Non-Degree-Granting Programs, Councils, and Research Institutes
Atmospheric Science
Advisory Committee Hagit Affek (Geology & Geophysics), Sarbani Basu (Astronomy), Michelle Bell (Forestry & Environmental Studies), William Boos (Geology & Geophysics), Alexey Fedorov (Geology & Geophysics), Debra Fischer (Astronomy), Gary Haller (Chemical & Environmental Engineering; Chemistry), Xuhui Lee (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Rajendra Pachauri (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Mark Pagani (Geology & Geophysics), Daniel Rosner (Chemical & Environmental Engineering; Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science), Ronald Smith (Geology & Geophysics), Mitchell Smooke (Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science; Applied Physics), Sabatino Sofia (Astronomy), Trude Storelvmo (Geology & Geophysics), Mary-Louise Timmermans (Geology & Geophysics), Andrew Wells (Applied Mathematics), John Wettlaufer (Applied Mathematics; Geology & Geophysics; Physics)
A number of departments of the Graduate School offer courses dealing with the physics, dynamics, and chemistry of the atmosphere, and the interactions of the atmosphere with the biosphere, oceans, and cryosphere, including all biogeochemical cycles. The mathematical and physical science basis for these phenomena is developed in course work and research foci across a range of departments. In order to permit students whose interests lie in the field of atmospheric science to develop an integrated program of studies, an interdisciplinary program is offered. Typical areas of interest included in the scope of the program are theory of weather and climate, computational fluid dynamics, air pollution from industrial and natural sources, urban environmental health, global climatic change, paleoclimatology, hydrometeorology, and dynamics of atmospheric and oceanic motions. The program is individually planned for each student through a faculty adviser system.
Special Admissions Requirements
A student should, on the basis of scientific orientation, seek admission to one of the participating departments. The Department of Geology and Geophysics is the focus for studies of physical and dynamical meteorology, oceanography, and atmospheric chemistry, with allied methods and approaches in the Program on Applied Mathematics. The departments of Applied Physics, Public Health, and Engineering & Applied Science (which includes the programs of Biomedical Engineering, Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science) provide additional courses in environmental health and atmospherically related processes. The Ph.D. and M.Phil. requirements are those of the admitting departments (see entries in this bulletin).
Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
L-203A Sterling Hall of Medicine, 203.785.5663
Director
Lynn Cooley (lynn.cooley@yale.edu)
Fields of Study
The Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) offers unprecedented access to Yale’s extensive array of bioscience resources, encompassing everything the University has to offer in one comprehensive, interdisciplinary graduate program. BBS has no boundaries, either departmental or geographical. Students therefore have access to courses, seminars, and faculty labs in every department. Moreover, students can participate in research activities anywhere—on the main University campus, West Campus, or the School of Medicine.
Within BBS there are approximately 300 participating faculty, several dozen courses, and a great many seminars from which to choose. BBS is currently divided into seven interest-based “tracks”:
- Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
- Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics, and Development
- Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
- Neuroscience
Students apply to and, upon matriculation, affiliate with one of these seven tracks. It is important to note that, regardless of a student’s home track, all courses, faculty, and research opportunities at the University remain available.
Year 1 Each track has a faculty director who helps first-year students select courses and find suitable lab rotations. Students typically take two to three courses per term and conduct two to four lab rotations over the course of the year.
Year 2 Just prior to the start of the second year, students select a thesis adviser in whose lab they will conduct their doctoral research. They also then leave their BBS track and formally join one of twelve Ph.D.-granting programs:
- Cell Biology
- Cellular and Molecular Physiology
- Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Experimental Pathology
- Genetics
- Immunobiology
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
- Neurobiology
- Pharmacology
Students in year 2 complete the course requirements for the graduate program they have joined, take a qualifying exam, act as teaching assistants in lecture or lab courses, and begin thesis research.
Year 3 and beyond Students focus primarily on thesis research, publishing their results, and presenting their work at scientific meetings.
The average time to degree is 5.5 years.
For the duration of their studies all students receive a stipend, full tuition, and health coverage. Financial support comes from university fellowships, National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grants, and grants from foundations and companies.
Special Admissions Requirements
Entrance requirements to BBS are track-specific but include the following: GRE General Test scores; relevant GRE Subject Test scores (strongly recommended but not a strict requirement); undergraduate major in a relevant biological, chemical, or physical science; three letters of recommendation addressing the student’s academic performance and/or laboratory training; and TOEFL exam scores for students whose native language is not English. Track-specific requirements are listed below.
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
All applicants are expected to meet general BBS requirements for entrance. Successful applicants will have a firm foundation in the sciences. Desirable courses include biology; biochemistry; general, organic, and physical chemistry; physics; and math. A pertinent GRE Subject Test is strongly recommended.
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
All applicants are expected to meet general BBS requirements for entrance. In addition, successful applicants will have a strong foundation in the basic sciences such as biology, chemistry, and mathematics. Training in computing/informatics is also essential and should include significant computer programming experience. The GRE Subject Test in cellular and molecular biology, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, or other relevant discipline is recommended. The MCAT is also accepted.
Immunology
All applicants are expected to meet general BBS requirements for entrance. In addition, successful applicants are expected to have a firm foundation in the biological and physical sciences. It is preferred that students have taken courses in biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, physics, and mathematics. Actual course requirements are not fixed, however, and students with outstanding records in any area of the biological sciences may qualify for admission. There are no specific grade requirements for prior course work, but a strong performance in basic science courses is of great importance for admission. In special cases the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) may be substituted.
Microbiology
No additional requirements or recommendations.
Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics, and Development
In addition to general BBS requirements, the GRE Subject Test in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biology, or Chemistry is recommended.
Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
All applicants are expected to meet general BBS requirements for entrance. Successful applicants should have a strong background in the biological, chemical, and/or physical sciences. For example, an undergraduate major/degree in biology, biochemistry, physiology, genetics, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, or computer science could be appropriate. Courses in biology, biochemistry, organic and physical chemistry, and mathematics through elementary calculus are strongly recommended.
Neuroscience
All applicants are expected to meet general BBS requirements for entrance. Successful applicants will have a firm foundation in the sciences. The Neuroscience track will accept the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in lieu of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test.
Program materials are available upon request to Bonnie Ellis, Assistant Administrative Director, BBS Program, Yale University, PO Box 208084, New Haven CT 06520-8084; telephone 203.785.5663; fax 203.785.3734; e-mail, bbs@yale.edu; Web site, www.bbs.yale.edu.
The Cowles Foundation
30 Hillhouse Avenue, 203.432.3702
Director
Donald Andrews
The Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale University has as its purpose the conduct and encouragement of research in economics and related fields. The Cowles Foundation seeks to foster the development and application of rigorous logical, mathematical, and statistical methods of analysis. Members of the Cowles research staff are faculty members with appointments and teaching responsibilities in the Department of Economics and other departments. Among its activities, the Cowles Foundation provides financial support for research, visiting faculty, postdoctoral fellowships, workshops, and graduate students. Cowles regularly sponsors conferences and publishes a working paper series and research monographs.
The Economic Growth Center
27 Hillhouse Avenue, 203.432.3610
Director
Mark Rosenzweig
The Economic Growth Center is a research organization within the Yale Department of Economics that was created in 1961 to analyze, both theoretically and empirically, economic growth and the economic relations between low- and high-income countries. The research program emphasizes the search for regularities in the process of growth and changes in economic structure using existing data sets. In recent years the center has also undertaken new and continuing long-term panel studies and is carrying out randomized field experiments in a number of countries to provide new information on and analyses of the consequences and mechanisms of development. An increasing share of the research involves historical analysis of long-term processes as part of the Economic History Program that is housed in the Economic Growth Center. Current projects in the center include research on technology development; choice and transfer; microfinance and credit markets; formal insurance; household consumption; investment and demographic behavior; the role of networks; agricultural research and productivity growth; labor markets and the returns to education of women and men; income distribution; domestic and international migration; the relationship between trade and development; and international political economy. The center’s research faculty hold appointments in the Department of Economics and other departments and schools at Yale, and accordingly have teaching as well as research responsibilities.
The center sponsors a number of activities, including a regular series of workshops on development, trade, labor and population, and economic history, and provides competitive research grants to graduate students and faculty as well as graduate student fellowships.
The Economic Growth Center Collection, housed in a separate facility at the Center for Science and Social Science Information, is a special collection focused on the statistical, economic, and planning documents of developing countries, including government documents.
The center administers, jointly with the Department of Economics, the Yale master’s degree training program in International and Development Economics.
Institution for Social and Policy Studies
77 Prospect Street, 203.432.3234
Director
Jacob Hacker
Executive Committee Richard Breen, John Dovidio, Heather Gerken, Benjamin Polak, Ian Shapiro, Jody Sindelar
The Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) facilitates interdisciplinary inquiry in the social sciences and research on important public policy subjects. Recognizing that important social problems cannot be studied adequately by a single discipline, the Yale Corporation established ISPS in 1968 to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration within the University. Faculty and students from many departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and from Yale’s graduate and professional schools are involved in a variety of activities. These include interdisciplinary faculty seminars, research projects, postdoctoral programs, and the undergraduate major in Ethics, Politics, and Economics.
As a hub for interdisciplinary policy research and discussion at Yale, ISPS hosts a number of major programs, including the University Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Stephen Latham, director; the Center for the Study of American Politics, Alan Gerber, director; the Agrarian Studies Program, James Scott and K. Sivaramakrishnan, codirectors; and the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, Nicholas Sambanis, director. Through these activities, ISPS seeks to provide intellectual leadership in the social sciences; foster sound and creative research on public policies of local, national, and international significance; and inform both teaching at Yale and academic and public debates beyond Yale.
International Security Studies
31 Hillhouse Avenue, 203.432.6242
Director
Paul Kennedy
International Security Studies (ISS) supports interdisciplinary research and teaching in grand strategy, as well as international, diplomatic, and strategic history. Its goals are to fill the critical national need for educators and leaders with knowledge of these fields; to advance analysis, training, and teaching in its areas of interest; and to provide a forum for informed and independent discussions of historical and contemporary policy thinking and policy making on relevant issues.
ISS is not a degree-granting program: it facilitates the work and welcomes the participation of all Yale undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students in its events and its program of research grants and internship support. ISS is supported by Yale University, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the George Frederick Jewett Foundation, and the Friends of ISS, an organization of private donors.
The Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale University, led by John Lewis Gaddis, is part of ISS. The program seeks to revive the study and practice of grand strategy by teaching future leaders to appreciate and apply its principles; by supporting undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral education and scholarship grounded in these principles; and by promoting a broader recognition of the centrality of grand strategy to successful, pragmatic leadership.
The program, launched in January 2000 and dedicated on December 11, 2006, to Nicholas F. Brady (B.A. 1952) and Charles B. Johnson (B.A. 1954), combines historical depth and analytical range with the belief that training future leaders at the graduate and undergraduate levels is the best long-term investment ISS can make in the future.
Inquiries should be directed to International Security Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208353, New Haven CT 06520-8353. Further information on ISS and the Brady-Johnson Program can be found at http://iss.yale.edu.
Judaic Studies
451 College Street, 203.432.0843
Chair and Director of Graduate Studies
Steven Fraade
Professors Yom Tov Assis (Visiting, History), Yochanan Breuer (Visiting, Religious Studies), Steven Fraade (Religious Studies), Paul Franks (Philosophy), Christine Hayes (Religious Studies), Richard Kalmin (Visiting, Religious Studies), Ivan Marcus (History; Religious Studies), Michael Morgan (Visiting, Philosophy), Marc Saperstein (Visiting, History)
Associate Professors Hindy Najman (Religious Studies), Marci Shore (History)
Assistant Professor Eliyahu Stern (Religious Studies; History)
Senior Research Scholar Margaret Olin (Divinity School; History of Art; Religious Studies)
Senior Lecturer Peter Cole (Visiting, Humanities)
Lecturer Eve Krakowski (Religious Studies)
Senior Lector II Ayala Dvoretzky (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations)
Senior Lector Shiri Goren (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations)
Lector Dina Roginsky (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations)
Judaic Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to the critical study of the languages, history, literature, religion, and culture of the Jews. Jewish society, texts, ideologies, and institutions are studied in comparative historical perspective in relation to the surrounding societies and cultures.
Graduate-level programs are available through the following departments: History (Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Jewish History), Religious Studies (History and Literature of Ancient Judaism, Medieval and Modern Jewish History), Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Northwest Semitic, Hebrew Language and Literature), Comparative Literature (Hebrew and Comparative Literature). Applications are made to a specific department, and programs of study are governed by the degree requirements of that department.
Other resources include the Judaica collection of Sterling Memorial Library and its Judaica bibliographer, the Fortunoff Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, the biweekly faculty/graduate student Judaic Studies Seminar, several lecture series, postdoctoral fellowships, and graduate fellowships in Judaic Studies.
Program materials are available on request to the director of graduate studies of the department of intended specialization, or to the Chair, Program of Judaic Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208282, New Haven CT 06520-8282, and at www.yale.edu/judaicstudies.
Courses
JDST 676bu/RLST 735bu, Babylonian Aramaic Yochanan Breuer
This course deals with the Aramaic dialect used in the Babylonian Talmud and Gaonic literature. In addition to the basic structure of this dialect, we focus on its peculiarities (compared with other dialects of Aramaic), the methodology in investigating it, its various types, its contacts with other languages (especially Hebrew), and its importance for a proper understanding of the Jewish Babylonian literature, mainly the Babylonian Talmud, which is probably the most influential composition in Jewish heritage. W 9:25–11:15
JDST 712a/RLST 811a, Judaism in the Time of Jesus John J. Collins
Analysis of main features of Judaism in the land of Israel around the turn of the era. We consider whether it is possible to speak of Common Judaism, and we discuss the importance of the law, sectarianism, apocalypticism, and other currents. Brief overview of the history of Judea between 200 B.C.E. and 135 C.E. Prerequisite: introductory course on either Hebrew Bible or New Testament. Research paper required. T 1:30–3:20
JDST 718b/RLST 818b, Postexilic Prophecy John J. Collins
Exegesis of parts of Isaiah, Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi. Examination of the relation of postexilic prophecy to apocalypticism, and of the social function of prophecy at this time. M 3:30–5:20
JDST 721bu/RLST 751bu, Introduction to Judaism in the Ancient World: From Temple to Talmud Steven Fraade
The emergence of classical Judaism in its historical setting. Jews and Hellenization; varieties of early Judaism; apocalyptic and postapocalyptic responses to suffering and catastrophe; worship and atonement without sacrificial cult; interpretations of scriptures; law and life; the rabbi; the synagogue; faith in reason; Sabbath and festivals; history and its redemption. No prior background in Jewish history presumed. MW 11:35–12:50
JDST 734b/RLST 740b, Rabbinic Texts Christine Hayes
A close study of classical rabbinic sources with attention to questions of both form and content, critical methods, and cultural and historical context. Designed for doctoral students in Ancient Judaism. T 2:30–4:30
JDST 736bu/RLST 746bu, Midrash Seminar: The Theophany at Sinai Steven Fraade
The giving of the Torah to Israel as seen through rabbinic eyes. Close readings of midrashic texts. Views of revelation, tradition, interpretation, law, and commandment in their literary and historical contexts. Interpretations and interpretive strategies compared and contrasted with those of other ancient biblical exegetes (Jewish and non-Jewish). Prerequisite: reading knowledge of ancient Hebrew. TH 9:25–11:15
JDST 747au/RLST 736au, Rabbis and Others in Late Antiquity: Contextualizing Classical Rabbinic Narratives Richard Kalmin
This course focuses on important issues involved in the study of relations between Jews and other religious and ethnic groups in Persian and Roman Mesopotamia during late antiquity. Through close reading of primary texts and secondary literature, attention is given to Syriac-speaking Christians, Zoroastrians, and indigenous Babylonian pagans. Groups and individuals that vied with the rabbis for power over the Jewish community, such as dream interpreters, aristocrats claiming royal descent, magicians, holy men, and astrologers, are also examined. M 2:30–4:30
JDST 756a/RLST 756a, Ancient Judaism Seminar: The Temple Scroll Steven Fraade
The topic of this seminar, which is required of graduate students in Ancient Judaism, changes yearly. This term we study the Temple Scroll, one of the most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Attention to its place within the history of the biblical text and biblical interpretation and the development of ancient Jewish law, the nature and function of its textual practices, and its relation to the more clearly sectarian of the Qumran writings. Possible topics to be covered: cultic calendar, temple constructions, sacrifice, ritual purity, priests, kings, prophets, judiciary, marital vows, sexual taboos, and holy war. Prerequisite: reading knowledge of ancient Hebrew. W 1:30–3:20
JDST 761au/HIST 535au/RLST 773au, History of the Jews and Their Diasporas to Early Modern Times Ivan Marcus
A broad introduction to the history of the Jews from biblical beginnings until the European Reformation and the Ottoman Empire. Focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationships among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. An overview of Jewish society and culture in its biblical, rabbinic, and medieval settings. TTh 11:35–12:50
JDST 763au, Medieval Jews, Christians, and Muslims Imagining Each Other Ivan Marcus
How members of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities thought of and interacted with members of the other two cultures during the Middle Ages. Topics include the cultural grids and expectations each imposed on the other; the rhetoric of otherness such as humans or devils, purity or impurity, and animal imagery; and models of religious community and power in dealing with the other when confronted with cultural differences. T 1:30–3:20
JDST 767au/HIST 957au, Marriage and Kinship in Medieval Near East Eve Krakowski
Kinship relationships and family life in the Cairo Geniza documents. The legal and social construction of marriage; parents and children; the structure and function of the extended patriarchal family; slaves and other non-kin in the household; kinship and social capital. MW 11:35–12:50
JDST 770bu, Jewish Society in the Medieval Crown of Aragon Yom Tov Assis
Jewish society in the medieval Crown of Aragon in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a period of transition when the Crown of Aragon expanded its territories during the Reconquista, followed by a period of stability leading to tragic decline. Attention is paid to the structure of Jewish society and the impact of external factors on its formation T 3:30–5:20
JDST 771bu/HIST 958bu/RLST 769bu, Jewish Law in the Islamic State, 900–1500 Eve Krakowski
Jewish legal identity and the social practice of Jewish law in the medieval Islamic Near East. Islamic political contexts of Jewish communal institutions; leadership, authority, and coercion; practices and functions of legal courts; comparative readings of response, legal documents, and prescriptive legal codes. T 9:25–11:15
JDST 786au/PHIL 605au, Jewish Philosophy in the Twentieth Century Michael Morgan
Major figures in the tradition of Jewish philosophy during the twentieth century. Engagement with the Western philosophical tradition, especially in Europe and postwar America. The impact of the Six-Day War and the Nazi Holocaust on American Jewish thinkers. TH 9:25–11:15
JDST 788bu/HIST 979bu/RLST 768bu, Holocaust in Historical Perspective Marc Saperstein
A survey of the major historical issues raised by the Holocaust, including the roots of Nazism; different theoretical perspectives and ways of accounting for genocide; the behavior of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders; and problems of representation. TTH 10:30–11:20, 1 HTBA
JDST 794bu, Early Modern Jewish History, 1450–1789 Marc Saperstein
A study of Jewish historical experience during the transitional period from the Expulsion of 1492, which ended the millennial experience of Jews in Spain, to the French Revolution, which elevated Jews to a status of equality in a framework that refused to recognize distinctions of legal status. The course examines the dynamics of Jewish life in Portugal, Italy, Germany, eastern Europe, Amsterdam, and England. Challenges to traditional Jewish life are highlighted: skeptical critique of Jewish tradition, the messianic movement of Sabbatai Zevi, Hasidism, and Haskalah (Enlightenment). Emphasis is on new trends in historiography (studies written in the past generation by American and Israeli scholars). T 1:30–3:20
JDST 797au/PHIL 654au, Emmanuel Levinas: Ethics as First Philosophy Michael Morgan
Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995) is among the half-dozen most important Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. The course examines works from every stage of Levinas’s career, from his early study of Husserl and Heidegger to the emergence of his new understanding of the human condition and the primacy of ethics, the face-to-face encounter with the human other, the role of language and the relationship between ethics and religion, and finally his understanding of Judaism and its relationship to Western philosophy. TH 1:30–3:20
JDST 799a/AMST 692a/HSAR 730a, Religion and the Performance of Space Margaret Olin, Sally Promey
This interdisciplinary seminar explores categories, interpretations, and strategic articulations of space in a range of religious traditions. In conversation with the work of theorists of space such as Henri Lefebvre, Michel de Certeau, and Jonathan Z. Smith, the seminar examines spatial practices of religion in the United States during the modern era, including the conception, construction, and enactment of religious spaces. It is structured around theoretical issues, including (historical) deployments of secularity as a framing mechanism, ideas about space and place, and relations between property and spirituality. Examples of case studies treated in class include the enactment of rituals within museums, the marking of religious boundaries such as the Jewish eruv, and the assignment of “spiritual” ownership in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Several campus events, including special lectures and symposia, the Religion and Film series, and a concurrent exhibition on the eruv, are coordinated with the seminar. Students make presentations and submit papers on topics of their choosing in consultation with the instructors. Prerequisite: permission of the instructors; qualified undergraduates are welcome. T 1:30–3:20
JDST 800a/FREN 925a/HIST 745a, Judging the Holocaust: Law, History, and Politics Henry Rousso
For the first time in history, the perpetrators of a mass crime were sued after 1945 in an international court, while many others were hunted across the world over seven decades. Judging the crimes committed during the Holocaust led to new legal qualifications (genocide, crimes against humanity), as well as new conceptions of time, history, and memory. This seminar, which is partly based on films and video excerpts, deals with some of the major war crimes trials (Nuremberg, Eichmann, Barbie, Papon) and other judicial cases related to the Holocaust (the Kasztner affair, the laws against the deniers). It focuses on their moral and political impact, as well as their effectiveness in providing “historical narratives” or preventing new forms of racism and anti-Semitism. T 9:25–11:15
For course offerings in the Hebrew language and in Israeli society and culture, see Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale
Luce Hall, 203.432.3410
Director
Ian Shapiro (Political Science)
For more than four decades the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale has been the University’s principal institution for encouraging and coordinating teaching and research on international affairs and on societies and cultures around the world. The MacMillan Center endeavors to make understanding the world outside the borders of the United States an integral part of liberal education and professional training at the University. It brings together scholars from all relevant schools and departments to provide insightful interdisciplinary comparative and problem-oriented teaching and research on regional, international, and global issues.
The MacMillan Center provides eleven degree programs. The seven undergraduate majors include African Studies; East Asian Studies; Global Affairs; Latin American Studies; Modern Middle East Studies; Russian and East European Studies; and South Asian Studies. The four graduate degree programs award master’s degrees in African Studies, East Asian Studies, International Relations, and European and Russian Studies. There are joint-degree graduate programs with the schools of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Law, Management, and Public Health. Additionally, the programs offer seven Graduate Certificates of Concentration: in African Studies, European Studies, Global Health, International Development Studies, International Security Studies, Latin American and Iberian Studies, and Modern Middle East Studies.
The many councils, committees, and programs at the MacMillan Center support research and teaching across departments and professions, support doctoral training, advise students at all levels, and provide extracurricular learning opportunities, as well as funding resources for student and faculty research related to their regions and subject areas. Regional studies programs include African Studies, British Studies, Canadian Studies, East Asian Studies, European Studies, Hellenic Studies, Latin American and Iberian Studies, Middle East Studies, South Asian Studies, and Southeast Asia Studies. Comparative and international programs include the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs; the Center for the Study of Globalization; European Union Studies; Genocide Studies; the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition; Global Health; Global Justice; International and Comparative Political Economy; International Security Studies; Order, Conflict, and Violence; Program on Democracy; and Religion, Politics, and Society.
The MacMillan Center’s regional councils regularly teach all levels of nine foreign languages (Modern Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Sanskrit, Swahili, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yorùbá, Zulu). With the Jackson Institute, they collaborate with the Center for Language Study in supporting Directed Independent Language Study of another sixty-four languages for undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students.
The MacMillan Center provides opportunities for scholarly research and intellectual innovation; awards nearly 500 fellowships and grants each year; encourages faculty/student interchange; sponsors some 750 lectures, conferences, workshops, seminars, and films each year (most of which are free and open to the public); produces a range of working papers and other academic publications; and contributes to library collections comprising 1.4 million volumes in the languages of various areas. In addition to administering the master’s program in International Relations, the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs provides career counseling services to Yale students interested in diplomatic service or careers with international agencies or nongovernmental organizations. Through the Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER), it brings international education and training to educators, K–12 students, the media, businesses, and the community at large. The MacMillan Center also supports The MacMillan Report, an online show that features Yale faculty in international and area studies and their research in a one-on-one interview format. Webisodes can be viewed at www.yale.edu/macmillanreport.
For details on degrees, programs, and faculty leadership, please consult www.yale.edu/macmillan.
Graduate Certificates of Concentration in International and Area Studies
General Guidelines—Program Description
The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, through the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and the regional councils on African, European, Latin American and Iberian, and Middle East Studies, sponsors graduate certificates of concentration that students may pursue in conjunction with graduate-degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. The certificate is intended for students seeking to demonstrate substantial preparation in the study of one of the seven areas of concentration: regional (Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East) or thematic and international (Development, Global Health, and Security).
Candidates for the certificate must demonstrate expertise in the area of concentration through their major graduate or professional field, as well as show command of the diverse interdisciplinary, geographic, and cultural-linguistic approaches associated with expertise in the area of concentration. Admission to the graduate certificate is contingent on the candidate’s acceptance into a Yale graduate-degree program. Award of the graduate certificate, beyond fulfilling the relevant requirements, is contingent on the successful completion of the candidate’s Yale University degree program.
Application Procedure
Specific requirements of each council are reflected in its application, monitoring, and award procedures. Application forms can be picked up at the relevant council or downloaded from its Web site. Prospective students should submit a completed application form to the relevant council.
Applications may be submitted by students admitted to a graduate program at Yale or during their program of study but no later than the beginning of the penultimate term of study. Each council may set limits on the number of candidates for its program in any given year. For further information, see the council administrator.
Summary of General Requirements
While the general requirements are consistent across all councils of the MacMillan Center, the specific requirements of each council may vary according to the different expertise required for its area of concentration. In addition to the specific requirements, students pursuing the certificate are expected to be actively engaged in the relevant council’s intellectual community and to be regular participants at its events, speaker series, and other activities. Serious study, research, and/or work experience overseas in the relevant region is highly valued. The requirements:
- 1. Six courses in the area of concentration (in at least two different fields).
- 2. Language proficiency in at least one language relevant to the area of concentration beyond proficiency in English. For some councils and for some individual circumstances, proficiency in two languages beyond English is required.
- 3. Interdisciplinary research paper focused on the area of concentration.
Further Details on General Requirements
- 1. Course work
- Students must complete a total of six courses focused on the area from at least two different fields including a Foundations Course if designated by the council. Of the remaining five courses only two may be “directed readings” or “independent study.” Please note:
- • No more than four courses may count from any one discipline or school.
- • Courses from the home field of the student are eligible. Courses may count toward the student’s degree as well as toward the certificate.
- • Literature courses at the graduate level may count toward the six-course requirement, but elementary or intermediate language courses may not. At the discretion of the faculty adviser, an advanced language course at the graduate level may be counted if it is taught with substantial use of field materials such as literature, history, or social science texts and journals relevant to the area.
- • Course work must demonstrate broad comparative knowledge of the region rather than focus on a specific country.
- • Course work must demonstrate a grasp of the larger thematic concerns affecting the region, such as environment, migration, or global financial movements.
- • Only those courses listed on the Graduate Course Listings provided by the area council may be used to fulfill course requirements. For courses not listed there, please consult the certificate adviser. Non-listed courses may only be counted with prior approval of the council adviser, not after the fact.
- • A minimum grade of HP must be obtained or the course will not be counted toward the certificate.
- • Only course work taken during the degree program at Yale may be counted toward the certificate.
- 2. Language proficiency
- In the major-area language targeted for meeting the proficiency requirement, students must demonstrate the equivalent ability of two years of language study at Yale with a grade of HP or better. Language proficiency must encompass reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills plus grammar. Students may demonstrate proficiency by completing course work, by testing at Yale, or by other means as approved by the council adviser. When a second major language of the region beyond English is required, the relevant council will specify the target level. The typical departmental graduate reading exam is not sufficient for certifying the four-skill language requirement of the certificate.
- Normally, when the candidate is a native speaker of one of the area’s major languages, he/she will be expected to develop language proficiency in a second major area language.
- 3. Interdisciplinary research paper
- A qualifying research paper is required to demonstrate field-specific research ability focused on the area of concentration. After they have completed substantial course work in the area of concentration, students must seek approval from the council faculty adviser for the research project they propose as the qualifying paper. Normally, the student will submit the request no later than the fourth week of the term in which he or she plans to submit the qualifying paper.
- The interdisciplinary research paper may be the result of original research conducted under the supervision of a faculty member in a graduate seminar or independent readings course or in field research related to the student’s studies. An M.A. thesis, Ph.D. prospectus, or dissertation may also be acceptable if it is interdisciplinary as well as focused on the area of concentration. The qualifying paper should examine questions concerning the area of concentration in a comparative and/or interdisciplinary context. It should also use relevant international and area-focused resource materials from a relevant region and/or resource materials in the language(s) of a relevant region or regions. Normally the paper should incorporate at least two of the following elements:
- • Address more than one country relevant to the area of concentration
- • Draw on more than one disciplinary field for questions or analytic approaches
- • Address a transregional or transnational theme relevant to the area of concentration
- The paper will be read by two faculty members selected in agreement with the council adviser. The readers will be evaluating the paper for the quality of research, knowledge of the relevant literature, and depth of analysis of the topic. The qualifying paper must be fully footnoted and have a complete bibliography. The council adviser may call for a third reader as circumstances warrant.
Progress Reports and Filing for the Award of the Certificate/Qualification
Students should submit a progress report along with a copy of their unofficial transcript to the council faculty adviser at the end of each term. Ideally, this will include a brief narrative describing the student’s engagement in the relevant council’s intellectual community and participation in its events, speaker series, and the like, as well as any planned or newly completed experience overseas.
A student who intends to file for the final award of the certificate should contact the council no later than the end of the term prior to award. By the fourth week of the term of the expected award at the latest, the candidate should demonstrate how he/she has or will have completed all the requirements on time.
At the end of the term as grades are finalized, the council will confirm that the candidate is cleared to receive the home degree and has fulfilled all the requirements of the certificate. The final award will require review and clearance by the relevant associate director of the MacMillan Center.
Pursuit of Two Certificates by a Single Student
No courses may overlap between the two certificates. Any application for two certificates by a single student must robustly fulfill all of the requirements for each of the two certificates. Each certificate must be approved independently by each respective council’s certificate adviser.
In addition to the approval of both council advisers, any award of two certificates will require review and approval by the relevant associate director of the MacMillan Center.
Council on African Studies
The MacMillan Center
309 Luce Hall, 203.432.9903
www.yale.edu/macmillan/african
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in African Studies
Chair
Christopher Udry (Economics)
Faculty
For faculty listings, see the section on African Studies under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.
Special Requirements for the Graduate Certificate of Concentration in African Studies
The Graduate Certificate of Concentration in African Studies enables graduate and professional school students in fields other than African Studies to demonstrate interdisciplinary area expertise, language proficiency, and research competence in African Studies. The certificate program is intended to complement existing fields of studies in other M.A. and Ph.D. programs and to provide the equivalent of such specialization for students in departments and schools without Africa-related fields of study. The certificate program is designed to be completed within the time span of a normal Ph.D. residence. Professional school students and M.A. students in the Graduate School may require an additional term of registration to complete the certificate requirements depending on the requirements of specific programs.
The certificate program includes interdisciplinary course work, language study, and research components. The specific requirements are:
- 1. Successful completion of at least six courses in African Studies from at least two departments or schools, one of which is a core course in African Studies (AFST 764b, Topics in African Studies, or AFST 501a, Research Methods in African Studies).
- 2. Demonstration of proficiency in an African language.
- 3. Evidence of research expertise in African Studies. Research expertise may be demonstrated by completion of an interdisciplinary thesis, dissertation prospectus, or dissertation or by completion of a substantive research seminar paper or the equivalent as approved by the faculty adviser.
The certificate courses and research work should be planned to demonstrate clearly fulfillment of the goals of the certificate. Certificate candidates should design their course schedules in consultation with the director of graduate studies for African Studies. Ideally, students should declare their intention to complete the certificate requirements early in their program at Yale. Graduate and professional school students who intend to complete the certificate program must declare their intention to do so no later than during their penultimate term of enrollment.
For course listings, see African Studies under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.
Program materials are available upon request to the Director of Graduate Studies, Council on African Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; e-mail, africanstudies@yale.edu.
Council on East Asian Studies
The MacMillan Center
320 Luce Hall, 203.432.3426
http://eastasianstudies.research.yale.edu
Chair
Daniel Botsman (History)
Faculty
For faculty listings, see the section on East Asian Studies, under Degree-Granting Departments in this bulletin.
The Council on East Asian Studies (CEAS) was founded in 1961 and continues a long tradition of East Asian Studies at Yale. CEAS provides an important forum for academic exploration and support related to the study of China, Japan, and Korea. For almost fifty years, it has promoted education about East Asia both in the college curricula and through lectures and workshops, conferences, cultural events, and educational activities open to faculty, students, K–16 educators, and the general public. CEAS has been designated a National Resource Center for the study of Asian languages and cultures by the U.S. Department of Education. With more than twenty core faculty and twenty language instructors spanning twelve departments on campus, East Asian Studies remains one of Yale’s most extensive area studies programs. Its interdisciplinary emphasis encourages collaborative linkages across fields and departments and contributes to diversity across the curricula and in the classroom. Approximately one hundred fifty courses on East Asia in the humanities and social sciences are offered each year.
CEAS administers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) programs. The M.A. program focuses on Chinese, Japanese, and East Asian transnational studies. For details on the M.A. program, see the section on East Asian Studies, under Degree-Granting Departments in this bulletin.
European Studies Council
The MacMillan Center
342 Luce Hall, 203.432.3423
www.yale.edu/macmillan/europeanstudies
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies
Chair
Philip Gorski (Sociology)
Faculty and Participating Staff
For faculty listings, see the section on European and Russian Studies under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.
The European Studies Council formulates and implements new curricular and research programs on European politics, culture, economy, society, and history. The geographical scope of the council’s activities extends from Ireland to the lands of the former Soviet Union. Its concept of Europe transcends the conventional divisions into Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and includes the Balkans and Russia. In 2010 the U.S. Department of Education again designated the council a National Resource Center under its HEA Title VI program.
The European Studies Council builds on existing programmatic strengths at Yale while serving as a catalyst for the development of new initiatives. Yale’s current resources in European Studies are vast and include the activities of many members of the faculty who have teaching and research specialties in the area. Such departments as Comparative Literature, Economics, English, History, History of Art, Political Science, Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Sociology regularly offer courses with a European focus. These are complemented by the rich offerings and faculty strength of the French, German, Italian, Slavic, and Spanish and Portuguese language and literature departments, as well as the European resources available in the professional schools and other programs, such as Film Studies. By coordinating Yale’s existing resources, including those in the professional schools, encouraging individual and group research, and promoting an integrated comparative curriculum and degree programs, the council strongly supports the disciplinary and interdisciplinary study of European regions and their interactions. The council is also home to special programs in European Union Studies, British Studies, Baltic Studies, and Hellenic Studies, and to initiatives in Polish Culture and Dutch.
In addition to the M.A. degree program, the council offers students in the University’s doctoral and other professional degree programs the chance to obtain a Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies by fulfilling a supplementary curriculum. The undergraduate major in Russian and East European Studies is administered by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.
The benefits provided to the Yale community by the European Studies Council include not only its status as an HEA Title VI National Resource Center, but also its affiliation with interuniversity and international organizations that can offer specialized training programs and research grants for graduate students (see http://studentgrants. yale.edu), support conferences among European and American scholars, and subsidize European visitors to Yale. The Fox International Fellowship Program, for example, offers generous fellowship support to qualified students who undertake research at specified institutions in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Russia. Furthermore, the council supplements the regular Yale curriculum with lectures and seminars by eminent European and American scholars, diplomats, and political officials. Each year the European Commission sponsors a European Union Fellow at Yale. The European Studies Council is now pursuing formal links with a variety of European institutions and is in its sixth year of a scholarly exchange with École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris.
Fields of Study
European and Slavic languages and literatures; economics; history; music; political science; law; sociology and other social sciences.
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies
Yale students may pursue the Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European Studies in conjunction with graduate-degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. Candidates will specify as an area of primary focus either (1) Russia and Eastern Europe or (2) Central and Western Europe. Admission is contingent on the candidate’s acceptance into a Yale graduate-degree program. To complete the certificate, candidates must demonstrate expertise in the area through their major graduate or professional field, as well as show command of the diverse interdisciplinary, geographic, and cultural-linguistic approaches associated with expertise in the area of concentration. Award of the certificate, beyond fulfilling the relevant requirements, is contingent on successful completion of the candidate’s Yale University degree program.
Certificate candidates must comply with the general requirements for all MacMillan Center graduate certificates, as described at www.yale.edu/macmillan/grad_certificates.htm.
Additional Requirements Specific to European Studies
- 1. Minimum L4 language proficiency in two modern European languages, in addition to English. Students wishing to focus on Russia and Eastern Europe must demonstrate knowledge of Russian or an Eastern European language; those focusing on Central and Western Europe must demonstrate knowledge of one of the appropriate languages. Students must demonstrate proficiency in oral (speaking/listening), reading, and writing skills.
- 2. Six courses in the area of concentration, of which:
- a. three courses must offer transnational approaches to Europe-related issues, and
- b. of the remaining three courses, students focusing on Russia and Eastern Europe must take at least one course concerning the nations of Central and Western Europe. For those focusing on Central and Western Europe, at least one course must concern Russia and Eastern Europe.
- 3. Interdisciplinary research paper written either:
- a. in the context of one of the six courses in the area of concentration, or
- b. as independent work under faculty supervision, replacing one of the six required courses.
A qualifying research paper is required to demonstrate field-specific research ability focused on the area of concentration. After they have completed substantial course work in the area, students must seek approval from the council faculty adviser for the research project they propose as the qualifying paper. Normally, students will submit their proposals no later than the fourth week of the term in which they plan to submit the qualifying paper.
For course listings, see European and Russian Studies under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.
For more information, write to European Studies Council, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; or call 203.432.3423.
Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
The MacMillan Center
137 Rosenkranz Hall, 203.432.3418
http://jackson.yale.edu/certificates
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Development Studies
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Global Health
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in International Security Studies
Director
James Levinsohn (Global Affairs; Management)
Faculty
For faculty listings, see the section on International Relations under Degree-Granting Departments and Programs in this bulletin.
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Development Studies
The Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Development Studies provides recognition that a graduate or professional student at Yale has completed interdisciplinary study and integrative research to address fundamental and applied economic, political, social, and cultural issues facing developing countries.
The certificate in Development Studies may be pursued only in conjunction with graduate degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. Students who enroll in the International Relations M.A. program in fall 2012 or later are not eligible for this certificate. The certificate allows students to develop and demonstrate their competence in this interdisciplinary field. Award of the certificate, beyond fulfilling the relevant requirements, is contingent on the successful completion of the candidate’s Yale University degree program. The Development Studies faculty adviser may set a limit on the number of applicants accepted into this certificate program in any given year.
The certificate courses and research should be planned, in consultation with the Development Studies faculty adviser, to clearly demonstrate fulfillment of the goals of the Development Studies certificate. The application deadline is November 15 each year.
Requirements
- 1. Six courses in the area of Development Studies. Each year, the Development Studies faculty adviser will provide a list of courses that will count toward the six-course requirement. This list will draw primarily on Graduate School offerings in economics, political science, history, international relations, anthropology, and sociology, and on courses at the professional schools, including Forestry & Environmental Studies, Law, Management, and Public Health. Candidates may petition the faculty adviser to have other relevant courses count.
- 2. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in one relevant language other than English. The language should be either a major world language relevant to development studies or the language of the region on which the candidate is focusing.
- 3. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in the basic concepts of economic analysis, either by demonstrating substantial prior course work in economics or by taking a graduate- or professional-level economics course at Yale. Such a course may count toward the certificate with the approval of the faculty adviser.
- 4. Candidates must write a substantial research paper. The paper must demonstrate the ability to use interdisciplinary resources in development studies, including, where appropriate, primary sources, field research, data analysis, and non-English sources.
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Global Health
Graduate and professional students at Yale may pursue the Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Global Health as part of their degree program. M.P.H. students enrolled in the Global Health Concentration at Yale School of Public Health are not eligible for this certificate. This certificate allows students to develop expertise and demonstrate competence in Global Health and provides recognition that a student has completed interdisciplinary study and integrative research to address fundamental and applied economic, political, social, cultural, and scientific issues relevant to Global Health.
Students are expected, in consultation with the Global Health faculty adviser, to develop a coherent plan of courses and research that focuses on a specific significant Global Health issue that requires an interdisciplinary perspective (e.g., health and human rights, the worldwide obesity epidemic, economic development and tropical diseases). Often this focal issue will be studied in the context of a particular region of the world (e.g., East Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa) or comparatively across countries or regions.
We expect that students pursuing the certificate will engage with the community of scholars and practitioners working on Global Health at Yale and around the world, demonstrating the ability and cultural sensitivity to work with them in languages beyond English. Overseas field experience in Global Health is also highly desirable. The application deadline is November 15 each year. Master’s students in particular are advised to apply during the fall term of their first year.
Requirements
- 1. Six courses in the area of Global Health. Each year, the Global Health faculty adviser will provide a list of courses that will count toward the six-course requirement. Candidates must work with the adviser to organize their course selections around their chosen focal issue within Global Health. Two courses must be from the School of Public Health, one of which must provide a broad-based foundation in epidemiology.
- 2. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in one relevant language other than English. The language should be either a major world language relevant to global health or one of the main working languages of the region on which the candidate is focusing.
- 3. Candidates must write a substantial, interdisciplinary research paper. The paper must demonstrate the ability to use interdisciplinary resources in global health, including, where appropriate, field research, primary sources, data analysis, and non-English sources.
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in International Security Studies
The Graduate Certificate of Concentration in International Security Studies provides recognition that a graduate or professional student at Yale has completed interdisciplinary study and integrative research to address fundamental and applied economic, political, social, and cultural issues relevant to the study of international security.
The certificate in International Security Studies may be pursued only in conjunction with graduate degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. Students who enroll in the International Relations M.A. program in fall 2012 or later are not eligible for this certificate. The certificate allows students to develop and demonstrate their competence in this interdisciplinary field. Award of the certificate, beyond fulfilling the relevant requirements, is contingent on successful completion of the candidate’s Yale University degree program. The International Security Studies faculty adviser may set a limit on the number of applicants accepted into this certificate program in any given year.
The certificate courses and research should be planned, in consultation with the International Security Studies faculty adviser, to clearly demonstrate fulfillment of the goals of the International Security Studies certificate. The application deadline is November 15 each year.
Requirements
- 1. Six courses in the area of International Security. Each year, the International Security Studies faculty adviser will provide a list of courses that will count toward the six-course requirement. This list will draw primarily on Graduate School offerings in anthropology, economics, history, international relations, political science, and sociology, and on courses at the professional schools, including Forestry & Environmental Studies, Law, Management, and Public Health. Candidates may petition the faculty adviser to have other relevant courses count.
- One of these six courses must have a core focus on international security issues. The International Security Studies faculty adviser will provide a list of courses each year that meet this requirement.
- Up to three courses may focus on a particular region.
- 2. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in one relevant language other than English. The language should be either a major world language relevant to international security studies or the language of the region on which the candidate is focusing.
- 3. Candidates must write a substantial research paper. The paper must demonstrate the ability to use interdisciplinary resources in international security studies, including, where appropriate, primary sources, field research, data analysis, and non-English sources. If the paper is of sufficient quality, the faculty adviser may submit it for publication in the IAC International Security Studies Working Paper Series.
For more information, visit http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/grad_certificates.htm, e-mail jackson.institute@yale.edu, or call 203.432.3418.
Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies
The MacMillan Center
232 Luce Hall, 203.432.3422
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Latin American and Iberian Studies
Chair
Stuart Schwartz (History)
Professors Rolena Adorno (Spanish & Portuguese), Mark Ashton (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Ned Blackhawk (History; American Studies), Garry Brewer (School of Management), Richard Burger (Anthropology), Hazel Carby (African American Studies; American Studies), Amy Chua (Law), Carlos Eire (History; Religious Studies), Eduardo Engel (Economics), Paul Freedman (History), Aníbal González (Spanish & Portuguese), Roberto González Echevarría (Spanish & Portuguese), K. David Jackson (Spanish & Portuguese), Gilbert Joseph (History), Efstathios Kalyvas (Political Science), Robert Mendelsohn (Forestry & Environmental Studies), María Rosa Menocal (Spanish & Portuguese), Mary Miller (History of Art), Florencia Montagnini (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Stephen Pitti (History), Susan Rose-Ackerman (Law; Political Science), T. Paul Schultz (Economics), Stuart Schwartz (History), Susan Stokes (Political Science), Robert Thompson (History of Art), Noël Valis (Spanish & Portuguese), Michael Veal (Music; American Studies; African American Studies), Elisabeth Wood (Political Science)
Associate Professors Robert Bailiss (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Thad Dunning (Political Science), Moira Fradinger (Comparative Literature), Paulo Moreira (Spanish & Portuguese), Leonard Munstermann (Senior Research Scientist, Public Health), Alicia Schmidt-Camacho (American Studies)
Assistant Professors Jafari Allen (Anthropology; African American Studies), P. Sean Brotherton (Anthropology), Susan Byrne (Spanish & Portuguese), Ana De La O Torres (Political Science), Mariola Espinosa (History of Medicine), Leslie Harkema (Spanish & Portuguese), Paulina Ochoa Espejo (Political Science), Kevin Poole (Spanish & Portuguese)
Senior Lectors I, II (Spanish & Portuguese) Sybil Alexandrov, Marta Almeida, Maria Pilar Asensio-Manrique, Teresa Carballal, Mercedes Carreras, Ame Cividanes, Sebastián Díaz, Maria de La Paz García, Oscar González-Barreto, María Jordán, Juliana Ramos-Ruano, Lissette Reymundi, Lourdes Sabé, Barbara Safille, Terry Seymour, Margherita Tortora, Sonia Valle
Lector (Spanish & Portuguese) Rosamaría León
Others Jane Edwards (Associate Dean, Yale College), Nancy Ruther (Lecturer, Political Science)
Professors Emeriti Emilia Viotti da Costa (History), Juan Linz (Political Science; Sociology), Josefina Ludmer (Spanish & Portuguese), Enrique Mayer (Anthropology), Gustav Ranis (Economics)
A variety of Latin American Studies options are available for graduate students in history and other humanities disciplines, the social sciences, and the professional schools. Latin American Area course offerings are available in twenty-five disciplines with distinct strengths in Anthropology, History, Political Science, and Spanish and Portuguese. Latin Americanist faculty specialize in the Andes (Burger), Brazil (Jackson, Moreira, Schwartz), the Caribbean (Thompson), Central America (Joseph, Miller, Wood), Mexico (Camacho, Joseph, Miller, Pitti), and the Southern Cone (Engel, Stokes). F&ES faculty (Anisfeld, Ashton, Clark, Doolittle, Dove, Mendelsohn, Montagnini) have tropical research interests or participate in educational exchanges with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Latin American content courses are also offered in the Divinity School, Law, Management, and Public Health.
Students may pursue the Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Latin American and Iberian Studies in conjunction with graduate degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. To complete the certificate, candidates must demonstrate expertise in the area through their major graduate or professional field, as well as show command of the diverse interdisciplinary, geographic, cultural, and linguistic approaches associated with expertise in Latin America or Iberia.
Admission is contingent on the candidate’s acceptance into a Yale graduate degree program, and award of the certificate, beyond fulfilling the relevant requirements, requires the successful completion of the candidate’s Yale University degree program. Active participation in the council’s extracurricular and research programs and seminars is also strongly encouraged.
Limited financial resources, such as the LAIS Summer Research grants, are available to graduate and professional school students.
Specific Requirements for the Graduate Certificate of Concentration
Language proficiency The equivalent of two years’ study of one language and one year of the other, normally Spanish and Portuguese. Less frequently taught languages, such as Nahuatl, Quechua, or Haitian Creole, may also be considered for meeting this requirement.
Course work Six graduate courses in at least two different disciplines. No more than four courses may count in any one discipline.
Geographical and disciplinary coverage At least two countries and two languages must be included in the course work or thesis.
Research A major graduate course research paper or thesis that demonstrates the ability to use field resources, ideally in one or more languages of the region, normally with a focus on a comparative or regional topic rather than a single country.
The certificate adviser of the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies will assist graduate students in designing a balanced and coordinated curriculum. The council will provide course lists and other useful materials.
Academic Resources of the Council
The council supplements the graduate curriculum with annual lecture and film series, special seminars, and conferences that bring visiting scholars and experts to campus. The council also serves as a communications and information center for a vast variety of enriching events in Latin American studies sponsored by the other departments, schools, and independent groups at Yale. It is a link between Yale and Latin American centers in other universities, and between Yale and educational programs in Latin America and Iberia.
The Latin American Collection of the University library has approximately 522,000 printed volumes, plus newspapers and microfilms, CD-ROMs, films, sound recordings, and maps. The library’s Latin American Manuscript Collection is one of the finest in the United States for unpublished documents for the study of Latin American history. Having the oldest among the major Latin American collections in the United States, Yale offers research opportunities unavailable elsewhere.
Information about the Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Latin American Studies may be requested from the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; e-mail, jean.silk@yale.edu; or telephone, 203.432.3422.
Council on Middle East Studies
The MacMillan Center
346 Rosenkranz Hall, 203.436.2553
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Modern Middle East Studies
Chair
Frank Griffel (Religious Studies)
Professors Abbas Amanat (History), Harold Attridge (Divinity; on leave), Gerhard Böwering (Religious Studies), Adela Yarbro Collins (Divinity), John J. Collins (Divinity), John Darnell (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Stephen Davis (Religious Studies), Owen Fiss (Emeritus, Law), Benjamin Foster (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Steven Fraade (Religious Studies), Eckart Frahm (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Frank Griffel (Religious Studies), Beatrice Gruendler (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Dimitri Gutas (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations; on leave [Sp]), Christine Hayes (Religious Studies; on leave [F]), Frank Hole (Emeritus, Anthropology), Marcia Inhorn (Anthropology), Anthony Kronman (Law), Bentley Layton (Religious Studies), J.G. Manning (Classics), Ivan Marcus (History), Robert Nelson (History of Art), W. Michael Reisman (Law), Maurice Samuels (French; on leave [Sp]), Lamin Sanneh (Divinity), Harvey Weiss (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Robert Wilson (Divinity)
Associate Professors Kaveh Khoshnood (Public Health), Ellen Lust (Political Science; on leave), Colleen Manassa (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Andrew March (Political Science; on leave), Kishwar Rizvi (History of Art)
Assistant Professors Narges Erami (Anthropology), Zareena Grewal (American Studies), Adria Lawrence (Political Science), Mark Lazenby (Nursing), Alan Mikhail (History; on leave), Ahmed Mobarak (Economics), Edwige Tamalet Talbayev (French), Jonathan Wyrtzen (Sociology; on leave [F])
Senior Lecturers and Lecturers Adel Allouche (History; Religious Studies), Karla Britton (Architecture), Karen Foster (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations; History of Art), Tolga Köker (Economics), Nikolay Marinov (Political Science), Kathryn Slanski (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations)
Senior Lectors (I, II) and Lectors Sarab Al Ani (Arabic), Muhammad Aziz (Arabic), Aaron Butts (Semitics), Ayala Dvoretzky (Hebrew), Etem Erol (Turkish), Shiri Goren (Hebrew), Shady Nasser (Arabic), Dina Roginsky (Hebrew), Farkhondeh Shayesteh (Persian), Hasmik Tovmasyan (Arabic)
Librarians and Curators Roberta Dougherty (Near East Collection), Ulla Kasten (Babylonian Collection), Susan Matheson (Ancient Art, Yale University Art Gallery), Elizabeth Payne (Babylonian Collection), Nanette Stahl (Judaica Collection)
The Council on Middle East Studies is part of the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. The council brings together faculty and students sharing an interest in the Middle East by sponsoring conferences, discussions, films, and lecture series by scholars from Yale as well as visiting scholars. It provides information concerning grants, fellowships, research programs, and foreign study opportunities. It also administers research projects in a variety of Middle East-related areas.
In addition to the resources of the individual departments, Yale’s library system has much to offer the student interested in Middle East studies. Of particular note are the collections of Arabic and Persian manuscripts, as well as large holdings on the medieval and modern Middle East.
The Council on Middle East Studies administers the Middle East Studies National Resource Center at Yale, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under HEA Title VI. As a National Resource Center, the council supports a number of projects and activities, including summer- and academic-year language fellowships and an extensive outreach program.
The council also offers a Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Modern Middle East Studies. Students with an interest in the Middle East should first apply to one of the University’s degree-granting departments, such as Anthropology, History, Linguistics, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Political Science, Religious Studies, or Sociology, and then apply for the graduate certificate of concentration no later than the beginning of their penultimate term of study.
Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Modern Middle East Studies
The certificate represents acknowledgment of substantial preparation in Middle East Studies, both in the student’s major graduate or professional field and also in terms of the disciplinary and geographical diversity required by the council for recognized competency in the field of Middle East Studies. As language and culture are the core of the area studies concept, students are required to attain or demonstrate language proficiency.
Requirements
- 1. Language proficiency: the equivalent of two years of study at a passing grade in one of the four languages of the Middle East—Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish.
- 2. Course work: six graduate courses in at least two different disciplines. No more than four courses may count in any one discipline. Included in these six courses must be an introductory Middle East history course, such as State and Society and Culture in the Middle East (taken with special supplemental graduate readings and assignments), and a foundations course, such as Culture and Politics in the Contemporary Middle East.
- 3. Interdisciplinary coverage: both courses and any research project undertaken in lieu of a course must reflect experience of at least two disciplines.
- 4. Research: a major graduate course research paper, dissertation prospectus, dissertation, or thesis that demonstrates ability to use field resources, ideally in one or more languages of the region.
For more information on the Graduate Certificate and inquiries about Middle East Studies, contact the Council on Middle East Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206, or the council e-mail, cmes@yale.edu.
South Asian Studies Council
The MacMillan Center
210 Luce Hall, 203.436.3517
www.yale.edu/macmillan/southasia
Chair
Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan (Anthropology)
Professors Tim Barringer (History of Art), Vasudha Dalmia (Religious Studies), Michael Dove (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Phyllis Granoff (Religious Studies), Inderpal Grewal (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Gustav Ranis (Emeritus, Economics), Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan (Anthropology), Shyam Sunder (School of Management), Christopher Udry (Economics), Steven Wilkinson (Political Science)
Associate Professors Nihal deLanerolle (School of Medicine), Karuna Mantena (Political Science), Kishwar Rizvi (History of Art), Sarah Weiss (Music)
Assistant Professors Ben Conisbee Baer (Comparative Literature), Ashwini Deo (Linguistics), Mayur Desai (Psychiatry/VAMC), Ravi Durvasula (School of Medicine), Zareena Grewal (American Studies; Religious Studies), Daniel Keniston (Economics), Alan Mikhail (History), Shital Pravinchandra (English), Tamara Sears (History of Art), Sara Shneiderman (Anthropology), Tariq Thachil (Political Science)
Senior Lecturers Geetanjali Singh Chanda (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Koichi Shinohara (Religious Studies)
Lecturers Harry Blair (Political Science), Carol Carpenter (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Hugh Flick (Religious Studies), El Mokhtar Ghambou (English)
Senior Lector Seema Khurana (Hindi)
Lectors David Brick (Sanskrit), Swapna Sharma (Hindi)
Associate Research Scholar Mark Turin (South Asian Studies Council)
Students with an interest in South Asian Studies should apply to one of the University’s degree-granting departments, such as Anthropology, History, Political Science, Economics, or Religious Studies. The South Asian Studies Council is part of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. It has been organized to provide guidance to graduate students who desire to use the resources of the departments of the University that offer South Asia-related courses.
The South Asian Studies Council aims to bring together faculty and students sharing an interest in South Asia, and it supplements the curriculum with seminars, conferences, and special lectures by scholars from Yale as well as visiting scholars. It provides information concerning grants, fellowships, research programs, and foreign study opportunities.
Language instruction is offered in Hindi and Tamil. Students planning to undertake field research or language study in South Asia may apply to the council for summer fellowship support.
For information and program materials, contact the South Asian Studies Council, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; or see www.yale.edu/macmillan/southasia.
Courses
HNDI 510au, Elementary Hindi Seema Khurana, Swapna Sharma
An in-depth introduction to modern Hindi, including the Devanagari script. Through a combination of graded texts, written assignments, audiovisual material, and computer-based exercises, the course provides cultural insights and increases proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Hindi. Emphasis placed on spontaneous self-expression in the language. No prior background in Hindi assumed.
510a-1: MTWTHF 10:30–11:20
510a-2: MTWTHF 1:30–2:20
HNDI 520bu, Elementary Hindi II Seema Khurana, Swapna Sharma
Continuation of HNDI 510a.
520b-1: MWF 10:30–11:20, TTH 1:30–2:20
520b-2: MWF 1:30–2:20, TTH 10:30–11:20
HNDI 530au, Intermediate Hindi I Seema Khurana, Swapna Sharma
First half of a two-term sequence designed to develop proficiency in the four language skill areas. Extensive use of cultural documents including feature films, radio broadcasts, and literary and nonliterary texts to increase proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Hindi. Focus on cultural nuances and various Hindi literary traditions. Emphasis on spontaneous self-expression in the language. Prerequisite: HNDI 520b or equivalent.
530a-1: MTWTHF 2:30–3:20
530a-2: MTWTHF 11:30–12:20
HNDI 532au, Hindi for Heritage Speakers I Swapna Sharma
TTH 4–5:15
HNDI 540bu, Intermediate Hindi II Seema Khurana, Swapna Sharma
Continuation of HNDI 530a, focusing on further development of proficiency in the four language skill areas. Prerequisite: HNDI 530a or equivalent.
540b-1: MWF 2:30–3:20
540b-2: TTH 9:30–10:20
HNDI 542bu, Hindi for Heritage Speakers II Swapna Sharma, Seema Khurana
Continuation of HNDI 532a. Development of increased proficiency in the four language skills. Focus on reading and higher language functions such as narration, description, and comparison. Reading strategies for parsing paragraph-length sentences in Hindi newspapers. Discussion of political, social, and cultural dimensions of Hindi culture as well as contemporary global issues. Prerequisite: HNDI 532a or equivalent. TTH 4–5:15
HNDI 550au, Advanced Hindi Seema Khurana
An advanced language course aimed at enabling students to engage in fluent discourse in Hindi and to achieve a comprehensive knowledge of formal grammar. Introduction to a variety of styles and levels of discourse and usage. Emphasis on the written language, with readings on general topics from newspapers, books, and magazines. Prerequisite: HNDI 540b or permission of instructor. TTH 4–5:15
HNDI 598au or bu, Advanced Tutorial
For students with advanced Hindi language skills who wish to engage in concentrated reading and research on material not otherwise offered by the department. The work must be supervised by an adviser and must terminate in a term paper or its equivalent. Prerequisites: HNDI 540b, and submission of a detailed project proposal and its approval by the language studies coordinator. 1 HTBA
SKRT 510au/LING 515au, Introductory Sanskrit I David Brick
An introduction to Sanskrit language and grammar. Focus on learning to read and translate basic Sanskrit sentences in the Indian Devanagari script. No prior background in Sanskrit assumed. Credit only on completion of SKRT 520b/LING 525b. MTWTHF 9:25–10:15
SKRT 520bu/LING 525bu, Introductory Sanskrit II David Brick
Continuation of SKRT 510a/LING 515a. Focus on the basics of Sanskrit grammar; readings from classical Sanskrit texts written in the Indian Devanagari script. Prerequisite: SKRT 510a/LING 515a. MTWTHF 9:25–10:15
SKRT 530au, Intermediate Sanskrit I David Brick
The first half of a two-term sequence aimed at helping students develop the skills necessary to read texts written in Sanskrit. Readings include selections from the Hitopadesa; Kathasaritsagara; Mahabharata; and Bhagavad Gita. Prerequisite: SKRT 520b or equivalent. MTWTHF 10:30–11:20
SKRT 540bu, Intermediate Sanskrit II David Brick
Continuation of SKRT 530a, focusing on Sanskrit literature from the kavya genre. Readings include selections from the Jatakamala of Aryasura and the opening verses of Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhava. Prerequisite: SKRT 530a or equivalent. MTWTHF 10:30–11:20
SKRT 550b, Advanced Sanskrit: Dharmasastra David Brick
The course is designed as an advanced tutorial offered in connection with the proposed seminar course Law and Religion in Ancient India. Its purpose is to introduce students to Sanskrit commentarial literature in general and to Dharmasastra in particular. Dharmasastra is a major genre of Brahmanical literature dedicated to the explication and analysis of everything falling under the broad rubric of dharma. Prerequisite: knowledge of Sanskrit equivalent to at least two years of college course work. MW 1–2:15
SAST 619b/ANTH 663bu, Ethnicity and Indigeneity in a Mobile World Sara Shneiderman
Classical literature on ethnicity in conversation with more recent work on indigeneity and mobility. We consider the relationships between place, belonging, and citizenship in shaping contemporary identity practices and discourses. Readings are primarily ethnographic, with a focus on South Asia, but including material from Latin America, Native North America, Southeast and East Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and Africa. TH 1:30–3:20
SAST 672a, Himalaya through Film and Text Mark Turin
An exploration of the Himalayan region through film and ethnography. Comparing visual and textual genres of storytelling and narration, we examine topics such as adventure, caste, education, gender, ritual, and violence by watching, analyzing, and critiquing selected films and texts. Films and readings are drawn from Bhutan, northern India, Nepal, and Tibet.
Council on Southeast Asia Studies
The MacMillan Center
311 Luce Hall, 203.432.3431, seas@yale.edu
Chair
Benedict Kiernan (History)
Professors William Burch (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Michael Dove (Forestry & Environmental Studies), J. Joseph Errington (Anthropology), Benedict Kiernan (History), James Scott (Political Science), Mimi Yiengpruksawan (History of Art)
Associate Professor Sarah Weiss (Music)
Assistant Professor Erik Harms (Anthropology)
Lecturers and Senior Lectors (I, II) Carol Carpenter (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Amity Doolittle (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Quang Phu Van (Southeast Asian Languages), Indriyo Sukmono (Southeast Asian Languages)
Curators Ruth Barnes (Indo-Pacific Art, Yale University Art Gallery), Richard Richie (Southeast Asia Collection, Yale University Library)
Yale does not offer higher degrees in Southeast Asia Studies. Instead, students apply for admission to one of the regular degree-granting departments and turn to the Council on Southeast Asia Studies for guidance regarding the development of their special area interest, courses outside their department, and instruction in Southeast Asian languages related to their research interest. The council aims to bring together faculty and students sharing an interest in Southeast Asia and supplements the graduate curriculum with an annual seminar series, periodic conferences, and special lectures.
Yale offers extensive library and research collections on Southeast Asia in Sterling Memorial Library, the Economic Growth Center, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Human Relations Area Files. Further information on library resources is available from Richard Richie, Curator, Southeast Asia Collection, Sterling Memorial Library (203.432.1858, rich.richie@yale.edu).
Language instruction is offered in two Southeast Asian languages, Indonesian and Vietnamese. The council supports language tables and tutoring in other Southeast Asian languages by special arrangement. Students planning to undertake field research or language study in Southeast Asia may apply to the council for summer fellowship support.
For information on program activities and participating faculty, contact the Council on Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; or see our Web site, www.yale.edu/seas.
Courses
INDN 510au, Elementary Indonesian I Indriyo Sukmono
An introductory course in Standard Indonesian with emphasis on developing communicative skills through systematic survey of grammar and graded exercises. Introduction to reading in the second term, leading to mastery of language patterns, essential vocabulary, and basic cultural competence. Enrollment limited to fifteen per section. (01) MTWTHF 9:25–10:15; (02) MTWTHF 10:30–11:20; (03) MTWTHF 1:30–2:20
INDN 520bu, Elementary Indonesian II Indriyo Sukmono
Continuation of INDN 510a. (01) MTWTHF 9:25–10:15; (02) MTWTHF 10:30–11:20; (03) MTWTHF 1:30–2:20
INDN 530au, Intermediate Indonesian I Indriyo Sukmono
Continues practice in colloquial Indonesian conversation and reading and discussion of texts. Prerequisite: INDN 520b or equivalent. Enrollment limited. (01) TTH 11:30–12:50; (02) MF 11:30–12:50
INDN 540bu, Intermediate Indonesian II Indriyo Sukmono
Continuation of INDN 530a. (01) TTH 11:30–12:50; (02) MF 11:30–12:50
INDN 553au, Advanced Indonesian Jolanda Pandin, Indriyo Sukmono
A semi-directed study in which the focus of discussion depends upon the research interests of the students. The instructor assists the study by providing and developing materials on the chosen theme from articles, journals, books, and audiovisual collections. Students work to improve their Indonesian speaking, listening, writing, and grammar skills to an advanced level. Conducted via distance learning format with Cornell University. Prerequisites: INDN 540b or equivalent and permission of the instructor.
INDN 560bu, Advanced Indonesian II Indriyo Sukmono
Continued development of advanced fluency through sophisticated discussion of original Indonesian sociohistorical, political, and literary texts and audiovisual sources designed to challenge students to further apply and extend their knowledge and understanding of Indonesia. Prerequisites: INDN 553a or equivalent and permission of the instructor. TTH 2:30–3:45
INDN 570a/b, Readings in Indonesian Indriyo Sukmono
For students with advanced Indonesian language skills preparing for academic performance and/or research purposes. Prerequisites: advanced Indonesian and permission of the instructor.
VIET 510au, Elementary Vietnamese I Quang Phu Van
Students acquire basic working ability in Vietnamese including sociocultural knowledge. Attention to integrated skills such as speaking, listening, writing (Roman script), and reading. No previous knowledge of or experience with Vietnamese language required. MTWTHF 9:25–10:15
VIET 520bu, Elementary Vietnamese II Quang Phu Van
Continuation of VIET 510a. MTWTHF 9:25–10:15
VIET 530au, Intermediate Vietnamese I Quang Phu Van
An integrated approach to language learning aimed at strengthening students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Vietnamese. Students are thoroughly grounded in communicative activities such as conversations, performance simulation, drills, role playing, and games. Discussion of aspects of Vietnamese society and culture. Prerequisite: VIET 520b or equivalent. MTWTHF 10:30–11:20
VIET 540bu, Intermediate Vietnamese II Quang Phu Van
Continuation of VIET 530a. MTWTHF 10:30–11:20
VIET 550au, Advanced Vietnamese Quang Phu Van
Aims to enable students to achieve greater fluency and accuracy in the language beyond the intermediate level and to solidify their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Topics include social, economic, and cultural practices; gender issues; and notions of power, taboo, etc. Prerequisite: VIET 540b or equivalent. TH 4–5:15
VIET 570a/b, Readings in Vietnamese Quang Phu Van
For students with advanced Vietnamese language skills who wish to engage in concentrated reading and research. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
315 William L. Harkness Hall, 203.432.0845
Chair
Inderpal Grewal
Director of Graduate Studies
Marianne LaFrance [F]
Jill Campbell [Sp]
Professors Elizabeth Alexander (African American Studies), Carol Armstrong (History of Art), Seyla Benhabib (Political Science), Jill Campbell (English), Hazel Carby (African American Studies; American Studies), Kang-i Sun Chang (East Asian Languages & Literatures), George Chauncey (History), M. Kamari Clarke (Anthropology), Glenda Gilmore (History; American Studies; African American Studies), Inderpal Grewal (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies; American Studies; Anthropology), Dolores Hayden (Architecture; American Studies), Margaret Homans (English; Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Marianne LaFrance (Psychology; Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Joanne Meyerowitz (History), Sally Promey (American Studies; Institute of Sacred Music; Religious Studies), Cynthia Russett (History), Alicia Schmidt Camacho (American Studies), Emilie Townes (Divinity), John Treat (East Asian Languages & Literatures), Michael Warner (English), Laura Wexler (American Studies; Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies)
Associate Professor Naomi Rogers (History of Science & Medicine)
Assistant Professors Jafari Allen (African American Studies; Anthropology), Rene Almeling (Sociology), GerShun Avilez (English; African American Studies), Crystal Feimster (African American Studies; American Studies), Joseph Fischel (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Moira Fradinger (Comparative Literature), Terri Francis (Film Studies), Kathryn Lofton (American Studies; Religious Studies), Karen Nakamura (Anthropology), Sam See (English)
Lecturers Melanie Boyd (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Geetanjali Singh Chanda (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies), Kathleen Cleaver (African American Studies), Maria Trumpler (Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies)
Fields of Study
The Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies considers gender and sexuality as fundamental categories of social and cultural analysis and offers critical perspectives upon them as a basis from which to study the diversity of human experience. Gender (the social and historical meanings of the distinction between the sexes) and sexuality (the domain of sexual practices, identities, discourses, and institutions) are studied as they intersect with class, race, ethnicity, nationality, and other axes of human difference. The introduction of these perspectives into all fields of knowledge necessitates new research, criticism of existing research, and the formulation of new paradigms and organizing concepts.
The Qualification in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is open to students already enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Yale. Interested students are strongly encouraged to register for the Qualification by meeting with the director of graduate studies (DGS) during their first year. Students who wish to receive the Qualification must (1) complete the core course, WGSS 619b, Feminist and Queer Theory: National and Transnational Perspectives, or, with permission of the DGS, another course in the theory of gender and sexuality; (2) complete two electives to be determined in consultation with the DGS and their individual WGSS graduate adviser; (3) demonstrate the capacity to pursue independent, interdisciplinary research in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies by presenting a qualifying paper at a meeting of the WGSS Colloquium; and (4) demonstrate readiness to teach basic and advanced courses in this field by serving as TF in a WGSS lecture course or teaching a seminar on a WGSS topic, or by preparing appropriate course syllabi. Students who fulfill these expectations will receive a letter from the DGS, indicating that they have completed the work for the Qualification.
Program information and the requirements for the Qualification are available on the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Web site, or by contacting 203.432.0845 or wgss@yale.edu.
Courses
WGSS 620b/FREN 968b/CPLT 590b, Writing Women: Gender and Nation Building in the Francophone Arab World Edwige Tamalet Talbayev
This course investigates the ways in which the related discourses of nationalism, Islam, and feminism can fruitfully intersect to illuminate the corpus of women’s literature from the former French colonies in the Arab world. With an emphasis on issues of social justice, citizenship, and feminism, both locally and transnationally, we interrogate the ways in which literature mediates the construction of women as historical subjects. Although the focus of the course is on francophone texts, we address the literary landscape of the former Maghrebi and Middle Eastern colonies and mandates as a whole, reading Arabic texts in translation alongside texts written in French and English. Proposed readings include Fatima Mernissi, Dreams of Trespass; Kateb Yacine, Nedjma; Tahar Ben Jelloun, Lettre à Delacroix; Joumana Haddad, I Killed Scheherazade; Leila Abouzeid, The Year of the Elephant; Fawzi Mellah, Le Conclave des pleureuses; Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Memory in the Flesh; Malika Mokeddem, Des rêves et des assassins. W 3:30–5:20
WGSS 622au/ARCG 623au/NELC 620au, Lives in Ancient Egypt Colleen Manassa
Introduction to the social history of ancient Egypt, from 3100 to 30 B.C.E., with particular focus on the lives of individuals attested in the textual and archaeological record, from pharaohs and queens to artists, soldiers, and farmers. Readings of primary sources in translation, and course projects integrating ancient objects in Yale collections. MW 10:30–11:20
WGSS 623b/SOCY 523b, Sociology of Sex and Gender Rene Almeling
The course provides graduate students with an introduction to major theoretical approaches to sex and gender, and it covers recent empirical research in key arenas, including care work, sex work, work and family, mothering and fathering, reproductive technologies, and health. Readings have been selected to reflect a variety of methodological approaches and to spotlight the ways in which sex and gender intersect with other social categories (e.g. race, class, and nationality) at different stages in the life course. M 1:30–3:20
WGSS 630a, Feminist Postcolonial Theories: Discourses, Subjects, Knowledge Inderpal Grewal
An advanced survey course in feminist theory that covers key debates over the last three decades within feminist postcolonial scholarship. The course goes beyond the basic texts of postcolonial studies and feminist theory, seeking, on the one hand, to historicize and contextualize particular emergences and changes in academic knowledge production, and, on the other hand, to examine the debates that have energized the field. Thus we examine postcolonial feminist theory as a field of knowledge that came both from social and national movements and from academic upheavals caused by these movements. Beginning with colonial discourse studies and cultural studies in the 1980s, we end by focusing on analyses of contemporary colonialisms, which reveal both the influences of the field and the extensions of it into a variety of disciplines and knowledge formations.
WGSS 632b/AFAM 734b/FILM 719b, Film Race Gender Terri Francis
Film aesthetics and intellectual history of African American cinema. Shifting views on race/racism and gender/sex/sexism within the overall context of the Hollywood industry. American independent/experimental filmmaking practices and African diaspora aesthetics. African American cinema as a case of cross-cultural contact, complicity, and creativity. Issues of stereotypes, authorship, and performance. Shared problematics and passions between African American film and literature. Film positioned less as a window and more as a palimpsest, a refracting medium with its own aesthetics and, within its own traditions, working over “race” and perceptions of particular cultures through plot devices, lighting, and sound, in particular, often in unexpected ways. Films alongside materials drawn from film, drama, literature, social history, journalism, television, photography, painting, dance, and other arts. Special unit on Josephine Baker, embodying the crucial conceptual bridge between black modernism and primitivism and between American race films and European colonial films. Baker through the lens of a recast Harlem Renaissance that emphasizes the modernist concerns of the body, life as art, migration, memory, and intercultural collaboration in a multidisciplinary canon. Readings from canonical, controversial, and recent publications in African American studies, film and media studies, and gender/sexuality studies. Oscar Micheaux and his circle, the L.A. Rebellion, “New” Black Cinema, and beyond. W 3:30–5:20
WGSS 670b, Sexuality and Social Justice Joseph Fischel
Compared to other sites of social stratification, “sexuality” is late on arrival to the scene of both justice politics and justice theory. How should sexuality fit into writings on and demands for justice? Is “sexual justice” as an aspirational object discrete from, contiguous to, or identical with social justice writ large? Folded into these grand narrative questions are smaller but no less significant ones. For purposes of justice-theorizing and justice-politicking, is sexuality best understood as reducible to the familiar identity forms: L, G, B, and T? Is the analytic distinction of sexuality from gender, class, and race itself an injustice of sorts, or is such categorization necessary to redress particular forms of late modern injustice or inequality? In particular, we consider the extent to which sexuality injustice is (1) tethered to economic distribution, (2) tethered to gender asymmetry, and (3) context-dependent. Along the way we consider influential scholarship on justice by American political theorists; queer and feminist critiques; (some) Marxism and (some of) its interlocutors; transnational ethnography and theory on sexuality; intersectional approaches to sex, sexuality, and justice; and desire in its compromised manifestations. T 2:30–4:30
WGSS 689b/AFAM 647b/ANTH 591b, Black Feminist Theory and Praxis Jafari Allen
In this course we analyze black feminisms as both political space and scholarly choice. This framework enables us to examine the continuities between black feminist and womanist theorizing in diverse locations, and to explore how different embodied experiences—including genders, histories, geographies, and genealogies—condition divergent perspectives. Themes explored include slavery, colonialism, diaspora consciousness, multiple genders and sexualities, class difference and inequities of power within black communities; representation in popular culture; state violence; poetics and resistance. We employ a transdisciplinary perspective—including anthropology, history, sociology, literature, and film—and challenge notions of “theory” as the province of the West (and North) and the middle class. TH 3:30–5:20
[WGSS 701bu/ANTH 508bu, Queer Ethnographies]
WGSS 715b/AFAM 829b, American Legal History: Citizenship and Race Kathleen Cleaver
This seminar examines the evolution of U.S. citizenship as defined and interpreted by courts during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular attention to the way historical events that defined race have affected citizenship. Topics of study include the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution; the 1866 Civil Rights Act; Reconstruction legislation; immigration restrictions imposed on Asians; legislation impacting the racial classification of Mexicans; statutes governing the citizenship of indigenous native peoples; racially based prohibitions against voting, education, and employment; and efforts to reduce them by civil rights legislation culminating with the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Each seminar participant has to research several topics and make a presentation to the class on at least one topic. Engagement in seminar discussion and the drafting of research papers are the basis for grading. This seminar is open to seniors. TH 3:30–5:20
WGSS 716a/AFAM 738a/AMST 706a/HIST 711a, Readings in African American Women’s History Crystal Feimster
The diversity of African American women’s lives from the colonial era through the late twentieth century. Using primary and secondary sources we explore the social, political, cultural, and economic factors that produced change and transformation in the lives of African American women. Through history, fiction, autobiography, art, religion, film, music, and cultural criticism we discuss and explore the construction of African American women’s activism and feminism; the racial politics of the body, beauty, and complexion; hetero- and same-sex sexualities; intraracial class relations; and the politics of identity, family, and work. TH 9:25–11:15
WGSS 730b/HIST 943b/HSHM 736b, Health Politics, Body Politics Naomi Rogers
A reading seminar on struggles to control, pathologize, and normalize human bodies, with a particular focus on science, medicine, and the state, both in North America and in a broader global health context. Topics include colonialism and prostitution; repression and regulation of birth control; the teaching of sex education; the public celebration and denial of sexual difference; politics of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; public health and legal efforts to define and restrict abortion; the pathologizing and identity politics of transgendered people; and the development and regulation of artificial insemination and other methods of reproductive technology. W 1:30–3:20
WGSS 736b/AFAM 709b/AMST 709b/HIST 736b, Research in U.S. Political and Social History after 1865 Glenda Gilmore
Projects chosen from the post-Civil War period, with emphasis on twentieth-century social and political history, broadly defined. Research seminar. TH 9:25–11:15
[WGSS 745bu/SOCY 610bu, Race, Gender, and the African American Experience]
WGSS 771b/ENGL 725b, The Eighteenth-Century Novel Jill Campbell
Studies in the emergence of the “novel” as a category of literature and of “fiction” as a basis for experience in the course of the long eighteenth century. Likely authors include Behn, Haywood, Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Austen, Maria Edgeworth, and Mary Shelley. Special emphasis on the forms of selfhood developed by the novel; the claims to attention of suppositional persons in fictional forms; and eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century experimentation with the uses of fiction for didactic and political ends. Readings also include a sampling of prose fiction for children and of nonfictional, polemical prose. W 9:25–11:15
WGSS 788a/AFAM 736a/HSAR 785a, Bodies and Borders: Sexuality, Race, and Representation Kobena Mercer
Introducing methods from cultural studies, postcolonial studies, and psychoanalysis, this seminar examines representations of black bodies in modern art and visual culture. Abolitionist, Orientalist, and primitivist painting and sculpture are investigated through concepts of fetishism, fantasy, and the gaze, and in light of post-1960s artistic practices addressing interracial border zones as sites of cross-cultural hybridity. Artists include Carl Van Vechten, Wifredo Lam, Adrian Piper, Robert Mapplethorpe, Kara Walker, and Renee Cox; texts include Mikhail Bakhtin, Homi Bhabha, Frantz Fanon, and Griselda Pollock. TH 1:30–3:20
WGSS 816a/AFAM 816a/AMST 657a, Place and Space in Caribbean Literature, Theory, and Ecology Hazel Carby
Readings are drawn from twentieth-century Caribbean literature (fiction and poetry), written or translated into English, as well as cultural and literary theory and recent work on visual culture and ecology. The course poses questions about the various inventions, imaginings, and mappings of bodies and locations; representations of nature, land, island, and archipelago; the architectures offered by literature; and the relation between ecology and war in the greater Caribbean region. T 1:30–3:20
WGSS 834b/AFAM 834b/AMST 658b, The Politics of Representation: Visual and Literary Culture and the Black Female Body Hazel Carby
Utilizing collections held in the Yale Art Gallery, the Center for British Art, and the Beinecke Library, this course juxtaposes literary texts and visual culture to create interdisciplinary conversations about the representation of the black female body with particular emphasis on issues of sexuality, gender, and racial formation. T 1:30–3:20
Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
Betts House, 203.432.1900, globalization@yale.edu
YCSG Web site: www.ycsg.yale.edu
YaleGlobal Online magazine: www.yaleglobal.yale.edu
Director
Ernesto Zedillo
The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization (YCSG) is devoted to examining the impact of our increasingly integrated world on individuals, communities, and nations. The center’s purpose is to support the creation and dissemination of ideas for seizing the opportunities and overcoming the challenges resulting from globalization’s impact on the world’s people and places. The center also studies problems that, even if they do not result directly from globalization, are global in nature and can therefore be effectively addressed only through international cooperation. In pursuit of this mission, and to assist in Yale’s effort to become a more international institution, the core of our strategy is collaboration both with the Yale community and with a variety of institutions and individuals across the globe.
One of the center’s strengths, and an important area of focus, is its ability to engage with multilateral institutions and global organizations in activities pertinent to its mission, thereby connecting academia with the world of public policy. Through these projects, YCSG produces reports, policy papers, and other publications that contribute toward influencing the attitudes and actions of policy makers, academics, and institutions. Natural opportunities exist to present the results of this work at Yale through seminars, colloquia, and public lectures.
The center’s strategy comprises four pillars. First, we focus on issues that are truly core to globalization, like international trade, global finance, inclusion, and the provision of key global public goods. Second, relying on a diversity of means—from closed brainstorming sessions among highly specialized thinkers to large multidisciplinary conferences—the center serves at Yale as a catalyst for debate and cutting-edge thought with a view to generate policy-relevant proposals. Third, in addition to our priority task of interacting with the Yale community, we seek actively to collaborate with a variety of institutions and individuals across the globe to leverage our own resources, reinforce the policy pertinence of our work, and support Yale’s internationalization efforts. And fourth, in the endeavor of disseminating critical analysis and stirring constructive debate, we apply ourselves to reach not only the academic and policy worlds with printed publications, but also to communicate with a wide audience of informed citizens around the world.
Included among the center’s recent international activities are the following:
YCSG works with the Natural Resource Charter, an effort to establish a set of principles for governments and societies on how best to harness the opportunities created by extractive resources for development.
The center also works with the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security, for which the center’s director serves as vice chair and Kofi Annan as chair. It aims to highlight the importance of the integrity of elections to achieving a more secure, prosperous, and stable world. The Global Commission works to convince different stakeholders why elections with integrity matter not just for democracy, but also for security, human rights, and development. At the heart of the Global Commission’s approach is ensuring that the international community applies political solutions to the political problems surrounding elections, rather than purely technical approaches.
In follow-up to the center’s collaboration with the Global Commission on Drug Policy, YCSG held a conference in 2011 that resulted in the publication Rethinking the “War on Drugs” through the US-Mexico Prism, which is available for download at www.ycsg.yale.edu.
On campus, the center hosts international conferences, organizes workshops and panels, and works constantly to bring to the Yale community individuals who have input on international policy. YCSG’s Distinguished Visiting Fellows interact with faculty and students and are expected to produce one or more publications during their tenure.
In order to multiply the effects of the internal and external dimensions of the center’s strategy, YCSG has developed a global media instrument, YaleGlobal Online magazine (www.yaleglobal.yale.edu). YaleGlobal explores the growing interconnectedness of the world and aims to analyze and promote debate on all aspects of globalization. A Chinese-language edition, YaleGlobal Fudan Edition, was launched in September of 2009 with partner institution Fudan University. The magazine posts three original articles per week, republishes and archives articles from around the globe, and offers interviews with eminent visitors as well as video recordings of the center’s events at Yale. With a vastly increased readership in over 160 countries, YaleGlobal now receives 1.5 to 2 million hits per week.
Yale Climate and Energy Institute
Director Rajendra K. Pachauri
The Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI) seeks to understand Earth’s climate system, the ecological and social impacts of climate change, and the strengths and weaknesses of current political and economic systems’ ability to respond to climate change, and to provide realistic, implementable solutions to societies and communities around the world.
The YCEI is an umbrella organization within Yale University, composed of all relevant departments, centers, and faculty. Its mission promotes a multidisciplinary approach to learning, research, and the development of strategies that help societies contribute to solutions and adapt to the challenges of local and global climatic changes.
