Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
On-Campus Course Schedule for Fall 2024

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Foundational 1

This course introduces the student to the history, rationale, and focus of graduate Liberal Studies as a doctoral field. It provides a framework for the entering doctoral student in terms of establishing the foundations and interdisciplinary focus of graduate work in the field. There are three stages to the course. (1) It begins with a broad overview of the pre-modern Western tradition, with guest lectures and readings from the classical to the early modern eras, designed to provide historical context for the emergence of modernity in the Western tradition. (2) In the second part, the emphasis shifts to methodology and research as a way of preparing the entering doctoral student for graduate Liberal Studies at Georgetown University. Readings and additional guest lectures help the student develop a fuller sense of how particular disciplines function within the context of interdisciplinary analysis. (3) The final section of the course involves an in-class workshop on research methods and then a final set of round table student presentations on their research topics for the term paper. The research topic will be chosen, in consultation with the professor, so the student can explore some aspect of his/her stated area of interest for the D.L.S

Note: DLS students only.

DLS Foundational 3

Students in the DLS program are joining a centuries-long series of conversations and heated debates concerning the deceptively simple questions that lie at the heart of Liberal Studies, philosophical inquiry, and human values: How do we know? How do we make meaning out of the world and experience? How do we represent reality? How do we interpret reality? How do we form and rewrite traditions of knowledge, language, and power? What does it mean to live a good life? In the third DLS core course, “Reading through Time” students will continue to explore how these questions have been posed and answers have been attempted in pre-modern, modern, and postmodern critical contexts, in which positivist, humanist outlooks upon the world have radically shifted to deconstruction and “posthuman” perspectives. We will explore these questions through a series of paired readings in fiction and critical theory, divided into interrelated thematic units. Our readings will focus on works that question and rewrite master narratives, and explore the nature of subjectivity, the limits of self and others, and history and fiction. At the end of the semester, students will be familiar with some of the major currents in critical theory.

Note: DLS students only.

DLS Qualifying Exam

This section of DLS Qualifying Exam Prep is intended for students who have enrolled in the program primarily on a part-time basis (3-6 credits per semester) and who intend to complete their DLS Qualifying Exam at a similar pace. This section counts as Half-Time Status. Notes: DLS students only. 36 hrs completed. Student provides exam checklist to Asst. Dean by Sept. 15th. Course certifies half-time status Repeatable course Fall and Spring terms with DLS Director approval

Note: DLS students register for this course after completing all 36 credits of coursework. This course must be successfully completed before students can progress to DLS Thesis Proposal and DLS Thesis Writing.

DLS Thesis Proposal

After completing the DLS Qualifying Exams (LSHV 990), students are required to register for DLS Thesis Proposal (LSHV 995) before moving on to DLS Thesis Writing (LSHV 996) the following semester.

Note: DLS students must complete this course before progressing to DLS Thesis Writing.

DLS Thesis Writing

The Doctor of Liberal Studies thesis is expected to demonstrate a level of competence and academic rigor in the field of interdisciplinary studies comparable to, though distinct from, the equivalent level of competence and rigor expected in a Ph.D. thesis in a disciplinary field. Topics are limited to the liberal arts and social sciences and must be approved by the DLS Director. The Doctoral Thesis represents the creative synthesis of primary sources and secondary materials. Students must follow the Graduate Liberal Studies Guidelines for Thesis Writers provided each student upon successful completion of the Qualifying Examination for steps and procedures in the preparation and defense of the Thesis Proposal as well as the submission, defense, and approval of the DLS thesis. The Guidelines are also online, liberalstudies.georgetown.edu/DLS students/resources/thesis. Additionally, the student must follow the “rules” of manuscript preparation according to the methods provided in A Manual for Writers, 8th edition, Kate Turabian, in particular, the choice of one of the two suggested styles for citations.

Note: This is the final step in the DLS thesis process. Students must register for this course in both fall and spring to remain active while writing the doctoral thesis.

Emotions and Senses

From raging kings and cursing monks in medieval Europe to ‘being cool’ in twentieth century America, to FOMO in the present day, scholars in psychology, history, anthropology, sociology and other disciplines are increasingly aware that emotions differ across cultures and over time. Intriguingly, this realization quickly followed the emergence of a similar realization about the historical and cultural particularities of the supposedly ‘natural’ five senses. This seminar explores scholarship from emotions studies and sensory studies from a range of world regions and time periods in order to explore the contingent nature of the range of experiences we associate with the English words “sensing” and “feeling.” How and why are new ways of feeling invented in particular contexts? What is the relationship between emotional norms, sensory experiences, and political power, gender, religious practice, or consumer habits? Are emotions really what make us human or do we share that capacity with other creatures? Can trees feel pain? How might knowledge of emotional and sensorial regimes contribute to the crafting of fiscal or immigration policies or the delivery of mental health care? Each of these questions requires us to confront deeper epistemological and philosophical questions about the relationship between the mind & the body, the individual & society, biology & culture. The class will consider scholarship by historians, psychologists, neuroscientists and cognitive scientists, linguists, anthropologists and others to explore the often quite fraught relationship between an individual’s biological capacity to feel and the social contexts that shape the expression of that capacity.

Note: This course also counts toward either the MALS FND: Norms and Ethics or MALS FND: Humanities requirement.

MALS Continuous Reg. (HT)

Note: Continuous Registration must be taken by MALS candidates who have an Incomplete in Thesis Writing. No scheduled classes. Final Thesis approval due date is Nov. 1, 2017. Course certifies 1/2 time status.

MALS Thesis Proposal

During the MALS Thesis Proposal course, students work directly with the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies faculty director to produce an annotated bibliography (including the state of the question and the 20 most important works on the topic) and thesis statement, which prepare students for thesis writing in the subsequent semester. Students are expected to attend all class sessions, meetings with the University librarians for research consultations and any additional meetings determined by the faculty director.

Note: This is the first required course in the MALS thesis process for students who matriculated during or after fall 2019. Students must successfully complete this course before advancing to the final required course, MALS Thesis Writing (LSHV 7991).

MALS Thesis Writing

The MALS Thesis Writing course must be taken upon completion of the MALS Thesis Proposal course (LSHV 800) in the subsequent fall or spring semester and is the final curricular requirement for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree. In the MALS Thesis Writing course, students will work directly with their appointed thesis mentor to produce a master’s thesis and participate in a thesis defense. Students are expected to work directly with their thesis mentor and library representatives to actively write and produce the thesis argument. At the commencement of the thesis writing semester, students will develop milestones in consultation with the thesis mentor to ensure consistent progress.

Note: This course is required for all MALS students and can only be taken after the completion of all coursework and MALS Thesis Proposal. This is the final MALS course.

New Physics for Psych/Theology

Newtonian Physics has governed scientific discourse for the last 300 years, and is still valid and important at the macro level. But Newtonian Physics has always been seen as incomplete or inadequate in that it was deterministic, and left no room for the human experience of free will, or for God's actions within the world, the universe, the multiverse. This began to change at the beginning of the last century with the work of Thompson, Rutherford, and Bohr leading to the understanding of atomic structure, beginning with protons, neutrons, and especially electrons but continuing with seemingly endless demonstrations leading to "zoo" of subatomic particles. It is at the sub-atomic level that Newtonian Physics breaks down, leading to the rapidly growing field of Quantum mechanics to explain what can be known and understood about the interactions of these subatomic realities. At this level we now know that what we call "matter" exists simultaneously in two forms, particles and waves. It is at this level that the "behaviors' of the components of all that we think of as matter seem to exercise independence and freedom. At this level we can only speak of probabilities not certitude. This independence and freedom within all that is real accordingly re-opens within the sciences space for legitimate explorations into the nature of life, consciousness and free will, as well as God's activity within material existence. Explorations include even new understandings of what life after death might mean.

Russian Disinformation

This course blends theory with real-world events to examine the ethical obligations of the executive branch to counter foreign-backed disinformation circulating in the homeland. Core questions will be asked such as where is the line between government overreach, and not doing enough? Should the executive branch be involved? How can the executive branch interject itself into American speech and still maintain legitimacy? The class will study the philosophy behind foundational liberal democratic underpinnings like the social contract, trust, and legitimacy and then see the influence of national events on their application. To gain insights, the class will apply how ethics should guide outcomes and then juxtapose it against the reality of a hyper-polarized environment.

Note: This course also counts toward the MALS FND: Norms and Ethics requirement.

The GlobalSouth:Pltcs,Lit,Film

This course looks at the geographical, cultural, and political notion of a "Global South" through the lens of literature and film. The term "Global South" is a geographical reference to regions that have large inequalities in living standards, life expectancy, and access to resources. However, should the Global South just be reduced to a metaphor for underdevelopment and poverty? To answer this question, we will explore the ways in which the Global South, especially its politics, is represented and described in literature and film from regions as diverse as the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, and Oceania. We will examine whether literary and cinematic representations reinforce, transform, or disrupt notions of a developing Global South. In doing so, we will also consider and interrogate the idea of a “developed” Global North.