Courses

NOTE: This site is an archive of 2010–2011 programs and policies at Boston University Metropolitan College. If you are looking for current information about Metropolitan College and its programs, please go to our official website: met.

• MET HI 371: History of African Americans
  Historical patterns of racial relations and participation of African Americans in American social, economic, political, and cultural life. Major historical events and institutions: the slave system, Civil War and Reconstruction, industrialization, urbanization, the New Deal, and the civil rights movement.
• MET HI 373: History of Boston
  The foundations, development, and "fate" of Boston since the colonial period. Explores the architecture, geography, social structure, and economic development of the city, as well as political changes.
• MET HI 374: Women in American History
  American women's history from the time of European settlement to the 1980s. Women's changing patterns of family life, paid and unpaid work, political and social involvement, and attempts to change the shape of their world. The goals of the course are to acquaint students with the significant concepts and events in women's history and, through class discussions, to engage students in ongoing debates about their meanings.
• MET HI 380: Magic, Sorcery, and Witchcraft in History
  Historical contexts of the magical world view; charms and spells, oracles and divination, control of spirits, metamorphosis, and alchemy in selected periods of the ancient and medieval world.
• MET HI 395: Film and History
  This course compares and contrasts the ways that historians work in varied media: books, essays, feature films, and documentary films. The class pursues the histories of past events and periods in American history, analyzing how writers and film-makers develop a narrative approach to events, time periods, or individuals? lives. The course also looks not only at history in film but also at the history of film and its development as an artistic and cultural expression during the twentieth century. The class considers the ways that films are themselves cultural artifacts of the time in which they were produced: what movies tell us about American values, myths, and character at a particular point in time and how the requirements of a particular film genre affect the cultural information it presents.
• MET HI 425: Women in European History
  This course provides an introduction to the role of women in European history. Readings and discussion focus broadly on changing attitudes, expectations, and opportunities for women by exploring such topics as convent life, working conditions, charity, the witch craze, and political and religious upheaval. It also examines the challenge of writing women back into history and looks at the lives and strategies of individual women.
• MET HI 440: Twentieth-Century American Social History
  Significant themes in American social history in the twentieth century, including radical and protest movements, mass media, ethnic movements and conflict, urban disorders, and attitudes. Basic themes vary with the instructor and semester.
• MET HI 450: American Popular Culture: Humor and History
  The increase in scholarly and popular interest in humor during the past several decades demonstrates a heightened awareness of the significance of humor in American culture. This course analyzes the historical and sociological patterns of humor and their relation to social change and conflict in twentieth-century America. Includes readings from the social sciences and humanities and a series of films.
• MET HI 480: Panorama of Islamic Ideas - Faith, Reason and Ideology
  The purpose of this course is to develop a sound and comprehensive understanding of Islam, not only as an Abrahamic Faith, but also as a rich cultural, historical phenomenon and a current geopolitical topic. While providing an overview of Islam, this course focuses on the three concepts: Faith, Reason and Ideology as a basis to discuss the changes within the Muslim societies. The approach to the history taken by the course will be a combination of interpretative and narrative techniques. This means looking at individuality oriented understanding rather than generic explanations as the goal of historical studies.
• MET HU 221: Major Authors I
  Introduction to major works of ancient and medieval European literatures that influenced later Continental, English, and American literature: the Bible, Homeric epic, Greek Tragedy, Virgil's Aeneid, and Dante's The Divine Comedy.
• MET HU 400: Great Works of the Modern Era
  The 20th century presented the most accelerated period of social evolution in human history: two World Wars were fought; technology developed at a dazzling pace; psychological exploration and scientific discovery assailed traditional conceptions of religion and the nature of reality; the relation of the individual to society fluctuated as new social and political models originated. Our main focus will be the literature and film within this time frame, but parallel developments in art and music will also be discussed.
• MET IS 308: Exploring Philosophy through Film: Knowledge, Ethics, & Personal Identity
  This introduction to philosophy revolves around selected films and related texts that provoke serious reflection on issues of knowledge, ethics, and personal identity. The main objective of the course is to provide an introduction to the nature of philosophical inquiry and analysis by exposing the student to specific philosophical problems and issues. By focusing on film as the visual and narrative medium in which these problems and issues emerge, the student will also consider the ways in which art (with the focus here being on cinematic art) can represent and embody philosophical questions, ideas, and positions. Related objectives include the development of critical thinking and writing skills as well as the cultivation of the student?s appreciation of film as an art form.
• MET IS 312: Food Stuff: A Taste of Biology
  This course, we will explore biological principles in the context of food. It will focus on biodiversity, evolution, biochemistry, symbioses, and humans in the biosphere. Students will be encouraged to make their own connections about the world of food by learning about biological interactions and relationships.
• MET IS 325: Explorations in the Essay: History, Theory, Practice
  The purpose of the course is threefold: first, to introduce students to a wide variety of essay forms, arranged historically and considered in historical context; second, to provide the opportunity to practice these forms and by imitating models to become more adept and polished writers of the essay, and finally, to explore the theory of the essay, by examining discussions among literary critics concerning the defining characteristics of the genre.
• MET IS 327: The Meaning of America: People, Identity, and Conflict that Built a Nation
  The course examines the philosophical underpinnings of what it means to be an American and the experiences of ordinary men and women in the making of modern America. It will look closely at the ideas of those who founded the nation and how this affected the idealism which became the American identity. The role of immigration, the change from agrarian to urban industrialized society, the growth and influence of labor unions, the shift of the U.S. from maker to buyer of goods and services, and how the ideological notion of what it means to be American evolved will be examined. How events shaped lives and national identity will be discussed. The course will look at ordinary workers and their communities and how they adjusted to changing events and forces around them.
• MET IS 333: Manipulating Life: The Ethics and Science of Biotechnology
  This course will explore the science behind new technologies in biology, but it will also address the ethical questions that define and direct the application of these approaches, especially in humans. Students initially will be expected to master the basic biology of DNA, gene expression, and genomics. The course will require students to learn the basic components of ethical theory and apply them to living organisms in general and to human life in particular.
• MET IS 345: Rethinking the Classics: Contemporary Takes on the Canon
  This interdisciplinary course pairs well-known "classic" texts with more contemporary, perhaps lesser-known works that, in one way or another, respond to the earlier examples. The course focuses on traditions (literary, cinematic, and so forth) to emphasize genre and cultural history, and, as one of its goals, moves toward discussions of aesthetics. The course will examine the timeless quality of any work we consider a "classic" and also challenge the idea of timelessness by thinking about dialogues that exist between centuries and cultures and art. Contemporary examples will allow students to think of how other voices and perspectives (gender, ethnic, racial) may question the stability of what we often deem enduring or artistic. The course pushes beyond a simple comparison/contrast approach and mere discussions of influence. Instead, we will think through the implications (theoretical, political and aesthetic) of revision, adaptation, and the intertextual. Finally, the class asks students to formulate their own aesthetic criteria through a close reading of both primary texts and secondary critical essays which will supplement the readings, film screenings, and artwork.
• MET IS 350: Nature and the Divine in Myth, Literature, and Art
  Over time and throughout cultures, human understanding of a divine presence, of a god or gods, has been intimately connected to our relationship with nature. In some myths, the divine is thought to be inherent in the forces of nature; in others, God stands outside, controlling nature and passing that control to human beings. Still another world view suggests that humans, nature, and the divine are all one thing, as represented in metaphors such as the circle or web of life. This course introduces students to some of the world's mythic traditions, applying them to the enduring cultural issues surrounding humanity's relationship to nature and our role as stewards of the environment. We will follow a roughly chronological syllabus, with readings from the Bible and classical mythology through the writings of Emerson and modern works such as Ceremony by Pueblo author Leslie Marmon Silko. Students will also be exposed to visual art (including Celtic Christian and Native American design) and some film.
• MET IS 360: Literature, Film, and the American Dream
  This course will examine the nature of the American Dream as seen through fiction, essays, poetry, autobiography, historical documents, and art. It will follow a chronological pattern with the Dream evolving from the Puritan fathers? desire for religious freedom to the Revolution's emphasis on political liberty, the 19th century's focus on self reliance, and the quest for the good life characteristic of the 20th century. At the same time, such characteristic thematic elements as the desire for equality, individual expansion and achievement, and the maturation of the soul will be examined in terms of their impact on all the different permutations of the Dream.
• MET IS 362: Mathematics that Matter in the Twenty-first Century
  In this course students will expand their knowledge of the mathematics of probability, algebraic thinking, geometry, and statistics, with a focus on contemporary developments and applications. The course will examine the applications of mathematics in contemporary contexts via readings and explorations. 4 cr

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