The Interdisciplinary Mind: Liberal Arts and the Pursuit of Knowledge

MLSC 500
Credit Hours: 3

This course will unpack and explore the meaning and history of liberal studies, as well as the various debates and controversies associated with this term. Along the way, we’ll reflect on the role liberal education plays in our own intellectual and personal lives, and we’ll examine the relationship between this form of education and issues of citizenship, democracy, justice, and the public good. In a variety of ways and from a variety of angles, this course will investigate an essential question: What effect should learning have on our lives? As we attempt to answer this vital and thorny question, the course will also introduce you to the actual work of liberal studies: the habits of inquiry, analysis, discussion, reflection, and interdisciplinary research that animate graduate-level activity in this program. Ultimately, this work will provide an opportunity for us to wrestle with complex and enduring questions about human life and the search for meaning and happiness while at the same time honing the foundational scholarly skills of writing, reading, and critical thinking.

Burke Nixon received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Mississippi, where he was a John and Renee Grisham Fellow in Fiction. Before joining Rice’s Program in Writing and Communication as a Core Lecturer, Nixon taught in the First-Year Writing Program at the University of West Georgia. A native Houstonian, he began his teaching career at the high school level in HISD as a Teach for America corps member, and he has also taught in the Intensive English Program at Houston Community College’s Central Campus. His primary academic interests are the short story, literary nonfiction, and composition and critical thinking pedagogy.

Human Rights in World Affairs

MLSC 534
Credit Hours: 3

Human rights organizations have gained tremendous attention and credibility among people and governments. While universal human rights may seem timeless, they have a long and checkered political and legal history. The main objective of the course is to explore the increasingly contested role played by human rights and humanitarianism in contemporary world affairs. Students will undertake independent research on an issue, location, and period of their choosing.

G. Daniel Cohen, Ph.D, is an associate professor of Modern European History at Rice University. His research focuses on forced displacement, human rights, and international law in the twentieth century. His recent book, "In War's Wake: Europe's Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order" (Oxford University Press, 2011), explores the history of European political refugees after World War II and the rise of international human rights. Dr. Cohen holds a PhD in History from New York University.

East Asian Food History

MLSC 580
Credit Hours: 3

This subject introduces students to the traditional dietary cultures of China, Japan, and Korea as seen from perspectives of geography, climate, material and social technologies, religion, philosophy, economics, and politics. Topics include hunter-gatherer farming, pastoral and industrial foodways, state formation and empire, the ritual significance of hunting and food sacrifice, trade and foreign relations, traditional medicine, gift-giving and hosting, tourism, and “soft power.” We will examine such practices as banquet etiquette, seasonal celebrations, tea ceremony, courtesan/entertainment culture, and traditional processing methods, like fermentation, stir fry, and distillation.

Casey Schoenberger completed a PhD in Chinese literature at Yale University in 2013. His research focuses on cognitive, comparative, digital, musicological, and linguistic approaches to East Asian literature and performing arts. For the past five years, he served as Assistant Professor of Chinese Culture at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he taught beginning and advanced courses for undergraduate and graduate students in English and in Mandarin. As a lecturer in Rice University’s Department of Transnational Asian Studies, he teaches courses on East Asian literature and performing arts in global context.

Psychology of Employee Resilience

MLSC 645
Credit Hours: 3

This course is a graduate-level seminar designed to provide an overview of resilience research and practice, based on organizational science. We will discuss theory, empirical findings, and practice-based perspectives about resilience. The main goal of this course is to broaden and deepen your knowledge base in the major models and approaches that inform our understanding and practice of resilience. Specific course objectives for students include:

• Familiarity with classic and contemporary resilience perspectives
• Improved understanding of rigorous methodological strategies
• Improved critical thinking regarding psychological theory and methods
• Learning to identify practical needs for resilience in the workforce
• Drafting a paper that can advance resilience science and inform practitioner-oriented resilience efforts
• Improving presentation skills through practice and feedback

Dr. Danielle King is a professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Rice University and the founder and principal investigator of the WorKing Resilience Research Laboratory. At Rice, she teaches graduate-level seminars on work motivation and leadership. Her research focuses on employee resilience and identity, and organizational resources that support employee thriving. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and has been published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Academy of Management Journal, and in popular media outlets, including Harvard Business Review. Dr. King is a 2022 recipient of the American Psychological Association Achievement Award for Early Career Psychologists, and was designated by the Association for Psychological Science as one of the 2023 “Rising Stars.” She is also a 2023 recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, one of NSF's most prestigious 5-year awards, designated for scholars who serve as role models and leaders in research and education by advancing science for the betterment of society.

The Brotherhood: Lives and Loves of the Pre-Raphaelites

MLSC 626
Credit Hours: 3

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), founded in 1848, was a small group of British artists who boldly challenged the conventions of Victorian-era art and the materialism of industrialized England. While the PRB influenced the British art world for the remainder of the century, this course will focus on the intriguing personal lives of the artists, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Millais, rather than the art they created. These artists, along with their wives, paramours, and models (often all one and the same), were part of a highly prolific Victorian creative class, which for this course will revolve around the locale of central London and the influence of the towering figure of art and architecture - critic John Ruskin.

Newell D. Boyd, Ph.D, is a semi-retired professor of history whose primary teaching field is Victorian Britain and the British Empire. He has presented papers at academic meetings and been published regularly in a variety of books and scholarly journals in the field of British history. He has recently published historical novels on the lives of John Ruskin and Joseph Chamberlain. He holds a PhD in history from Texas Tech University and has done post-doctoral research at the University of London, Birmingham University, the University of Manchester, the London School of Economics, Oxford University and the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Boyd has been a fellow at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London and is a member of England's Society of Authors and the Royal Historical Society.