The Byrne Seminars

Social Sciences

Other Areas: Humanities • Sciences

Diversity and the University: Law and Policy Debates
Jonathan Alger (General Counsel, Rutgers University)

In this seminar we will explore legal and policy debates surrounding the educational benefits of diversity at American universities in the twenty-first century. We'll discuss the legal framework regarding “affirmative action” programs in admissions, financial aid, outreach programs, and hiring. We will examine issues related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other facets of diversity. You will learn how social science research is used in litigation and legal debates, for example, in the University of Michigan cases decided by the Supreme Court in 2003 (in which the instructor participated).

section 02, index 30902

Topics in Addiction: Why Is It So Hard to "Just Say No"?
Valerie Johnson (Center of Alcohol Studies)

Team-taught by a group of faculty affiliated with the internationally recognized Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies (CAS), this seminar explores controversial issues surrounding addictive behaviors, especially as they affect contemporary college students. Topics include drugs and sports, random drug testing, legal drinking age, drug-use decriminalization, alcohol advertising, risky behaviors, and addiction treatments. Through discussion and debate, we will develop a broad context for understanding both addiction and efforts to address this personal, social and public health problem. The course highlights research in the addictions and the tools needed to search and evaluate both scientific and mass-market information. Seminar includes a tour of the CAS research laboratories and library. Students who take the seminar may be invited to participate in ongoing CAS research projects the following semester.

section 32, index 32314

Forbidden Partners: The Incest Taboo in Fact and Fantasy
Robin Fox (Anthropology)

Why does there seem to be a universal taboo on incestuous relationships? What are the exceptions? Is incest "taboo" because we have a natural aversion to it, or because we fear the power of incestuous attraction? After a look at the theory of incest avoidance, this course will survey the theme of incest in legend, literature, and opera. We may examine texts of ancient Egypt, the Near East, or Scandinavia (e.g., the Nordic Sagas as used in Richard Wagner's operas); from the West, we may look at the Bible, Ovid, Sophocles (Oedipus), Arthurian legends, Shakespeare, or Jacobean drama. Other possible sources of study include Byron's poetry, legends of Frankenstein and Dracula, and, from the twentieth century, work by William Golding. Each student will choose one example from this wide selection to research and write about. All course readings and audio and visual texts will be available on e-reserve.

section 16, index 30913

What Do Corporations Owe Society?
Mark Aakhus (Communication)

The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits, according to one of Rutgers' most famous and influential graduates, the Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman. Or is it? What do you think? Everyone in the world has a stake in answering this question because the conduct of business is central to the quality of our everyday life and planet: from the products we consume—for example, seafood, toys, pet food, gasoline, pharmaceuticals—and the Earth's resources used in making those products to the type of work we do. In this seminar, we will examine the words and actions of modern corporations as they respond to pressures from government and consumer groups who demand more responsibility. In particular, we will explore how they communicate their social responsibility to us.

section 01, index 30901

Working through Conflict
Gustav W. Friedrich (Dean SCILS; Communication)

Every encounter with a person whose views differ from our own offers the potential for friction, wasted time, bruised feelings, and looking foolish. Managing interpersonal differences is not an easy task. This seminar focuses on contemporary theories of conflict resolution. Various theoretical perspectives will be explored, and students will learn how to apply theory and methods in conflict resolution in order to develop leadership skills.

section 18, index 30915

Storytelling in Conversation
Jenny Mandelbaum (Communication)

We tend to think of storytellings as monologues, with one person actively speaking and others passively listening. In this seminar, we re-examine our taken-for-granted notions about storytelling. By examining videotapes of storytellings at the family dinner table during Thanksgiving, Easter, and Passover, we come to see how stories are actually constructed by teller and "audience" together, and used to construct and manage relationships between family members and others present. This close examination will enable us to rethink our preconceptions about communication itself.

section 60, index 36207

War on Terror and Human Rights
Michael Welch (Criminal Justice)

In this seminar, the war on terror is examined as a social phenomenon that, at its worst, functions as an emotional device to alleviate anxiety rather than as a rational, moral, foreign policy. Students will take on the uneasy task of exploring signs of displaced aggression, especially the hate crimes and state crimes that have damaged the U.S.'s reputation at home and abroad. Drawing on controversies such as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and the Patriot Act, the seminar will study the language, emotion, and social constructions of knowledge in the post-9/11 world. It is hoped that the seminar will offer a careful and sober assessment of these complex issues, reminding us that sound counterterrorism policies must rise above, rather than participate in, the propagation of human rights abuses.

section 56, index 32346

Microfinance and Global Poverty
Douglas Blair (Economics; Political Science)

The microfinance movement seeks to enhance loan opportunities for the entrepreneurial poor, especially women. The success of this movement has drawn world-wide attention, including the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammad Yunus. This seminar addresses how and how well such efforts work. Students will study the predicament of small-scale entrepreneurs in impoverished communities and the role of new microcredit institutions in ameliorating these difficulties. Students will also allocate a small loan fund among actual candidate borrowers and monitor the results.

section 05, index 35914

U.S. Banks in Crisis: Lessons from the Past, Questions for the Future
Joseph P. Hughes (Economics)

Before the current banking crisis, the U.S. last experienced a financial upheaval in the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s in the Savings & Loan and banking sectors. Bank failures surged in the late 1980s and are again on the rise. There were depositor runs on financial institutions in the last crisis as there have been recently. Government took strong action to address the crisis in each period, and, indeed, there are daily accounts in the financial press of government programs intended to bail out the banking system. We will address questions of "moral hazard" in the financial system, and the degree to which government action creates and/or is constrained by moral hazard. (Why bother to pay your mortgage if the government is going to help?) In this seminar you will have the opportunity to do original research with the professor by working directly with bank data. This is a rare chance to gain a hands-on understanding of modern banking, bank crises, and what constitutes a sound financial institution.

section 28, index 30925

Yankee Stadium
Theresa M. Collins (Associate Editor, Thomas A. Edison Papers)

Why did the Stadium cross the road? In this seminar we will develop multiple perspectives on the history of Yankee Stadium and its epic journey from "The House that Ruth Built" to its current home in the Bronx, New York. We will observe and analyze a number of related themes and issues, including the pluses and minuses of urban development, the relationship between public finance and private enterprise, and the flexible, situational character of change and tradition. The class will take in a baseball game in the new stadium in September.

section 12, index 30909

Human Displacement: A New International Crisis
Joanna Regulska (Director, Office of International Programs; Geography, Women's and Gender Studies)

Iraq. Darfur. Bosnia. Colombia. In each of these countries vast populations of people have been forced to move from their homes because of armed conflict. Some become refugees to other nations. Some are internally displaced" within their own countries. We call these people "IDPs"—internally displaced persons. While the number of armed conflicts and refugees has declined in the past fifteen years, the number of IDPs world-wide has risen. Why? In this seminar, we will look for answers to that question. Through films, readings of IDP experiences, and meetings with UN experts, we'll examine the reasons behind the rapid increase in IDPs. Students will become familiar with the everyday struggles of IDPs in different parts of the world, and will learn how national governments and international organizations are addressing this crisis of mass human displacement.

section 51, index 30940

Media in the Digital Age
John V. Pavlik (Journalism and Media Studies)

Emerging communication technologies have the power to affect, rapidly, everything from personal relationships to presidential races to the success of a new restaurant. In this course we'll discuss the impact of the digitization of media of mass communication. Students will analyze the ways that emerging technologies such as the Internet, mobile communication, and wearable devices influence media and society. Topics to be addressed include: 1) how media professionals and members of the public increasingly create content using new media technologies, 2) the nature of mediated content, 3) relationships between media and relevant publics, and 4) the structure, culture, and management of media organizations and systems. The course includes creating your own blog and discussing other students' blogs. You will learn about specific areas of media technology, including acquisition tools, storage technologies, processing devices, distribution technologies, and display, access, and presentation tools.

section 49, index 30938

Cheating in College: What's Up with That?
Donald McCabe (Management and Global Business)

Have you ever wondered how widespread cheating in school is, or why people do it? In this course, we will discuss current literature on academic dishonesty, or cheating, at the elementary through college levels with the goal of understanding the attitudes and perceptions students hold about cheating. We'll discuss the process of doing social science research with human subjects here at Rutgers, and learn how to develop applications and surveys for review by the Rutgers Institutional Review Board. Using data generated by the instructor, we will discuss the phenomenon of cheating as measured by research. Finally, in small teams, students will be asked to analyze some of these data and to prepare a final report, addressing the implications of the data.

section 41, index 32319

Leadership, Power, and Influence: The Bush White House 2004-06
Jeffrey A. Robinson (Management and Global Business)

Leadership, power, and influence are three important aspects of life in any government, business, or non-governmental organization. In this seminar, we will explore how these three concepts interact with each other in small groups, student organizations, and the highest levels of our government. We'll do interactive exercises to help participants understand the dynamics of leadership, power, and influence. We will also use events from the presidency of George W. Bush as a series of case studies to illustrate how power and influence can be used during the decision-making process. This course would be useful for students who are interested in student leadership or careers in politics, business, or organizational leadership.

section 52, index 30941

Criminal Court War Stories: The Experiences of Attorneys in Trial Courts
Milton Heumann (Political Science)

This seminar begins with reading an engaging journalistic account of the world of criminal justice in a Chicago courthouse. Next, we'll discuss the general context of criminal-case processing in the U.S. Finally, four or five leading criminal attorneys will visit our class and share the one case that stands out in each of their careers in the law. Their "war stories" will include detailed descriptions of these cases, including an analysis of the key decision points made along the way. Through class discussion, students will develop their own considered views of the final results of each case.

section 26, index 30923

U.S. Supreme Court: 2008-2009 Term
Susan Lawrence (Assoc. Dean SAS Undergraduate Education, Political Science)

We will focus on a half dozen leading cases from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term. Students will gain a basic understanding of how the Supreme Court works and how to conduct Supreme Court level legal research. Equally important, students will explore the social, moral, ethical, and political questions raised by the specific cases. Students will identify research questions and explore methods of answering those questions that will aid in informed decision-making on these issues.

section 38, index 30934

The Self and its Disorders: Modern and Postmodern
Louis A. Sass (Psychology)

In this seminar, you will be introduced to current thinking about the personality disturbances that have attracted the greatest attention in recent decades in psychology and psychiatry: schizoid, narcissistic, borderline, and dissociated personalities. We will discuss theories from psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and existential psychology. We will be paying special attention to the perspective of the suffering individual and the possible relevance of modern and postmodern cultural factors. The course will conclude with an examination of the life and work of photographer Diane Arbus (1923-1971) who is noted for her portraits of people on the fringes of society.

section 53, index 32345

The Role of Intercollegiate Sports in University Life
Emmett Gill, Jr. (Social Work)

The seminar explores the impact of intercollegiate sports on student life and of student life on sports at universities with Division One sports programs. Using Rutgers as a case study, students will explore sport from an ecological perspective, considering the views of faculty, athletes, donors, fans, and students. In addition to quantitative and qualitative research, students will do fieldwork that includes attending school sporting events and non-competitive sporting events. We will also discuss how future research can improve the culture of college sports on campus.

section 21, index 30918

Welcome to New Brunswick! How to "Read" a City Like a Sociologist
Judith Friedman (Sociology)

We're all familiar with going to an unknown city and finding one's way around, tourist-style. But how does a sociologist approach a city? New Brunswick is a diverse, changing community. Its recent history illuminates many of the issues of interest to urban sociologists: how to solve local problems, and ways to revive downtowns. In this seminar, you will learn to use social science methods to develop a case study of New Brunswick, using photographs, the Census, local documents such as city plans, newspaper articles, and informal interviews. We will tour New Brunswick neighborhoods, hear local speakers, and make site visits to collect data.

section 17, index 30914

Power Plays in Everyday Life
Mary Hawkesworth (Editor, Signs; Women's and Gender Studies)

What is power and how does it operate in the contemporary world? How are systems of power and privilege produced and preserved despite guarantees of equality under the law? How do micro-inequities, associated with raced and sexed embodiment and sexualities, relate to traditional understandings of politics? This seminar will use recent articles published inSigns: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, the leading journal of feminist scholarship, to explore how power hierarchies rooted in race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality are produced and contested in the contemporary world. It will also consider how an academic journal contributes to new ways of seeing the complex operations of power.

section 24, index 30921



Main Menu Home Fall '09 Seminars Humanities Sciences Social Science Spring '10 Seminars Humanities Sciences Social Science News & Events Student Resources How to Register Books Great Idea? Faculty Call for Proposals Enhancement Resources Faculty Surveys Great Idea? Book Orders & Photocopies Rosters/Grades Scheduling Time Social Events Team Teaching Workshops Quick Links Undergraduate Education Learning Communities RU-info		Social Sciences Other Areas: Humanities • Sciences Diversity and the University: Law and Policy Debates Jonathan Alger (General Counsel, Rutgers University) In this seminar we will explore legal and policy debates surrounding the educational benefits of diversity at American universities in the twenty-first century. We'll discuss the legal framework regarding “affirmative action” programs in admissions, financial aid, outreach programs, and hiring. We will examine issues related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other facets of diversity. You will learn how social science research is used in litigation and legal debates, for example, in the University of Michigan cases decided by the Supreme Court in 2003 (in which the instructor participated). section 02, index 30902 Topics in Addiction: Why Is It So Hard to "Just Say No"? Valerie Johnson (Center of Alcohol Studies) Team-taught by a group of faculty affiliated with the internationally recognized Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies (CAS), this seminar explores controversial issues surrounding addictive behaviors, especially as they affect contemporary college students. Topics include drugs and sports, random drug testing, legal drinking age, drug-use decriminalization, alcohol advertising, risky behaviors, and addiction treatments. Through discussion and debate, we will develop a broad context for understanding both addiction and efforts to address this personal, social and public health problem. The course highlights research in the addictions and the tools needed to search and evaluate both scientific and mass-market information. Seminar includes a tour of the CAS research laboratories and library. Students who take the seminar may be invited to participate in ongoing CAS research projects the following semester. section 32, index 32314 Forbidden Partners: The Incest Taboo in Fact and Fantasy Robin Fox (Anthropology) Why does there seem to be a universal taboo on incestuous relationships? What are the exceptions? Is incest "taboo" because we have a natural aversion to it, or because we fear the power of incestuous attraction? After a look at the theory of incest avoidance, this course will survey the theme of incest in legend, literature, and opera. We may examine texts of ancient Egypt, the Near East, or Scandinavia (e.g., the Nordic Sagas as used in Richard Wagner's operas); from the West, we may look at the Bible, Ovid, Sophocles (Oedipus), Arthurian legends, Shakespeare, or Jacobean drama. Other possible sources of study include Byron's poetry, legends of Frankenstein and Dracula, and, from the twentieth century, work by William Golding. Each student will choose one example from this wide selection to research and write about. All course readings and audio and visual texts will be available on e-reserve. section 16, index 30913 What Do Corporations Owe Society? Mark Aakhus (Communication) The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits, according to one of Rutgers' most famous and influential graduates, the Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman. Or is it? What do you think? Everyone in the world has a stake in answering this question because the conduct of business is central to the quality of our everyday life and planet: from the products we consume—for example, seafood, toys, pet food, gasoline, pharmaceuticals—and the Earth's resources used in making those products to the type of work we do. In this seminar, we will examine the words and actions of modern corporations as they respond to pressures from government and consumer groups who demand more responsibility. In particular, we will explore how they communicate their social responsibility to us. section 01, index 30901 Working through Conflict Gustav W. Friedrich (Dean SCILS; Communication) Every encounter with a person whose views differ from our own offers the potential for friction, wasted time, bruised feelings, and looking foolish. Managing interpersonal differences is not an easy task. This seminar focuses on contemporary theories of conflict resolution. Various theoretical perspectives will be explored, and students will learn how to apply theory and methods in conflict resolution in order to develop leadership skills. section 18, index 30915 Storytelling in Conversation Jenny Mandelbaum (Communication) We tend to think of storytellings as monologues, with one person actively speaking and others passively listening. In this seminar, we re-examine our taken-for-granted notions about storytelling. By examining videotapes of storytellings at the family dinner table during Thanksgiving, Easter, and Passover, we come to see how stories are actually constructed by teller and "audience" together, and used to construct and manage relationships between family members and others present. This close examination will enable us to rethink our preconceptions about communication itself. section 60, index 36207 War on Terror and Human Rights Michael Welch (Criminal Justice) In this seminar, the war on terror is examined as a social phenomenon that, at its worst, functions as an emotional device to alleviate anxiety rather than as a rational, moral, foreign policy. Students will take on the uneasy task of exploring signs of displaced aggression, especially the hate crimes and state crimes that have damaged the U.S.'s reputation at home and abroad. Drawing on controversies such as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and the Patriot Act, the seminar will study the language, emotion, and social constructions of knowledge in the post-9/11 world. It is hoped that the seminar will offer a careful and sober assessment of these complex issues, reminding us that sound counterterrorism policies must rise above, rather than participate in, the propagation of human rights abuses. section 56, index 32346 Microfinance and Global Poverty Douglas Blair (Economics; Political Science) The microfinance movement seeks to enhance loan opportunities for the entrepreneurial poor, especially women. The success of this movement has drawn world-wide attention, including the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammad Yunus. This seminar addresses how and how well such efforts work. Students will study the predicament of small-scale entrepreneurs in impoverished communities and the role of new microcredit institutions in ameliorating these difficulties. Students will also allocate a small loan fund among actual candidate borrowers and monitor the results. section 05, index 35914 U.S. Banks in Crisis: Lessons from the Past, Questions for the Future Joseph P. Hughes (Economics) Before the current banking crisis, the U.S. last experienced a financial upheaval in the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s in the Savings & Loan and banking sectors. Bank failures surged in the late 1980s and are again on the rise. There were depositor runs on financial institutions in the last crisis as there have been recently. Government took strong action to address the crisis in each period, and, indeed, there are daily accounts in the financial press of government programs intended to bail out the banking system. We will address questions of "moral hazard" in the financial system, and the degree to which government action creates and/or is constrained by moral hazard. (Why bother to pay your mortgage if the government is going to help?) In this seminar you will have the opportunity to do original research with the professor by working directly with bank data. This is a rare chance to gain a hands-on understanding of modern banking, bank crises, and what constitutes a sound financial institution. section 28, index 30925 Yankee Stadium Theresa M. Collins (Associate Editor, Thomas A. Edison Papers) Why did the Stadium cross the road? In this seminar we will develop multiple perspectives on the history of Yankee Stadium and its epic journey from "The House that Ruth Built" to its current home in the Bronx, New York. We will observe and analyze a number of related themes and issues, including the pluses and minuses of urban development, the relationship between public finance and private enterprise, and the flexible, situational character of change and tradition. The class will take in a baseball game in the new stadium in September. section 12, index 30909 Human Displacement: A New International Crisis Joanna Regulska (Director, Office of International Programs; Geography, Women's and Gender Studies) Iraq. Darfur. Bosnia. Colombia. In each of these countries vast populations of people have been forced to move from their homes because of armed conflict. Some become refugees to other nations. Some are internally displaced" within their own countries. We call these people "IDPs"—internally displaced persons. While the number of armed conflicts and refugees has declined in the past fifteen years, the number of IDPs world-wide has risen. Why? In this seminar, we will look for answers to that question. Through films, readings of IDP experiences, and meetings with UN experts, we'll examine the reasons behind the rapid increase in IDPs. Students will become familiar with the everyday struggles of IDPs in different parts of the world, and will learn how national governments and international organizations are addressing this crisis of mass human displacement. section 51, index 30940 Media in the Digital Age John V. Pavlik (Journalism and Media Studies) Emerging communication technologies have the power to affect, rapidly, everything from personal relationships to presidential races to the success of a new restaurant. In this course we'll discuss the impact of the digitization of media of mass communication. Students will analyze the ways that emerging technologies such as the Internet, mobile communication, and wearable devices influence media and society. Topics to be addressed include: 1) how media professionals and members of the public increasingly create content using new media technologies, 2) the nature of mediated content, 3) relationships between media and relevant publics, and 4) the structure, culture, and management of media organizations and systems. The course includes creating your own blog and discussing other students' blogs. You will learn about specific areas of media technology, including acquisition tools, storage technologies, processing devices, distribution technologies, and display, access, and presentation tools. section 49, index 30938 Cheating in College: What's Up with That? Donald McCabe (Management and Global Business) Have you ever wondered how widespread cheating in school is, or why people do it? In this course, we will discuss current literature on academic dishonesty, or cheating, at the elementary through college levels with the goal of understanding the attitudes and perceptions students hold about cheating. We'll discuss the process of doing social science research with human subjects here at Rutgers, and learn how to develop applications and surveys for review by the Rutgers Institutional Review Board. Using data generated by the instructor, we will discuss the phenomenon of cheating as measured by research. Finally, in small teams, students will be asked to analyze some of these data and to prepare a final report, addressing the implications of the data. section 41, index 32319 Leadership, Power, and Influence: The Bush White House 2004-06 Jeffrey A. Robinson (Management and Global Business) Leadership, power, and influence are three important aspects of life in any government, business, or non-governmental organization. In this seminar, we will explore how these three concepts interact with each other in small groups, student organizations, and the highest levels of our government. We'll do interactive exercises to help participants understand the dynamics of leadership, power, and influence. We will also use events from the presidency of George W. Bush as a series of case studies to illustrate how power and influence can be used during the decision-making process. This course would be useful for students who are interested in student leadership or careers in politics, business, or organizational leadership. section 52, index 30941 Criminal Court War Stories: The Experiences of Attorneys in Trial Courts Milton Heumann (Political Science) This seminar begins with reading an engaging journalistic account of the world of criminal justice in a Chicago courthouse. Next, we'll discuss the general context of criminal-case processing in the U.S. Finally, four or five leading criminal attorneys will visit our class and share the one case that stands out in each of their careers in the law. Their "war stories" will include detailed descriptions of these cases, including an analysis of the key decision points made along the way. Through class discussion, students will develop their own considered views of the final results of each case. section 26, index 30923 U.S. Supreme Court: 2008-2009 Term Susan Lawrence (Assoc. Dean SAS Undergraduate Education, Political Science) We will focus on a half dozen leading cases from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term. Students will gain a basic understanding of how the Supreme Court works and how to conduct Supreme Court level legal research. Equally important, students will explore the social, moral, ethical, and political questions raised by the specific cases. Students will identify research questions and explore methods of answering those questions that will aid in informed decision-making on these issues. section 38, index 30934 The Self and its Disorders: Modern and Postmodern Louis A. Sass (Psychology) In this seminar, you will be introduced to current thinking about the personality disturbances that have attracted the greatest attention in recent decades in psychology and psychiatry: schizoid, narcissistic, borderline, and dissociated personalities. We will discuss theories from psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and existential psychology. We will be paying special attention to the perspective of the suffering individual and the possible relevance of modern and postmodern cultural factors. The course will conclude with an examination of the life and work of photographer Diane Arbus (1923-1971) who is noted for her portraits of people on the fringes of society. section 53, index 32345 The Role of Intercollegiate Sports in University Life Emmett Gill, Jr. (Social Work) The seminar explores the impact of intercollegiate sports on student life and of student life on sports at universities with Division One sports programs. Using Rutgers as a case study, students will explore sport from an ecological perspective, considering the views of faculty, athletes, donors, fans, and students. In addition to quantitative and qualitative research, students will do fieldwork that includes attending school sporting events and non-competitive sporting events. We will also discuss how future research can improve the culture of college sports on campus. section 21, index 30918 Welcome to New Brunswick! How to "Read" a City Like a Sociologist Judith Friedman (Sociology) We're all familiar with going to an unknown city and finding one's way around, tourist-style. But how does a sociologist approach a city? New Brunswick is a diverse, changing community. Its recent history illuminates many of the issues of interest to urban sociologists: how to solve local problems, and ways to revive downtowns. In this seminar, you will learn to use social science methods to develop a case study of New Brunswick, using photographs, the Census, local documents such as city plans, newspaper articles, and informal interviews. We will tour New Brunswick neighborhoods, hear local speakers, and make site visits to collect data. section 17, index 30914 Power Plays in Everyday Life Mary Hawkesworth (Editor, Signs; Women's and Gender Studies) What is power and how does it operate in the contemporary world? How are systems of power and privilege produced and preserved despite guarantees of equality under the law? How do micro-inequities, associated with raced and sexed embodiment and sexualities, relate to traditional understandings of politics? This seminar will use recent articles published inSigns: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, the leading journal of feminist scholarship, to explore how power hierarchies rooted in race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality are produced and contested in the contemporary world. It will also consider how an academic journal contributes to new ways of seeing the complex operations of power. section 24, index 30921

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