With readings, documentary films, discussions, and lectures, this course will examine the complex spiritual beliefs and expressions of peoples of African descent in Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and North America. The course surveys African diasporic religions such as Candomble, Santeria, Voodoo, Shango, and African American religions. Attention will be paid to how diasporic Africans practice religion for self-definition, community building, and sociocultural critique, and for reshaping the religious and cultural landscapes of the Americas.

This course will provide an overview of the theoretical ways in which the topic of food can be addressed from an anthropological perspective. We will examine the role food plays in shaping identity, gender construction, and the co-evolution of human food practices and society. The seminar will ask students to engage with food and foodways in their own surroundings and think about the way food is a source of nutrition, a focus of individual life, and a mechanism of labor. This course will draw upon readings from the various sub-fields of Anthropology (socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology) and thus also serve as an introduction to the discipline.

The goal of the course is to develop an understanding of the fundamental principles of genetics at the molecular, cellular, organismal and population levels. The course establishes a link between the generation of genetic variants through mutation and recombination, their patterns of inheritance, interactions between genes to produce complex phenotypes, and the maintenance of such genetic variation in natural populations. The course also explores principles of genome organization and the mechanisms that regulate gene expression. Other topics include: DNA sequencing and the use of genomic data to address questions in genetics, comparing and contrasting genetic regulation strategies across the three domains of life, and exploring experimental approaches for addressing genetic questions. Laboratory investigation will expose students to the fundamentals of genetics including transmission, molecular, and computational techniques for genetic analysis.

This course focuses on human anatomy, physiology, and evolution. Lecture topics will include: human origins and evolution; the structure and function of the major physiological systems; exercise physiology; and human genetics. Laboratories explore human physiology, focusing on the development and application of skills in experimental design, statistical analysis, and scientific writing.

The goal of the course is to develop an understanding of the fundamental principles of genetics at the molecular, cellular, organismal and population levels. The course establishes a link between the generation of genetic variants through mutation and recombination, their patterns of inheritance, interactions between genes to produce complex phenotypes, and the maintenance of such genetic variation in natural populations. The course also explores principles of genome organization and the mechanisms that regulate gene expression. Other topics include: DNA sequencing and the use of genomic data to address questions in genetics, comparing and contrasting genetic regulation strategies across the three domains of life, and exploring experimental approaches for addressing genetic questions. Laboratory investigation will expose students to the fundamentals of genetics including transmission, molecular, and computational techniques for genetic analysis.

Introduction to artistic production through electronic imaging, manipulation, and output. Emphasis on expression, continuity, and sequential structuring of visuals through the integration of image, text, and motion. Image output for print, screen, and adaptive surfaces are explored in conjunction with production techniques of image capture, lighting, and processing. Lectures and screenings of historic and contemporary uses of technology for artistic and social application of electronic imaging.

Topics covered include: stereochemistry, synthesis and reactions of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alkyl halides, alcohols and ethers, nomenclature of organic functional groups, IR, and GC/MS.

Achilles' heel, the Trojan Horse, Pandora's Box, an Oedipal complex, a Herculean task-themes and figures from classical mythology continue to play an important role in our everyday life. We will read the original tales of classical heroes and heroines as depicted by Homer, the Greek tragedians, Vergil, Ovid, and others. Why do these stories continue to engage, entertain, and even shock us? What is the nature and power of myth? Readings from ancient sources in English translation.

Human-Computer Interaction is one of the areas that have transformed the way we use computers in the last 30 years. Topics include methodology for designing and testing user interfaces, interaction styles (command line, menus, graphical user interfaces, virtual reality, tangible user interfaces), interaction techniques (including use of voice, gesture, eye movements), design guidelines, and user interface software tools. Students will design a user interface, program a prototype, and test the results for usability.

An introduction to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of quantitative data as used to understand problems in economics and sociology. Using examples drawn from these fields, this course focuses on basic concepts in probability and statistics, such as measures of central tendency and dispersion, hypothesis testing, and parameter estimation. Data analysis exercises are drawn from both academic and everyday applications.

This seminar will focus upon children and youth as both objects and subjects within societies. Beginning with consideration of the social construction of childhood, the course will examine the images, ideas, and expectations that constitute childhoods in various historical and cultural contexts. We will also consider the roles of children as social actors who contribute to and construct social worlds of their own. Specific topics to be covered include the historical development of childhood as a distinct phase of life, children's peer cultures, children and work, children's use of public spaces, children's intersectional experiences of inequality, and the effects of consumer culture upon children. Considerable attention will be given to the dynamics of the social institutions most directly affecting childhood today: the family, education, and the state.

English 120 introduces students to a level of interpretative sophistication and techniques of analysis essential not just in literary study but in all courses that demand advanced engagement with language. In active discussions, sections perform detailed readings of poetry drawn from a range of historical periods, with the aim of developing an understanding of the richness and complexity of poetic language and of connections between form and content, text and cultural and historical context. The reading varies from section to section, but all sections involve learning to read closely and to write persuasively and elegantly. Required of English majors and minors.

A workshop in the writing of the short story; emphasis on class discussion of student writing, with reference to older and contemporary established examples of the genre.

Alexander the Great murdered the man who saved his life, married a Bactrian princess, and dressed like Dionysus. He also conquered the known world by the age of 33, fused the Eastern and Western populations of his empire, and became a god. This course will examine the personality, career, and achievements of the greatest warrior in history.

An examination of the principal characteristics of the search for identity and independence of the emerging Latin American nations as expressed in literary, historical, and anthropological writing. We will examine the experience of each of four distinct regions: Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean, the Andean countries, and the Southern Cone. Readings will include the works of contemporary Latin American writers, filmmakers, and historians. Special attention will be given to the relationship between social issues and the evolution of literary form.

The course begins with applications and techniques of integration. It probes notions of limit and convergence and adds techniques for finding limits. Half of the course covers infinite sequences and series, where the basic question is, What meaning can we attach to a sum with infinitely many terms and why might we care? The course can help students improve their ability to reason abstractly and also teaches important computational techniques. Topics include integration techniques, l'Hôpital's rule, improper integrals, geometric and other applications of integration, infinite series, power series, and Taylor series. MATH 116 is the appropriate first course for many students who have had AB calculus in high school.

This course is designed to examine the degree to which a function can be determined by an algebraic relationship it has with its derivative(s) --- a so-called ordinary differential equation (ODE). For instance, can one completely catalog all functions which equal their own derivative? In service of developing techniques for solving certain classes of differential equations, some fundamental notions from linear algebra and complex numbers are presented.  Differential equation topics include modeling with and solving first- and second-order ODEs, separable ODEs, and a discussion of higher order and non-linear ODEs; linear algebra topics include solving systems via elementary row operations, bases, dimension, determinants, column space, and eigenvalues/vectors.

The application of statistical concepts and techniques to the analysis of research data in psychological science. As one of the two prerequisites for the research methods course required for the psychology major, emphasis is placed on hands-on work with real data. Students will learn to select, conduct, interpret, visualize, write up, read, and evaluate analyses. The course has an accompanying lab component. Students must register for a lecture and lab at the same time.

With readings, documentary films, discussions, and lectures, this course will examine the complex spiritual beliefs and expressions of peoples of African descent in Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and North America. The course surveys African diasporic religions such as Candomble, Santeria, Voodoo, Shango, and African American religions. Attention will be paid to how diasporic Africans practice religion for self-definition, community building, and sociocultural critique, and for reshaping the religious and cultural landscapes of the Americas.

An introduction to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of quantitative data as used to understand problems in economics and sociology. Using examples drawn from these fields, this course focuses on basic concepts in probability and statistics, such as measures of central tendency and dispersion, hypothesis testing, and parameter estimation. Data analysis exercises are drawn from both academic and everyday applications.

This course explores the powerful roles that technology plays in contemporary social life and suggests that some of the impacts that our ever-greater reliance on, and faith in, technology might have upon our lives. The course begins with a critical overview of the heralded promises that technology often carries; here, we explore some of the undersides of so-called "technological progress." The remainder of the course examines a variety of salient contemporary issues concerning the social implications of technological change.

Practice in oral and written Spanish at the advanced level. Designed to enhance communicative competence, this course will provide an intensive review of advanced grammatical structures within cultural contexts of the Spanish-speaking world. Each section will explore a specific theme through the examination of Hispanic literary texts and the arts, as well as other cultural phenomena. Varied oral interactions, technological applications, and critical writing will be stressed.

Topics for Summer 2023: Culture, Politics, and Creativity

This course studies cultural expressions as invigorating glimpses into socio-political realities of Latin America and Spain. We will explore how writers, film directors, poets, and artists respond to social demands, political changes, and cultural shifts in particular times, places, and communities. Selected works engage students with diverse cultural repertoires of the Hispanic world in interdisciplinary ways. We will spotlight the relationship between political violence and literature in Argentina and Chile; displacement and photography in Spain and Uruguay; domestic workers and film in Mexico and Peru; education and artistic activism in El Salvador and Nicaragua; and exile and poetry in Cuba and Paraguay.

Have you ever considered what goes into creating the costumes for your favorite characters? This is your chance to try it yourself! Over the course of the term you will read scripts, do visual research, design for different characters, and learn drawing and hand sewing techniques (sewing supplies will be provided). The main focus is on developing design ideas for different circumstances and enhancing how to communicate them. This is an immersive production class, taught by a professional costume designer.

This course will examine the recent, dramatic rise in the numbers of women writing and publishing the essay. This new wave of literary production, driven in part by the spirit of the #metoo movement, has inspired Cheryl Strayed to call it the essay’s “golden age.” Through studying the works of contemporary prose writers, we will explore the causes and effects of this phenomenon. We will also investigate how women are using and re-shaping the essay to foreground female experience and to confront difficult topics such as rape, harassment, abuse, and the silencing that so often surrounds those experiences. This rise in women’s voices is changing our literary and social landscape, and it is even shifting the form of the essay itself. Students will study this movement and contribute to it through their own writing.

Wellesley Online courses are designed to be highly interactive and encourage group discussion; they require participation through live online class meetings throughout the semester, as well as work in a collaborative environment.