This course is a study of the history of theater art and practice from its origins to the modern period, including its roles in non-western cultures. Special attention is given to the relationship between the literary and performative dimensions of drama, and the relationship between drama and its cultural context.

This course studies several important examples of the genre that between the early 18th century and the end of the 20th has come to seem the definitive literary form for representing and coming to terms with modernity. Syllabi vary, but the class usually attempts to convey a sense of the form’s development over the past few centuries. Among topics likely to be considered are: developments in narrative technique, the novel’s relation to history, national versus linguistic definitions of an “English” novel, social criticism in the novel, realism versus “romance,” the novel’s construction of subjectivities. Writers studied have included Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson, Lawrence Sterne, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, Emily and Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Joseph Conrad, H. G. Wells, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Salman Rushdie.

Edouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, oil on canvas, 96 x 130 cm (Courtauld Gallery, London). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, For more videos see www.smarthistory.org.

Edouard Manet, Corner of a Café-Concert, 1878-80, 97.1 x 77.5 cm (National Gallery, London) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Edouard Manet, In the Conservatory, 1878-1879, oil on canvas, 115 x 150 cm (Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Édouard Manet, Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), oil on canvas, 1863 (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Édouard Manet, Olympia, oil on canvas, 1863 (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Manet was a Realist, but sometimes his “real” situations shocked and rocked the Parisian art world to its foundations. His later work was much tamer. (Text by Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Édouard Manet, Plum Brandy, c. 1877, oil on canvas (National Gallery of Art) Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker, Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Édouard Manet, The Balcony, 1868-69, oil on canvas, 66-1/2 x 44-1/4 inches (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Drs. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. The three principal figures depicted were each friends of the artist. From left to right they are: the painters Berthe Morisot and Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemet, and Fanny Claus, a violinist. Some have suggested that the fourth figure, barely visible in the shadows, is the young Leon Leenhoff, the son of Manet's wife. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Édouard Manet, The Railway,1872-73, oil on canvas (National Gallery of Art) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Édouard Manet, Émile Zola, 1868, oil on canvas, 57 x 45 inches or 146.5 x 114 cm (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) This portrait was painted in appreciation for the support Zola gave to Manet in his 1866 essay in La Revue du XXe siècle and during Manet's independent exhibition held along side the Universal Exposition in 1867. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Jean-François Millet (French), L'Angélus, c. 1857-1859, oil on canvas, 21 x 26 (53.3 × 66.0 cm) (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Drs. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker For more art history videos, visit Smarthistory.org. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Jean-François Millet (French), The Gleaners, 1857, oil on canvas, 33 x 43 in (83.5 x 110 cm) (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Drs. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker . Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

This is a textbook covering the Realism period with works from selected authors.

Dr Catherine Brown, English Faculty, Oxford, gives a lecture exploring the nature of realism in verbal and visual art. This podcast is part of the Literature, Art and Oxford series from Oxford University.

Module on realism and liberalism in international relations theory. Intended for community college students and aligned with the requirements for POLS 140: Introduction to International Relations within the California Community College system. Includes readings, lesson plan, and ancillary materials (lecture slides and handout).

A video report discussing what realism is and how realism approaches education. This includes the definition of realism, principles of realism,the different forms of realism, and implications of realism in education. 

The purpose of this book is to appraise the current relevance and validity of realism as an interpretative tool in contemporary International Relations. All chapters of the book are animated by a theoretical effort to define the conceptual aspects of realism and attempt to establish whether the tradition still provides the necessary conceptual tools to scholars. The chapters address important issues in contemporary world politics through the lens of realist theory such as the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East; the war against ISIS; the appearance of non-state actors and outlaw agents; the rise of China; cyberwarfare; human rights and humanitarian law. The collection also provides insights on some of the theoretical tenets of classical and structural realism. Overall, the collection shows that, in spite of its many shortcomings, realism still offers a multifaceted understanding of world politics and enlightens the increasing challenges of world politics.

Auguste Rodin, The Gates of Hell​, 1880-1917, plaster (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker When the building, earlier on the site of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, was destroyed by fire during the Commune in 1871, plans were drawn up to replace it with a museum of decorative arts. Rodin won the competition to design a great set of doors for its entry way. Although the museum was never built, Rodin continued to work on the doors. They became an ongoing project; a grand stage for his sculptural ideas. It's fitting that the plaster of this great unfinished sculpture, The Gates of Hell, is now on display at the d'Orsay, the former railway terminal that was built on this site instead of the museum of decorative arts and that, by lovely coincidence, was converted into one of the world's great art museums. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz