities of interdisciplinary work in religion and literary criticism.
Contemporary Religious Movements
Studies the psychological, sociological, and political dimensions of conversion and ideological commitment in selected contemporary religious movements.
The Victorian Crisis of Faith: Its Religious and Literary Expressions'A Seminar
Studies the religious dilemmas at the center of English thought in the 19th century, from the time of Keble's Assize sermon and the advent of the Oxford Movement into the period of Thomas Hardy. The focal figures include Newman, Tennyson, Clough, Arnold, Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.
Theology of Culture
Explores the relationship between religion and culture, including a theological assessment of the value of culture; the impact of secularization; the critique of religion levied by various disciplines; and the problems of doing theology in a pluralistic context.
Myth and Ritual
Examines theories of myth and ritual from an interdisciplinary perspective, including selected mythological and ritual texts.
Human Genetics, Ethics, and Theology
Prerequisite: RELG 265 or instructor permission.
Studies ethical problems in genetic screening, counseling, and prenatal diagnosis. Ideas of biological and theological determinism are explored critically.
Narrative in Ethics and Theology
Examines the nature of narrative modes of representation and argument. Considers how narrative theory has been employed in contemporary ethics and religious thought.
Ethics, Politics and Rhetoric
Studies the perennial problems of politics and morals considered primarily by the reading of plays, novels, speeches, and historical documents.
Theology and Politics
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Investigates the relationship between theological reflection and political thought, focusing on how theological positions may have implications for political theory and vice-versa.
African Religions
African Religions
Introduces the mythology, ritual, philosophy, and religious art of the traditional religions of sub-Saharan Africa, also African versions of Christianity and African-American religions in the New World.
African Religions in the Americas
Studies the African religious heritage of North America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Christianity in Africa
Prerequisite: A course in African religions or history, Christianity, or instructor permission.
Historical and topical survey of Christianity in Africa from the second century C.E. to the present.
Islam in Africa
Prerequisite: RELA 275, RELI 207, RELI 208, or instructor permission.
Historical and topical introduction to Islam in Africa. Cross-listed as RELI 390.
Yoruba Religion
Studies Yoruba traditional religion, ritual art, independent churches, and religious themes in contemporary literature in Africa and the Americas.
Studies Theravada, Mahayana, and Tantrayana Buddhist developments in India.
Buddhist Literature
Introduces Buddhist literature in translation, from India, Tibet, and East and South East Asia.
Taoism and Confuscianism
Surveys the major religions of Chinese Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Studies the development and history of the thought, practice, and goals of Zen Buddhism.
Tibetan Buddhist Culture
Examines the Tibetan Buddhist culture, giving equal attention to religio-philosophical and contemplative systems, as well as historical and social contexts.
Buddhist Mysticism and Modernity
Opens a dialogue between modern and post-modern critical inquiries in the twentieth century and classical Tibetan Buddhism by examining intersections between language and experience, as well as the individual and the larger self-constituting fields.
Seminar in Buddhist Studies
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Studies selected aspects of Buddhist thought and action.
The Religions of Japan
Surveys the development of Japanese religions from pre-history to modern times.
Buddhist Meditation
Prerequisite: Any course in religious studies or instructor permission.
Studies traditional techniques and methods of Buddhist meditation.
Buddhist Nirvana
Studies the meaning and methods of achieving Nirvana as described in the teachings of Indian and Tibetan adepts.
Literary and Spoken Tibetan I, II
Introduces the philosophical and spiritual texts of Tibet: grammar, basic religious terminology, and structure.
Tibetan Perspectives on Tantra
Tibetan presentations of the distinctive features of Tantric Buddhism.
Seminar in Japanese Buddhism
Prerequisite: RELG 213 or RELG 316 or instructor permission.
Examines selected topics in the major schools of Japanese Buddhism, Tendai, Shingon, Pure Land, Nichiren, and Zen.
Seminar in Tibetan Buddhism II
Studies the theory and practice of Tibetan Buddhism.
Seminar in Chinese Buddhism
Studies selected doctrinal and historical issues in Chinese Buddhism.
Literary and Spoken Tibetan III, IV
Intermediate course in the philosophical and spiritual language of Tibet, past and present.
Tibetan Buddhist Tantra-Dzokchen
Examines the Dzokchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra focusing on its philosophical and contemplative systems and its historical and social contexts.
Sanskrit Religious Texts
Prerequisite: SANS 501, 502 or equivalent and instructor permission.
Readings in Sanskrit religious and philosophical texts, their syntax, grammar, and translation.
Seminar in Mahayana Buddhism
Studies the Middle Way School of Madhyamika'Nagarjuna's reasoning, its intent and place in the spiritual path.
Literary and Spoken Tibetan V, VI
Advanced study in the philosophical and spiritual language of Tibet, past and present.
Religious History of Tibet
Studies political, social, religious and intellectual issues in Tibetan history from the fifth to fifteenth centuries with an emphasis on the formation of the classical categories, practices, and ideals of Tibetan Buddhism.
Buddhist Philosophy
Prerequisite: RELB 249 or equivalent.
Advanced study of the stages and contents of insight according to the Pali and Sanskritic Buddhist traditions using such works as the Satipatthanasutta, Visuddhimagga, Vimuttimagga, and Abhidharmakosha (in translation).
Elementary Pali
Prerequisite: SANS 501, 502 or equivalent.
Studies Pali religious and philosophical works, including grammar and translation.
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
Prerequisite: SANS501, 502 or equivalent.
Studies Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit works, including their grammar and translation.
Approaches to Buddhist Studies
Focuses on the utility of different disciplines such as anthropology, history of religions, philosophy and psychology in the interpretation of Buddhist beliefs and practices.
Seminar in Chinese Buddhism
Examines the major schools of Chinese Buddhism: T'ien-t'ai, Hua-yen, Pure Land, and Ch'an.
South and Inner Asian Buddhist Bibliography
Critical survey of Theravada and Mahayana literature including modern secondary and tertiary sources with practical exercises in using the materials for study and research.
Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures
Studies the history, literature, and theology of ancient Israel and early Judaism in light of the religious writings of Israel (Old Testament).
New Testament and Early Christianity
Studies the history, literature, and theology of earliest Christianity in light of the New Testament. Emphasizes the cultural milieu and methods of contemporary biblical criticism.
The Bible and Its Interpreters
Surveys Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Examines how the Bible becomes sacred scripture for Jews and Christians.
History of Christianity I
Surveys the development of Christianity from the time of Jesus to the 11th century.
History of Christianity II
Survey of Christianity in the Medieval, Reformation, and Modern Periods.
History of Christian Social and Political Thought I
Surveys the history of Christian social and political thought from the New Testament to 1850 including the relation of theological ideas to conceptions of state, family, and economic life.
History of Christian Social and Political Thought II
Surveys the history of Christian social and political thought from the rise of Social Gospel to the contemporary scene. Considers 'love' and 'justice' as central categories for analyzing different conceptions of what social existence is and ought to be.
Elements of Christian Thought
Examines the theological substance of Christian symbols, discourse, and action.
History of American Catholicism
Historical survey of American Catholicism from its colonial beginnings to the present.
Aspects of the Catholic Tradition
Studies the distinctive theological aspects of the Catholic tradition, such as the sacramental system, the nature of the church, and the role of authority.
The Historical Jesus
Topics include the problems of sources and methods; modern development of the issue of the historical Jesus; and the character of Jesus' teaching and activity.
Paul: Letters and Theology
Intensive study of the theological ideas and arguments of the Apostle Paul in relation to their historical and epistolary contexts.
Medieval Church Law
Surveys the origins and development of the law of the Christian Church, the canon law, from its origins to its full elaboration in the "classical period", 1140-1348. Readings and exercises from original sources will focus on general principles of the law, using marriage law as the particular case.
Medieval Mysticism
Introduces the major mystical traditions of the Middle Ages and the sources in which they are rooted.
Medieval Christianity
Studies the development of Christianity in the Middle Ages and how it reflected upon itself in terms of theology, piety, and politics. (Cross-listed as HIEU 318.)
The Reformation
Studies the disintegration of Medieval Catholicism and the rise of Protestant Christianity in the 16th century, emphasizing the interaction of religious, social, and political issues. (Cross-listed as HIEU 324.)
Salvation in the Middle Ages
Studies four topics in medieval Christian thought: How can human beings know God? How does Jesus save? How does grace engage free will? How does posing such questions change language? Authors include Athanasius, Irenaeus, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Anslem, Aquinas, Bernard of Clairvaux, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, and some modern commentators.
Eastern Christianity
Surveys the history of Christianity in the Byzantine world and the Middle East from late antiquity (age of emperor Justinian) until the fall of Constantinople.
Judaism and Christianity
Studies the relationship between Judaism and Christianity from the origins of Christianity as a Jewish sect through the conflicts of the Middle Ages and modernity; and current views of the interrelationship.
The Legacy of Columbus
Studies Spanish settlement and evangelization of the Americas with emphasis on what is now the United States; comparison with French and English colonization.
Dynamics of Faith
Studies a variety of contrasting contemporary accounts of the character and status of 'religious faith.'
Faith and Reason
Studies approaches to the relation between reason, faith, doubt, and certainty in selected classical writings (e.g., Aquinas, Pascal, Kant, Kierkegaard, William James).
The Christian Vision in Literature
Studies selected classics of the Christian imaginative traditions; examines ways in which the Christian vision of time, space, self, and society emerges and changes as an ordering principle in literature and art up to the beginning of the modern era.
Systems of Theological Ethics
Examines one or more contemporary systems of Christian ethics, alternating among such figures as Reinhold Niebuhr, C.S. Lewis, Jacques Ellul, and Jacques Maritain.
Social Problems of American Catholicism
Studies the history of Catholicism in America from the viewpoint of the rise of cities, urbanizing immigrant groups, and tension between ethnic groups in the cities and between Catholics and Protestants.
The Gospel and Letters of John and the Book of Revelation
Explores the five New Testament books associated with the name of John. Emphasizes the various genres and historical settings in which the books were written, key theological themes, and recent interpretations.
Augustine of Hippo
Prerequisite: Any RELC course or instructor permission.
Examines the life and thinking of Augustine of Hippo, a major figure in Christian history and a formative influence on Christian thought to this day.
Christian Intellectual Tradition
Studies major figures and ideas in the history of Christian thought from the beginning through the early modern period.
Women and the Bible
Prerequisite: Any religious studies course or instructor permission.
Surveys passages in the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that focus specifically on women or use feminine imagery. Considers various readings of these passages, including traditional Jewish and Christian, historical-critical, and feminist interpretations. Cross-listed as RELJ 391.
Natural Law in Judaism and Christianity
Prerequisite: Courses in religious thought and/or philosophy.
Studies the problem of natural law as a perennial issue in both Judaism and Christianity.
Phenomenology and Christology
Systematic exposition of the phenomenon of selfhood on the basis of some traditional materials from Christology and of some recent investigations in phenomenology.
Development of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Catholic Liberalism
Analyzes and interprets major currents in liberal catholic thought in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Being and God
Constructive treatment of questions related to the possibility of the experience of being and God or the being of God.
Theology in the Nineteenth Century
Analysis and interpretation of the theology of major thinkers in the 19th century, with special attention to Kant, Hegel, and Schleiermacher.
Contemporary Theology
Presents a survey, analysis, and interpretation of major developments in philosophical theology in the 20th century, beginning with dialectical theology in the 1920s.
Early Christianity and Classical Judaism
Studies early Christian writings directed to Judaism; the role of Judaism in shaping the Christian intellectual tradition; the Christian interpretation of Jewish scripture.
Early Christianity and Graeco-Roman Culture
Studies pagan criticism of Christianity and the response of Christian apologists, and Christianity and the Greek philosophical tradition, especially Stoicism and Platonism.
Seminar in Early Christian Thought
Prerequisite: RELC 205 or instructor permission.
Intensive consideration of a selected issue, movement or figure in Christian thought of the second through fifth centuries.
Seminar in American Catholic History
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Examines a selected movement, issue, or figure in the history of Catholicism in America.
Seminar in Modern Christian Thought
Examines a major modern Christian thinker or movement, or of a major problem in modern Christian thought.
Early Christian Ethics
Studies the nature of ethical responsibility as seen by several New Testament figures and documents (Jesus, Matthew, Paul, John, James).
Advanced Exegesis of the New Testament I
Prerequisite: Intermediate knowledge of Hellenistic Greek.
Reading and interpretation of the Greek text of one of the Gospels.
Advanced Exegesis of the New Testament II
Prerequisite: Intermediate knowledge of Hellenistic Greek.
Reading and interpretation of the Greek text of one or more of the Epistles.
Love and Justice in Christian Ethics
Examines the various conceptions of love and justice in selected Protestant and Catholic literature mainly from the last fifty years.
Surveys the Hindu religious heritage from pre-history to the 17th century; includes the Jain and Sikh protestant movements.
Popular Hinduism
Introduces Hinduism through the examination of the religious lives, practices, and experiences of ordinary Hindus in the modern world.
The Jain Tradition
Prerequisite: RELG 104, RELH209, 211, or instructor permission.
Examines Jain history, belief, and practice.
Hindu Traditions of Devotion
Prerequisite: Any course in Asian religions or instructor permission.
Examines the history of Hindu devotionalism in three distinct geographical and cultural regions of India, focusing on the rise of vernacular literature and local traditions of worship.
Hinduism Through its Narrative Literatures
Prerequisite: RELG 104, RELH 209, RELH 211, or instructor permission.
Examines a major genre of Hindu religious narrative. Genre varies but may include the epics; the mythology of the Puranas; the 'didactic' Kathasaritsagara and Pancatantra; the hagiographies of the great Hindu saints; and the modern novel.
Hindu Philosophical Systems
Prerequisite: RELH 209, RELH 211, or instructor permission.
Introduces the classical systems of Hindu philosophical thought through careful examination of primary texts and recent secondary scholarship.
Hindu Ethics
Explores the place of ethics and moral reasoning in Hindu thought and practice. Examines materials drawn from a wide range of sources, emphasizing the particularity of different Hindu visions of the ideal human life.
Vedic Hinduism
Taking the Vedic textual tradition and the theories of Jan Heesterman as its dual starting point, this seminar investigates the interplay of myth, ritual, and society in ancient India.
Classical Islam
Studies the Irano-Semitic background, Arabia, Muhammad and the Qur'an, the Hadith, law and theology, duties and devotional practices, sectarian developments, and Sufism.
Islam in the Modern Age
Studies the 19th and 20th centuries in the Arab world, Turkey, and the Sub-Continent of India, emphasizing reform movements, secularization, and social and cultural change.
Muhammad and the Qur'an
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Systematic reading of the Qur'an in English, with an examination of the prophet's life and work.
Prerequisite: RELI 207 or instructor permission.
Investigates some major figures, themes, and schools of Islamic mysticism.
Religion and Politics in Islam
Historical and topical survey of the roots and genesis of the religion, and political conceptions operating in the Islamic world today.
Islam in Africa
Prerequisite: RELA 275, RELI 207, RELI 208, or instructor permission.
Historical and topical introduction to Islam in Africa. Cross-listed as RELA 390.
Seminar in Islamic Theology
Prerequisite: RELI 207 or instructor permission.
Studies Islamic theology from its origins through the 14th century. The Sunni and Shi'ite traditions are discussed in alternate years.
Islamic Theology: The Shi'ite Creed
Studies the Twelver Shi'ite Religious thought in comparison with other Shi'ite and Sunni sects.
War and Peace in Islam: A Comparative Ethics Approach
Studies Islamic notions of holy war and peace as they relate to statecraft and political authority in Muslim history.
Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
Studies the essentials of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. Includes readings of narrative portions of the Old Testament.
Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures
Studies the history, literature, and theology of ancient Israel and early Judaism in the light of the religious writings of Israel (Old Testament).
Advanced Readings in Biblical Hebrew
Prerequisite: RELJ 111 and RELJ 112.
Advanced readings in the prose narratives of the Bible. Emphasizes vocabulary, morphology, and syntax. Some introduction to the problems of interpretation.
The Judaic Tradition
Introduces the world view and way of life of classical Rabbinic Judaism.
American Judaism
Description and explanation of the diverse forms of Jewish religious life in America.
Beliefs and Ethics After the Holocaust
Prerequisite: Any religious studies, history, or philosophy course, or instructor permission.
Examines how theologians and ethicists have responded to the human catastrophe of the Nazi Holocaust, 1933-45. Readings include twentieth-century reflections on the Holocaust, and previous Jewish and Christian responses to catastrophe from Biblical times through the nineteenth- and twentieth-century pogroms in eastern Europe.
Israelite Prophecy
Surveys Israelite prophecy based on the prophetic books of the Old Testament.
Judaism and Zionism
Studies the complex relationship between Judaism'the sacred tradition of the Jews'and Zionism'the modern ideology of Jewish national revival.
The Jewish Mystical Tradition
Historical study of the Jewish mystical tradition, emphasizing the persistent themes of the tradition as represented in selected mystical texts.
Jewish Law
Studies the structure and content of Jewish law in terms of its normative function, its historical background, its theological and philosophical principles, and its role in contemporary society both Jewish and general.
Jewish Medical Ethics
Studies the classical Jewish sources as applied by contemporary Jewish thinkers to some of the issues raised by current advances in medical treatment, such as abortion, euthanasia, medical experimentation, etc.
Jewish Social Ethics
Studies major social issues such as war and peace, ecology, crime and punishment, as discussed by ancient, medieval and modern Jewish ethicists.
Judaism and Christianity
Studies the relationship between Judaism and Christianity from the origins of Christianity as a Jewish sect through the conflicts of the Middle Ages and modernity; and current views of the interrelationship.
Modern Movements in Judaism
Studies the modern religious movements in Judaism including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, as well as Zionism, both secular and religious, with an emphasis on their theological and philosophical assertions and historical backgrounds.
Women and the Bible
Prerequisite: Any religious studies course or instructor permission.
Surveys passages in the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that focus specifically on women or use feminine imagery. Considers various readings of these passages, including traditional Jewish and Christian, historical-critical, and feminist interpretations. Cross-listed as RELC 391.
Judaism in Antiquity
Description and analysis of representative systems of Judaic religion which flourished in Palestine, Egypt, and Mesopotamia from 500 B.C. to 200 A.D.
The Shaping of the Rabbinic Tradition
Seminar investigating specific aspects of the pre-modern development of Rabbinic Judaism, e.g., 'the holy man, mysticism and society, canon and exegesis, and law as theology.'
Modern Jewish Thought: From Phenomenology to Scripture
Studies postmodern trajectories in the Jewish philosophies of Rosenzweig and Levinas, with comparative readings in Derrida and Ricoeur. Includes supplementary studies of Descartes, Kant, Husserl, Cohen, Buber, and Lyotard.
Seminar in Israelite Religion
Advanced study in a selected aspect of the religion of ancient Israel.
Seminar in Hebrew Bible
In-depth study of a selected corpus of literature, specific book of the Hebrew Bible, or pervasive theme.
Judaism and Kantian Philosophy
Prerequisite: Courses in philosophy or Jewish thought, or instructor permission; reading knowledge of German helpful.
Studies the interaction of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and Jewish theology in the 19th century and early 20th century, primarily concentrating on the thought of the German-Jewish thinker Hermann Cohen (1842-1918).
Special Topics
Independent Research
Prerequisite: Permission of departmental advisor and instructor.
Systematic readings in a selected topic under detailed supervision.
Distinguished Major Thesis
Prerequisite: Selection by faculty for Distinguished Major Program.
Thesis, directed by a member of the department, focusing on a specific problem in the theoretical, historical or philosophical study of religion or a specific religious tradition. The thesis is based in part on at least three hours of directed reading in the field of the thesis.
Senior Essay
Prerequisite: Permission of departmental advisor and instructor.
Studies selected topic in religious studies under detailed supervision. The writing of an essay constitutes a major portion of the work.
For information pertaining to special fee activities, please see the Service Physical Education website at http://curry.edschool.Virginia.EDU/curry/dept/edhs/hlthpe/phye/.
A student in the College of Arts and Sciences may present a maximum of two credits of service physical education to satisfy requirements for a degree, provided that:
Course Descriptions
Emphasizes basic stances, blocks and attacks, hand and foot techniques, and practice in first forms.
Emphasizes the fundamentals of skills and shots, stressing rules and game strategy.
For varying skill levels. Stresses instruction, strategy, and rules of the game.
Classes are divided into three groups: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. All include service, forehand, and ground strokes; drives and volleys; court positions and strategy for singles and doubles; and rules, terminology, and etiquette. Special activity fee.
Presents basic skills, including dribbling, shooting, passing, heading, trapping, and tackling.
Classes for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students. Includes fundamental skills and rules, as well as basic team play and strategy.
Beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes emphasizing the fundamentals of grip, stance, and swing, in addition to etiquette and rules. Special activity fee.
Beginning, intermediate, advanced, and women's classes emphasize the fundamentals of dribbling, passing, shooting, and rebounding. Covers rules and game strategy.
Beginning: designed for non-swimmers, emphasizes basic safety skills and strokes.
Intermediate: stresses the improvement of strokes, kicking, and breathing. Teaches lifesaving techniques and deep water skills.
Lifeguarding: designed for students interested in obtaining the Red Cross Certificate.
Swimming Fitness: lap swimming with some instruction.
Certification upon completion of course. Special activity fee.
Classes for beginning, intermediate, and advanced riders. Special activity fee.
Weight Training
Basic techniques and knowledge of weight training. Covers physiological responses to weight lifting and program set up.
Jazz Dance
Introduces basic skills and techniques.
Introduces basic skills and techniques.
Aerobic Exercise
Emphasizes increasing endurance, muscle tone, and flexibility. Includes a warm up, vigorous movement to strengthen heart, lower and upper body, and a cool down.
Running for Fitness
For varying skill levels. Instruction in road, off-road, and interval training.
Ice Hockey
For varying skill levels. Stresses instruction, strategy, and rules of the game.
Ice Skating
Held at Charlottesville Ice Park; introduces basic ice skating skills. Special activity fee.
Fundamentals of skiing, including basic skills and techniques, safety, equipment care and purchase, and aspects of competitive skiing; class held at Wintergreen, Virginia. Special activity fee. Although skiing requires class time equivalent to a full semester's instruction, these classes are compressed into a five-week period.
Fundamentals of snowboarding, including basic skills and techniques, safety, and equipment care and purchase; class held at Wintergreen, Virginia. Special activity fee.
Self Defense
Teaches basic unarmed self defense.
Note Courses are co-educational unless listed otherwise. For additional information contact the departmental office, Memorial Gym, Charlottesville, VA 22903; (434) 924-3167; http://curry.edschool.Virginia.EDU/curry/dept/edhs/hlthpe/phye/.
P.O. Box 400783
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4783
Phone: (434) 924-3548
Fax: (434) 982-2744
Overview Given the current political climate in Russia and Eastern Europe, there is reason to believe that the United States will play an increasing role in trade and cultural exchange with these countries. As a result, there will be a need, in both the private and public sectors, for people familiar with East European languages and cultures. The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures works to meet this need by offering a broad spectrum of courses in three areas of study: language, literature, and folklore.
Students find a comprehensive curriculum in language. The program in Russian language offers introductory courses in the fundamentals and more advanced courses in reading, composition, stylistics, and the language of business. In addition to these courses, which develop oral/aural and written proficiency in the language, students may pursue other interests relating to language (linguistics, for example). Instruction is also available in other Slavic languages including Polish, Czech, Serbian, and Croatian.
Russian literature is also a major emphasis of the department. Course offerings cover the entire range of Russian literature, from the works of medieval Russia to those of the present. The courses vary from broad surveys read in English translation to seminars on individual writers (e.g., Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Nabokov). Emphasis is placed on the forces that have shaped Russian literature, including social concerns as well as the Russian sense of history and national destiny.
Finally, the department offers courses in folklore that deal with Slavic myth, ritual, epic, tale, song, and folklore theory. Theory courses, while often relying on Slavic examples, address issues with relevance beyond the Slavic field, such as the nature of oral literature and the significance of ritual in understanding human behavior.
Faculty The eight faculty members of the department are involved on a daily basis in the education of their students. Since the department is small, access to faculty is easy. Faculty interests range from literary theory, to linguistics, to modern cultural criticism and folklore.
Students There are currently about 40 students majoring in Slavic languages and literatures. Most courses in the department are small, from 15 to 25 students, and are taught by a faculty member. With permission, undergraduates with superior skills may enroll in graduate courses in their fourth year of study. Most courses are taught as discussions or lecture/discussions in order to assure student input. Thus, students learn to think critically, and develop well-rounded analytic abilities. Students who complete majors in the Slavic department often go on to graduate programs to work toward higher degrees, or to professional programs. Others work in the government (State Department, grant administration, security agencies), the private sector, or the media. Still others choose to travel and work in the NIS; opportunities include teaching, internships, and volunteer work.
Special Resources
The Center for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) provides a focal point for students interested in this field. Lectures and colloquia as well as social events are sponsored.
Study Abroad The Slavic Department and the International Studies Office offer programs at St. Petersburg State University to provide students with the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of Russian language and culture. Program offerings include Russian language, literature, and culture. Courses of study are tailored to meet the needs of individual students and are determined in advance in consultation with instructors in the Slavic department at the University. In addition to the academic component of the program, an integral part of the program is direct experience of the culture.
Russian House Students may live in Russian House, a residential facility near Grounds. Residents are expected and encouraged to speak Russian as much as possible in this setting. Russian House features social and academic events such as lectures, a film series, meals, and informal gatherings. A University instructor who is a native speaker of Russian is in residence at the house as well.
Requirements for Major The department offers two major programs:
Students in the major must maintain a satisfactory grade point in major-related courses each semester. Satisfactory is defined as an average of C (i.e., 2.0), with no grade below C-. Students not maintaining this grade point are subject to discontinuation from the major.
Requirement for Minor The department offers two minor programs:
Distinguished Majors Program Students with superior academic performance (GPA 3.5 or above in the major) are encouraged to apply to the department for the Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in Russian Language, Russian Literature, or Russian and East European Studies. This program offers the exceptional student the opportunity for more rigorous and specialized work, including independent study, participation in upper-level courses, and the preparation of a senior thesis.
Students are normally admitted to the DMP at the end of their third year of study. See undergraduate major advisor for requirements.
College Language Requirement The language requirement in the College of Arts and Sciences may be satisfied in Russian by completing successfully RUSS 202, or by presenting evidence of equivalent preparation. Any incoming student or student returning from study abroad, or study at another institution, who wishes to continue Russian must take a placement test.
Additional Information For more information, contact Mr. Mark J. Elson, Director of Undergraduate Studies, 109 Cabell Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903; (434) 924-3548; firstname.lastname@example.com; www.virginia.edu/~slavic.
Course Descriptions
Note Enrollment in 500-level courses is normally restricted to graduate students in degree programs. Undergraduates wishing to enroll in such courses must have permission of the instructor. Graduate students should consult the Graduate Record for further information.
Enrollment in all language courses (including RUSS 304 and 305) is subject to confirmation by placement exam at the discretion of the instructor, normally during the first week of the semester.
Russian Language, Literature, Folklore, and Linguistics
First-Year Russian
Introduces Russian grammar with emphasis on reading and speaking. Class meets five days per week plus work in the language laboratory. To be followed by RUSS 201, 202. A grade of C- or better in RUSS 101 is a prerequisite for 102.
Liberal Arts Seminar
Seminar on selected topics in the field of Slavic studies designed primarily for first- and second-year students. Recent topics have included 'the arts in revolution,' 'war and peace,' and 'poetry writing: American and Russian perspectives.'
Second-Year Russian
Prerequisite: RUSS 102 (with grade of C- or better), or equivalent
Continuation of Russian grammar. Grade of C- or better in RUSS 201 is prerequisite for 202. Includes practice in speaking and writing Russian and introduction to Russian prose and poetry. Class meets four days per week, plus work in the language laboratory.
Introduction to Slavic Folklore
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Surveys Russian and Ukrainian oral folklore, including folktales, legends, incantations, laments, epics, and other songs. Discusses theories and functions of oral folklore and compares and contrasts Russian and Ukranian genres with their American counterparts. Focuses on cultural beliefs and attitudes expressed in oral folklore in Russia, Ukraine, and America.
Terror and Taboo in Russian Childlore
Children are exposed frequently to sex, violence, and other questionable material in such genres as lullabies, folk tales, jokes, rhymes, and ghost stories. Through application of contemporary folklore and psychological theories, students examine Russian and American children's folklore to determine their functions in socialization. Focuses on comparison of patterns of cultural identity to identity construction.
Story and Healing
Explores the concept of healing from a variety of different perspectives including healing of the self, community, and nation. Examines how myth, epic, fairy tales, and other genres provide a means to reach such healing, or how they may describe or depict the process of healing. Emphasizes the folk literature of Russians, Ukrainians, and the indigenous tribes of Siberia, considering oral traditions of other cultures as a point of comparison.
Tale and Legend
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the folktale traditions of the Eastern Slavs, primarily the Russians and the Ukrainians. Covers theories of folk prose narrative and discusses the relationship between folktales and society, and folktales and child development. Topics include related prose narrative forms, such as legend, and related forms of child socialization, such as folk children's games.
Ritual and Family Life
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the rituals of birth, marriage, and death as practiced in 19th-century peasant Russia and in Russia today and the oral literature associated with these rituals. Topics include family patterns, child socialization and child rearing practices, gender issues, and problems of the elderly in their 19th century and current manifestations.
Ritual and Demonology
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies Russian and Ukrainian folk belief as it manifests itself in daily life. Examines how Russian and Ukrainian peasants lived in the 19th century, and how this effects both living patterns and attitudes today. Includes farming techniques, house and clothing types, and food beliefs. Covers the agrarian calendar and its rituals such as Christmas and Easter, the manipulation of ritual in the Soviet era, and the resurgence of ritual today.
Open to students with no knowledge of any Slavic languages. Surveys Slavic life and thought from the earliest times, with stress on the role played by the languages, religious beliefs, folklore, and social organization of the different Slavic peoples. Emphasis in recent years has been on Slavic primitive religion and belief in vampires. May be repeated for credit under different topic.
Civilization and Culture of Russia
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Surveys Russian civilization from the earliest times, with emphasis on literature, thought, and the arts.
Modern Russian Culture
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Explores patterns in Russian literature, music, and art from 1900 to the present. Topics include the decline of the Old Regime, impact of revolution on the arts of Russia, modernism of the 1920s in literature, music, art, and film, and the arts today.
Russian Masterpieces
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies selected great works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century prose fiction.
Dostoevsky and the Modern Novel
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the major works of Dostoevsky.
Tolstoy in Translation
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the major works of Tolstoy.
Third-Year Russian
Prerequisite: RUSS 202, 203 or equivalent with a grade of C or above.
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes intensive oral practice through reports, dialogues, guided discussions; composition of written reports and essays; readings in literary and non-literary texts. Class meets three hours per week, plus work in the language laboratory.
Intermediate Conversation
Prerequisite: RUSS 202, or equivalent.
Two hours of conversation practice per week. May be repeated for credit.
Applied Russian Phonetics
Prerequisite: RUSS 102.
Examines the sound system of the Russian language with special attention to palatalization, vowel reduction, sounds in combination, and the relationship of sound to spelling.
Phonetics and Russian Word Formation
Prerequisite: RUSS 102.
Examines the sound system, lexicon, and word formative processes of the Russian literary language.
Russian for Business
Prerequisite: RUSS 202.
Acquisition of Russian for oral and written communication in business situations.
Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the major works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and others. Emphasizes prose fiction. This course is a prerequisite for 500-level literature courses.
Russian Culture of the Twentieth Century
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Explores the literature and film of Russia and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century. Examines the relationships of modern Russian culture to earlier Russian culture and to Western cultures. Movements treated include symbolism, futurism, acmeism, socialist realism, and postmodernism.
Fictional Worlds
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Recent topics have included a comparative study of Jane Austen and Alexander Pushkin.
Russian Prose From 1881-1917
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Russian prose. Concentrates on evolution of Russian realism and rise of symbolist and ornamentalist fiction.
The Russian Novel in European Perspective
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the evolution of the Russian novel, its thematic and structural features, from the early nineteenth century to the present.
Topics in Russian Literature
Studies in English translation of selected authors, works, or themes in Russian literature. Topics in recent years were Solzhenitsyn, Nabokov. Students offering this course for major credit will be required to do assigned readings in Russian. May be repeated for credit under different topics.
Case Studies in Russian Literature
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. One great novel such as War and Peace or The Brothers Karamazov is studied in detail along with some related works and a considerable sampling of critical studies.
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the evolution of Nabokov's art, from his early Russian language tales to the major novels written in English.
Fourth-Year Russian
Prerequisite: RUSS 301, 302 with a grade of C or above.
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes oral practice, extensive reading, and work in Russian stylistics.
Senior Thesis in Russian Studies
For majors in Russian and East European studies, normally taken in the fourth year.
Independent Study
May be repeated for credit.
Senior Honors Thesis
Required for honors majors in Russian language and literature and Russian and East European studies.
Reading Techniques for Russian Newspapers and Periodicals
Prerequisite: RUSS 202 or the equivalent.
Training in the translation of Russian newspapers and journal articles.
Readings in the Social Sciences
Prerequisite: RUSS 302 and instructor permission.
Based on careful analysis of the social science texts in Patrick's Advanced Russian Reader, students are introduced to advanced topics in Russian morphology and syntax.
Advanced Proficiency Russian
Prerequisite: RUSS 402.
Develops advanced-level proficiency in the four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. May be repeated for credit.
Advanced Russian
Prerequisite: RUSS 301, 302, and instructor permission; RUSS 401, 402 strongly recommended.
Graduate-level grammar and translation.
Advanced Conversation
Prerequisite: RUSS 302.
Two hours of conversation practice per week. May be repeated for credit.
Note The following courses all require a reading knowledge of Russian, unless otherwise stated.
The Structure of Modern Russian: Phonology and Morphology
Prerequisite: LNGS 325, RUSS 202, and instructor permission.
Studies linguistic approaches to the phonology and morphology of standard Russian.
The Structure of Modern Russian: Syntax and Semantics
Prerequisite: RUSS 202 and instructor permission, LNGS 325 strongly recommended.
Studies linguistic approaches to the syntax and semantics of contemporary standard Russian.
History of the Russian Literary Language
Prerequisite: RUSS 202 and instructor permission.
History of literary (standard) Russian from its formation to the present day. Includes problems of vocabulary, syntax, and stylistics.
History of the Russian Language
Prerequisite: LNGS 325, RUSS 202.
Diachronic linguistic analysis of the Russian language.
Slavic Mythology
Surveys Slavic pre-Christian and Christian beliefs and customs, emphasizing their role in folklore.
South Slavic Folklore
Surveys South Slavic ethnography and folklore, emphasizing the Bulgarians and the Serbs.
Russian Satire
Studies the theory and praxis of Russian literary satire. Examines some examples of Russian satire from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries; course focuses on twentieth-century works. Students become familiar with the forms and functions of satire in Russian, Soviet, and emigre literary culture.
Russian Drama and Theatre
Studies works from Fonvizin to Shvarts with emphasis on the major plays of Gogol, Chekhov, and Gorky. Includes production theories of Stanislavsky, Meyerhold, and other prominent Russian directors.
The Rise of the Russian Novel, 1795-1850
Traces the development of the Russian novel in the first half of the nineteenth century. Focuses on the major contributions of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev, and examines the social and literary forces which contributed to the evolution of the Russian novel, including the rise of a literary marketplace, influences from West European literature, etc.
The Golden Age of Russian Poetry
Studies works by Zhukovsky, Batiushkov, Pushkin, Lermontov, Baratynsky, Tiutchev, and others.
Age of Realism, 1851-1881
Examines the accomplishments of Russia's most celebrated writers during the middle of the nineteenth century. Explores the many forms which the concept of 'realism' assumed in Russia at this time, and investigates how Russian writers responded to the calls of their contemporary critics to use literature to promote socially progressive ends.
The Silver Age of Russian Poetry
Studies works by Blok, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Mayakovsky, Tsvetaeva, and Pasternak; Topics include Russian symbolism, acmeism, and futurism.
Russian Modernism
Examines selected works by the leading writers of the early part of the twentieth century. Explores concepts of symbolism, acmeism, and futurism. Focuses on competing conceptions of literature that evolved in the 1920s until the establishment of the hegemony of socialist realism in the 1930s. Considers works written by Russian writers living in emigration.
Russian Formalism and Structuralist Poetics
Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of French, German, or Russian suggested.
Studies the theory and practice of groups of literary critics.
Contemporary Russian Literature
Traces the evolution of Russian literature from the 'Thaw' period until the present. Examines the diverse ways in which Russia's writers tried to accommodate, evade, or challenge the prevailing norms of Soviet literature during the 1960s, and concludes with an analysis of the conflicting forces shaping the development of Russian literature at the present moment.
Prerequisite: RUSS 301, 302.
Studies syntactic, lexical, and other stylistic features of literary Russian in various contexts.
Dostoevsky and the Modern Novel
Studies the major works of Dostoevsky. Emphasizes the various critical approaches employed in the study of Dostoevsky. Open to students from other departments with no knowledge of Russian.
Russian Poetry
Analyzes selected poets from Pushkin to the present; and study of Russian poetics.
Topics in Comparative Literature
Studies various literary themes, movements, genres in an attempt to relate Russian literature to the literatures of other countries. The course is open to students from other departments with no knowledge of Russian, and may be taken more than once for credit.
Selected Topics in Literature
Typical topics in various years include 'Tolstoy,' 'Russian literary journalism,' and the 'mid-nineteenth century Russian novel.' In some years open to students from other departments with no knowledge of Russian. May be repeated for credit.
Selected Topics in Russian Linguistics
May be repeated for credit.
Eastern Europe Through Literature and Film
Examines a series of Eastern European literary works and films as insights into cultural responses to major historical and intellectual challenges in Eastern Europe from the outbreak of World War II to the present. Explores the role of cultural media in motivating and mythologizing historical events in Eastern Europe.
Slavic Linguistics and Other Slavic Languages and Literatures
Note Prerequisites for courses listed below: instructor permission; some knowledge of Russian recommended.
Introduction to Bulgarian Language
Introduces students to the essentials of Bulgarian grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading.
Introduction to Czech Language
Introduces students to the essentials of Czech grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading.
Introduction to Polish Language
Introduces students to the essentials of Polish grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading.
Introduction to Serbian or Croatian Language
Introduces students to the essentials of Serbian or Croatian grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading.
Introduction to Ukrainian Language
Introduces students to the essentials of Ukrainian grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading.
Introduction to Slavic Linguistics
Prerequisite: LNGS 325, RUSS 202, and instructor permission.
Introduces the phonology, morphology, and grammatical structure of Russian and other Slavic languages.
Topics in West Slavic Literatures
Includes Polish, Czech, or Slovak fiction, poetry, or drama. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
Topics in South Slavic Literatures
Includes Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Bulgarian, or Macedonian fiction, poetry, or drama. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
General Linguistics
Grammatical Concepts in Foreign Language Learning
Prerequisite: Some foreign language experience strongly recommended.
Intended for all students interested in language. Treats the grammatical concepts traditionally considered relevant in the teaching and study of foreign languages, including the study of English as a second language.
Black English
Introduces the history and structure of what has been termed Black English Vernacular or Black Street English. Emphasizes the sociolinguistic factors which led to the emergence of this variety of English, as well as its present role in the black community and its relevance in education, racial stereotypes, etc.
Introduction to Linguistics Theory and Analysis
Introduces sign systems, language as a sign system, and approaches to linguistic description. Emphasizes the application of descriptive techniques to data.
Independent Study in General Linguistics
For students who wish to pursue linguistic theory and the application of linguistic methodology to data beyond the introductory level.
P.O. Box 400766
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4766
Phone: (434) 924-7293
Fax: (434) 924-7028
Overview The major in sociology is designed to provide undergraduates with a broad, systematic understanding of society and to cultivate their own sociological interests. The major also develops general skills of practical value, especially the ability to think critically and to express ideas clearly. Sociology majors are also able to offer employers specific skills in data collection and analysis as well as a sensitive awareness of their social environment.
Students take courses in three areas: social theory; substantive research fields; and research methods, statistics, and computer applications. The department promotes a rigorous grounding in the discipline, while giving students the opportunity to define their own intellectual development with the help of an advisor.
Faculty The seventeen full-time faculty members ensure that each semester there is a diverse range of courses offered. Currently, there are more than forty courses offered in sociology law, social change, sociology of culture, education and gender, political sociology, religion, family, stratification, sociological theory, and demography.
Students The department currently has approximately 250 majors. Many of these students choose to double major in other areas. Sociology and psychology, sociology and history, and sociology and economics are a few typical examples. Outstanding students have continued their work in this field at top departments around the country and several have won scholarships for graduate work.
Although some majors use their undergraduate degree as the first step toward the Ph.D., many majors work in private business or the public sector as managers or professionals. Recent graduates have gone directly to work for banks, retail firms, publishers, hospitals, federal agencies, social service organizations, and market research firms. Other students have entered graduate study in law, business, social work, public administration, and health administration.
Requirements for Major Thirty credits in a program approved by the student's advisor are required for the sociology major. These credits may include courses taken before the declaration of the major but may not include courses used to fulfill area requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences.
To declare a major, a student must have completed 2 courses in the department with at least a grade of C in each course. One of these courses must be SOC 101. The department also strongly recommends that prospective majors take either SOC 311 (Introduction to Social Statistics) or SOC302 (Introduction to Social Theory) before declaring.
The following courses are required of sociology majors and the department recommends that majors complete the four core courses during the two semesters following declaration of the major:
In addition to the four core courses, sociology majors are required to take three 400- or 500-level courses, the remaining seven sociology credits can be taken at any level.
A grade of C or better is required in every course counted toward the major. Students receiving grades of C- or lower in three courses in the department or falling below a 2.0 GPA in the department are not allowed to continue as a major. Students receiving a grade lower than a C in a required course must retake it and receive a grade of C or higher.
With approval of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, up to six credits in related fields may be used to fulfill the 30-credit requirement. Courses in fields other than sociology may not be used to satisfy the required number of courses at the 400 or 500 level.
Exceptions to any of these requirements will be made only upon petition to the Undergraduate Studies Committee.
Requirements for Minor Students wishing to minor in sociology are required to complete six courses in the department (18 credits) with a minimum grade point average of 2.0. No courses taken outside the Department of Sociology are accepted for the minor. The eighteen credits must include SOC 101 (Introductory Sociology), two courses (6 credits) at the 400 or 500 level, and the remaining 9 credits at any level.
Distinction and Prizes The department participates in the college's Distinguished Majors Program (DMP). To qualify for the DMP a student should have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher. Students who qualify should sign up for the DMP by the end of the first semester of their 3rd year.
Once a student signs up for the DMP they need to complete one designated 400 level DMP course (such courses are required for DMP students but open to all majors). A designated DMP course is offered each semester. DMP students may also wish to take a 500 level graduate course in their 4th year.
DMP students in their 4th year are required to take SOC 498, The Distinguished Majors' Seminar. This course is a one-year course, split as follows. The Fall section meets as a class with a single instructor to develop research ideas and prepare a DM thesis proposal. The Spring section consist of an independent research project conducted under the supervision of a faculty member chosen in the Fall as a thesis advisor.
Successful completion of the DMP makes a student eligible for graduation with distinction, high distinction or highest distinction. The level of distinction and the course grade are determined by the instructor of SOC 498 and the distinguished major thesis advisor after the review of the required thesis.
The department annually awards the Commonwealth Prize for the best undergraduate paper in sociology.
Special Programs
The Undergraduate Internship Program is a joint project of the sociology department and the Center for Public Service which grants course credit for supervised field work in a wide range of local government, voluntary, and business organizations. Regular class meetings in which interns analyze their experiences under faculty supervision, are required.
Facilities The department is located on the fifth floor of Cabell Hall.
Research In addition to encouraging independent student projects, the department has occasional opportunities for students to work as paid assistants on faculty research projects. Inquiries and applications should be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Additional Information For more information, contact a member of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, Department of Sociology, P.O. Box 400766, 539 Cabell Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4766; (434) 924-7293; www.virginia.edu/sociology; email@example.com.
Course Descriptions
Introductory Sociology
Studies the fundamental concepts and principles of sociology with special attention to sociological theory and research methods. Survey of the diverse substantive fields in the discipline with a primary emphasis on the institutions in contemporary American society.
Special Topics in Social Issues
Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced.
Introduction to Women's Studies
Studies women from the perspectives of the social sciences and the humanities. Examines the past and present position of women in the family, the work place, and social and political groups, in both Western and non-Western societies.
Drugs and Society
Studies the American use of licit and illicit drugs and the social processes involved in their development into a major contemporary social problem.
Contemporary Social Problems
Analyzes the causes and consequences of current social problems in the United States: race and ethnic relations, poverty, crime and delinquency, the environment, drugs, and problems of educational institutions.
Studies socio-cultural conditions effecting the definition, recording, and treatment of delinquency and crime. Examines theories of deviant behavior, the role of the police, judicial and corrective systems, and the victim in criminal behavior.
American Society and Popular Culture
This course is an early level course, which aims to introduce students to a sociological perspective on popular culture, and to examine the working of selected sociological concepts in several examples of popular culture. A familiarity with introductory level sociology is suggested, but not required. The course has two parts. In the first we will become acquainted with sociological perspectives and theories on culture; in the second we will look at several popular novels and movies and discuss how they might be interpreted sociologically.
Sociology of the Family
Comparison of family organizations in relation to other social institutions in various societies; an introduction to the theory of kinship and marriage systems.
Law and Society
Studies the relationship between society and criminal and civil law. Focuses on the relationship between socio-economic status and access to the legal system, including the areas of education, employment, consumer protection, and environmental concerns.
New Religious Movements
Studies how new religious movements emerge, how they recruit and hold followers, and how various sectors of society respond to different types of new religious groups. Considers sects and cults as well as religious movements arising from established religious traditions.
Computers and Society
Studies the impact of electronic data processing technologies on social structure, and the social constraints on the development and application of these technologies. Review of how computers are changing'and failing to change'fundamental institutions. Provides an understanding of computers in the context of societal needs, organizational imperatives, and human values.
Sociology of American Business
Studies the internal workings of business institutions, especially the modern American corporation, and their relationships to other social institutions. Topics include managerial control over corporate decisions; the determinants of individual success within business; the effect of business policies on family life; the political power of the business sector; and a comparison of Japanese and American business organizations.
Introduction to Social Theory
Introduces the major theoretical issues and traditions in sociology, especially as developed in the writings of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Sociology majors are expected to take this course in their third year.
Sociology of Art
Prerequisite: SOC 101 or instructor permission.
Studies the relationship between art and society, including the social role of the artist, the nature and extent of the audience for different forms of art, the commercialization of art and the rise of mass culture, the structure and function of the museum, the impact of state support, the use of art as propaganda, and the causes and consequences of censorship. Emphasizes painting, but other forms of art such as music, dance, and theatre, are also examined, depending on the background and interest of the students.
Introduction to Social Statistics
Studies elementary statistical methods for social science applications. Topics include summarizing data with graphs and descriptive measures, generalizing from a sample to a population as in opinion polls, and determining the relationship between two variables. No special mathematical background is required, and students will be taught basic computer techniques. Three hours of lecture, two hours of laboratory work. Majors are expected to take this course in their third year.
Sociology Research Workshop
Prerequisite: SOC 311.
Introduces data analysis and data processing, as well as the conceptualization of sociological problems. Emphasizes individual student projects.
Juvenile Delinquency
Analyzes the social sources and consequences of juvenile delinquency. Sociological theories and trends will be considered, as will proposals for dealing with delinquency.
India and South Asia
Introduces the culture of South Asia from a sociological perspective. Focuses on the caste system and its relationship to the various religions of the area.
Race and Ethnic Relations
Introduces the study of race and ethnic relations, including the social and economic conditions promoting prejudice, racism, discrimination, and segregation. Examines contemporary American conditions, and historical and international materials.
The Sociology of Sex Roles
Analyzes the physiological, psychological, and achievement differences between the sexes; theoretical explanations for sex differences and sex role differentiation; psychological and structural barriers to achievement by women; interpersonal power and sexual relationships between the sexes; and changing sex roles in contemporary society.
Population Issues and Problems
Studies the history of world population growth with particular emphasis on developing nations. Topics include trends in fertility, mortality, and internal migration, and the relationship of these factors to changes in population size and composition; and implications for economic and social welfare.
Problems of Urban Life
Studies current problems of the American metropolis in sociological perspectives, including growth and sub urbanization; housing, transportation, environmental protection, and public finance; crime, segregation, and changing community structures; and urban planning and democratic control.
Sociology of the Future
Surveys attempts by social scientists to understand and predict the future. Topics include utopian plans and their consequences, inevitability theories, the outcome of revolutionary movements, the art of demographic prediction, the extrapolation of social and economic trends, computer simulation of future conditions, science fiction as a social phenomenon, and methods of evaluating long-range predictions.
Social Change
Analyzes social change in whole societies with a focus on contemporary America. Emphasizes the major theories of social change from Marx and Spencer through contemporary analyzes.
The Welfare State
Studies the causes and social ramifications of the shift in responsibility for the care of social dependents to agencies of the state in terms of costs, treatment, benefits, and violations.
Social Movements
Prerequisite: SOC 101 or instructor permission.
Social movements are an historical and global phenomenon of great complexity and variety. Because the topic can be so broad, the course is organized around case studies of civil rights, the industrial workers' movement, environmentalism, religious fundamentalism, and the counter movements to globalization. These cases will be used to illustrate variety of themes and principles, and you'll learn about specific events, personalities, organizations, and dynamics that shaped these movements. By this method, you will gain specific knowledge about important social movements, as well as an overview and general orientation to the sociology of this dynamic area of social life.
Special Topics in Sociology
Topics vary from semester to semester and will be announced.
Sociology of Literature
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
An upper-level seminar in the sociology of literature. Students should be familiar with general sociological concepts and theory. Covers material from a wide range of perspectives in an attempt to understand the social context of written language and of literature. Student groups will be responsible for leading general class discussion on one or more occasions.
Sociology of the African-American Community
Study of a comprehensive contemporary understanding of the history, struggle and diversity of the African-American community.
Deviance and Social Control
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Examines a variety of deviant behaviors in American society and the sociological theories explaining societal reactions and attempts at social control. Focuses on enduring conditions such as drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness.
Health Care Systems
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the formal and informal organizational framework within which health care services are delivered. Examines the process of social change and alternative systems of health care delivery.
The Sociology of Mental Illness and Health
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the concepts of behavioral deviance from sociologic, psychologic, and biologic perspectives, with review and analysis of epidemiological studies, both American and cross-cultural.
Sociology of Inequality
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Surveys basic theories and methods used to analyze structures of social inequality. Includes comparative analysis of the inequalities of power and privilege, and their causes and consequences for social conflict and social change.
Women and Society
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the changing legal and socio-economic relationships between women and men in Western and non-Western societies. Includes class, ethnic, and religious differences in sex role socialization; biological, psychological, and social institutional factors affecting gender roles; gender discrimination; and movements for gender equality.
Capitalism as a Social Order
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Analyzes prominent assessments of capitalism as a social order. Texts include both historically significant and contemporary statements. Among the issues to be addressed are: the defining characteristics of capitalism; the values by which critics and proponents judge the performance of the system; its social and political ramifications of this economic form, with special focus on distributional consequences; and the contrast between its 'classical' and contemporary forms.
Post-Communist Societies
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
The course explores the problems of post-communist transition in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It examines how new post-Soviet social forms build upon past practices and transforms them in the process. The topics for discussion will include social stratification, civil society, ethnic and national conflict, family and friendship, changing gender relations, religion and ritual.
American Society
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies present and anticipated trends in American institutions and values. Emphasizes contemporary dilemmas such as race relations, poverty, community life, and technological transformations.
Sociology of Work
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the division of labor, occupational classification, labor force trends, career patterns and mobility, occupational cultures and life-styles, and the sociology of the labor market.
Sociology of Religious Behavior
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
This course will examine established religious traditions as well as dynamic new religions and attempt to account for the stability of religious beliefs and institutions and explain why new religions are a constant feature of human cultures. We will also examine and attempt to explain why millennialism and prophecies of 'end-times' are intrinsically a part of some religious traditions. Each student will develop a project, related to the thematic emphasis of the seminar, for the class web page.
Sociology of Education
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Analyzes education as a social institution and its relationship to other institutions (e.g., the economy, the stratification system, the family). Emphasizes the role of education in the status attainment process.
Political Sociology
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
This course studies the relationship between social structure and political institutions. Competing theories about such topics as power structures, political participation, ideology, party affiliation, voting behavior, and social movements are discussed in the context of recent research on national and local politics in the U.S.
Sociology of Law
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
After a brief history of legal sociology during the past century, this course pursues a highly theoretical approach to the prediction and explanation of legal behavior. The primary focus is the legal case ' a specific conflict between the parties. What is the social status of each, and the cultural distance that separates them? What is the social location of the third parties, such as the judge or jury members? How to these variables predict and explain the way a case is handled, such as the judge or jury members? How do these variables predict and explain the way a case is handled, such as whether it goes to court and, if so, who wins and what happens to the loser? Although the scope of course is cross-cultural and historical, law in modern America receives disproportionate attention.
Family Policy
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the relationship between family and society as expressed in policy and law. Emphasizes the effects of formal policy on the structure of families and the interactions within families. The American family system is examined as it has responded to laws and policies of government and private industry and to changes in society.
Conflict Management
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Theoretical exploration of the handling of grievances in diverse social settings. Analysis of social conditions associated with phenomena such as vengeance, honor, discipline, rebellion, avoidance, negotiation, mediation, and adjudication.
Gender and Culture
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies how the social definition of gender affects and is affected by cultural artifacts such as literature, movies, music, and television. Students are expected to be familiar with general sociological concepts and theory and be regularly prepared for participation in a demanding seminar.
Population Analysis
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the methods, theories, and principles of demographic analysis with special applications to problems in the study of U.S. and international fertility, mortality, and migration.
Medical Sociology
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Sociological orientation to understanding how and why the issues of health and disease have come to occupy such an important role in contemporary American society. Health issues are presented as a consequence of social change with an emphasis on population characteristics, working conditions, education, and mass communication in the United States.
Sociology of Organizations
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies the formal organizations in government, industry, education, health care, religion, the arts, and voluntary associations. Considers such topics as power and authority, communication, 'informal'relations, commitment, and alienation.
Undergraduate Internship Program
Prerequisite: Fourth-year sociology major with substantial completion of major requirements.
Internship placement to be arranged by the supervising faculty. Students work in various agencies in the Charlottesville community such as health care delivery, social services, juvenile justice, etc. Regular class meetings with the supervising faculty to analyze the intern experience and discuss assigned reading. Only three credits can be counted toward sociology major.
Media, Culture and Society
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology courses or instructor permission.
Studies the linkage between mass communications and social life. Particular emphasis will be place upon how electronic media affect public discourse and how electronic media affect behavior by rearranging social situations.
Sociology of Religion
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
This course explores the role of religion in modern societies. It provides a broad comparative cultural and historical perspective, drawing on examples from America, Western Europe, and former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Topics include classic sociological theories of religion, church-state relations, civil religion, and religion and nationalism.
Special Studies in Sociology
Prerequisite: Fourth-year students with a minimum GPA of 3.2 in sociology (or overall GPA of 3.2 for non-majors) and instructor permission.
An independent study project conducted by students under the supervision of an instructor of their choice.
Classical Sociological Theory
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
Seminar focusing on the writings of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and other social theorists. Open to students in related disciplines.
Contemporary Sociological Theory
Prerequisite: SOC 503, six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
Considers the nature and purpose of sociological theory, and a survey of the most important contemporary theories and theorists.
Max Weber: Theoretical Considerations
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
Examines Weber's writings and his influence on social science.
Comparative Historical Sociology
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
This course will focus not so much on methodological as on substantive issues of macro sociological inquiry. Although issues of method ' or the relations between history and sociology, and of the uses of history in sociological analysis ' will inevitably arise, they will be considered within the context of the discussion of particular topics where history and sociology most naturally meet. The topics are selected for their intrinsic interest as much as for their usefulness in revealing the interplay of history and sociology. Among the topics covered will be: the state, power, revolution, nationalism and class formation.
Research Design and Methods
Prerequisite: SOC 312, or graduate standing, six credits of sociology; or instructor permission.
Studies the steps necessary to design a research project including searching the literature, formulating a problem, deriving propositions, operationalizing concepts, constructing explanations, and testing hypotheses.
Survey Research Methods
Prerequisite: SOC 312, or graduate standing, six credits of sociology; or instructor permission.
Studies the theory and practice of survey research. Topics include the survey as a cultural form; sampling theory; the construction, testing, and improvement of survey instruments; interviewer training; the organization of field work; coding and tabulating; and the preparation of survey reports. Students collectively design and carry out one major survey during the semester.
Intermediate Statistics
Prerequisite: SOC 311, graduate standing, six credits of sociology or instructor permission.
Studies social science applications of analysis of variance, correlation and regression; consideration of causal models.
Qualitative Methods
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
Studies the theory and practice of qualitative, non-statistical methods of sociological inquiry including field work, interviewing, textual analysis, and historical document work. Students practice each method and design larger projects.
Social Demography
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
International study of population structures, emphasizing comparison of developed and developing societies, and the way in which differing rates of population growth effect the patterns of social and economic change in these societies.
Urban Ecology
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
Studies the interaction between human populations and their urban environments. Emphasizes the processes of development and change in America's urban communities, and the linkages among their demographic, economic, and social structures.
Organizations and Social Structure
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
Examines the effects of social structure on the creation, persistence, and performance of organizations. Topics include organizations as the units of stratification systems in modern societies; and the implications of organizations for both social integration and social revolution.
Special Topics in Sociology
Prerequisite: Six credits of sociology or instructor permission; open to advanced undergraduates.
The topics vary from semester to semester and are announced.
P.O. Box 400777
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4777
Phone: (434) 924-7159
Fax: (434) 924-7160
Overview The University of Virginia is recognized as a leading national center for the study of languages and literature. Thomas Jefferson, in his original plan for the University, established a School of Modern Languages for the study of the language, literature, and culture of each five areas: Anglo-Saxon, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. It should come as no surprise that Italian has been taught at the University without interruption since its founding. Students studying in Italian can choose to concentrate on language and linguistics or literature and culture, or some combination of the two. Through systematic analysis, students learn the way language works as well as a means of promoting the successful exchange between people, businesses, and governments.
Faculty The faculty of the Italian department has a wide range of interests as well as a desire to work closely with students. Since the number of students actually majoring in Italian is relatively small, advanced classes are small, and there is a close-knit environment in which to learn.
The current faculty includes Deborah Parker, Cristina Della Coletta, Adrienne Ward, and Enrico Cesaretti.
Students Enrollment in Italian classes has increased threefold during the past five years to reach the current number of 300 per academic term. Many of the students who major in Italian are double majors; combinations include Italian and classics, Spanish, English, government/foreign affairs, art history, and music.
Students who concentrate on Italian studies have many options leading to vocational choices: teaching in secondary schools; applying for a great variety of vocational positions; continuing studies in professional schools or graduate programs; translating texts; or working in film or media relations.
Numerous Italian graduates find employment in school systems. The teaching of Italian in high schools has vastly increased over the past decade. The trend is likely to continue, considering the recent upward turn in college enrollments in Italian. College employment prospects for the specialist in Italian language and literature are outstanding. A majority of Italian majors find employment outside the field of education. Prospective employers include the federal government, international businesses, multinational corporations, press agencies, and the World Bank.
Special Resources
Tavola Italiana The Tavola Italiana is a weekly informal get-together of students and faculty for conversation and conviviality.
Circolo Italiano This student-run club has organized film showings, field trips to museum exhibitions in Washington, and volunteer tutoring.
Study Abroad While the department does not sponsor a program of study in Italy, many students spend at least part of their junior year abroad. The faculty aid in the choice of a program and arrange for the transfer of credit.
Requirements for Minor in Italian 18 credits, exclusive of ITAL 101-202, and including: one ITTR course from the range 226-263; ITAL 301 and 302; ITAL 311 and 312; and one 300- or 400-level course. Substitutions: by agreement with the Italian undergraduate advisor. (change to be effective Fall 2001)
Requirements for Major in Italian Prerequisite for enrolling in the Program: ITAL 202 or equivalent. Course requirements for the B.A. degree in Italian language and literature: 27 credits (beyond ITAL 202), including: ITAL 301, 302, 311 and 312; one ITTR course from the range 226-263; two ITAL 300-level courses (one of which may be substituted with ARTH 231 or HIEU 321), and two ITAL 400-level courses. Substitutions by agreement with the Italian undergraduate advisor. (change to be effective Fall 2001)
Distinguished Major in Italian Prerequisites and curricular requirements are the same as for the major. In addition, students must have, at graduation, a GPA of 3.5 in all major courses, and must take 3 credits (thus reaching a total of 30) in connection with the senior thesis, to be written in Italian, of a length and nature accepted by the sponsor (selected by the student), and evaluated by a committee of three faculty.
Distinctions The Italian program recognizes outstanding students of Italian through its chapter of Gamma Kappa Alpha, the National Italian Honor Society. Each spring (in April), the program awards the Lola Pelliccia Prize, the Sonia Kaiziss Prize, and the Guiliano Prize.
Additional Information For more information, contact Christina della Coletta, Associate Professor of Italian, 115 Wilson Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903; (434) 924-7159; www.virginia.edu/~spitpo.
Course Descriptions
Note ITTR courses are given in English and may not be taken to fulfill the language requirement in Italian.
Italian Phonetics
History of the Italian Language
Dante in Translation
Close reading of Dante's masterpiece, the Inferno. Lectures focus on Dante's social, political, and cultural world. Incorporates The World of Dante: A Hypermedia Archive for the Study of the Inferno, and a pedagogical and research website (http://www.iath.virginia.edu/dante/), that offers a wide range of visual material related to the Inferno.
Petrarch in Translation
Boccaccio in Translation
Machiavelli in Translation
Ariosto in Translation
Tasso in Translation
Goldoni and Alfieri in Translation
Foscolo and Leopardi in Translation
Manzoni in Translation
Verga in Translation
The Modern Italian Novel in Translation
Dante's Purgatory in Translation
Prerequisite: ITTR 226 or permission of instructor.
A close reading of Dante's Purgatory in translation. This course explores canto by canto Dante's second realm of the Afterlife. Particular attention will be paid to how various themes and motifs (the phenomenology of love, the relationship between church and state, status of classical antiquity in a Christian universe, Dante's representation of the saved), differ from those explored in the Inferno.
Note ITAL courses are given in Italian.
Elementary Conversation
Introduction to speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Italian. Five class hours and one language laboratory hour. Followed by ITAL 102.
Intermediate Conversation
Continuation of ITAL 101.
Intermediate Conversation
Prerequisite: ITAL 102 or the equivalent.
Continued grammar, conversation, composition, readings, and an introduction to Italian literature.
In Italian, the sequence satisfying the language requirement is: ITAL 101, 102, 201, 202. Advanced standing is determined by an interview with the Italian undergraduate advisor.
Note The following courses have the prerequisite ITAL 201, 202 or permission of the department.
Italian History and Culture Through Film: 1860's - 1960's
This course uses the medium of film to discuss the developments in Italian culture and history over a period of one hundred years, from 1860 to 1960.
Advanced Conversation and Composition I
Prerequisite: ITAL 202.
Includes idiomatic Italian conversation and composition, anthological readings of literary texts in Italian, plus a variety of oral exercises including presentations, skits, and debates. Italian composition is emphasized through writing assignments and selective review of the fine points of grammar and syntax.
Advanced Conversation and Composition II
Topics include idiomatic Italian conversation and composition, anthological readings and discussions in Italian of literary texts from the past four centuries of Italian literature (from Tasso to the present), selective review of the fine points of grammar and syntax, the elements of essay writing to Italian.
Renaissance Literature
Prerequisite: ITAL 202 or equivalent.
Study of selected masterpieces from the 13th to the 16th century. Readings and discussions in Italian. Exercises in essay writing.
Contemporary Literature
Prerequisite: ITAL 202 or equivalent.
Study of selected masterpieces from the modern period of Italian literature. Readings and discussions in Italian. Exercises in essay writing.
Lirica (Italian Lyric Poetry)
Epica (Italian Epic Poetry)
Novella (Italian Short Narrative)
Romanzo (Italian Novel)
Surveys the major developments in Italian fiction during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Introduces textual analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts.
Teatro (Italian Theater)
Studies the major dramatic works from the Renaissance to the present, including productions by Niccolo Machiavelli, Carlo Goldoni, Luigi Pirandello, and Dario Fo.
Critica (Italian Literary Criticism)
Italian Travel Literature
Prerequisites: Italian language course 101 through 202, or demonstrated Italian language proficiency per consent of instructor.
Study of major Italian travel writers from medieval to modern times, within a discussion of the definition and history of the literary genre, and the critical perspectives relating to it. In Italian.
Methodologia (Stylistics and Methods)
Medioevo (Italian Culture and Literature in the Middle Ages)
Umanesimo (Italian Culture and Literature in the Humanistic Period)
Rinascimento (Italian Culture and Literature During the Renaissance)
Barocco (Italian Culture and Literature During the Baroque Age)
Illuminismo (Italian Culture and Literature During the Enlightenment)
Romanticismo (Italian Culture and Literature in the Age of Romanticism)
Novecentismo (Italian Culture and Literature in the Twentieth Century)
Italian Pop Culture: 1960's - 1990's
Prerequisites: Students who have completed ITAL 202. Other students admitted with instructor permission.
An interdisciplinary approach to the last thirty years of Italian cultural history, from a theoretical and practical perspective. In Italian.
Independent Study
Requirements for Minor in Portuguese The Portuguese minor consists of eighteen credits beyond PORT 212.
Course Descriptions
The Civilization of Brazil
Introduces the development of Brazilian culture from 1500 to the present. This course is taught in English and does not fulfill the language requirement.
Note PORT courses are given in Portuguese.
Beginning Intensive Portuguese
Prerequisite: Some previous knowledge of Portuguese or a working knowledge of another modern foreign language.
Introduces speaking, understanding, reading and writing Portuguese, especially as used in Brazil. Five class hours and one laboratory hour. Followed by PORT 212.
Intermediate Intensive Portuguese
Prerequisite: PORT 111 or equivalent.
Continued study of Portuguese through readings, vocabulary exercises, oral and written compositions, and grammar review.
Advanced Grammar, Conversation and Composition
Prerequisite: PORT 212 or by permission.
Studies advanced grammar through analysis of texts; includes extensive practice in composition and topical conversation.
Readings in Literature in Portuguese
Prerequisite: PORT 212 or by permission.
Studies readings from the chief periods of Brazilian and Portuguese literature.
Brazilian Literature
Studies leading figures and movements from Colonial times to 1900.
Brazilian Literature
Studies leading figures and movements from 1900 to present.
Studies in Luso-Brazilian Language and Literature
Prerequisite: One course at the 300 level or higher, or instructor permission.
Studies topics in Portuguese or Brazilian literature or in Portuguese linguistics according to the interests and preparation of the students.
Overview In 1787 Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Spanish. Bestow great attention on this and endeavor to acquire an accurate knowledge of it. Our future connection with Spain and Spanish American will render that language a valuable acquisition." Jefferson's words have never rung more true than they do in today's shrinking world. The major in Spanish is designed to develop a student's proficiency in the language while assuring that he or she receives a strong background in linguistics, literature, culture or a combination of these areas. All courses are taught in Spanish.
Faculty Spanish majors have access to a nationally-ranked group of faculty members whose expertise ranges across a wide range of areas: peninsular literature from the medieval to the modern periods; Latin American literature from Colonial times to the present; Portuguese and Brazilian literature; Spanish cinema; Hispanic women's writing; Spanish and Latin-American culture; and Hispanic linguistics. In addition to these specialists, the department regularly invites a distinguished visiting professor or Hispanic author for a semester (recent visitors have included Isabel Allende, Mempo Giardinelli, Rosa Montero, Lou Charnon-Deutsch, Randolph Pope, Andrew Anderson, Antonio Munoz Molina, and Antonio Cisneros.
Students There are currently more than 150 students majoring in Spanish. More than half of these are double majors. The most popular combinations with the Spanish major include Latin American studies, Politics, or other languages such as French or Italian. Many Spanish majors go on to graduate or professional school to become lawyers, doctors and educators. Others go directly into the working world, finding their Spanish major useful for careers in business, the government, and international agencies.
Prerequisites for Majoring in Spanish In order to major in Spanish, a student must have completed SPAN 202, or the equivalent, with a grade of C or better. Native speakers of Spanish are encouraged to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies before taking any Spanish courses in order to determine how best to proceed.
Requirements for the Major in Spanish A Spanish major consists of thirty graded credits taken above the 301 level. At the moment of declaring a Spanish major, the student is required to choose one of the three tracks described below- the general track, the literature and culture track, and the linguistics and philology track - to give structure to his or her Spanish studies. All three tracks require the student to complete certain core courses meant to provide basic skills and knowledge: SPAN 311 Grammar Review; SPAN 330 Literary Analysis, and a survey of literature (SPAN 340-43). A grade of C or better is required in all subsequent courses. Native speakers of Spanish may not enroll in conversation courses. Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill part of the requirement for their major in the department's study abroad program in Valencia, Spain (see below), but they are welcome to substitute other programs in consultation with their advisor.
General Spanish Major
Major in Literature and Culture
Major in Spanish Linguistics and Philosophy
Study Abroad A study abroad program in Valencia, Spain is available through the Spanish department and participation is strongly encouraged. Students may spend a summer term, a semester, or an entire year with a Spanish family, becoming totally immersed in the language and culture. The department also grants credit for foreign study done through programs sponsored by other institutions. Students may apply up to 12 study-abroad credits from a semester abroad, or 15 credits from a year abroad, toward their Spanish major. Up to 9 credits may be applied toward the Spanish minor.
Independent Study Independent study with a faculty advisor is available to advanced students who wish to pursue specific areas in depth that are not included in the regular curriculum. All of these courses are taught in Spanish.
Distinguished Majors Program The department has a Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in Spanish for those students who excel and wish to be considered for a degree with a title of distinction, high distinction, or highest distinction. Participants in the Distinguished Majors Program are required to complete 9 hours of coursework at the 500-level or above as part of the 30 hours required for their Spanish major. They are also required to complete a 6-credit thesis during their final semester of study.
Major in Latin-American Studies For major and minor requirements see the section on Latin American Studies.
Requirements for the Minor in Spanish The Spanish minor consists of 18 credits beyond the 202 level. Only grades of C or better count for the minor program.
Five-year Teacher Education Program Students wishing to enroll in the five-year B.A. - M.T. Teacher Education Program should contact Professor Alicia Belozerco in the Curry School of Education or the program advisor in Spanish (Professor David T. Gies). The five-year program leads toward teaching certification and has special requirements, including a mandatory study abroad and diagnostic and evaluative proficiency exams in Spanish.
Language Requirement The SPAN 101, 102 courses in this department are reserved for students who present no entrance credits in the language. Students who enter with two or more entrance credits and who wish to continue that language will be placed according to scores obtained on College Entrance Examination Board SAT II tests in the language. The sequence of courses, depending on the level at which the student begins, is as follows: SPAN 101, 102, 201, 202; or SPAN 106, 201, 202; or SPAN 106, 202; or SPAN 201, 202; or SPAN 202. The sequence must be followed to complete the language requirement. Students who place themselves incorrectly will not receive credit.
Additional Information For more information, contact the Department of Spanish, 115 Wilson Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903; (434) 924-7159; www.virginia.edu/~spitpo
Course Descriptions
Note The following courses are given in Spanish.
Elementary Spanish
For students who have not previously studied Spanish.
Develops listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. SPAN 101 and 102 enable students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations (e.g., greeting, narrating, describing, ordering, comparing and contrasting, and apologizing). Five class hours and one laboratory hour. Followed by SPAN 201.
Intermediate Spanish
Prerequisite: Passing grade in SPAN 102, a score of 520-590 on the SAT II test; 326-409 in the placement test; or permission of the department.
Further develops the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. SPAN 201 enables students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations (e.g., narrating present, past and future activities, and expressing hopes, desires, and requests). Students also read journalistic and literary selections designed for Spanish-speaking audiences. Three class hours. Laboratory work is required. Followed by SPAN 202.
Advanced Intermediate Spanish
Prerequisite: Passing grade in SPAN 201, SAT II test scores of 600-640; placement test scores of 410-535, 4 in the AP Test or permission of the department.
Enables students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations and handle complications (e.g., asking for, understanding and giving directions, expressing happiness and affection, and persuading). Students may choose either SPAN 202A, which includes reading literary and cultural selections or SPAN 202C, which includes selected medical readings. Three class hours. Laboratory work is required.
Note Prerequisite for the following courses: SPAN 202 or the equivalent.
Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
Grammar Review
Advanced Conversation
Business Spanish
Literary Analysis
Note SPAN 330 or instructor permission is prerequisite for any course in Spanish literature or culture with a number above SPAN 330.
Survey of Spanish Literature I (Middle Ages to 1700)
Survey of Spanish Literature II (1700 to Present)
Survey of Latin American Literature I (Colonial to 1900)
Survey of Latin American Literature II (1900 to Present)
Advanced Grammar and Composition
Advanced Conversation/Cinema
Prerequisite: Ability to comprehend Spanish and to converse with some fluency (generally recommended: at least three 300- or 400-level Spanish classes); students who have had SPAN 313 (Conversacion) abroad or who are native speakers (or who come from native-speaking backgrounds) are not permitted to take this course.
This class is designed as an advanced-level conversation class, with a cultural component.
History of the Language
Translation From Spanish to English
The Inquisition in Spain and Latin America
Prerequisite: Completion of SPAN 330 or instructor permission.
Explores the history of the ecclesiastical court dedicated to the eradication of heresy in early modern Spain, its impact on culture, religion and social behavior.
1492 and the Aftermath
Prerequisite: SPAN 330 or instructor permission.
Examines Spanish attempts to understand and figure the Americas, as well as American indigenous reactions to them.
Spanish Culture and Civilization
Latin American Culture and Civilization
Hispanic Dialectology and Bilingualism
Hispanic Sociolinguistics
Hispanic Intellectual History
Spanish Literature From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
Spanish Literature of the Golden Age
Don Quixote
Spanish Literature From the Enlightenment to Romanticism
Spanish Literature From Realism to the Generation of 1898
Modern Spanish Literature
Literature and Cinema
Prerequisite: SPAN 311 and SPAN 330 or instructor permission.
Explores the relationship between literature and film as narrative arts, focusing on contemporary classics of the Spanish and Spanish-American novel and their cinematic adaptations.
Hispanic Women Writers
Examines writings by women authors of Spain and Latin America, using the texts as a basis for studying the evolving roles and paradigms of women in these societies.
Latin-American Literature From Colonial Period to 1900
Latin-American Literature After 1900
Contemporary Latin-American Short Fiction
Contemporary Latin-American Novel
Spanish Contemporary Poetry
Prerequisite: One course of grammar (SPAN 311 Grammar Review) and one course of Literary Analysis (SPAN 330).
This is an introduction to poetry in Spanish, including the study of some of the most relevant Spanish and Latin American poets of the twentieth century.
Special Topics Seminar: Literature
Special Topics Seminar: Language
Independent Study
P.O. Box 400135
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4135
Phone: (434) 924-3222
Fax: (434) 924-3076
Overview Statistics is a means of analyzing data to gain insight into real problems. It is focused on problem solving, rather than on methods that may be useful in specific settings. Statistics is unique in its ability to quantify uncertainty. Thus statistics has become a crucial tool in all aspects of modern society, providing insight in such fields as public policy, law, medicine, the social sciences, and the natural sciences.
The Department of Statistics shares the newly emerged consensus among statisticians that statistical education should focus on data analysis and statistical reasoning rather than the presentation of a coterie of methods. As importantly, the department believes that the mathematical tools underlying statistical inference are significant and necessary for statistics education, but those tools must necessarily remain secondary in the training of statisticians. Because of these views, the statistics program strongly emphasizes its consulting service, which provides statistical consultation to all branches of the University. Through this service, statistics students gain valuable insight into all branches of the field while acquiring practical training in problem solving.
The Department of Statistics offers a broad range of courses covering all areas of applied and theoretical statistics.
Faculty The faculty consist of six full-time, two half-time, and three adjunct appointments. The half-time faculty have primary appointments in the department of mathematics, and the three adjunct faculty have primary appointments in the departments of biostatistics, economics, and systems engineering. This collection of disciplines, in addition to the interests of the full-time faculty, ensures that the department is able to cater to the interests of diverse students.
Students Students who graduate with in-depth training in statistics enjoy a large range of opportunities. Some pursue employment in the public or private sector, working as actuaries, consultants, data analysts, or teachers, among many fields. Others do graduate study in fields such as economics, finance, mathematics, operations research, psychology, and, of course, statistics.
Minor in Statistics and Data Analysis The minor in statistics and data analysis is designed to meet the needs of several types of students: the student interested in applying statistics to some other field, the student interested in exploring a future career in biostatistics or applied statistics, the student interested in a career in actuarial statistics, or the mathematically minded student interested in graduate study in statistics.
Requirements for Minor in Statistics and Data Analysis Five (5) courses selected from: all STAT courses numbered 300 or above, MATH 312 and 511. These five courses must include STAT 512 and, at most, one of MATH 312 or STAT 500.
With consent of the statistics faculty, a student who has had an appropriate introductory statistics course in another department may be exempted from the MATH 312/STAT 500 requirement. Such a student still needs to take five courses from among MATH 511 and all STAT courses numbered 300 or above.
Courses used to satisfy the minor in statistics and data analysis cannot be used to satisfy the requirements of another major. For example, a student who takes MATH 310/312 to satisfy the requirements of the major in mathematics, must take five additional courses from MATH 511 and the STAT courses numbered 300 or above (excluding STAT 500).
Sample Programs The following are examples of programs for a student intending to pursue the minor in statistics and data analysis:
A general program in applied statistics: STAT 500, 512, 513, 516, 313.
A general program in biostatistics: STAT 500, 512, 531, 514, 301.
An actuarial preparatory program: MATH 312; STAT 512, 519, 540, 541.
A program for graduate study in statistics: MATH 312, 511; STAT 512, 513, 519. MATH 351 and 531 are also recommended.
Students should be aware that, except for MATH 312, 511; STAT 500, 512, 513, and 519, all courses for the minor in statistics and data analysis are offered in alternate years. Please consult the department's Web site for the offering schedule.
Additional Information For more information contact Daniel Keenan, Graduate and Undergraduate Advisor, Department of Statistics, 109 Halsey Hall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903; (434) 924-3048; Fax: (434) 924-3076; www.stat.virginia.edu.
Course Descriptions
Note The entering College student is encouraged to take the introductory course, STAT 110. This course, entitled Chance, is intended to make students aware of the ubiquity and importance of basic statistics in public policy and everyday life. The course uses a case-study approach based on current chance events reported in daily newspapers and current scientific journals. Credits earned in this course may be counted towards the College's natural science area requirements. Students are also encouraged to take mathematics courses which serve as prerequisites for higher-level statistics courses.
Chance: An Introduction to Statistics
Studies introductory statistics and probability, visual methods for summarizing quantitative information, basic experimental design and sampling methods, ethics and experimentation, causation, and interpretation of statistical analyzes. Applications use data drawn from current scientific and medical journals, newspaper articles, and the Internet. Students will not receive credit for both STAT 110 and STAT 112.
Introduction to Statistics
Includes graphical displays of data, relationships in data, design of experiments, causation, random sampling, probability distributions, inference, confidence intervals, tests of hypotheses, and regression and correlation. Students will not receive credit for both STAT 110 and STAT 112.
Introduction to Statistical Analysis
Prerequisite: MATH 121 or equivalent.
Co-requisite: Concurrent enrollment in a discussion section of STAT 212.
Introduction to the probability and statistical theory underlying the estimation of parameters and testing of statistical hypotheses, including those arising in the context of simple and multiple regression models. Students will use computers and statistical programs to analyze data. Examples and applications are drawn from economics, business, and other fields. Students will not receive credit for both STAT 212 and ECON 371.
Statistical Computing and Graphics
Prerequisite: STAT 110 or 112 or instructor permission.
Introduces statistical computing using S-PLUS. Topics include descriptive statistics for continuous and categorical variables, methods for handling missing data, basics of graphical perception, graphical displays, exploratory data analysis, and the simultaneous display of multiple variables. Students should be experienced with basic text-editing and file manipulation on either a PCor a UNIXsystem, and with either a programming language (e.g. BASIC) or a spreadsheet program (e.g. MINITAB or EXCEL). Credit earned in this course cannot be applied toward a graduate degree in statistics.
Design and Analysis of Sample Surveys
Prerequisite: STAT 110 or 112 or MATH 312, or instructor permission.
Discusses the main designs and estimation techniques used in sample surveys; including simple random sampling, stratification, cluster sampling, double sampling, post-stratification, and ratio estimation. Non-response problems and measurement errors are also discussed. Many properties of sample surveys are developed through simulation procedures. The SUDAAN software package for analyzing sample surveys is used.
Introduction to Applied Statistics
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Introduces estimation and hypothesis testing in applied statistics, especially the medical sciences. Measurement issues, measures of central tendency and dispersion, probability, discrete probability distributions (binomial and Poisson), continuous probability distributions (normal, t, chi-square, and F), and one- and two-sample inference, power and sample size calculations, introduction to non-parametric methods, one-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons. Students must also enroll in STAT 598 for 1 credit.
Statistical Computing and Graphics
Prerequisite: STAT 110 or 112, and graduate standing or instructor permission. Students who have received credit for STAT 301 may not take STAT 501 for credit.
Introduces statistical computing using S-PLUS. Topics include descriptive statistics for continuous and categorical variables, methods for handling missing data, basics of graphical perception, graphical displays, exploratory data analysis, the simultaneous display of multiple variables. Students should be experienced with basic text-editing and file manipulation on either a PCor a UNIXsystem, and with either a programming language (e.g. BASIC) or a spreadsheet program (e.g. MINITAB or EXCEL). Credit earned in this course cannot be applied toward a graduate degree in statistics.
Applied Linear Models
Prerequisite: MATH 312 or 510 or instructor permission; corequisite: STAT 598.
Topics include linear regression models, inferences in regression analysis, model validation, selection of independent variables, multicollinearity, influential observations, auto correlation in time series data, polynomial regression, nonlinear regression, and other topics in regression analysis.
Applied Multivariate Statistics
Prerequisite: MATH 351 and 312 or 510 or instructor permission; corequisite: STAT 598.
Topics include matrix algebra, random sampling, multivariate normal distributions, multivariate regression, MANOVA, principal components, factor analysis, discriminant analysis. Statistical software is used.
Survival Analysis and Reliability Theory
Prerequisite: MATH 312 or 510, or instructor permission; corequisite: STAT 598.
Topics include lifetime distributions, hazard functions, competing-risks, proportional hazards, censored data, accelerated-life models, Kaplan-Meier estimator, stochastic models, renewal processes, and Bayesian methods for lifetime and reliability data analysis.
Actuarial Statistics
Prerequisite: MATH 312 or 510, or instructor permission.
Covers the main topics required by students preparing for the examinations in Actuarial Statistics, set by the American Society of Actuaries. Topics include life tables, life insurance and annuities, survival distributions, net premiums and premium reserves, multiple life functions and decrement models, valuation of pension plans, insurance models, and benefits and dividends.
Experimental Design
Prerequisite: MATH 312 or 510, or instructor permission; corequisite: STAT 598.
Introduces the basic concepts in experimental design. Topics include analysis of variance, multiple comparison tests, completely randomized design, general linear model approach to analysis of variance, randomized block designs, Latin square and related designs, completely randomized factorial design with two or more treatments, hierarchical designs, split-plot and confounded factorial designs, and analysis of covariance.
Applied Time Series
Prerequisite: MATH 312 or 510, or instructor permission; corequisite: STAT 598.
Studies the basic time series models in both the time domain (ARMA models) and the frequency domain (spectral models). Emphasizes application to real data sets.
Numerical Methods in Statistics
Prerequisite: MATH 351 and knowledge of a programming language suitable for scientific computation, or instructor permission.
Studies selected topics in linear algebra and related numerical algorithms of special importance in statistics, including linear least-squares, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, QR decomposition, singular value decomposition, and generalized matrix inverses.
Introduction to Mathematical Statistics
Prerequisite: MATH 312 or 510, or instructor permission.
Studies the fundamentals of statistical distribution theory, moments, transformations of random variables, point estimation, hypothesis testing, confidence regions.
Design and Analysis of Sample Surveys
Prerequisite: STAT 112 or MATH 312, and graduate standing or instructor permission.
Discusses the main designs and estimation techniques used in sample surveys, including simple random sampling, stratification, cluster sampling, double sampling, post-stratification, ratio estimation. Non-response problems and measurement errors are also discussed. Many properties of sample surveys are developed through simulation procedures. The SUDAAN computer package for analyzing sample surveys is used. Students who have received credit for STAT 313 may not take STAT 520 for credit.
Clinical Trials Methodology
Prerequisite: A basic statistics course (MATH 312/510), or instructor permission.
Studies experimental designs for randomized clinical trials, sources of bias in clinical studies, informed consent, logistics, and interim monitoring procedures (group sequential and Bayesian methods).
Applied Statistics Laboratory
Corequisite: A 500-level STAT applied statistics course.
This course, the laboratory component of the department's applied statistics program, deals with the use of computer packages in data analysis. Enrollment in STAT 598 is required for all students in the department's 500-level applied statistics courses (STAT 501, 512, 513, 514, 516, 517, 520). STAT 598 may be taken repeatedly provided that a student is enrolled in at least one of these 500-level applied courses. However, no more than one unit of STAT 598 may be taken in any semester.
Topics in Statistics
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Studies topics in statistics that are not part of the regular course offerings.
P.O. Box 400172
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4172
Phone: (434) 982-2961
Fax: (434) 924-6969
Overview Studies in Women and Gender is an interdisciplinary program that seeks to analyze history and culture from women's perspectives and to deepen the methods of academic pursuit by acknowledging the critical place of gender. By examining issues raised in the program, students develop a fuller sense of their options as human beings, living as we do in a culture divided by gender stereotyping that defines and limits both women and men. Offering a critical perspective, this program encourages a reexamination of traditional methods and concepts, supports new kinds of research, and allows students to better understand the changing roles and behavior of women and men in the contemporary world.
The program seeks to continue integrating the categories 'gender' and 'woman' into the curriculum by offering an ever-widening range of courses in all disciplines with a specific goal of broadening representation in traditionally under-represented fields of science and in new scholarly endeavors of modern media and film studies.
Currently, the program is offering thirty-five primary courses and twenty adjunct courses through a total of seventeen departments and programs, including: African American Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Asian And Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, rama, English, French, German, Government and Foreign Affairs, History, Music, Nursing, Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies, Slavic, and Sociology.
Faculty The Studies in Women and Gender Program has three joint appointments: the Director, Ann J. Lane, with the Department of History; Farzaneh Milani, with the Division of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures; and Sharon Hays, with the Department of Sociology. Together with the many other faculty whose courses are cross-listed, they represent a range of scholarly and teaching interests that explore gender and women's issues from various disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Aside from regular advising activities, faculty members meet with majors and minors at formal programs, as well as at frequent informal luncheons and discussions.
Students There are currently twenty-nine studies in women and gender majors and nineteen minors. Many students choose a second major, and English, anthropology, and religious studies are among the most preferred. Non-majors and minors are also encouraged to explore the program's courses to enrich their other academic interests.
Requirements for Major Three interdisciplinary courses: SWAG 210, the introductory course; SWAG 381, a course in feminist theory and methods; and SWAG 405, a senior seminar. A total of eleven courses, which include the three required courses, from at least three departments. Of the total, three must be from the humanities, three in the social sciences. Of the total, 9 courses must be at the 300 or 400 level. One Studies in Women and Gender course must focus on non-Western cultures. A graduating major must have 6 courses in a single department, though they need not all be Studies in Women and Gender. Two independent reading courses and two adjunct courses can be counted toward the major.
Distinguished Majors Program Students with a GPA of 3.4 or above may elect to enter the Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) which requires a senior thesis.
Requirements for Minor Three interdisciplinary courses: SWAG 210, the introductory course; SWAG 381, a course in feminist theory and methods, and SWAG 405, the senior seminar. A total of seven courses from a least three departments. Four of the required courses at or above the 300 level. One independent readings course and one adjunct course may be counted toward the minor.
Additional Information For more information, contact Ann J. Lane, Studies in Women and Gender Program, University of Virginia 227 Minor Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4127; (434) 982-2961; Fax: (434) 924-6969; firstname.lastname@example.com; www.virginia.edu/~womenst/home.htm.
Approved Studies in Women and Gender Courses
The program produces a list of approved studies in women and gender courses each semester.
Women and Middle Eastern Literature
Marriage, Morality, and Fertility
Chinese Family and Religion
Sex, Gender, and Culture
Gender, Science and Culture
Legendary Women of Early Chinese
Gender, Family, and Sexuality in Chinese Fiction
History of Dress
Economics and Gender
Eighteenth-Century Women Writers
Women and Morality in Restoration Comedy
Afro-American Women Authors
Black Women Writers
Politics of/and Cultural Aesthetics
Theory and Feminism
Women in Literature
Women Novelists of the Nineteenth Century
Nineteenth Century Women Authors
Modern Women Authors
Images of Women in 19th and 20th Century Fiction
Twentieth-Century Women Writers
Twentieth Century Women Writers: Seminars
Women and Fiction
History of Sexuality
History of Women in America to 1865
History of Women in America After 1865
History of the Civil Rights Movements
Women, Nature and Society in Modern Japanese Fiction
Modern Japanese Women Writers
Ethics and Gender
Gender Politics
Psychology of Gender
Psychology of Sex Roles
Women's Issues in Clinical Psychology
Sexual Orientation & Human Development
The Minority Family
Theology, Ethics, and Medicine
Women and Religion
Sociology of the Family
Sociology of Sex Roles
Black Women: Current Issues
Sociology of Inequality
Women and Society
Dance/Movement Composition as Art
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
This course will involve analysis of aesthetic valuing and choreographic approaches as they relate and intersect with art, gender and feminism. We will closely examine how dances convey race, class, gender and sexuality. The course will investigate staged performances that illuminate women's political issues and male issues through a lens of cultural and historical contexts.
This course will function as an introduction to the fundamentals of movement and dance. It is designed to engage students to inquire about what is art and define how choreography is a statement in a cultural, political, and feminist sense.
We will explore potential sources for movement through improvisation, a dance form developed during the 60's. Assignments will be structured in a solo, duet, group format and it may incorporate elements of martial arts, modern and post-modern dance, social dance, sports and play. Improvisation serves an exploration of the physics of motion. It involves a continuous process of exploring balance, weight, body/mind centering, orienting oneself to space and to others in a group; experiencing peripheral vision and events. It also considers social and cultural roles of passivity/ action, leading/following, etc., as well as the cultural definitions of play in the creative process, work and art. Ideal for beginning dancers, those interested in exploring their own movement vocabulary, athletes, actors, musicians or those interested in acquiring a better understanding of movement as source. This course is cross-listed with ARTS 207.
Women's Lives in Myth and Reality
Required introductory course.
Independent Study
Women and Islam
Feminist Theories and Methods
Senior Seminar in Women's Studies
Women's Studies Senior Thesis
Women's Studies Senior Thesis
Independent Reading
Seminars (USEM) are designed to give first-year students the opportunity
to develop critical thinking skills and explore new ideas in an environment
that encourages interactive learning and intensive discussion. The seminars
are based on ideas that have changed the way we think about our relation
to the world around us. The seminars are given by prominent faculty
in departments and schools across the University, carry two hours of
credit, and are restricted to first-year students during initial course
enrollment. USEM courses are considered non-College and thus do not
count among the 102 College credits required for the degree. If space
is available, second-, third- and fourth-year students may enroll using
a Course Action Form. College students are limited to no more than one
USEM course per semester. Refer to the Course Offering Directory for
a list of specific offerings each semester.
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