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Course Info for FYSM - 108 - 01, Fall 2023
Class number: 3305 Title: The World of Chess Department: First Year Sem & Colloq
Career: Undergraduate Component: Seminar Session: Regular
Instructor's Permission Required: Yes Grading Basis: Graded Units: 1.00
Enrollment limited to 15 Current enrollment: 14 Available seats: 1
Start date: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 End date: Thursday, December 21, 2023 Mode of Instruction: In Person
Schedule: WF: 2:55PM-4:10PM, SH - N128 Instructor(s): Alejandrino, Clark
Prerequisite(s): Only first-year students are eligible to enroll in this class.
Distribution Requirement: Meets FirstYr Seminar Requirement
Course Description:
Former world champion Garry Kasparov argued that skills in chess directly translated into life. This seminar argues that the chess world reflects the wider world. Students will examine chess in various contexts: as an artifact of Silk Roads trade; as a site for ideological contests between the Soviet Union and the USA; as a male-dominated sport reflective of gender inequalities; as a game challenged and transformed by artificial intelligence; as popular culture consumed in mediums such as "The Queen's Gambit," etc. Students will learn how to play the game and analyze games by champions such as Bobby Fischer, Judit Polgar, and Magnus Carlsen. They will look, write, and reflect on the larger context and social issues in which these games are situated.