The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Be sure to check the Registrar's web postings and publications for updated information. 

Study Area designations are as follows: 

HP = Historical/Philosophical Studies
LL = Language and Literature
GP = Global Perspectives
HE = Humanities Elective

POSTINGS BELOW ARE FOR SPRING SEMESTER 2010--

220.514 Writing Workshop  (LL)  Mrs.  Snyder

Section 1:  Tu/Th 10:30 AM – 11:50 AM (202C)
Section 2:  Tu/Th 1:00 PM – 2:20 PM  (207C)

 In Writing Workshop, students work in a variety of genres to create their own projects (short stories, poems, essays, etc.).  Students take turns leading the class, so there are many creative activities.  At the end of the semester students submit work to be published in a class anthology.

240.114 German for Reading Knowledge Mr. Vogt

W 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM

260.117 Writing Skills  (LL)   (Mrs.  Snyder)

Tu/Th 9:00 AM – 10:20 AM (202C)

260.218  Philosophical Conversations  (HP)  Dr. Levy

Tu/Th  1:00 PM – 2:20 PM

    This class is designed for students interested in careful and intense work with philosophical ideas. A small group of philosophical texts will be studied, including Plato’s Meno, Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, and consideration of the recent popular film The Matrix. The course will be paced to ensure careful, intensive reading. Readings and analytical writing assignments will form the basis of in-class discussions over the course of the semester.

260.225   Bebop, Modernism, and Change    (HP/GP)   
                    Dr. Floyd Hayes

M/W 12:30 PM – 1:50 PM

As an interdisciplinary seminar, "Bebop, Modernism, and Change" provides the knowledge, approach, and interpretation that complement the missions of both the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Jazz Studies Program at the Peabody Institute.  Through a critical examination of the African American progressive music tradition, the seminar gives students the opportunity to reflect upon the complex meanings, intent, and content of bebop music.  In so doing, the seminar equips participants with a method of inquiry that is useful in understanding the complex interconnections of bebop music and social change in America from approximately the 1940s to the 1960s and beyond.  As performing artists, jazz musicians also have been students of jazz music--its history, interpretation, and impact on the changing character of American society.  Jazz musicians have not only been activists for social change in America, but they also have served as some of America's cultural ambassadors around the world.  

260.226 Modern Drama  (LL/GP)   Dr. Hollis Robbins

Tu/Th 9:00 AM – 10:20 AM

  This course will survey a broad selection of modern drama in America and around the world.  We will examine what makes drama different from other forms of literature as well as what aesthetic forces have shaped the idea of Modern drama.   You will be learning the texts, some beginning theatre history, tools for reading dramatic texts, analytical skills in interpreting performance critically, and the opportunity to reflect on the dramatic traditions that still influence writers, audiences, and performers today.  You will be required to read a play a week, to keep up with the reading, to write short weekly interpretive papers, and to write a long, sustained analysis of one or more texts.  Plays will include works by Berthold Brecht, Tony Kushner, Wole Soyinka,  Tom Stoppard, Hasegawa Shigure, and others.   

260.242.01  Thinking Historically  (HP)  Dr. Levy

M/W  12:30 PM – 1:50 PM

    This course will not seek to chronicle anything in particular, nor to explore the history of a particular person, period, culture, or achievement. Instead, the topic of this course is history itself:  its role and its methods, its purposes and its meanings.  (This kind of study may be aptly labeled “historiography.”) Behind the semester’s pursuit lie some bigger questions:  does our awareness and understanding of history make any difference? Should--or could--it make a difference to us? or to you?  These questions will be addressed by consideration of the depiction (and “distortion”) of history in film (we will consider Amadeus and The Return of Martin Guerre), the manner by which history is challenged (including the extreme views of holocaust deniers), “new” modes of historical writing (feminist studies), and ongoing debates about how history is represented in American museums and taught in  American schools.  

260.314.01-- The Bible as Literature   (LL/HP)
                                Dr. Hollis Robbins

Tu/Th 10:30 AM – 11:50 AM

Description forthcoming. This is a 300-level offering.  

290.111  Introduction to Psychology  (HE)  Faculty

         M/W   11:30 AM – 12:50 PM

An introduction to the fields and research methods of contemporary psychology, including such topics as biological and social bases of behavior, human development, perception, memory, learning theory, intelligence, and abnormal behavior.  Special emphasis will be placed on subjects of importance to music education.  

 

530.539 Poetry in German  (LL)   Mr.  Vogt

Tu/Th 9:30 AM – 10:50 AM

Beginning with Goethe's work, this course focuses on German poems representative of a poet, a period, or a genre, from the 18th century to the present.  Special attention will be paid to works set to music by various composers from Mozart to Henze. Texts will be read in the original German (with English prose translations); discussion will be in English.  Although some knowledge of German would be desirable, it is not a requirement. 

 

Be sure to check the Registrar's web postings and publications for updated information. 

Study Area designations are as follows: 

HP = Historical/Philosophical Studies
LL = Language and Literature
GP = Global Perspectives
HE = Humanities Elective
 

Fall Semester, 2009

260.232  World Film  (LL/GP)  Dr. Robbins

M/W  12:30 PM - 1:50 PM

This course will consider film and film culture from countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa; we will study each film as a social, artistic, and/or political expression.  We will attend closely to film theory, production, and technique.  Requirements include critical viewing(s) of each film, substantial reading, class participation, and two substantial papers.  Films to include "Europa, Europa" (Agnieszka Holland, 1990); "The 400 Blows" (Francois Truffaut, 1959);  "Yojimbo" (Akira Kurosawa, 1961), "Persona" (Ingmar Bergman, 1966); "Aguirre, Wrath of God" (Werner Herzog, 1972).

260.239  From Industrial to Consumer Giant:  Modern and Postmodern America, 1865 - 2008   (HP)  Mr. John Matsui

Tu/Th 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM

Is the United States an exceptional nation?  Surveying the past 150 years of American history, students in this class will consider the complicated answers to this question with study of the physical capital of internal development, expansion, and industrialization bolstered by the social capital of millions of immigrants from around the world. The course will focus on the cultural, political, and economic foundations of the domestic development and international influence of the U.S. This course will fulfill the U.S. History requirement for students in Peabody’s Music Education program.

260.241  Past is Present:  Cultural Heritage and Global Interactions   (GP)   Dr. Emily Anderson

Tu/Th  10:30 AM - 11:50 AM

This course considers the crucial role of cultural heritage within society, politics, and international relations. Through readings, class discussion, and visits to local sites and museums, we consider how objects from the past are embroiled in the way people think and interact in the global present. To this end, we trace the manner in which social and cultural entities have collected, claimed, and fought over pieces of their perceived heritages. In the process we problematize the notion of heritage itself—is it a geographically, ethnically, or intellectually defined phenomenon? Is it a point of difference, or of global unity? How have such understandings been drawn upon and manipulated throughout history, and how have they collided? From ancient Greece to 21st century Iraq, from 19th century Germany to present day Africa, and from the Inca civilization of Peru to the Taliban in Afghanistan, we see how objects from the past are in fact deeply relevant to people’s living identities. 

530.539 Poetry in German  (LL)   Mr.  Vogt

Tu/Th 9:30 AM – 10:50 AM

Beginning with Goethe's work, this course focuses on German poems representative of a poet, a period, or a genre, from the 18th century to the present.  Special attention will be paid to works set to music by various composers from Mozart to Henze. Texts will be read in the original German (with English prose translations); discussion will be in English.  Although some knowledge of German would be desirable, it is not a requirement. 

240.111-112 German I   (LL)   Mr. Vogt

Section 01  T/W/Th  1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
Section 02  T/W/Th  11:30 AM - 12:20 PM

240.211-212 German II    (LL)   Mr. Vogt

T/W/Th   12:30 PM - 1:20PM

 A review and continuation of grammatical and syntactical structures, with a view to improving ability in the four language skills.  Through the use of readings based on cultural and topical material, students will enhance conversational and writing skills.  Prerequisite:  German I or placement test.  Students should plan to complete both the Fall and Spring semesters of this course.

230.111-112  French I   (LL)   Ms. Rothbaum

 M/W/F  1:30 PM - 2:20 PM

250.111-112 Italian I    (LL)   Dr. Oorts

260.011-012  Intro to Liberal Arts    Mrs.  Snyder

W/F  10:30 AM – 12:20 PM / 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM

Designed for international students for whom English is a second language, this course nurtures the basic skills of critical thought and self-expression necessary for success in Peabody's undergraduate academic program. Students in this class will study Greek myths, selections from the Bible, Shakespeare plays, and other works that have inspired Western composers and artists.  Course readings will form the basis of class discussion and writing exercises.  Students enroll in this class for both semesters.

ESL COURSES (English as a Second Language)

FIND ESL COURSES ON THIS WEB PAGE