GEOG 340 - Geographic Information Systems and Society
Explores the impact of geographic information systems (GIS) on society. Begins by considering how technological advances in GIS have transformed the nature of geographic data creation and opened up entirely new fields of spatial analysis. Various theoretical perspectives are employed to better understand issues of privacy and ethics as they relate to GIS technologies. Specific topics include locational privacy, participatory GIS, volunteered geographic information, location-based services, the geoweb and new media, digital social/spatial inequalities, and the role of GIS in security and surveillance.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
As an academic discipline, geography focuses on the nature and causes of spatial variation. This focus is wide ranging and includes human and geophysical processes. Although the scope of geography is broad and the interest and expertise among geographers varied, one commonality is the use of maps and/or graphics for spatial analysis and visual communication. This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of cartography, including mapping theory, technique, and application. This objective is accomplished through a blend of lecture and exercises that introduce students to the theory and philosophy of cartography, map and graphic design, and appropriate forms of visual communication. The course begins with an introduction to cartography, including its history, and proceeds through examinations of statistical graphing, map projections, map design, symbology, and thematic mapping.
Credits: 0.50 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
GEOG 346 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems
Focuses on geographic information systems (GIS) theory and complex spatial analysis. It is divided into two segments: GIS concepts and theory, and advanced GIS analysis and application. The first segment explores the evolution of GIS from a set of cartographic and data analytical tools used primarily by geographers to a more encompassing set of ideas and tools used by many disciplines to examine spatial processes. Included in the first segment is a thorough examination of issues associated with mapping and referencing the non-spherical earth, conceptual models for representing spatial phenomena, and data-quality issues. The second segment focuses on a select set of spatial analytical issues that can be addressed using GIS. These issues include analysis of continuous spatial phenomena (e.g., terrain), model building using multiple sources of spatial data, network analysis, and the integration of remotely sensed data in a GIS.
Image analysis is a method used in geography to analyze remotely sensed data, including both satellite images and data collected from aircraft, in order to obtain information about earth’s surface phenomena from afar. The primary objective is to better understand, measure, and monitor features and human activities on Earth. Most typically, image analysis involves generating landcover maps using multi-spectral data collected by satellites. This course begins by focusing on the physical principles upon which image analysis is based, including the principles of acquiring and interpreting electromagnetic data collected by non-photographic sensors. Students then explore the basic tools of digital image processing (e.g., image enhancement, contract manipulation, etc.). This leads to a consideration of the process of image classification. Lastly, students discuss accuracy assessment as it applies to landcover classification, and spend a significant amount of time in the geography department computer lab performing analysis on remote sensing data.
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: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
The senior seminar focuses on emerging research within a subfield of contemporary geography chosen by the instructor. Students identify and pursue advanced work on topics within that subfield.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: Only Geography, Environmental Geography Majors Class Restriction: Only Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Students enroll in this course in the fall semester of the senior year if granted permission to explore a potential honors project and prepare a formal proposal to pursue honors work in geography. Permission to enroll in this course does not guarantee permission to pursue honors in geography.
Credits: 0.50 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
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: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts CORE: None
Students pursuing honors research enroll in this course in the spring semester of the senior year. The research proposal must be approved by the Department of Geography.
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
GEOG 303 - The Camp: A Global History of Civilian Internment
Reviews a history of civilian internment by analyzing the geographic proliferation of camps throughout the planet. In modern and contemporary history, authoritarian states and democracies alike have developed concentration camps, internment camps, refugee camps, detention camps, and displaced persons camps – in ever increasing numbers. Countries have done so in order to separate and define populations they would or could not assimilate within the political life of the nation state, thereby relegating those populations to an exceptional status instead. To study the geographic spread of camps as technologies for advancing a state of exception, then, is to learn how –and to what extent– human rights have been acknowledged or betrayed in contemporary history.
Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
GEOG 307 - What’s in your cup? The Geography of what we Drink
What people eat and drink connects them to a global socioecology and a complex exchange of commodities. What’s in your cup? uses our daily consumption of beverages to analyze the social and environmental implications of how people live. From the energy used to boil water for a morning coffee to the biota disturbed by farmers across the world, what we drink may be linked to carbon emissions, water pollution, and public health hazards, all of which have implications for consumers and producers alike. Challenges, such as climate change, limited access to land, and market shifts, often leave farmers vulnerable. But there are also many examples of efforts that empower farmers to live well and care for the land, provide consumers access to ethically produced beverages, and initiatives that promote sustainable development. Using examples from around the world students explore the geography of what people drink.
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
Many geologic processes and events have a significant impact on human societies. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides and floods all threaten lives and property and societies rely on water, mineral, climate, and energy resources to thrive. Similarly, society has many impacts on the Earth system through water and air pollution and climate change. This course examines the complex interplay between human activities and the environment through a multi-disciplinary approach, with the goal of applying science to better manage natural hazard risk, understand and mitigate future climate change, and use water, mineral and energy resources more sustainably.
. Labs are field-based as much as possible and are designed, not only to build a deeper understanding of the course material, but also to provide hands-on experience with some of the scientific techniques geologists use to study the environment.
Focuses on Earth and its complex and life-sustaining resources, within an integrated framework including the terrestrial realm, the atmosphere, and the hydrosphere (freshwater, oceans, and glacial ice). Students develop a deeper understanding of the physical, chemical, biological and human interactions that determine the past, present and future states of Earth. Places a strong emphasis on the societal impacts of earth system science and provides a fundamental basis for understanding the world in which we seek to live sustainably.
Credits: 1.00 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
A course tracing the history of the Earth from the origin of the solar system to the present. Also considered are the origin and evolution of the Earth’s crust and interior; plate tectonics, continental drift and mountain building; absolute age dating; the origin of the hydrosphere and atmosphere; earthquakes and volcanism. The results of recent planetary exploration are incorporated into an examination of the origin of the solar system.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
The origin and evolution of dinosaurs and extinct mammals, including human ancestors, are examined as a vehicle for understanding how geologic and environmental forces—plate tectonics, asteroid strikes, and climate change—have shaped life processes through time. Interactive exercises promote exploration of Darwin’s (r)evolutionary ideas and facilitate debates about dinosaur physiology, social behavior, and future cloning. Evaluating evidence for dinosaur and mega-mammal extinctions provides the basis for understanding the current extinction crisis and for exploring species conservation strategies during a time of rapid environmental change.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
GEOL 120 - The Geology of America’s Parks (Extended Study)
Designed to introduce students to geological processes, materials, and basic field techniques using sites at National Parks in the United States and Canada. Major goals include developing a facility with basic field methods used in geology and other natural sciences, promoting understanding of how regional geological history and active modern processes shape landscapes, and exploring the impacts of human interactions with the natural world.
Credits: 0.50 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: At least one course in geology or other introductory field-oriented science course Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: Only First-year, Sophomore Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: None
A study of the major contemporary concepts of biological, chemical, geological, and physical oceanography. The nature and origin of ocean basins by global plate tectonics, sedimentation, sea water composition, water masses, oceanic circulation, waves, tides, life in the sea, and biological productivity, are all discussed. The role of human impacts and environmental change, including ocean warming and acidification, and marine pollution are stressed throughout the course.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
Explores our planet’s 4.5-billion year history and how geologists unearth the past through examination of minerals, rocks, and fossils. Earth’s evolution is a natural experiment that cannot be reproduced, and students make use of primary observational and interpretative tools that geologists use to understand the past. Age-dating techniques, plate tectonics and origin of continental crust, mountain building events, and evolution of Earth’s landscape, atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere are examined in the context of the geological evolution of North America.
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Recommended: For students interested in concentrating in geology or environmental geology. Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
. Laboratory sessions focus on providing a familiarization with common rocks, minerals, and fossils, and geologic field techniques, with an emphasis on how these materials and techniques are used to understand Earth and its history.
Rocks and minerals are the stuff of which planets are composed. They are the source of nutrients that sustain all life on this planet, and the materials from which civilizations are built. Students come to understand the physical and chemical nature of minerals, and gain a familiarity with the most common minerals found on Earth. Other important topics covered include how and when Earth’s materials were formed, and how their physical and chemical behaviors both control and tell us about major processes on the planet.
Prerequisites: One course in geology Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
. Labs introduce a variety of techniques used to study and identify minerals, including working with minerals in hand specimen, under the microscope, and using x-ray analysis. Hands-on activities build a deeper understanding of crystal structures and optics, and a familiarity with the most common minerals that compose the Earth and influence geologic processes and the quality of life our planet.
Considers the fossil record of marine life from its origin to the present, emphasizing the evolution of invertebrate animals and marine environments through time. In class, lab, and in the field, students investigate a diversity of ecological and evolutionary questions through direct observation of fossil specimens, statistical analyses of paleontological datasets, and discussion of recently published scientific articles. Additional topics include mass extinctions and recoveries, morphological evolution, phylogenetics, paleoecology, paleontological approaches in conservation biology, and the history and ethics of fossil collecting.
Prerequisites: One course in geology or biology Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
. Lab and field exercises emphasize hands-on learning about the principles of paleontology, paleontological techniques, and the major groups of fossil-forming marine invertebrate animals. Local fieldtrips engage students in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the remains of organisms that lived in Madison County more than 300 million years ago.
A detailed study of modern sedimentary environments and their use in interpreting ancient sedimentary rocks. The chemical and physical processes leading to weathering, erosion, transport, deposition, and lithification of sediments are considered. Interpretation of local Paleozoic, Pleistocene, and Holocene sediments is carried out through field study projects. Economic aspects of sedimentary rocks, such as the occurrence of oil, natural gas, and coal, are discussed.
Prerequisites: One course in Geology Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 302
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 302L
Mountain ranges, rifting continents and earthquakes show that the Earth is constantly deforming. Serves as an introduction to the principles of structural geology and geophysics, and explores the physical processes deforming Earth’s surface and interior and driving plate tectonics. Students will examine how and why deformation occurs, and what lines of evidence we use to study deformation on all scales, from the microscopic to global. The course will cover tectonic processes, brittle and ductile deformation mechanisms, earthquakes and seismic waves, and solid Earth properties.
Prerequisites: One course in Geology Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 305
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 305L
GEOL 253 - Environmental Geochemistry and Analysis
The focus of this interdisciplinary laboratory and field-based course is the development of practical skills essential to the study of natural systems. Through a series of student-designed local projects, students learn how to address environmental questions, including experimental design, collection and analysis of samples, interpretation of data, and presentation of conclusions. Specific skills include techniques for the chemical analysis of natural materials including rock, soil, and water, statistical analysis, sample collection, and methods of data presentation. Laboratory and lecture are fully integrated and meet once or twice a week. Occasional day-long sampling and field trips.
. There is no separation between lab and class, they are fully integrated; work on projects is the primary focus of the entire course. Occasional day-long sampling and field trips.
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 203L
Our fascination with volcanoes stems primarily from their awesome powers of destruction, yet their constructive role in shaping our landscape, atmosphere, and oceans has been crucial in Earth’s history. This course explores the fundamental concepts of volcanology, from the geological, chemical, and physical processes that generate volcanoes to the implications of volcanic activity on humankind. Through case studies, this course examines the tectonic environments that generate volcanoes and what they tell us about Earth’s internal processes; eruptive styles and volcanic forms; volcanic rocks; properties and generation of magmas; features of lava and pyroclastic flows; and volcanic hazards, including their prediction and mitigation.
. Activities in the lab are widely varied, from learning important field techniques for understanding the eruptive history of volcanoes to exploring the physical principles behind volcanic behavior.
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 220L
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
Deals with the origin and evolution of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Petrology and melting of the mantle are examined, and the origin and differentiation of magmas in different tectonic settings are explored. Metamorphic rocks are examined using mineral assemblages, metamorphic facies, and thermobarometry with the goal of understanding the crustal history of mountain building. These topics are unified by concepts of plate tectonics. May include a weekend field trip.
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 202L
Examines the global distribution of mineral resources, the economic and engineering factors that govern their availability, and the environmental effects of their production and use. Mineral resources to be considered include ferrous and non-ferrous metals, precious metals, and energy fuels. Topics to be explored, in addition to the origin, nature, and geological settings of the world’s great mineral deposits, include mineral law, mineral exploration and production, strategic mineral reserves, minerals and human health, and environmental impact of mining and use, and remediation.
Near-surface features of the Earth display a stunning variety of structures and compositions. These features give insight in the geology of a region, and can also be important in the fields of environmental studies, engineering, and archaeology. Many subsurface structures are not visible at the surface, but can be illuminated using geophysical measurements and modeling. In this course, students will learn the science behind several geophysical techniques, including gravity surveying, reflection and refraction seismology, GPS monitoring, and electric and magnetic methods. Two weekend field days are required.
Credits: 1.00 Prerequisites: One geology course Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Recommended: One semester of calculus Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
A five-week summer field program introduces the basic field techniques used in geologic mapping. Students prepare geologic maps and stratigraphic sections in assigned map areas and develop geological histories, focusing on igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic processes. The course consists of field work in such locations as Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
The geologic materials nearest the Earth’s surface are those that interact with the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. This course explores the nature of surficial geologic materials and processes by using geographic information system (GIS) tools and hydrological modeling software. Major topics are landform development, chemical weathering, soil development and quality, and surface and groundwater hydrology.
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Recommended: A previous earth science or geology course is recommended. Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 210
Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 210L
Focuses on the digital analysis of geologic data. The complexity of natural systems - including geomorphology, plate tectonics, and climate systems - benefit from computer-assisted manipulation of large-scale datasets. Covers application of GIS and Matlab to geologic datasets, access and use of public data sources, digital analysis of large datasets, and modeling of natural geological systems.
Credits: 1.00 Prerequisites: GEOL course number 190 or higher Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None Formerly: GEOL 270
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
Explores the fundamental chemical principles that govern how our planet came to be what it is today. In particular, focus will be on how to use chemistry as a tool to understand major geological processes, from the formation of the planet to processes that are particularly important to environmental quality, and thus to humans.
The age of the Earth, genesis and growth of continents, global climate change, and the formation of the solar system are all understood primarily through isotope and trace element geochemistry. This course explores how geochemical tracers are used to understand processes in the Earth and solar system that are not possible to observe directly. Methods to be investigated include geochronology, radiogenic isotopes in magmatic systems, stable isotopes as applied to understanding fluids in low- and high-temperature environments, stable isotopes and the paleoclimate record, and the radiogenic and stable isotope cosmochemistry of meteorites and lunar samples. Current research in these fields is a focus.
(may be taken concurrently) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
The course is designed to provide a realistic understanding of rapidly evolving concepts in the field of geological oceanography. Sedimentary and geophysical data are discussed in the context of global plate tectonics. These data are used to examine the processes responsible for the origin and evolution of continental margins and ocean basins and to reconstruct global climate history.
(may be taken concurrently) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
Analyzes large-scale structures of the Earth’s crust and interior. There is particular emphasis on the interpretation of modern and ancient orogenic belts in terms of plate tectonics models. Includes discussion of the details of plate boundary structures and plate interactions, evolution of the Earth’s lithosphere through geologic time, and the use of isotopes in geological investigations. Student presentations are required.
(may be taken concurrently) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
Focuses on how the Earth’s processes such as volcanism, plate motion, and mantle dynamics are studied by geologists. Through a seminar-style approach, students consider the techniques used to understand the solid Earth, with emphasis on volcanic and plate tectonic systems. Methods studied include (a) volcanic systems: gas, plume, and thermal monitoring for prediction of eruptions, lava chemistry, heat flow, geochronology, field observations, and lava flow dynamics; (b) plate tectonics: earthquake observations, ground deformation, and gravity; (c) planetary geology: remote sensing, spectroscopy, and plume sampling. Each technique is examined in the context of a specific case study (e.g., Mount Pinatubo, Hawaii, Yellowstone, Los Angeles fault zones, Venus, and the moons of Jupiter) through readings and discussions of current geological literature. Experts currently working in the field are often consulted as resources.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
Students engaged in senior or honors research are required to register for this course designed to guide them in the proper preparation of a research paper or honors thesis. Students are instructed in research techniques, including library research, statistical analysis, and other approaches commonly used in the geosciences. Other matters addressed in this seminar include the format of the research paper or honors thesis, techniques of scientific writing, and how to prepare an oral presentation.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences & Mathematics Liberal Arts CORE: None
Earth’s climate has fluctuated widely in the past, between warm periods and ice ages, and times of great drought versus wetter intervals. The planet currently faces abrupt climate change resulting from human-induced environmental modification. Paleoclimatology, the study of past climates and environments of the Earth, provides a long-term perspective on the nature of global climate variability that is critical for evaluating the sensitivity of the Earth system to past, present, and future changes. This course provides students with an overview of paleoclimatology by examining the use of proxy records such as marine and lake sediment sequences, ice cores, tree rings, corals, and historical data to reconstruct past climatic conditions. Dating methods are introduced, and seminal publications in paleoclimatology are reviewed in tandem with current research papers addressing outstanding questions in paleoclimatology. Throughout, students critically analyze their current understanding of past climates and environments, and identify promising directions for future research. Topics include abrupt climate change, human evolution and climate, biosphere-climate interactions, and paleoclimate modeling.
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
Introduces students to the basic structures of German and focuses on the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing German in cultural, functional contexts. The courses simultaneously introduce students to the vibrant societies and cultures of German-speaking Europe.
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
Continued introduction to the basic structures of German and focuses on the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing German in cultural, functional contexts. The courses simultaneously introduce students to the vibrant societies and cultures of German-speaking Europe.
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
GERM 195 - Elementary-Level German Language Abroad
Elementary-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Completes the presentation of basic structures of German and helps students develop greater facility and sophistication in using these structures, in comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Continues the exploration of German cultures begun on the 100 level with a focus on Germany in Europe.
or equivalent Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Restrictions: Not open to students who score 3 or higher on a German AP exam Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements
Completes the presentation of basic structures of German and helps students develop greater facility and sophistication in using these structures, in comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Continues the exploration of German cultures begun on the 100 level with a focus on Germanophone Europe.
or equivalent Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements
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
GERM 295 - Intermediate-Level German Language Abroad
Intermediate-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Students screen a selection of representative German films and analyze them with an eye to the social and historical context in which they were made and to their innovation and influence in the development of cinema art and film language. The films are also discussed in terms of larger theoretical and methodological issues (film and literature, realism, representations of class or gender stereotypes, film and political propaganda, etc.). Taught in English. Participation in the accompanying FLAC section is mandatory for students wishing to earn German major/minor credit for this course.
Credits: 0.00 Corequisite: GERM 322 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
GERM 325 - Transnationalism in Contemporary German Culture
As demographic changes in Europe unmoor conventional conceptions of national culture, the discourse of transnationalism has emerged to address contemporary political and cultural phenomena no longer confined to nation-states. Abreast such developments, students examine the transnational imagination at work in recent German cultural production, with a focus on cinematic and literary negotiations of German and European identity since 1989. Factors contributing to these negotiations include the tenuous legacy of German unification, the fragile consolidation of the European Union, and the ongoing migration of people to German-speaking Europe from non-European backgrounds. The method of inquiry is multidisciplinary, addressing contemporary films and literary writings in conjunction with cultural history and social and political theory. To address the aesthetic qualities of transnational cinema and literature, students familiarize themselves with the terminology and methodologies of film and literary studies in German.
GERM 327 - Reinventing Berlin: Memory, Culture, and Urban Space
Berlin has long been considered the quintessential modern metropolis and one that continually reinvents itself as an ongoing experiment in urban culture. Today, the capital of united Germany’s “Berlin Republic” is a vibrant, ethnically diverse city with political and cultural meanings that resonate far beyond its borders. Students approach contemporary Berlin by way of historical, political and cultural stories of its urban landscape. Through study of monuments, architecture and city planning, film, art and literature, eyewitness reporting and historical analysis, students explore reinventions of the city and the transformations of its urban space and public culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In doing so, the changing conceptualizations of civic and national identity, collective memory and imagined futures elicited by Berlin’s complex history are also addressed. Participation in the accompanying FLAC section is mandatory for students wishing to earn GERM major/minor credit.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
GERM 341 - Advanced Conversation and Composition (Study Group)
Especially geared to the needs of American students studying and living in a German environment. Addresses methods for coping in everyday situations as well as in the special setting of a German university. The first part is taught by the director while traveling; the second part is taught by the director or tutors in accordance with the very specific needs of each individual student.
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
GERM 351 - Introduction to German Literary Studies
Introduces students to a variety of German literary texts from the 18th century to the present, in their cultural and historical contexts. Through its exploration of topics such as revolution and social change; constructions of gender; national identity; migration and minority experience; and modernity and aesthetic innovation, the course considers the versatile powers of literature to interpret and influence personal and collective experience. The course also serves as a workshop in which to develop techniques and vocabulary of literary and cultural analysis. In addition to furthering critical understanding of German literature as part of living culture, this course will help students strengthen and expand German language skills in all four areas: reading, writing, comprehension and speaking. Taught in German.
Introduces students to the academic study of German by exploring key topics and foundational methods of the discipline, while further developing advanced German language competencies. Deepening students’ familiarity with Germanophone Europe, the course adopts a multimedia approach to German studies (print, visual art, stage, radio and film) to advance cultural and transcultural literacy. The focus of the course depends on the instructor, who may emphasize linguistic structures through the study of advanced grammar and syntax; the relationship between crisis and critique in the history of Germanophone Europe; the gray zones between the past and the present, the living and the dead in studies of ghosts and the uncanny; or the borderlands of European multiculture. Taught in German.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: GERM 202 or equivalent Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
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
Advanced-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
GERM 457 - German Literature and Culture On-Site (Study Group)
Designed to create a frame of reference for students by presenting them with on-site study of Germanophone history and culture and connecting it to the present experience abroad. In addition to study trips in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the course incorporates current theater performances, concerts, and visits to museums and art galleries. As with GERM 341, the course has two components: the pre-term weeks (in March) devoted to travel, and the term at the University of Freiburg during which regular class sessions are scheduled.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements
Introduces Goethe’s writing and thought through selected plays, narrative fiction, critical writings, and poems. Topics include Goethe’s interest and influence in various cultural spheres, such as the visual arts, the scientific fields of his time, and politics in the age of revolutions. Students explore his comparative approach to world languages and literatures, his changing aesthetic positions during his lifetime, and his literary explorations of gender and love. The seminar interprets Goethe in the context of his time and also examines his dominant and debated position in the German cultural tradition.
Credits: 1.00 Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
The seminar presents a history of German and German speaking film with special focus to the depiction of the human body. Spanning a period of almost a century (1929 – 2019), the material assembles cinematic traditions across epochs: from Weimar cinema’s last years of silent film, via post war Austrian filmic activism, various cinematic traditions from East and West Germany, all the way up to the present, the Berlin School and transnational European Cinema. Assembling a number of filmmakers with an emphasis on German/European traditions, the course revisits the filmic canon and introduces filmmakers from outside film studies’ canonical scope. Established auteurs such as Werner Herzog or VALIE EXPORT are juxtaposed and paired with lesser-known artists such as Heiner Carow or Mara Mattuschka, and newcomers such as Jan Soldat or Pia Hellenthal, to convey the diversity within film’s and filmmakers’ exploration of the human body. As the thematic vector brings together auteurs of entirely different traditions, it also draws attention to filmic genres often neglected by academics, such as anime, music videos, pornography or short films. “Kinokörper” or “cinematic bodies”, become significant by means of their actions, they take shape in the disciplining of their representation, and fulfil different functions for the genres they traverse. The unsettling effect cinematic bodies have on filmic genre distinctions – such as those between fiction and report, between pornography and its documentation, between scripted narrative and spontaneous improvisation – will be of particular interest. The seminar is conducted in German.
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
German Romanticism and the movement known as Young Germany evolved in the years between the French Revolution to the “March Revolution” of 1848 and circled around the aspirations and disappointments of the revolutionary spirit. The literature of these years follows shifts in the intellectual debates of the times: the proclamation of individual rights, the crumbling of traditional social structures and the rise of new social forms, the plight of the lone individual detached from traditional moorings. Works we will read include folk fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers, the poetry of Novalis and Eichendorff, fantastic tales by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and the socially critical poetry of Heinrich Heine.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
At the dawn of the 20th-century, central Europeans lived, debated, and created amidst great doubts that their world had any future. At the heart of a conflicted and paradoxical modernity arose a keen sense of the unreality and futility of human affairs. Yet modernity’s seemingly unresolvable challenges—including questions about the political arrangements of diverse and multilingual societies, the constitution of the human psyche, the chances of human survival on the eve of World War I, as well as class, inter-ethnic and gender relations—spawned a furor of pioneering responses in the urban centers of Germanophone Europe. Exploring the resources of this rich period (1890-1924), this course investigates the cultural, literary, philosophical, artistic, and musical activity abounding in Vienna, Prague, and other sites of central European modernity. Readings include works by Zweig, Roth, Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Freud, Musil, Kraus, V. Canetti, and Kafka. Focus on reading and writing about central Europe will be supplemented by visual works of art, architecture and cinema relevant to the period.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Examines the literature and cultures of German-speaking Europe in the 20th century. Because of the wealth of the material, selections vary from semester to semester. Areas of focus may include: the Weimar Republic, exilic literature by émigrés of National Socialism, comparative approaches to West and East German literature, confronting the Holocaust, Austrian and Swiss writers, migration and transnationalism, and the literature of German unification and the Berlin Republic.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
A survey of selected examples of German poetry from the Baroque period to the present. Poems are examined with an eye to developments in form and to poetry’s engagement with the changing world in which it is created, from the Thirty Years’ War to the European Union.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
GERM 482 - The Novella and the Village: Modern Tales from the Country
Examining a unique German form from Goethe to the present, students explore the narrative forms of the novella and the short novel in the context of increasing urbanization in German-speaking lands, with a focus on the 19th-century.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Examines the history, theory, and practice of German drama with a focus on a selection of major dramatic works from the 18th century to the present. As theater continues to thrive as a unique aesthetic and social institution of German-speaking Europe, students conduct a performance-oriented study of theater as a medium of cultural and transcultural communication. Canonical playwrights to be studied may include Lessing, Schiller, Goethe, Kleist, Büchner, Nestroy, Ibsen, Brecht, Soyfer, Peter Weiss, or Heiner Müller. Contemporary playwrights may include Sibylle Berg, Nurkan Erpulat, Elfriede Jelinek, Dea Loher, Falk Richter, Yael Ronen or Roland Schimmelpfennig. Investigating the genres of the bürgerliches Trauerspiel, the Volksstück, epic theater, postdrama, and postmigratory theater, students also undertake experiments in drama pedagogy.
Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
What is German World Literature? This question highlights the relationship between the idea of a national literary tradition and a broader concept of literature that crosses linguistic, cultural, or national boundaries. This seminar focuses on theories of “world literature/s” and on primary literary texts written in German as examples of works that circulate through and reflect multiple cultural and linguistic contexts. How are the Grimm fairy tales mediated by Disney? What do we understand by the term “Kafkaesque”? Why did Goethe emulate the Persian poet Hafis? Do Senoçak’s readers in America contribute to a new idea of German or German-Turkish literature? Topics include the roles of translation, migration, economic and media globalization, nationalisms, and contemporary and historical transnational identities in shaping world literature written originally in German. Taught in German.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites: Two GERM 300-level courses Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements
Devoted to the honors project, this course must be taken in addition to the eight courses required for the major. Although it is a year-long course, students register for it once, in the spring semester of the senior year. See “Honors and High Honors,” on the department page.
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
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
GPEH 100 - Introduction to Global Public and Environmental Health
Introduces students to critical global health issues and ways to address or solve them. The curriculum focuses on the following global health topics: infectious and chronic diseases, maternal/child health, immigrant and refugee health, the relationship between political and cultural processes and health, factors contributing to disparate health outcomes in population groups and how to measure those outcomes. The course is divided into two parts. The first emphasizes the distribution and determinants of disease causation in global contexts utilizing skills and methods in the discipline of global health. The second examines some of the most pressing contemporary global health concerns and contextualizes those concerns in cross-cultural and historical knowledge.
Credits: 1.0 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts CORE: Global Engagements
The first semester of an introductory study of the elements of the Greek language. A thorough and methodical approach to the basics is supplemented, as students progress, by selected readings of works by ancient authors.
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
The second semester of an introductory study of the elements of the Greek language. A thorough and methodical approach to the basics is supplemented, as students progress, by selected readings of works by ancient authors.
Elementary-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
This intermediate-level course in the Greek language focuses on advanced grammar and syntax and on reading selections from a range of authors, e.g., Plato, Herodotus, Xenophon. Students increase their familiarity with Greek style while devoting attention to literary, historical, or philosophical analysis.
Credits: 1.00 Corequisite: None Prerequisites:GREK 122 or equivalent Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
An intermediate-level course in the Greek language with readings from one of the following poets: Sophocles, Homer, Euripides. Students increase their knowledge of Greek grammar and style and of the basic literary and technical aspects of Greek poetry.
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
GREK 295 - Intermediate-Level Greek Language Abroad
Intermediate-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
Close reading and study of one or more plays from the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, or Euripides. This course is designed to give students a wider appreciation of the genre of Greek tragedy as well as to increase their philological skills.
Studies at least one play of the Athenian comic poet Aristophanes. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the comedies of Aristophanes and Athenian tragedy, the language of Aristophanic comedy, and the social and political background of his works.
Close reading and study of selections from the Iliad or the Odyssey. Students, in addition to mastering the epic language, acquire a clearer sense of the place of the epics in Greek literary history.
Close reading and study of selections from the Histories of Herodotus, the so-called father of history. This course introduces students to the study of Greek historiography and the nature of Herodotean history.
Close reading and study of selections from the History of the Peloponnesian War of Thucydides, an astute political and historical analysis of the great conflict between Athens and Sparta that ended with the defeat of Athens. This course pays particular attention to the complex language of Thucydides and to his historiographical principles.
Translation and close study of selected dialogues of Plato. This course focuses on the importance of Plato’s Greek and the dialogues’ structure to the philosophical arguments of each work.
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
Advanced-level language courses taken abroad with a Colgate study group, an approved program, or in a foreign institution of higher learning.
Credits: 1 Prerequisites: None Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression Liberal Arts CORE: None
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
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
Teach modern Hebrew as spoken in Israel and are designed for students who are interested in developing oral and written Hebrew skills. The course is helpful to those who are interested in deeper knowledge of Jewish culture and wish to improve their knowledge of Hebrew for religious studies. Designed for students with no previous Hebrew background and students who have learned to read phonetically without comprehension.
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
Teach modern Hebrew as spoken in Israel and are designed for students who are interested in developing oral and written Hebrew skills. The course is helpful to those who are interested in deeper knowledge of Jewish culture and wish to improve their knowledge of Hebrew for religious studies. Designed for students who have completed
