Comparative Cultural Studies

Offers insights on food as a window to German culture and explores the country’s food by region and through political, cultural, and historical lenses. Students study national cuisine through questions of tradition, adaptation, and the migration of cultures as well as hands-on cooking exercises. Topics include gastronomy and drink customs in everyday life, and on special occasions, food-related inventions, media representations, influences from other cuisines, organic foods, vegetarianism and veganism. 

An investigation of the development of Classical Ballet and Contemporary / Modern dance styles from Renaissance court dances to present day choreography. Emphasis will be on European and North American theatrical dance traditions. Types of dance explored may include court dances, classical ballet, modern and contemporary dance, jazz dance and improvisational dance. Students will examine the cultural connections among the art of dance, music, visual arts, history, literature and other fields. When possible, the class will be coordinated with dance performances at the Fredericton Playhouse and students may be expected to attend up to 2 such performances. The course will include both academic work and experiential dance/movement components. No previous dance background necessary. Students who have taken WLCS 2024 may not attain credit for CCS 2024.

This course is an investigation of the universal language of dance in both theory and practice. Topics will be chosen from a diversity of both folk dance traditions and classical theatrical dance traditions from around the world. These may include the fundamental components of dance technique, a variety of international folk-dance, social dance (tango and salsa, for example) East Indian classical dance forms, etc. When possible, the class will be coordinated with dance performances at the Fredericton Playhouse and students may be expected to attend up to 2 such performances. The course will include both academic work and experiential dance / movement components. No previous dance background necessary. Students who have taken WLCS 2025 may not attain credit for CCS 2025.

This course will explore the cultural impact of the selected Latin American personalities that have had a significant influence on the notions of identity in Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela. We will study the personalities of Eva Peron, Pablo Escobar, Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, Selena and Hugo Chavez through film, music, literature, print media, the Internet and television series. Students will also examine the impact of the public figures’ death both at the local and the international level. There are no prerequisites for this course. Students who have taken CCS 3555 may not obtain credit for CCS 2666 or MAAC 2666.

An exploration of Vienna through its musical heritage and contemporary musical culture. Composers such as Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert all made their home in Vienna and wrote some of the most memorable and influential music known. Drawing on the city’s history, art and architecture over three centuries, we will examine Vienna’s role in the development of Classicism, Romanticism and Nationalism in music history. We will also consider the current music scene in Vienna as present in Jazz and pop festivals, street performances and events. The course will include concerts in historic halls, visits to museums/galleries, and walking tours in the Old City. Taught on location as part of the Travel Study program Vienna.

Why have people in so many times and places enjoyed spooky stories? What, if any, value can we assign to tales of horror and the supernatural? Do ghost stories and monster movies differ across nations and cultures? Questions like these will guide our global study of gothic, horror and supernatural texts chosen from a wide array of media, from literature and cinema, to television, comic books, and video games. Topics may include visual culture and the sublime, Freud's notion of “the uncanny,” Jungian archetypes, gender identity, conceptions of ritual and myth, the modern and the postmodern, subcultures, folklore, religion and secularization. This course is open to students who have completed at least 45 credit hours at university level. Attendance at additional scheduled film screenings outside of lectures will be required. Students who have already completed MM 3065 for credit may not enrol in MAAC 3065. Students who have taken WLCS 3065 may not attain credit for CCS 3065.

Beginning with the earliest silent movies and concluding with National Socialist propaganda films, this course offers an introduction to a prolific and important era in German film history: the Weimar Republic and pre-WWII period, 1918-1939. Our discussions will situate the films within larger political and cultural discourses. Emphasis will be placed on such topics as the cinematic response to the trauma of WWI; German national identity; expressionism and modernity; the politics of gender and sexuality; the impact of sound on film aesthetics; the relationship between cinema and other media; the ethics of film production. Films to be studied include features by directors such as Lang, Lubitsch, Murnau, Pabst, Riefenstahl, Sagan, von Sternberg and Wiene. In English. NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of GER 3066, WLCS 3066, CCS 3066, FILM 3066, and MAAC 3066.

This course covers recent German cinema and media with a focus on acclaimed productions by new directors for film, television, and streaming platforms. The creative work of women directors, and themes of gender, subjectivity, and intimacy are especially highlighted. Other topics include: The Berlin School and its visual and narrative style, the continued preoccupation of filmmakers with the nation’s past, comedy and satire in Germany, and the influence of the 1970s (the feminist film movement, the New German Cinema, etc.) on the new generation. 

Examines the religious, philosophical and ethical justifications from the perspectives of different religious traditions of non-violence as a tool for social change in the contemporary world. We will study the concepts and theories of non-violence that may include selected writings of L.N. Tolstoy (Russia), M. Gandhi (India) and R. Menchu (Guatemala) within their cultural, social, historical and religious traditions. This course is offered in English.