Natural Sciences 191CNS11 - FYS - Secret Lives of Animals

Do animals think? Do they have individual personalities, like humans? Do they have self-awareness, and awareness of the mental lives of others? Can they plan for the future? For many years, biologists avoided investigating such questions, but more recently, researchers have devised clever experimental approaches that have yielded surprising insights. In this class, we'll explore some of this research. As part of the FYS program, we'll also spend some time introducing you to some resources here at UMass, and will discuss strategies for success in this and your other classes.

Open to first year students in the Natural Sciences, SPHHS, and Engineering exploratory tracks and first year students with majors in the colleges of Natural Science, Public Health, and Engineering.