This course is designed to present quantitative and qualitative approaches to studying and evaluating developmental interventions for children and youth. Basic assumptions underlying the two overarching methodological orientations will be presented throughout the course as a means of determining which sets of methods to use for different types of research and evaluation questions. In addition to presenting quantitative and qualitative methods separately, the course also will present integrative or mixed-methods approaches.

This course treats some important aspect of African American literature and culture. Topics vary. Recent topics of the course have included: "Afro-American Women Writers," "Three Afro-American Writers: Ellison, Gaines and McPherson," "Afro-American Autobiography," and "Afro-American Literature: Black Music Among the Discourses." See the Africana Studies Department's website at https://africana.sas.upenn.edu for a description of the current offerings.


Songs of Dissent: African American Poetry in the 21st Century The present moment constitutes one of the most exciting periods in the nearly 300-year history of African American poetry. Never before has there been such an incredible range of approaches to form, aesthetics, and subject-matter. This seminar will endeavor both to historicize and contextualize the African American poetic project. We will begin by looking at the issues generated in a single poem and move onward to full-length volumes of works by African American poets. We will move to an examination of several important anthologies, in particular Michael S. Harper and Anthony Walton s Every Shut Eye Ain t Sleep and The Vintage Book of African American Poetry, Arnold Rampersad s Oxford Anthology of African American Poetry, Aldon Nielsen s Every Goodbye Ain t Gone, and Charles H. Rowell s Angle of Ascent, in order to engage issues of periodization, canon-formation, and categorization as modalities that constantly shape our understanding of what constitutes a black poem.


In the latter stages of the course, our attention will turn to individual poets, as they manifest a poetic vision through individual volumes of poems and essays on poetics. There will be several guest lectures by visiting poets, as well as class trips to poetry readings in and around Philadelphia.

An advanced Amharic course that will further sharpen the students' knowledge of the Amharic language and the culture of the Amharas. The learners communicative skills will be further developed through listening, speaking, reading and wwriting. There will also be discussions on cultural and political issues.

Offered through the Penn Language Center

An introductory course for students with no previous knowledge of Amharic. Amharic belongs to the southern branch of Hemeto-Semitic languages which is also referred to as "Afrasian." Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia and is spoken by 14 million native Amharas and by approximately 19 million of the other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. The goals of this course are to introduce students to the culture, customs, and traditions of the Amharas. Students will develop communicative skills through listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Consult the Africana Studies Department for instructions. Suite 331A, 3401 Walnut or visit the department's website at https://africana.sas.upenn.edu to submit an application.

Consult the Africana Studies Department for instructions. Suite 331A, 3401 Walnut or visit the department's website at https://africana.sas.upenn.edu to submit an application.

Consult the Africana Studies Department for instructions. Suite 331A, 3401 Walnut or visit the department's website at https://africana.sas.upenn.edu to submit an application.

Who is going to own what we all have a part of creating? The history of the Americas, and of all peoples everywhere, is an evolving answer to the question of ownership. Ownership is about: the ties that bind and those that separate; the creation of community and the imposition of hierarchies; the dream of home ownership and ecological despoliation; dependency and the slave yearning to breathe free. Of all the issues relevant to democracy, oppression, and economic injustice, ownership is arguably the most important and least understood. Utilizing a variety of disciplinary perspectives, and by focusing on particular global sites, students will assess and refine their views regarding ownership in light of their own social, political, religious, and/or ethical commitments.

The course examines the reforms catalyzed by the federal "Race to the Top" competitive grant program and by waivers from No Child Left Behind issued by the federal Department of Education; and explores how these reforms resemble and differ from those mandated by NCLB. Charters, vouchers and competition are discussed along with school governance and funding. Micro as well as macro policy perspectives are provided through the instructor's ongoing work helping Houston's Aldine Independent School District (the 2009 Broad Prize winner with 64,000 low-income and minority students) design and pilot a new teacher evaluation system, a new compensation system, a "peer assistance and and review" process for professional development, remediation and dismissal along with related reforms.