(Offered as ENGL 274, BLST 274, and POSC 274) This course investigates how dictatorships take shape, operate in practice, and erode democratic life. Rather than simply cataloging authoritarian regimes, we will ask three guiding questions: How is the stage set for dictatorship? How do charisma, fear, and the cult of personality sustain authoritarian power? How do oppression, censorship and self-censorship, propaganda, and corruption deepen its hold?
(Offered as BLST 270[US] and HIST 270) All around us are examples of Americans misunderstanding slavery—framing slavery as beneficial to the enslaved, minimizing its significance, ignoring what historians describe as its “afterlives.” Failure to understand slavery has led to all sorts of problems, from ordinary citizens who do not know that power and wealth discrepancies are rooted in history, to more dangerous ones who enact violence on Black people motivated by racist ideas born during slavery.
(Offered as BLST 223 and RELI 223) This course explores the structure, beliefs, and practices of West African indigenous religions with an eye to their deeper philosophical and mystical meanings. We will examine several West African religions from the perspective of experts and practitioners who present the underlying philosophy of these traditions, exploring their epistemology (how knowledge works) and metaphysics (the nature of being).
(Offered as BIOL 450 and NEUR 450) Concentrating on reading and interpreting primary research, this course will focus on classic and soon-to-be classic neurophysiology papers. We will discuss the seminal experiments performed in the 1950s that led to our understanding of action potentials; experiments in the 1960s and 1970s that unlocked how synapses function; and more recent research that combines electrophysiology with optical methods and genetic techniques to investigate the role of many of the molecular components predicted by the work from the earlier decades.
(Offered as BIOL 371 and BCBP 371) A study of the molecular mechanisms underlying the transmission and expression of genes. DNA replication and recombination, RNA synthesis and processing, and protein synthesis and modification will be examined. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems will be analyzed, with an emphasis upon the regulation of gene expression. Application of modern molecular methods to biomedical and agricultural problems will also be considered. The laboratory component will focus upon recombinant DNA methodology.
(Offered as BIOL 371 and BCBP 371) A study of the molecular mechanisms underlying the transmission and expression of genes. DNA replication and recombination, RNA synthesis and processing, and protein synthesis and modification will be examined. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems will be analyzed, with an emphasis upon the regulation of gene expression. Application of modern molecular methods to biomedical and agricultural problems will also be considered. The laboratory component will focus upon recombinant DNA methodology.
(Offered as BIOL 313 and NEUR 313) How does the brain coordinate the relationship between hormones and social behaviors? To explore this question, the lecture portion of the course will address the foundational neuroendocrinological pathways such as the sex steroids, nonapeptides, and corticosteroids. We will read and discuss primary literature articles on how these pathways shape social behavior across domains including mate choice, reproduction, parenting, aggression, and stress.
(Offered as BIOL 313 and NEUR 313) How does the brain coordinate the relationship between hormones and social behaviors? To explore this question, the lecture portion of the course will address the foundational neuroendocrinological pathways such as the sex steroids, nonapeptides, and corticosteroids. We will read and discuss primary literature articles on how these pathways shape social behavior across domains including mate choice, reproduction, parenting, aggression, and stress.
(Offered as BIOL-255 and BCBP-255) Some animals develop protected within the body of a parent, while others spend their early hours developing in the abiotic environment. In all cases, embryos develop by integrating information inherited from their parents and signals from their immediate environment. How do factors like temperature, light, pH and mechanical inputs affect early stages of development? When and how does nutrition impact animal growth? Do co-inhabitants and symbiotic organisms play a role?
(Offered as BIOL-255 and BCBP-255) Some animals develop protected within the body of a parent, while others spend their early hours developing in the abiotic environment. In all cases, embryos develop by integrating information inherited from their parents and signals from their immediate environment. How do factors like temperature, light, pH and mechanical inputs affect early stages of development? When and how does nutrition impact animal growth? Do co-inhabitants and symbiotic organisms play a role?
