Ignatius Seminar: Medieval Travel and Pilgrimage

Requirements fulfilled: 

One-half of the core history requirement for students with eligible AP or IB scores, or eligible international exam scores.

One History major or minor elective

Taught by: Vanessa Corcoran, Department of History

Course ID: CASS-1491-01

Course Meeting Times: T/Th 2 pm-3:15 pm

Whether it was to go to Jerusalem to see where Jesus lived, to make the hajj to Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad, or to travel beyond unchartered territory, the longing to see distant lands was a common desire in the Middle Ages ( 500-1500 C.E.). This course will reflect on how aspects of medieval travel have shaped our understanding of movement, tourism, pilgrimage, and even wanderlust in today’s world. The goal to move and discover in the medieval world permeated all facets of life: religious, political, economic, and the personal desire to encounter the unknown. Through great economic and personal costs, many made dangerous journeys to visit places of religious significance. Those who couldn’t travel read travelogs and letters from pilgrims who had made the arduous trek. Through the shared experiences of walking through religious spaces in D.C., as well as physically handling manuscripts and other medieval objects, students will gain a first-hand connection to the medieval world.

About Vanessa Corcoran:

When I was in college, my own first-year seminar sparked a lifelong interest in medieval history, so it’s a joy and full-circle moment to be teaching an Ignatius Seminar to a new group of eager students who may discover new passions in our class. As a historian, I enjoy teaching students about devotional practices in the Middle Ages, such as pilgrimage practices, devotion to the saints, prayer groups, and the colorful visual culture that has illuminated our understanding of the medieval world. Related to my work as an advising dean, I view students’ time at Georgetown as a kind of pilgrimage, so I am excited to welcome first-year students at the beginning of their academic journeys.

Ignatius Seminar: Dante’s Afterlife in Popular Culture

Requirements fulfilled:

Humanities: Arts, Literature, and Culture (HALC)

Taught by: Francesco Ciabattoni, Department of Italian

Course ID: CASS-1491-02

Course Meeting Times: W 3:30 pm-6:00 pm
This Ignatius Seminar is a close reading of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and its persistence in later literature and popular culture. Students will learn about Dante’s most extraordinary journey, from the pit of Hell to the heavenly vision of God. Critical discussion (individual and in group), as well as written assignments and trips to Dantean places in town will be the core of the course.

About Francesco Ciabattoni

Born and bred in Italy, I moved to the US to study literature. My scholarly interests range from the Middle Ages to twentieth-century literature, with emphasis on the relationship between literature and music. At Georgetown I developed a bilingual website about Italian songs (www.theitaliansong.com) and dedicated my efforts to teaching Italian culture and medieval studies.

Ignatius Seminar: American Literature: The Sixties

Requirements fulfilled: 

Humanities: Art, Literature and Culture (HALC)

Pathways to Social Justice

One English major or minor elective

Taught by: Dennis A. Williams, Department of English

Course ID: CASS-1491-03

Course Meeting Times: MW 11:00 am-12:15 pm

Everybody knows about the 60s, that mythical time when Baby Boomers inherited the Earth, and everything went crazy. Political assassinations, urban uprisings, college campuses in revolt. Second-wave feminism, widespread resistance to the US war in Vietnam and the evolving Black freedom struggle—all played out amid startling new sights and sounds in popular music, cinema, theater and the visual arts.

Less obvious, perhaps, is the role literature played in the Cultural Revolution of the 60s.  Fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and drama slowly began to absorb and reflect the times that were a-changin’. We will read a variety of writers including James Baldwin and Sylvia Plath, John Updike and Joan Didion, Sonia Sanchez and Kurt Vonnegut to discover the ways their unique voices were both informed by and transformed the moment in which they wrote. You will, in your own writing, analyze their works thoughtfully in the context of swelling movements for social justice. And in collaborative presentations you will explore non-literary works of similarly lasting impact.

In addition, we will enhance our time-traveling experience in class and out in DC with music, movie and museum excursions, and group meals.

About Dennis A. Williams

Lecturer Dennis A. Williams is a bona fide Boomer, a witness (on TV) to everything from the Kennedy-Nixon debates to Woodstock. He is also a novelist, journalist and playwright who has taught college reading and writing for 40 years, the past 25 of them at Georgetown. Most of that teaching focused on first-year students in his former capacity as an Associate Dean dedicated to enhancing the undergraduate experience for students. (Some personal 60s favorites: Sly & the Family Stone, Miles Davis, The Fire Next Time, “I Spy” and The Fantastic Four.)

Ignatius Seminar: Equality of Educational Opportunity

Requirements Fulfilled:
Social Science (one of two with Sociology)
Pathways to Social Justice

Taught by: Karolyn Tyson, Department of Sociology

Course ID: CASS 1491-04

Course Meeting Times: TTh 11 am-12:15 pm

Most of us are familiar with the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Some of us may have even celebrated or acknowledged the anniversary of the decision in our schools or communities in the past. But how much do you really know about this historic case? 

Using a sociological lens that challenges us to consider the social forces that shape our institutions and everyday experiences, this course provides an opportunity for you to explore those questions through existing research, documentary films, guest lectures, local exhibits, and your own original research on the K-12 educational experiences of your peers. 

About Karolyn Tyson:

I took a psychology course in high school and I was captivated by the readings and discussions on human behavior and the mind. I was sure I would major in psychology in college. But once I was introduced to sociology, everything changed. Sociology helped me to make sense of the world around me and gave me tools to ask and answer questions that interested me, especially on topics of social inequality, stratification, and race. I felt empowered. I became a sociology professor because I wanted to give students the same sense of wonder and curiosity that drew me to sociology as I discovered new knowledge about the social world and new ways of viewing it.

Ignatius Seminar: Discovering Culture Through Language

Requirements Fulfilled: 

Humanities: Arts, Literature, and Culture (HALC)

Pathways to Social Justice

Social Science (one of two with Anthropology)

Taught By: Sylvia Önder, Department of Anthropology

Course ID: CASS-1491-05

Course Meeting Times: T/Th 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm

This course will examine the myriad ways that language use can shed light on the most human of activities—the making, shaping, and breaking of culture. We will read works translated from several languages, examine controversies about diverse forms of American English, experience the visual language of American Sign Language (ASL) through a visit to Gallaudet University, and, by examining archival documents, consider what is lost when a language goes extinct.

About Sylvia Önder

I came to Georgetown in 1998 to teach Turkish language and culture, after writing a dissertation about the healing practices of rural women on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey. Over the course of my time here on the Hilltop, I have come to appreciate the connection between local social justice movements and transnational political concerns. I look forward to sharing insights I have formed while studying and teaching the Turkish language as well as anthropological insights about the constructed nature of culture and how humans act through and are acted upon by language.