This course examines the following key texts from the ancient world that treat significantly the problem of knowing God and the mystery enveloping such knowledge: Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Plato's Phaedo, Cicero's Concerning the Nature of the Gods, Job, Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and others. Attention is also given to the different ways of thinking about the divine and human natures in these works, which are broadly reflective of Graeco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian value systems.

This course encompasses a broad range of concepts central to our understanding of how organisms function and evolve. We will investigate important biological processes, such as photosynthesis and metabolism, and systems, such as the cardiovascular and immune systems. We will also take a holistic view of biology and use our newly acquired knowledge to explore such diverse topics as: the evolution of infectious diseases, the consequences of development and design on the evolution of organisms, and how the physiology and behavior of animals might affect their responses to global climate change.

Developmental biology is a topic full of fantastic questions: how does a single egg transform into an organism with many cells and tissue types? What controls gene expression? What is the interplay between environmental signal and plant hormones? In this course plant and animal development will be studied at the level of genes, cells and tissues, in model organisms such as sea urchins, ferns, chicks and lilies. The laboratory is at the heart of the course, and classwork is designed around the live material students will meet each week.

This course offers plant identification and natural history, emphasizing native and introduced trees and wildflowers. On- and off-campus field trips.