(Offered as POSC 218 & ASLC 218) As one of the world’s great powers, China has had a profound impact on the developing world. Through financial, military, and political means, China has shaped the economies, cultures, and environments of nations throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This course examines the historical and political aspects of this influence with the aim of better understanding the implications of China’s global presence.
(Offered as POSC 201, SWAG 201, and LLAS 202) Drug trafficking is now a major aspect of international relations. This course approaches the international political economy of drug trafficking, from its trade routes on global markets to its influence in shaping nation-states. As governments declare “wars on drugs” from Colombia to the Philippines, narco-politics permeate local and national government, define international relations, and inspire pop culture.
Most humans live in territories that are controlled by a state. Why do different nations have different types of states? Why are some states more repressive than others, more war-prone than others, better promoters of development than others, more inclusive than others? How can we make sense of the varied reactions to state domination, ranging from active support to negotiated limits to apathy to vigorous contestation? Does globalization make states more or less democratic, more or less efficient, more or less able to promote development?
This introductory course to international relations explores the fundamental differences between the visions of world order promoted by the US and China and how these visions shape contemporary global politics. We will examine how China advances an international system built on state sovereignty and non-interference – principles that reflect its domestic priorities. In contrast, the United States envisions and promotes an international order founded on free markets.
Pandemics are not accidents. Pandemics develop non-randomly as pathogens exploit vulnerabilities in our political systems, markets, societies, and cultures. Each century has its own pandemics. In other words, pandemics hold up a mirror in which societies can see their true face. What did the Coronavirus pandemic show us about who we are? What vulnerabilities did it expose? What have we learned from it?
Same description as PHYS 498. A double course.
Requisite: PHYS 498. Spring semester. The Department.
How to handle overenrollment: null
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on independent research and writing.
Individual, independent work on some problem, usually in experimental physics. Reading, consultation and seminars, and laboratory work. Designed for honors candidates, but open to other advanced students with the consent of the department.
Requisite: PHYS 498. Spring semester. The Department.
How to handle overenrollment: null
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on independent research and writing.
Individual, independent work on some problem, usually in experimental physics. Reading, consultation and seminars, and laboratory work. Designed for honors candidates, but open to other advanced students with the consent of the department.
2024-2025 Fall semester. The Department.
How to handle overenrollment: null
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on independent research and writing.
The course is an elementary introduction to Einstein's theory of gravity and modern cosmology. After a brief review of the special theory of relativity, we will investigate vector and tensor fields in terms of their properties under changes of coordinates. We will study geometric ideas such as geodesics, parallel transport, and covariant differentiation, and present the Principle of Equivalence as the central physical principle behind Einstein's theory of gravity.
(Offered as PHYS 400, BIOL 400, BCBP 400, and CHEM 400) How do the physical laws that dominate our lives change at the small length and energy scales of individual molecules? What design principles break down at the sub-cellular level and what new chemistry and physics becomes important? We will answer these questions by looking at bio-molecules, cellular substructures, and control mechanisms that work effectively in the microscopic world. How can we understand both the static and dynamic shape of proteins using the laws of thermodynamics and kinetics?
