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 exploration of artistic creation through electronic imaging, manipulation, and rendering, with a focus on expressing ideas and crafting a cohesive visual narrative. Using various Adobe software, including but not limited to Photoshop, the course examines the integration of images, typography, motion, and artificial intelligence image generators to achieve continuity and structure. Various image output formats for print, screen, and adaptive surfaces are explored, along with the study of image capture, lighting, and processing techniques. The curriculum includes lectures and screenings that highlight the historical and contemporary applications of technology in artistic and socially relevant contexts within the realm of electronic imaging.

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. Students must attend lab during the first week in order to continue in the course. During certain weeks, students are required to come in outside of scheduled lab time for approximately one hour 3-4 days after the scheduled lab. Please plan your schedule accordingly.

This course has a required co-requisite laboratory: BIOC 219L/BISC 219L.

What can we learn from plants and ecosystems to sustainably grow food, source energy, and support people in a changing climate? This course will deepen your appreciation of plants and explore how plants grow, respond to change, and create resilient biological communities. We will apply an ecological lens toward understanding how humans can cultivate plants responsibly, whether caring for a houseplant, growing vegetables, or managing forests. Students will learn from diverse plants in the campus greenhouses and gardens, building scientific and horticultural skills through observation, experimentation and collaborative projects.

This course has a required co-requisite Laboratory - BISC 108L

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. Students must attend lab during the first week in order to continue in the course. During certain weeks, students are required to come in outside of scheduled lab time for approximately one hour 3-4 days after the scheduled lab. Please plan your schedule accordingly.

This course has a required co-requisite laboratory: BIOC 219L/BISC 219L.

An exploration of artistic creation through electronic imaging, manipulation, and rendering, with a focus on expressing ideas and crafting a cohesive visual narrative. Using various Adobe software, including but not limited to Photoshop, the course examines the integration of images, typography, motion, and artificial intelligence image generators to achieve continuity and structure. Various image output formats for print, screen, and adaptive surfaces are explored, along with the study of image capture, lighting, and processing techniques. The curriculum includes lectures and screenings that highlight the historical and contemporary applications of technology in artistic and socially relevant contexts within the realm of electronic imaging.

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.

CS 200 introduces students to Java, and the Object Oriented Model of programming with hands-on instruction and experience, using active learning pedagogical approaches. Students will gain knowledge and reinforcement in fundamental programming and programming-related skills, including problem decomposition into smaller and more manageable sub-problems, designing in the Object Oriented Model, programming in Java, practicing fundamental constructs like conditionals, looping, usage of basic Data Structures, as well as debugging and testing techniques. With successful completion of this course, students are expected to be independent programmers and learners, and effective team members.

CS 200 is for students who earned credit in one of the following CS 111, CS 111M, CS 111X, or CS 112, and who did not receive a recommendation to continue with CS 230.

Students will examine current research and practice in the teaching of English Language Learners, with a focus on secondary education. Students will explore challenges facing this diverse group of learners and how to build on the assets they bring to their classroom communities. Students will develop skills necessary to plan and promote discussion, engagement, and content mastery while supporting continued language development. Lesson planning will prioritize culturally relevant and responsive teaching while acquiring skills to analyze and adapt required teaching materials. Limited fieldwork observations are required either online or in person; more extensive fieldwork can be arranged. The course is structured to support students pursuing middle school and high school teacher licensure and meets requirements for a MA Department of Education endorsement in Sheltered English Immersion when MA Secondary Education certification requirements are completed. It is also applicable to students considering teaching abroad, teaching in urban schools, or pursuing any other work with emerging bilingual youth.

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.

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.

Most real-world systems that one may want to model, whether in the natural or in the social sciences, have many interdependent parameters. To apply calculus to these systems, we need to extend the ideas and techniques of single-variable Calculus to functions of more than one variable. Topics include vectors, matrices, determinants, polar, cylindrical, and spherical coordinates, curves, partial derivatives, gradients and directional derivatives, Lagrange multipliers, multiple integrals, vector calculus: line integrals, surface integrals, divergence, curl, Green's Theorem, Divergence Theorem, and Stokes’ Theorem.

Combinatorics is the art of counting possibilities: for instance, how many different ways are there to distribute 20 apples to 10 kids? Graph theory is the study of connected networks of objects. Both have important applications to many areas of mathematics and computer science. The course will be taught emphasizing creative problem-solving as well as methods of proof, such as proof by contradiction and induction. Topics include: selections and arrangements, generating functions, recurrence relations, graph coloring, Hamiltonian and Eulerian circuits, and trees.

In this course, the artform we will focus on is video games. They raise interesting questions about the relationships between real and virtual worlds or real and virtual identities. Aesthetic issues we will discuss include: What is distinctive about interactive artworks? Are video games artworks at all? Why do we enjoy failing? Why do we care about fictional events? Ethical issues include: Is it morally wrong to enjoy virtual killing? Why is virtual killing acceptable but not other virtual immorality? Can video games make us more empathetic? How do virtual acts carry over to how we behave in the real world?

Why is it that although the majority of cocoa is grown in Africa the most expensive chocolate is made in Europe? Why is it that the average cocoa farmer lives in poverty or earns just $2,000/year when the wealthiest chocolate and candy families are worth more than $10 billion? During the course of this semester, we will study the supply chain from natural resource extraction to final project and investigate the politics that allow for inequalities as well as the progress that has been made. Therefore, this course will examine the sociohistorical legacy of chocolate, with a delicious emphasis on the eating and appreciation of the so-called “food of the gods.” Interdisciplinary course readings will introduce the history of cacao cultivation, the present-day state of the global chocolate industry, the diverse cultural constructions surrounding chocolate, and the implications for chocolate’s future in terms of scientific study, international politics, alternative trade models, and the food movement. Assignments will address pressing real-world questions related to chocolate consumption, social justice, responsible development, honesty and the politics of representation in production and marketing, hierarchies of quality, and myths of purity.

An introduction to some of the major subfields of psychology, such as developmental, personality, clinical, physiological, cognitive, cultural, and social psychology. Students will explore various theoretical perspectives and research methods used by psychologists to study the origins and variations in human behavior.

An examination of major psychological disorders with special emphasis on phenomenology. Behavioral treatment of anxiety-based disorders, cognitive treatment of depression, psychoanalytic therapy of personality disorders, and biochemical treatment of schizophrenia will receive special attention. Other models of psychopathology will also be discussed.

This course is intended to provide students with the skills necessary to digest, critique, and express every-day statistics and to use statistical thinking to answer questions in their own lives. Students will be exposed to and produce descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency & spread, as well as common visual representations of data. The bulk of the class will be devoted to giving students the tools needed to analyze and critique statistical claims, including an understanding of the dangers of confounding variables and bias, the advantages and limitations of various study designs and statistical inference, and how to carefully read and parse claims which attempt to use numbers to sway their audience. The class will examine this material in authentic contexts such as political polling, medical decision making, online dating, and personal finance. This course is primarily aimed at students whose majors do not require mathematics or statistics.

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 investigates why certain problems become matters of significant public and policymaking concern while others do not. We do not focus on a predefined list of social problems but rather on the process by which some issues capture more attention than others. Our discussions analyze the actions of those institutions involved either in calling public attention to or distracting public attention away from particular problems in our society. This focus enables students to acquire a perspective toward social problems that they are unlikely to gain from the many other forums where people discuss social problems, such as journalism or politics.

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.

Topic for Summer 2025:

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.

This course is intended to provide students with the skills necessary to digest, critique, and express every-day statistics and to use statistical thinking to answer questions in their own lives. Students will be exposed to and produce descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency & spread, as well as common visual representations of data. The bulk of the class will be devoted to giving students the tools needed to analyze and critique statistical claims, including an understanding of the dangers of confounding variables and bias, the advantages and limitations of various study designs and statistical inference, and how to carefully read and parse claims which attempt to use numbers to sway their audience. The class will examine this material in authentic contexts such as political polling, medical decision making, online dating, and personal finance. This course is primarily aimed at students whose majors do not require mathematics or statistics.

Imagine you are the designer for an immersive visual production that takes place in Harlem, New York in the 1920's. The buildings, art, clothing, lighting and sounds of the neighborhood must be recreated to transport the audience to another time and place. In this course you will work individually or in groups to create complete environments representing periods and cultures such as the Harlem Renaissance or the French Art Nouveau. Students will be introduced to a range of major artistic styles throughout history and interpret those in to a set, lighting, costume and sound design. This is a project based course that culminates in an immersive digital exhibit.

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. 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.

Introduction to the interdisciplinary field of women's and gender studies with an emphasis on an understanding of the "common differences" that both unite and divide women. Beginning with an examination of how womanhood has been represented in myths, ads, and popular culture, the course explores how gender inequalities have been both explained and critiqued. The cultural meaning given to gender as it intersects with race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality will be studied. This course also exposes some of the critiques made by women's studies' scholars of the traditional academic disciplines and the new intellectual terrain currently being mapped.