Spring 2026 Colloquia

DWC sections are never over-enrolled. If you wish to change your section, please go directly to Cyberfriar and select an alternative section with open seats. If you have a compelling reason (accommodations, unavoidable scheduling conflict, medical) for switching your DWC section and cannot do it yourself on Cyberfriar, please reach out to Mrs. Pam Belcher (administrative coordinator for DWC) or Dr. Sharon Murphy (DWC Director). Under no circumstances should you reach out to any DWC instructors directly to gain admittance into their section. Thank you!


Spring 2026 Colloquia descriptions forthcoming in Fall 2025

Voices of Empire-Publius to Putin

DWC 202 C01: M: 10:30am-12:30pm 2:30-4:20
Voices of Empire- Publius to Putin

Francesca Silano, Jessica Blum-Sorenson

Environmental Health

DWC 202 C02: M: 11:30am-1:20pm, S03 & S04: W: 11:30am-1:20pm Environmental Health
Peter Rogers, Rachel Lyons

History of Families & Parenting

DWC 202 C03: W 1:30pm-3:20pm, S05 & S06: M 1:30pm-3:20pm
History of Families & Parenting

Alex Orquiza, Kelly Warmouth

Apocalypse

DWC 202 C04: T 8:30am-10:20am, S07 & S08: F: 8:30am-10:20am
Apocalypse

Vance Morgan, Rob Stretter

Judaism as an Idea of Western Civilization

DWC 202 C05: T: 10:30am-12:20pm, S09 & S10: W: 10:30am-12:20pm
Judaism as an Idea of Western Civilization

Arthur Urbano, Benny Bar-Lavi

Gaming Civ

DWC 202 C06: T: 12:30pm-2:20pm, S11 & S12: R: 12:30pm-2:20pm
Gaming Civ

Alyssa Lopez, Elyse Oakley

Our Monsters, Our Selves

DWC 202 C07: T: 2:30pm-4:20pm, S13 & S14: R:2:30pm-4:20pm
Our Monsters, Our Selves

Elizabeth Bridgham, Sharon Murphy

Exporing Middle Ages through Modern Games

DWC 202 C08: M: 8:30am-10:20am, S15 & S16: W: 8:30am-10:20am
Exploring Middle Ages through Modern Games

Aaron Colaiacomo, Chris Beard

Ancients & Moderns

DWC 202 C09: W: 10:30am-12:20pm, S17 & S18: F: 10:30am-12:20pm
Ancients & Moderns

Bill Hogan, Chris Parrott

Care for Creation and the Western Tradition

DWC 202 C10: W: 12:30pm-2:20pm, S19 & S20: M: 12:30pm-2:20pm
Care for Creation and the Western Tradition

Dana Dillon, Bill Patenaude

Consciousness, Contemplation and Conviction

DWC 202 C11: M: 8:30am-10:20am, S21 & S22: R: 8:30am-10:20am
Consciousness, Contemplation and Conviction

John Allard, Peter Costello

Me, Myself and I: The Reading and Writing of Autobiography

DWC 202 C12: R: 10:30am-12:20pm, S23 & S24: T: 10:30am-12:20pm
Me, Myself and I: The Reading and Writing of Autobiography

Alison Espach, Cristina Rodriguez,

How do we write ourselves? This interdisciplinary course will ask students to examine the autobiography from both sides of the page, as authors and as critics. Autobiography as a category insists on identifying the author as the speaker: the class readings will interrogate who gets the privilege to speak for themselves, and how and why writers from different backgrounds – social, religious, ethnic, racial, national – might tell their stories differently. We will also study autobiography’s other major claim: that it’s true. We will examine this claim by asking the following questions: What is literature’s relationship to truth? What is memory’s relationship to truth? What is an individual’s relationship to the truth? And can anything crafted really be true?

In addition to studying multiple genres of autobiography, including memoir, personal essay, and autobiographical fiction, we will also practice writing in these genres: students will write and workshop original pieces that imitate an author’s prose style and form. The art of imitation is one practiced by many great thinkers and writers throughout history because there is no better way to engage with the specific choices made by each author. It also gives students the rare opportunity to “try on” a prose style and format as they develop and discover their own. “Me, Myself, & I” is grounded in the belief that reading and writing are acts of self-creation, as well as direct ways of engaging with the world. This course aims to give students the necessary tools to better understand and express their own identity in an increasingly global and complicated world. Authors include St. Augustine, Frederick Douglas, Richard Wright, Thomas Merton, Anne Sexton, Richard Rodriguez, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and others.

Me, Myself and I: The Reading and Writing of Autobiography

DWC 202 C13: R: 12:30pm-2:20pm, S25 & S26: R: 12:30pm-2:20pm
Me, Myself and I: The Reading and Writing of Autobiography

Alison Espach, Cristina Rodriguez,

How do we write ourselves? This interdisciplinary course will ask students to examine the autobiography from both sides of the page, as authors and as critics. Autobiography as a category insists on identifying the author as the speaker: the class readings will interrogate who gets the privilege to speak for themselves, and how and why writers from different backgrounds – social, religious, ethnic, racial, national – might tell their stories differently. We will also study autobiography’s other major claim: that it’s true. We will examine this claim by asking the following questions: What is literature’s relationship to truth? What is memory’s relationship to truth? What is an individual’s relationship to the truth? And can anything crafted really be true?

In addition to studying multiple genres of autobiography, including memoir, personal essay, and autobiographical fiction, we will also practice writing in these genres: students will write and workshop original pieces that imitate an author’s prose style and form. The art of imitation is one practiced by many great thinkers and writers throughout history because there is no better way to engage with the specific choices made by each author. It also gives students the rare opportunity to “try on” a prose style and format as they develop and discover their own. “Me, Myself, & I” is grounded in the belief that reading and writing are acts of self-creation, as well as direct ways of engaging with the world. This course aims to give students the necessary tools to better understand and express their own identity in an increasingly global and complicated world. Authors include St. Augustine, Frederick Douglas, Richard Wright, Thomas Merton, Anne Sexton, Richard Rodriguez, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and others.

Civic Engagement in the USA: Constitutional Principles, History and Turning Points

DWC 202 C14: R: 2:30pm-4:20pm, S27 & S28: T: 2:30pm-4:20pm
Civic Engagement in the USA: Constitutional Principles, History and Turning Points

Chris Arroyo, Darra Mulderry

Colonial Legacies and Modern Manifestations; African, American and the Occupied Territories

DWC 202 C16: F: 11:30am-1:20pm, S31 & S32: W: 11:30am-1:20pm
Colonial Legacies and Modern Manifestations; African, American and the Occupied Territories
Ruth Ben-Artzi, Luz Colpa

Cosmic Connections : Reenchanting the World

DWC 202 C18: M: 9:30am-11:20am, S35 & S36: R: 9:30am-11:20am
Cosmic Connections : Reenchanting the World
Chris Sauder, Colum Dever

Dark Psychology and Literature

DWC 202 C19: M: 11:30am-1:20pm, S37 & S38: F: M: 11:30am-1:20pm
Dark Psychology and Literature
Olga Limnios. Greg Charpentier

A National Artistic Experiment: FDR & the Federal Theatre Project

DWC 202 C20: M: 1:30pm-3:20pm, S39 & S40: W: 1:30pm-3:20pm
A National Artistic Experiment: FDR & the Federal Theatre Project

Erin Schmidt, Sharon Murphy

Race and Identity in Contemporary America

DWC 202 C21: T: 8:30am-10:30am, S41 & S42: F: 8:30am-10:30am
Race and Identity in Contemporary America

Iain Bernhoft, Jiyoom Im

Percussion, Rhetoric and Judgement

DWC 202 C22: R: 10:30am-12:20pm, S43 & S44: F: 10:30am-12:20pm
Percussion, Rhetoric and Judgement
Iain Bernhoft, Jiyoon Im

The Sound of Painting

DWC 202 C23: T: 12:30pm-1:20pm, S45 & S46: R: 12:30pm-1:20pm
The Sound of Painting
Bing Huang, Sang Woo Kang

Islam, Reason and Reform

DWC 202 C24: T: 2:30pm-4:20pm, S47 & S48: R: 2:30pm-4:20pm
Islam, Reason and Reform

Emann Allebban, Bilal Ibrahim

Caught Between Hope and Despair: Questioning Existence

DWC 202 C25: W: 9:30am-11:20am, S49 & S50: F: 9:30am-11:20am
Caught Between Hope and Despair: Questioning Existence

Rob Miner, Bruno Shah

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Harmony & Discord: Cold War Politics in Science, Education & Music

DWC 202 C26: W: 11:30am-1:20pm, S51 & S52: F: 1:30am-1:20pm,
Harmony & Discord: Cold War Politics in Science, Education & Music

Lin Zhang, Jo-Ann Thomas

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Ancients and Moderns

DWC 202 C27: W: 1:30pm-3:20pm, S53 & S54: F: 1:30pm-3:20pm
Ancients and Moderns

Bill Hogan, Chris Parrott

War & Peace

DWC 202 C28: R: 8:30am-10:20am S55 & S56: M: 8:30am-10:20am
War & Peace

John Lawless, Liz Palazzolo

Philosophy and Poetry in East and West

DWC 202 C29: R: 10:30am-12:20pm S57 & S58: T: 10:30am-12:20pm
Philosophy and Poetry in East and West

Colin King, Chun Ye

The Holocaust and the Philosophical Significance of Evil

DWC 202 C30: R: 12:30pm-2:20pm, S59 & S60: T: 12:30pm-2:20pm
The Holocaust and the Philosophical Significance of Evil

Chris Sauder, Jackie Satlow

The Holocaust and the Philosophical Significance of Evil

DWC 202 C31: R: 2:30pm-4:20pm, S59 & S60: T: 2:30pm-4:20pm
The Holocaust and the Philosophical Significance of Evil

Chris Sauder, Jackie Satlow

Islam and the West: A History of Conflict and Coexistence from Muhammed to the War on Terror

DWC 202 C33: M 11:30am-12:20, S66: W: 1:30pm-3:20pm, S65: W: 1:30pm-3:20pm
Islam and the West: A History of Conflict and Coexistence from Muhammed to the War on Terror

Vefa Erginbas, Sandra Keating

Dark Psychology and Literature

DWC 202 C34: F: 1:30pm-3:20pm, S67 & S68: W: 1:30pm-3:20pm
Dark Psychology and Literature

Olga Limnios, Greg Charpentier

We can…but should we?

DWC 202 C36: M: 3:30pm-5:20pm, S71 & S72: R: 3:30pm-5:20pm
We can…but should we?

Vance Morgan, Robert Camp

Experiencing Art

DWC 202 C35: M: 2:30pm-4:20pm, S69 & S70: R: 2:30pm-4:20pm Experiencing Art

Licia Carlson, Amy Foley

From “Idiots, Imbeciles and Morons” to Neurodiversity: Perspectives on Disabilities throughout the 20th Century

DWC 202 C37: R: 11:30am-1:20pm, S73 & S74: M: 11:30am-1:20pm
From “Idiots, Imbeciles and Morons” to Neurodiversity: Perspectives on Disabilities throughout the 20th Century

Heather Allcock, Anthony Rodriguez

Comparative History of Retail

DWC 202 C38: M: 4:30pm-6:20pm, S75 & S76: R: 4:30pm-6:20pm
Comparative History of Retail

Guolin Yi, Courtney Bouzigian

History of Sports

DWC 202 C39: W: 3:30pm-5:20pm, S77 & S80: M: 3:30pm-5:20pm
History of Sports

Fr. John Vidmar, Sean Holley

How the Right Became the Right

DWC 202 C40: R: 4:30pm-5:20pm, S81 & S82: M: 4:30pm-5:20pm
How the Right Became the Right

Jim Keating, Pat MacFarlane

Clinical Bioethics

DWC 202 C41: M: 1:30pm-3:20pm, S83 & S84: W: 1:30pm-3:20pm
Clinical Bioethics

Gina Noja, Amy Delaney

Dr. Sharon Murphy

Director
Ruane Center for the Humanities 116
401.865.2380
sharon.murphy@providence.edu

Dr. Richard Barry

Associate Director
St. Catherine of Siena Hall 217
401.865.1713
RJBarryIV@providence.edu

Pamela Belcher

DWC Office
Ruane Center for the Humanities 237
401.865.2231
pbelcher@providence.edu