2017-2018 University Catalogue 
    
    May 16, 2024  
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2017-2018 University Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

 

Music

Course classifications:

History and Appreciation (H&A)
Performance (PF)
Theory (TH)
  

  • MUSI 230 - University Orchestra I (PF)

    The 68-member student and professional orchestra offers four major concerts on the music department concert series every year. With the same wide-ranging repertoire of any major urban professional orchestra students learn about the works technically, stylistically, and historically. To earn credit, a student must take two consecutive terms. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 232 - Colgate Concert Jazz Ensemble I (PF)

    The ensemble introduces basic elements of jazz improvisation (blues) and includes interaction with nationally and internationally recognized guest artists. Students perform works by the top contemporary jazz writers as well as classic charts from the standard big band repertoire including Bob Mintzer, Thad Jones, Shelly Berg, Bill Holman, Sammy Nestico, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Participation in two consecutive terms is required in order to receive a single credit. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 234 - University Chorus I (PF)

    A performance course in choral music. The University Chorus rehearses and performs the choral masterworks, often with an accompanying guest orchestra. The Chamber Singers, an advanced 18-voice chamber choir, is selected from the University Chorus membership and focuses on the rehearsal and performance of a cappella repertoire. Unless separated by off-campus study, two consecutive terms are required in order to receive a single credit. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 236 - Private Instruction I (PF)

    Private study in voice or musical instruments is offered to advanced students. The course consists of one-hour lessons each week during the term and may include a public performance. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: Application and minimum of one prior term of private instruction at Colgate is required.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 238 - Music Concert Tour (Extended Study)

    One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of studying and performing music is understanding the historical and cultural context, particularly that of music composed several hundred years ago. This extended study offers an opportunity to gain deeper understanding of the historical and cultural context of the course subject material primarily through rehearsals and performances in the region(s) where the composers lived and worked. Students become deeply and intimately engaged in the course subject material by performing it numerous times and continually refining their work for varied performance venues. Additionally, students participate in lectures and visits to historical/cultural sites to further connect the music being performed to the region of origin. Varying topics & destinations. All students must participate in the ensemble throughout the semester immediately preceding the extended study.

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: Participation in ensemble for the two semesters immediately preceding the extended study, unless separated by off-campus study
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 245 - Composition (TH)

    This course is a hands-on experience of musical creation. Students learn why some melodies are so memorable, what connects the music of John Williams, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Stravinsky, and how harmony and rhythm work. The course investigates how different composers created and orchestrated their music. Students compose their own original pieces for various instruments. New compositions are performed in a public concert at the end of the semester. (TH)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: MUSI 103  or MUSI 203  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 301 - Analysis (TH)

    Can music be evaluated (criticized) rationally and objectively? After a review of traditional harmonic theory, the course covers critical theories of the 20th century, which students then apply to compositions of Western masters ranging from Bach to Brahms in order to test their claims. The course concludes with students’ own critical evaluations of an important composition. (TH)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: MUSI 204  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 302 - Composition in Historical Styles (TH)

    In this course, students study music history by trying to imitate the composers that made the history. During the term, students complete a Renaissance motet, a fugue in the style of Bach, a sonata movement in the style of Mozart, and a prelude in the style of Chopin. (TH)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: MUSI 204  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 311 - The Arts in Venice during the Golden Age (Venice Study Group) (H&A)

    The republic of Venice offers a special opportunity to study the interaction of the various fine arts that flowered simultaneously at the peak of one of Europe’s greatest cultural centers. The course examines artistic achievements of the Renaissance and early Baroque ages (ca. 1400-1700), chiefly in architecture and music. Students make frequent excursions to exemplary churches and palazzi, may attend local concerts, and learn to sing some Italian Renaissance music. Major credit requires permission of the department. (H&A)

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ARTS 311  
    When Offered: Venice Study Group

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 313 - The Italian Opera Tradition (Study Group) (H&A)

    After an introduction to the principles of music drama, this course concentrates on operas representative of all important periods of the Italian tradition. The composers include Monteverdi, Mozart, and Verdi. The remaining operas studied are determined according to what is offered in the opera houses in and around Venice during a particular season. (H&A)

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Venice Study Group

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • MUSI 317 - Chamber Music II (PF)

    The Colgate Chamber Players (strings, pianists, winds) explore and perform a diverse and rich chamber music repertoire in 4-5 yearly concerts, both on and off campus. A bi-yearly concert tour features series concerts, outreach activities and repertoire research. Unless separated by off-campus study, two consecutive terms are required for a student to receive a single credit. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 330 - University Orchestra II (PF)

    The 68-member student and professional orchestra offers four major concerts on the music department concert series every year. With the same wide-ranging repertoire of any major urban professional orchestra students learn about the works technically, stylistically, and historically. To earn credit, a student must take two consecutive terms. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 332 - Colgate Concert Jazz Ensemble II (PF)

    The ensemble introduces basic elements of jazz improvisation (blues) and includes interaction with nationally and internationally recognized guest artists. Students perform works by the top contemporary jazz writers as well as classic charts from the standard big band repertoire including Bob Mintzer, Thad Jones, Shelly Berg, Bill Holman, Sammy Nestico, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Participation in two consecutive terms is required in order to receive a single credit. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 334 - University Chorus II (PF)

    A performance course in choral music. The University Chorus rehearses and performs the choral masterworks, often with an accompanying guest orchestra. The Chamber Singers, an advanced 18-voice chamber choir, is selected from the University Chorus membership and focuses on the rehearsal and performance of a cappella repertoire. Unless separated by off-campus study, two consecutive terms are required in order to receive a single credit. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Audition required
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 336 - Private Instruction II (PF)

    Private study in voice or musical instruments is offered to advanced students. The course consists of one-hour lessons each week during the term and may include a public performance. (PF)

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: Application and minimum of one prior term of instruction at Colgate is required.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 470 - Senior Seminar

    Offered as an independent study, this course is required for honors or high honors in music. Taken in the senior year, study may be in whatever the student and faculty adviser regard as the student’s major musical strength.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • MUSI 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term

Native American Studies
  

  • NAST 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NAST 300 - Continuity in Pueblo Communities

    Focusing on the words from people within the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, this course introduces students to the Pueblo worldview. Students listen to a variety of voices–poets, storytellers, educators, artists–as they seek to understand interdependence, complementarity, and the vital interconnections across past and present that are held within specific places. As preparation for the Santa Fe study group, this course also enables students to prepare for their service learning work in the pueblos or at the Santa Fe Indian School.

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NAST 301 - Native American Women

    This course focuses on women’s leadership, historically as well as currently, in American Indian nations. Indigenous women have been at the forefront of language revitalization programs, elder care, environmental justice movements, and native health and wellness initiatives. Each time the course is taught, it may take up a different facet of women’s leadership. Through readings, guest lectures, and informal conversations with women from different Native communities, students engage the many-layered complexities at work in the long histories of colonialism.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NAST 302 - Contemporary Issues in Native American Studies (Study Group)

    This course focuses on various issues facing Native American communities of the Southwest today, in particular the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache peoples. Areas explored in the course include cultural expression, sovereignty, land claims, environmental protection, education, healthcare systems, religious rights, and economic development, among others.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Santa Fe Study Group

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NAST 302L - Contemporary Issues in the Native American Southwest: Community-Based Learning (Study Group)

    In this study group course, students participate in service learning programs in Cochiti or Tesuque Pueblo or at the Santa Fe Indian School. The Study Group Director arranges service placement in consideration of student interest and Pueblo needs and desires for assistance. Service learning opportunities have included projects in sustainable farming, land and animal management, law, health and wellness, elder care, and education from preschool through high school. Students work two days per week in the selected program and meet as a bi-weekly seminar and individually with the instructor to discuss their work in the pueblos.

    Credits: 0.50
    When Offered: Santa Fe Study Group

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NAST 303 - Service Learning in the Native American Southwest (Study Group)

    This course is taught on the Santa Fe Study Group as an alternative to NAST 302 /NAST 302L . Students participate in service projects in Cochiti or Tesuque Pueblo or at the Santa Fe Indian School according to their own interests and Pueblo needs and desires for assistance. Community learning opportunities have included projects in sustainable farming, land and animal management, law, health and wellness, elder care, and education from preschool through high school.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Santa Fe Study Group

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NAST 304 - Contemporary Issues in Native American Studies

    This course focuses on various issues facing Native American communities today. Areas explored in the course include cultural identity, sovereignty, land claims, environmental protection, education, healthcare systems, religious rights, commercialization of sacred imagery, and economic development, among others. The course may explore these issues with a particular regional focus, or consider how Native American artists or activists address them.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NAST 313 - Southwest Native Arts and Culture

    This course is concerned with the ongoing, and longstanding, debates concerning native art in the American southwest. What “authenticates” “Indian art” and why does it “need” such authentication? How do the older divisions separating “craft” and “art” intersect with the current issues facing individuals whose life work is now linked to the marketing of the arts? Where do definitions of “traditional” and “contemporary” compete with each other, and where do they prove complementary? Over the semester, students consider a wide range of media: traditional pottery, contemporary clay sculpture, metalsmithing, drum making, weaving, dance, music, painting, and theater.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NAST 320 - Native Peoples and Modern Law

    Explores the role of native peoples in the creation and ongoing development of modern law. It begins with an investigation of the use of native peoples as a representation of human savagery within early modern European political thought — a representation that allowed political theorists to depict law as a solution to such savagery. More recently, and more positively, it explores the important role that indigenous peoples have played in the propagation of religious free exercise rights and international human rights law. Focusing particularly on the legal negotiation of Native religious practices in the US, this course encourages students to think critically about some of the most basic tenets and mechanisms of modern secular law.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: RELG 320 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NAST 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NAST 490 - Honors in Native American Studies

    Students pursuing honors in Native American Studies enroll in this course.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NAST 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term

Natural Science
  

  • NASC 100 - Essential Mathematics

    A mathematics course that serves as preparation for quantitative courses across the university. The course covers topics such as rates, algebra, logarithms, trigonometry, graphing, and estimation. A placement test is required.

    Credits: 0.50
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Restrictions: Not open to students who have received Advanced Placement Calculus credit or have completed MATH 105  or higher. Juniors and seniors require permission from the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division Director, as well as co-registration in an analytical/quantitative course.
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NASC 110 - Singapore, Science, and the Life Aquatic (Study Group)

    This fractional credit course serves as the foundational experience for the Singapore Study Group. The course introduces students to the rich culture and history of Singapore, provides discussions about the unique geographic setting, and examines the role of science, technology and engineering in the growth and future of Singapore. This course will be taught primarily in the three weeks leading up to the beginning of the term at the National University of Singapore (NUS) with reflection on the themes continuing throughout the study group, and concluding during reading week at NUS.

    Credits: 0.50
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NASC 150 - Math and Music

    Students take an analytical look at the music system we know. For example, how exactly is a middle-C note defined? Why does a C-note sound different on a piano and a guitar? Why are there 12 notes in an octave, and what is the spacing between the notes? What happens if we change this space? Students investigate and answer these and many more questions. They also explore some mathematical rubrics for creating music.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NASC 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NASC 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NASC 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term

Neuroscience
  

  • NEUR 170 - Introduction to Brain and Behavior

    In this introduction to the neuroscience major, relationships between brain and behavior are examined at a variety of levels, including neurochemical, neurophysiological, physiological, and cognitive functioning. This course does not normally count towards the psychology major.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken PSYC 275 .
    Recommended: AP Chemistry or Biology, CHEM 101 /CHEM 111 , BIOL 101 , or BIOL 182  is strongly recommended. Prospective neuroscience majors should complete this course by the end of the sophomore year.
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None
    Formerly: Crosslisted with PSYC 170


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NEUR 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
  

  • NEUR 353 - Visual Perception and Cognition

    Focuses on the visual sensory and cognitive processes that enable humans to elaborate a mental model of the physical world. The course examines the ways humans internally represent external objects and how events in turn influence their perceptions. Readings focus on the behavioral and neurophysiological aspects of low-level vision and face recognition, visual awareness and attention, and mental imagery.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 353  
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 170 or   or PSYC 250  or PSYC 251  or   
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: PSYC 200  is recommended.
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 355 - Language and Thought

    Language is a distinctive human ability that distances humans from the rest of the animal kingdom - including chimpanzees, with whom people share 98 percent of the same genetic inheritance. Although language is considered as primarily serving communication in its advanced form, it is also an important vehicle for thought, with the potential to extend, refine, and direct thinking. The interaction of language with other cognitive abilities is the central focus of the course. Students compare the communication systems of other species with human language, examine efforts to teach human language to apes, learn how psycholinguists conceptualize and investigate language-mind relationships, and inquire into the cognitive abilities of the deaf and other language-impaired individuals, as well as of bilinguals. Attention also is given to evolutionary changes in the neural structures implicated in human language and to neural processes constraining the developmental course of language acquisition.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 355 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 170 or NEUR 170  or PSYC 250  or PSYC 251  or PSYC 275  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 373 - Brain, Physiology, and Behavior

    What is the relationship among brain, physiology, and behavior in humans and animals? What can we learn about the relationship of brain and behavior that can be useful for understanding and treating psychological and behavioral disorders in humans? This course examines a wide variety of research strategies used in the contemporary study of brain, physiology, and behavior.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 373 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PSYC 170 or NEUR 170  or PSYC 275  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 375 - Cognitive Neuroscience

    Cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field - drawing from chemistry, biology, medicine, neuroscience, psychology and philosophy - that explores the relationship between the mind and the brain. The scope of this course is broad, focusing on brain mechanisms for such diverse processes as sensation and perception, attention, memory, emotion, language, and consciousness. Students read primary journal articles on case studies from the clinical literature of patients with localized brain damage and reports from the experimental and neuroimaging literature on the effects of invasive and noninvasive manipulations in normal subjects. Mind-brain relationships are considered in the context of cognitive theories, evolutionary comparisons, and human development.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 375 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (NEUR 170  or PSYC 170 or PSYC 275 )
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: PSYC 200  is recommended.
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 376 - Functional Neuroanatomy and Neural Development

    The first quarter of the course focuses on mechanisms of neural development including proliferation of stem cells, migration, differentiation, and synapse formation. The latter portion of the course examines the function of neuroanatomical regions and their relationship to the variety of symptoms associated with schizophrenia. As the more overt symptoms of schizophrenia do not appear until late adolescence, knowing how and when various regions of the brain develop is essential for understanding the emergence of various neurological deficits in this disease.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 376 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (NEUR 170  or PSYC 170 or PSYC 275 ) and (BIOL 182  or BIOL 212)
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 377 - Psychopharmacology

    Discussion of the effects of drugs upon psychological processes and behavior in humans. Readings in the textbook treat the mechanisms of action (physiological and neurochemical) of various classes of drugs used in therapy or “on the street.” Readings in professional journals illustrate the experimental study of drug effects in humans and in animals.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 377 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: (NEUR 170  or PSYC 170 or PSYC 275 ) and PSYC 200  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 378 - Topics in Neuroscience

    Courses in specific neuroscience topics offered by various staff members. Inquiries about the topics offered any given term should be directed to the coordinator of the Neuroscience Program.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Restrictions: Not open to students who have either received credit for or are currently enrolled in PSYC 300NE .
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 379 - Fundamentals of Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology

    Focuses on two diseases: relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and idiopathic Alzheimer’s disease. The initial portion of the course examines the various methods neurochemists utilize to answer questions about these two diseases. The remainder of the course focuses on the epidemiological, neuroanatomical, cellular, biochemical, and molecular aspects of the two diseases. Multiple sclerosis is a more intercellular question examining the interaction of immune cells and the glia of the nervous system whereas Alzheimer’s disease tends to focus more on intracellular mechanisms leading to the synthesis of beta-amyloid and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, the two hallmarks of this disease.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 379  
    Corequisite: NEUR 379L 
    Prerequisites: (PSYC 170 or PSYC 275  or NEUR 170 ) and (BIOL 182  or BIOL 212) and CHEM 263  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 379L - Fundamentals of Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology Lab

    Required corequisite to NEUR 379 .

    Credits: 0.00
    Corequisite: NEUR 379 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 381 - Behavioral Genetics

    An introduction which demonstrates that nature and nurture both play a fundamental role in the development of behavioral traits; and how genes interact with environment to shape the development of various behavioral traits. The course will use an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the studies in genetics, neuroscience, and behavior; with a comparative approach to explore human and other animal models; and cover the traditional behavioral genetic methodologies as well as modern molecular genetic techniques.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: PSYC 381 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: NEUR 170  or PSYC 170
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 384 - Fundamentals of Neurophysiology

    This seminar and laboratory course examines the physiology of the nervous system. Topics include ion channel structure and function, synaptic transmission, second messenger systems, neuromodulation, the neurophysiological basis of behavior in “simple” animals, the evolution of neural circuits, the cellular basis of learning and memory, and the cellular basis of selected human nervous system diseases.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: BIOL 384  & PSYC 384 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: NEUR 170  or PSYC 170 or PSYC 275  or BIOL 182  or BIOL 212
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 385 - Neuroethology

    Neuroethology is a sub-field of neuroscience focused on the study of the neural basis of natural behavior. Many types of behavior and a wide array of animals are studied, and the approach is often comparative and evolutionary. Students delve into the neuroethological literature, examining the neural basis of animal communication, navigation, movement, sensory processing, feeding, aggression, and learning.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: BIOL 385  & PSYC 385  
    Corequisite: NEUR 385L 
    Prerequisites: NEUR 170  or PSYC 170 or PSYC 275  or BIOL 182  or BIOL 212
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Recommended: PSYC 309  or BIOL 320  (formerly BIOL 220) is recommended.
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 385L - Neuroethology Lab

    Required corequisite to NEUR 385 . Laboratory exercises teach methods of behavioral analysis and electrophysiological recording techniques.

    Credits: 0.25
    Corequisite: NEUR 385 
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 389 - Molecular Neurobiology

    This course examines the cell biology behind the functioning of the nervous system. Students explore how cells make fate decisions during neural development, how neurons elaborate the complex structures they take on, how they form and refine specific connections, and how these together allow the precise transmissions of complex signals. The course also examines the molecular pathways by which sensory systems transduce physical stimuli into electrochemical signals and integrate that information into the nervous system.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: BIOL 389  & PSYC 389 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: BIOL 182  or BIOL 212
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 498 - Senior Thesis

    Neuroscience majors plan and carry out one-term experimental research projects under the guidance of faculty members in the neuroscience program; such students enroll in NEUR 498 in either the fall or spring. For students who wish to be considered for honors, two-term thesis projects are required; such students enroll in NEUR 498 in the fall and NEUR 499  in the spring. On occasion, students who are not pursuing honors or high honors may complete two semesters of senior research by taking NEUR 498 in the fall and NEUR 499  in the spring. With permission, PSYC 450, when appropriate, may be substituted for 498.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Neuroscience Majors and Minors
    Class Restriction: Only Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • NEUR 499 - Senior Thesis

    Neuroscience majors plan and carry out one-term experimental research projects under the guidance of faculty members in the neuroscience program; such students enroll in NEUR 498  in either the fall or spring. For students who wish to be considered for honors, two-term thesis projects are required; such students enroll in NEUR 498  in the fall and NEUR 499 in the spring. On occasion, students who are not pursuing honors or high honors may complete two semesters of senior research by taking NEUR 498  in the fall and NEUR 499 in the spring. With permission, PSYC 450, when appropriate, may be substituted for NEUR 498 .

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Neuroscience Majors
    Class Restriction: Only Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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Peace and Conflict Studies
  

  • PCON 111 - Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies

    This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of peace and conflict, as well as to the peace and conflict studies major. It focuses on attempts to study and explain the evolution of warfare and the dynamics of peace from the early Modern period to today’s most imminent and controversial security issues. This course explores the relationships between global and historical patterns of mass violence, the theoretical paradigms that attempt to account for these patterns, and the various disciplinary and methodological approaches used to explore war and peace at all levels of analysis.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 218 - Practices of Peace and Conflict: War in Lived Experience

    This course introduces students to a range of approaches and problems in the descriptive analysis of peace and conflict. It juxtaposes core theoretical texts on war and violence from the social and human sciences with detailed ethnographic case studies. Practices of contemporary conflict are paired with the interpretive paradigms whose aim is to understand and resolve them. For example, case studies in terror are paired with the field of trauma studies; specific regional conflicts with theories of global networks; and contemporary mass violence with analysis of genocide perpetration. In the process, this course introduces students to important methodological paradigms from the social sciences, chiefly from anthropology, sociology, and geography, as well as humanities-based approaches from comparative religion, literature, and language studies.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ANTH 218 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 225 - Theories of Peace and Conflict: War, State, and Society

    This course examines problems of institutional systems and the articulation of power. Students are introduced to critical evaluation of the major theoretical approaches to the study of power and politics. The course considers rationalist, functionalist, and interpretive approaches in the social sciences, as they relate to questions of peace and conflict. Students examine the specific operative theories that have emerged out of these intellectual traditions - theories of state formation, security, international norms, and transnational networks - as they have been incorporated into and further developed in the study of peace and conflict. Students test major theories on case studies linked to major world events. For example, deterrence theory is examined in light of the end of the Cold War.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 240 - Waging Nonviolence: Theory, Practice, and Critique

    When people think about the social movements behind struggles for revolutionary change or territorial independence, they often imagine armed insurrections, guerrilla armies, and terrorist organizations. Yet nonviolent movements are far more likely to achieve revolution or independence than violent movements. Nonviolent movements are also more likely to install durable and democratic governments after the conflict is over. These nonviolent victories often take place when movements abandon violence and adopt civil resistance as their leading strategy. To understand these global trends, this course investigates the dynamics of violent and nonviolent conflicts using theories of social movements. This theoretical understanding is tested using comparative case study analysis, student research projects, computer game play, and real-world simulations.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 245 - Organizing War: Military

    Governments make war but the military fights them. How modern militaries are built impacts their world – and ours. Concentrating on the US armed forces, this class explores how mission, thought, culture, and politics shape the military and its functions. Part of our challenge is to understand the relationship among these factors. This course discusses major themes in modern military studies, with a focus on military organization. It explores why militaries change and adapt – or fail to – and asks what exactly they are meant to do in the first place. Students gain literacy in major topics and controversies in military studies and major issues in current military policymaking, as well as learn practical career skills through practice creating executive summaries.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 250 - Critical Peace Studies

    This course examines human conflict and attempts to understand the worldwide decline in warfare since the end of the Cold War. This examination is framed in terms of the original debate within peace studies: the minimalist or negative peace school versus the maximalist or positive peace approach. Whereas the negative peace school focused on techniques to interrupt or preempt specific instances of mass violence (e.g., through mediation, conflict resolution, intervention, and peace-building/peace-enforcement), the positive peace school advanced a more ambitious scientific and political agenda to prevent wars from ever happening again by understanding and addressing violence in all its forms (physical, mental, structural, symbolic, etc.). Students interrogate both approaches vis-à-vis the historical and empirical record of armed conflict.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 260 - Gender in Conflict and Peace

    This course aims to make a feminist sense of contemporary wars and conflicts. The class traces the gendered processes of defining citizenship, national identity and security, and examines the role of the military in the construction of femininity and masculinity. One of the most prominent social constructions of gender is that of the male provider/warrior and the female caregiver/peacemaker. The making of war depends in large part on the maintenance of this simplistic conceptualization. In addition, the inequalities and power imbalances that lead to situations of conflict, at both macro- and micro-levels, reflect and reinforce the structural and discursive inequality between men and women. The class is interdisciplinary and gives equal weight to theory and practice while drawing on writings by local and global theorist and activists.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Senior
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 301 - International Human Rights and Advocacy

    The gap between the promise of international human rights law and its actual practice is vast. For many advocates and activists, the gap is a source of frustration as international human rights laws and norms rarely translate into basic protections at the level of the individual. This course is designed to make students aware of the contentious nature of human rights, both in theory and in practice. It is premised on the idea that human rights are constantly claimed and developed, if not made anew, by multiple actors–whether as rights-holders, advocates, or otherwise, and that this takes place in the context of intense struggle between state and non-state actors. Students examine both the international human rights regime and the struggle for human rights, and how they interact in practice. The course takes a purposeful right-based and victim-centered approach, with the goal of introducing students to the profession of human rights advocacy.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PCON 111  or PCON 218  or ANTH 218  or SOAN 218 or PCON 225 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 304 - Criminal Underworld: Drugs, Guns, Bodies

    Examines the violent networks of the illicit global economy: from guns and drugs smuggling, to human trafficking and animal poaching among others. Drawing from multiple scholarly traditions, it compares the concrete geographical organization of these illicit networks - that is, where and how they become grounded - and asks the following questions: What are the relationships of these illegal activities to legal circuits of power and profit? In what ways are transnational criminal networks redefining the nature of contemporary violence and the meaning of peace?

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 304 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 310 - Geopolitics

    Broadly defined, Geopolitics is the study of “the relationship among politics and geography, demography, and economics, especially with respect to the foreign policy of a nation.” As the study of political geography on a global scale, geopolitics examines the relationship between territories, boundaries, and states in the “closed system” we call planet earth. But geopolitics is more than an academic field. Geopolitical thought has actually instructed states how to relate to one another in the contest for territory, security, and resources. For example, the history of geopolitical analysis is closely connected to – and has often justified – various imperial projects. As a result, this course examines the relation between the development of geopolitical thought on one hand, and geopolitical events on the other. Of particular importance to the relation between theories of geopolitics and the actual geostrategies of states has been the development of conflict on a planetary scale. And so, this course traces that relation through the study of geopolitical thought and practice in the course of imperial struggles in the 19th century, World Wars and the threat of nuclear wars in the 20th, and new global challenges such as resource wars and environmental security in our own time.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 310 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 314 - Media War: Peace and Conflict in the Digital Age

    The first purpose of the course is to demonstrate the central importance of media in defining the reality of war, peace, and violence in modern culture. The second goal is to introduce, in a selective manner, film, art, and written works that shaped these definitions. The primary framework is chronological, beginning with a survey of images of war and peace in art, covering in detail World War I and World War II, and ending with current images of war and of preparations for nuclear war. The secondary framework distinguishes types or degrees of war: World War I and World War II, civil wars (Spain) and genocide (the Armenians, the Jews in Europe); struggles of national liberation (Vietnam and Algeria); and prospects of global holocaust, this last creating new imagery - both positive and negative - in art, poetry, fiction, and film.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 322 - Weapons and War: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

    Mustard gas, airpower, submarines, A-bombs, Agent Orange, landmines, terror wars, “Star Wars”: weapons technology profoundly shaped the science, politics, and culture of the last century. This course explores the myriad effects of the production, deployment, and use of weapons. Specifically, the course considers how the horizons of science and technology have been shaped by the quest for ever-more-powerful or -sophisticated weaponry; how the creation of new weapons changes the nature of war and peace; how new weapons may impact lives and the planet; terror as a weapon, and scientific and social responses to it; the role of media images in the public consciousness of weaponry and war; and impacts of the global arms trade. While critically theorizing the social, environmental, and philosophical impacts of war over the past century, the course also examines the place of global ethics in discussions about weapons and war.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PCON 111  or PCON 218  or ANTH 218  or SOAN 218 or PCON 225  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 327 - Austrailia’s Stolen Generations: The Legacies of Carrolup (Extended Study)

    The intellectual goal of this extended study course is to address issues of both population vulnerabilities and cultural resilience by considering Aborigines in Australia, and specifically engaging the historical geography and the contemporary experience of the Noongar community in Western Australia. Three themes form the curricular program of the extended study. (1) Students will study the historical geography of Aborigines in Australia within the context of European colonization and settlement, federation and nation-building. These issues will be framed using concepts of population vulnerability, environmental impact, and cultural heritage and identity at the national, regional and local geographic scales. (2) Students study the impacts of national, regional and local policies directed toward indigenous peoples on Aboriginal families and children, given particular focus to programs concerning part-Aboriginal children, Australia’s Stolen Generations. (3) Students learn the ways in which Aboriginal culture and “care for country” has remained resilient across time, space, and generations.

    Credits: 0.50
    Crosslisted: GEOG 327  
    Corequisite: GEOG 319  
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 329 - Environmental Security

    This course is about how the environment poses one of the most important security threats of the 21st century. From an interdisciplinary perspective, the course introduces students to the different ways that climate change and environmental problems more generally are presenting new kinds of security threats. In many ways, greater environmental concern from governments and international organizations over the dramatic environmental changes afoot in the world is a welcome development. But will the “environmental security” framework reinforce global inequalities and maintain the status quo? Or might it mean rethinking the very foundations of what we mean by “security”?

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: GEOG 329 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 333 - Religious Faith and Social Ethics

    Social ethics pursues questions about how human societies ought to organize themselves and their relations to other communities in order to realize human values. For many people around the world, religious faith provides the ultimate framework for value decisions. Texts include works by earlier religious leaders of movements for social-political-economic justice (e.g., Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.) as well as very recent works addressing current issues such as ethnic/international/religious conflict, environmental devastation, globalization, and religious terrorism. In addition, one or two texts develop basic models for religious social ethics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: RELG 333 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 340 - Terror and Counter - Terror: Histories and Logics of Asymmetric Warfare

    For as long as empires and states have been going to war, people have been fighting them with the tactics and technologies now known as terrorism and guerrilla warfare. Asymmetric warfare, however, is no mere historical artifact. It dominates headlines as much as it confounds leaders around the world. Central to this course are several in depth case studies of counter-insurgency and terrorism, including France in Algeria and Indochina; the British in Malaya, East Africa and Northern Ireland; state terrorism in Latin America during the Cold War; and the United States in the Philippines, Vietnam, and, after September 11, 2001, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. The evolution of non-state terrorism — from the violent acts of Anarchists in the late 19th Century to the potentially apocalyptic terrorism of radical religious groups the early 21st Century — also comes under scrutiny. From Clausewitz to General Petraeus, from Mao Zedong to Ayman Al-Zawahiri, this class explores how asymmetric war is lived and understood by various observers and participants.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PCON 111  or PCON 218  or ANTH 218  or SOAN 218 or PCON 225 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 341 - War and the Shaping of American Politics

    Examines the impact of warfare, expansion, and national security policy on the development of domestic American institutions and politics since the Revolution. War’s impact has been multifaceted and contradictory, fueling a politics of reaction and repression in many contexts while serving as a catalyst for advances in political, racial, and economic equality and inclusion in others. Students will explore those contradictions by connecting war mobilization and security politics to the trajectory of American political development and state/society relations over time. Topics include: the role of the putatively weak American state in shaping 19th century territorial expansion; the effect of wartime mobilization and participation on racial politics; the interplay of warfare and the welfare state in American history; the postwar politics of the “military-industrial complex;” and the impact of foreign policy and national security on the American party system. Readings will engage such topics from the perspective of political scientists, sociologists, and historians working on a broad empirical terrain ranging over several centuries.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted:   
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 345 - Transitional and Historical Justice

    In what ways and under what conditions do states pursue justice for past wrongs? Is democracy credible without confronting the abuses of previous regimes? This course examines the theories and practices of transitional and historical justice since 1945. It presents a global line-up of case studies, which students evaluate in a comparative framework. Specific topics include Post-WWII Germany, Latin America, South Africa, Rwanda, Eastern Europe after 1989, Cambodia, Australia, and the United States.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 351 - The Israel/Palestine Conflict

    Focuses on the longstanding struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as on the history of the way the conflict has been defined (e.g., an Arab-Israeli conflict, a religious war between Jews and Muslims, etc.). The course profiles episodes in the history of the conflict–and of the efforts to resolve it–in light of contemporary developments across the globe. The war of 1948 is analyzed in light of decolonization struggles following WWII, just as the “Six-Day War” of 1967 is studied in light of Cold War politics. In addition to focusing on flashpoints in the history of the conflict, the course also examines international agendas for ending it. Repeated US efforts to broker a peace are analyzed in light of geopolitical developments elsewhere. Students will become well-versed in the historical and social developments of the conflict and study the various treaties, armistice agreements, and memoranda that have guided efforts to bring it to a conclusion. They also study outstanding issues in the contest between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as current peace and armistice proposals.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: MIST 351 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No First-year
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 355 - Rwanda since the 1994 Genocide

    Assess the Rwandan experience of postconflict reconstruction and reconciliation in context and from the perspective of Rwandans themselves to ask, how sustainable is the country’s postgenocide recovery? This course is concerned with understanding how to do field research in postgenocide Rwanda. Using the ‘do no harm’ framework of doing research with individuals who have lived through mass violence, this course equips students to undertake research in foreign field settings. In particular, students learn to design a ‘human subjects’ research proposal, rooted in The Belmont Report of ethical research and guidelines for research involving human subjects. The Report identified three core principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Using Rwanda since the 1994 genocide as a case study, these principles will be studied to highlight their shortcomings in the context of research in postconflict societies.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ALST 355 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PCON 111  or PCON 218  or SOAN 218 or ANTH 218  or PCON 225  or ALST 201  or CORE 189C  
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 358 - Transnational Politics

    Examines the segment of world politics that includes interactions and transactions between actors who are not representatives of governments or intergovernmental institutions. Non-state actors as diverse as global social movements, multinational corporations, religious communities, and even terrorist networks are now recognized as playing crucial roles on the world’s political stage. This course focuses on a variety of these transnational actors, as we seek to stretch the limits of state-based approaches, and emphasize the rich variety of relationships and interactions that characterizes contemporary world politics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: POSC 358 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 368 - After Genocide: Memory and Representation

    An investigation of the impact of genocide on the self and the imagination’s representations in literature, film, and art. Primary texts include poetry, memoir, video testimony, film, and visual art. Scholarly methodology involves readings of literary criticism and theoretical work in the study of trauma, literary theory, and testimony. Among the questions the course asks are: How does trauma shape imagination and open up access to the site of disaster that is now carried in fragments which inform memory? How do representations of violence shape and inflect aesthetic orientations and literary and artistic forms? The course concerns itself with the aftermath of two 20th-century genocides–that of the Armenians in Turkey during World War I and of the Jews in Europe during World War II–both seminal events of the 20th century that, in various ways, became models for ensuing genocides.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ENGL 368 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 391 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 479 - Research Seminar: Peace and Conflict, Themes and Analysis

    This is a theme-based seminar that examines the literature of peace and conflict studies and other relevant theoretical and analytical work relating to violence and conflict resolution at all levels of society. The seminar also focuses on the range of responses to war and violence, by both the state and the peace movement. Significant independent and group research is required. This course is required of all peace and conflict studies majors and minors in the senior year, but is open to others who meet the prerequisites.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PCON 111  and (PCON 218  or SOAN 218 or ANTH 218 ) and PCON 225  plus a minimum of three courses completed from cluster 2, and two courses completed from cluster 3.
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Peace & Conflict Studies Majors
    Class Restriction: Only Senior
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 491 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PCON 499 - Honors Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies

    Students qualified to pursue honors or high honors take this seminar in the spring of the senior year to complete or extend the thesis they have already begun in PEAC 479. Enrollment is limited to seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher and a major GPA of 3.50 or higher, who have had their honors/high honors research proposal approved by the Peace and Conflict Studies faculty. To qualify for honors students must have achieved an A- or higher in PEAC 479, or receive permission from the program director. Students who are not pursuing honors may also take this seminar to conduct independent research, by permission of the program director.

    Credits: 1.00
    When Offered: Spring semester only

    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: PCON 479 
    Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Peace & Conflict Studies Majors
    Class Restriction: Only Senior
    Restrictions: Permission of the program director is required
    Area of Inquiry: None
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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Philosophy

Course classifications:

Major Figures (MF)
Metaphysics and Epistemology (M&E)
Value Theory (VT)
  

  • PHIL 101 - Introduction to Philosophical Problems

    Readings and discussions are organized around such classic problems of philosophy as the existence of God, free will and determinism, the relation of mind and body, knowledge of the external world, the meaning of “good” and moral action, etc.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 111 - Ethics

    This course explores central questions of morality. What makes a good life good? What makes some actions right and others wrong? Are there human rights that everyone has? What are our obligations to others? Are there good answers to these questions, or is it all relative? Among the philosophers explored are Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Bentham, Mill, and various significant contemporary thinkers.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 121 - Political Philosophy

    This course explores central questions in political philosophy, with an emphasis on the great figures in the tradition (including Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, and Marx). Among those questions are, what justifies the state? Is democracy the only legitimate form of government? How much freedom should be secured for individuals? How should we understand the ideal of equality? And so on.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 202 - Environmental Ethics

    An introduction to the field of environmental ethics. Some of the major figures and philosophies in the environmental movement are studied and critically analyzed with a particular emphasis on the ethical reasoning and its influences on environmental policies and practices. Topics include the historical development of the environmental movement, central debates between preservationist and conservationist ethics, intrinsic and instrumental evaluations of the natural environment and its inhabitants, animal rights and the ethical treatment of animals, shallow and deep ecological distinctions, and anthropocentric versus biocentric and ecocentric evaluations of nature.

    Credits: 1.00
    Crosslisted: ENST 202 
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 214 - Medical Ethics

    This course addresses urgent moral questions that arise in the field of medicine. Some of these are long standing. Is health strictly a biological concept, or do cultural and social norms in part determine what is good health? Should doctors act solely for the goal of improving their patients’ health, or is their central obligation to respect patient autonomy? Other questions are more recent. When exactly is a person dead, such that withdrawing life-saving equipment is appropriate? Should parents and doctors take steps to see that their children are born with more desirable traits and characteristics? Students learn how philosophic argument can help illuminate these and related issues.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 216 - Existentialism

    This course is designed to introduce students to existentialist thought via an examination of its 19th-century origins and 20th-century manifestations. Among the authors to be discussed are Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, and Marcel. Among the topics to be considered are existence, freedom, subjectivity, and absurdity.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 225 - Logic I

    Logic is the science of correct reasoning. It provides rigorous methods for evaluating the validity of arguments. This introductory course covers the basic concepts and techniques of propositional logic and first-order predicate logic with identity, including truth tables, proofs, and elementary model theory.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Recommended: This course is suitable for students in all areas and is highly recommended for philosophy majors.
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 226 - Philosophy of Religion

    Can the existence of God be proven? Can it be disproven? What is the relationship between faith and reason? Does evil provide strong evidence against the existence of God? How should we think about the relationship between creation and evolution – and about the relationship between science and religion generally? Does the Christian notion of the Trinity make any sense? What about the idea of Original Sin or the Atonement? Students seek reasoned answers to many of these questions by evaluating the work of philosophers who address them. Students encounter both classical and contemporary authors, though the class focuses more on perspicacious presentations of these issues rather than on their historical development.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 228 - Philosophy of Science

    This course is an introduction to the philosophy of science and explores issues of general philosophical interest to the sciences, rather than those germane to any particular discipline. The course focuses on the rise and decline of logical positivism and the status of its post-positivist descendants with particular emphasis on the issues of scientific laws, induction, theory confirmation and choice, falsificationism, reductionism, realism, explanation, prediction, and problems relevant to the special sciences.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 291 - Independent Study

    Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

    Credits: variable
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 301 - Ancient Philosophy (MF)

    This course surveys some of the central figures and ideas of classical Greek and Roman philosophy, with particular emphasis on Plato, Aristotle and the main Hellenistic schools. Topics to be considered include the aim and method of Socratic inquiry; Plato’s epistemology, theory of forms and defense of justice; Aristotle’s logic, ontology and ethical theory; Stoic and Epicurean cosmology and ethics.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 302 - Modern Philosophy (MF)

    Historical and critical reading of classic philosophical thought from the 16th to 19th centuries works with original texts of Bacon, Hobbes, Descartes, Pascal, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 303 - Medieval Philosophy (MF)

    Medieval philosophy involved the absorption and transformation of Greek and Hellenistic thought by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thinkers, often in relations of mutual influence. The period is crucial not only for its project of reconciling reason and faith but also for philosophical insights, arguments, and formulations that have remained influential in several of the main areas of philosophy. The course focuses on questions concerning freedom of the will, the nature of moral requirements and obligation, the role of rational considerations in morality, the virtues, and ideals of human excellence. Students read figures from the three faith traditions and explore their interactions and mutual influences, as well as their differences. Coverage of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thinkers is roughly equal, and students look at the Platonic, Neoplatonic, and Aristotelian background to their thought as well as the new directions in which they took philosophy.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: None
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 304 - Kant and 19th-Century Philosophy (MF)

    Studies Kant and some major developments in 19th-century continental philosophy that stem from the transformations and criticisms of Kant’s philosophy. Readings are from Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, among others. Issues explored include the possibility of knowing things in themselves, the relationship between faith and knowledge, the conditions of experience, and the basis of morality.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: One course in philosophy
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 306 - Recent Continental Philosophy

    This course is a study of some of the major movements in recent continental philosophy. Among the movements to be considered are phenomenology, existentialism, philosophical hermeneutics, poststructuralism, and postmodernism. Among the thinkers to be considered are Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer, Sartre, Foucault, and Derrida. Movements and thinkers may vary from year to year.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: One course in philosophy
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


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  • PHIL 310 - Philosophy and the Social Sciences

    This course will consider philosophical questions about the nature of the social sciences as well as philosophical questions prompted by the results and methods of the social sciences. These questions include: Do the natural sciences offer an appropriate model for the social sciences, or is there something distinctive about human phenomena that requires a fundamentally different mode of inquiry and style of explanation? Are the reasons for which we act also the causes of our actions, or are reason-based and cause-based explanations of human behavior fundamentally distinct? Are economists correct in their assumptions about the rationality of economic agents? Is it possible, or desirable, to conduct social scientific research in a value-neutral fashion? If not, what are the consequences for the objectivity of the social sciences? Are our values and moral attitudes themselves merely the effects of natural selection, as evolutionary psychologists maintain? Readings are drawn not only from philosophy, but also from sociology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociobiology.

    Credits: 1.00
    Corequisite: None
    Prerequisites: One course in philosophy
    Major/Minor Restrictions: None
    Class Restriction: None
    Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
    Liberal Arts CORE: None


    Click here for Course Offerings by term
 

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