Courses

From cradle to grave, a cultural lens shapes our sense of who we are. Yet, as we grow older, we also become creators of culture. This course proposes “seeing cross-culturally” to explore the ways societies view birth, infancy, adolescence, marriage, adulthood, and old age. Using fairy tales, movies, and articles, we investigate how humans talk about identity and belonging. We then discuss the myriad ways of “being cross-cultural.” First-year students interested in the Cross-Cultural Studies program are strongly encouraged to enroll in this seminar.  While not required for the minor, the course will count as one of the electives.

How have Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel shaped their senses of personal and collective identity since the early twentieth century? We will explore mental pictures of the land, one's self, and others in a selection of Israeli Jewish and Palestinian short stories, novels, and films. We will also explore some of the humanistic roots of U.S. involvement in Israeli-Palestinian relations today, particularly in the realm of American initiated bi-cultural youth camps such as Seeds of Peace. Students will enrich our class focus by introducing us to perspectives on Israel/Palestine in their home countries or elsewhere. In translation.

Have you recently returned from studying or living abroad? This course is designed to help you keep in touch with the culture you left behind, while deepening your understanding of current issues across the globe. Relying on magazines and newspapers in the local language or in English-language media, students will discuss common topics and themes as they play out in the countries or regions where they have lived or studied. Conducted in English. 

Recommended preparation: Participation in an off-campus study program (Carleton or non-Carleton), substantial experience living abroad, or instructor permission. Not recommended for first-year students.

Repeatable: This course can be retaken once, for a total of four credits.

Did Jews totally disappear from Spain in 1492? What types of Inquisition dramas played out in Spanish cities for those who remained as new Catholics? 500 years later, since 1992 Spain has seen a boom in historical fiction on local Jews and Christian converts, for Spaniards curious about Jewish pasts in their hometowns. We'll follow the medieval rise of Jewish civilization and then its demise through Spanish novels, stories, and TV staging, where research, imagination, and cross-cultural mis/understanding reveal as much about contemporary Spanish memory as about Iberian Jewish traces.

Language learning is shaped by complex cognitive, social, and cultural factors. This course explores how people learn new languages and how that knowledge informs teaching. We will examine key theories, strategies for supporting diverse learners, and ways to integrate culture and real-world communication. Through readings, observations, and hands-on practice, you will reflect on language learning experiences. The course culminates in a ready-to-use lesson plan, demonstrating your growth as a language educator.

Recommended preparation: Prior knowledge of a language other than English or current enrollment in a language course.

As a crossroads of diverse perspectives in such a multicultural,  but fraught Middle Eastern environment, Israeli and Palestinian fiction and film offer significant opportunities for comparative, cross-cultural learning. We will focus on how mental pictures of home, self, and other have been created, perpetuated, and/or challenged in local fiction since the 1940s and in film since the 1950s. Including authors and film directors of Middle Eastern, North African, and Ethiopian Jewish heritage alongside Palestinian artists will allow us to explore  community, inter-generation, and gender-relevant responses to locally popular projections of post/colonial history and national life in Israel/ Palestine.

Transmitting Jewish memory from one generation to the next has always been a treasured practice across the Jewish world. How have pivotal environments for Jews lived on in Jewish collective memory? How do they continue to speak through film, art, photography, music, architecture, museum/ memorial/ summer camp design, prayer, cuisine, and more? We'll compare dynamics of remembering and memorializing several Jewish worlds: ancient Egypt, medieval Spain, early modern Germany, pre- through post-Holocaust Europe and Russia, colonial into contemporary New York City, 1950s Algeria, and pre-State into contemporary Israel. Research projects can include family history explored through scholarship on cross-cultural memory.

CCST 230 is cross listed with MEST 230.

In an era when AI tools can produce a translation that is indistinguishable from the work of a professional translator, what role is left for humans? In this course students study the history and theory of translation, while gaining practical experience in literary translation. Topics include the visibility of the translator, questions of identity, authority, and power, and challenges to Eurocentric traditions of translation. Students will become familiar with available translation tools and practice using them ethically and effectively in a workshop setting. The final project will be an annotated translation into English of a literary text of the student’s choice.

Recommended Preparation: Proficiency in a modern language taught at Carleton (204 or above in Spanish, French, Russian, German or Hebrew; 205 or above for Arabic, Chinese or Japanese). Native or near-native fluency in English.

Travelers write. Whether it be in the form of postcards, text messages, blogs, or articles, writing serves to anchor memory and process difference, making foreign experience understandable to us and accessible to others. While examining key examples of the genre, you will draw on your experiences off-campus for your own work. Student essays will be critiqued in a workshop setting, and all work will be revised before final submission. Some experimentation with blended media is also encouraged. This course was formerly listed as CCST 270.

CCST 259 is cross listed with ENGL 259.

Travelers write. Whether it be in the form of postcards, text messages, blogs, or articles, writing serves to anchor memory and process difference, making foreign experience understandable to us and accessible to others. While examining key examples of the genre, you will draw on your experiences off-campus for your own work. Student essays will be critiqued in a workshop setting, and all work will be revised before final submission. Some experimentation with blended media is also encouraged. This course was formerly listed as CCST 270.

CCST 259 is cross listed with ENGL 259.