Independent Study
Not available at this time
Fourth-Year Russian I
This course is designed for advanced students of Russian and heritage speakers seeking to improve their proficiency in the language. The course prioritizes the development of communicative skills in speech, writing, reading, and general cultural competency. The examination of cultural, social, and historical issues, as well as study of advanced syntax, grammar, register, and style, is based on authentic texts from a variety of sources, including fiction, journalism, memoirs, historical documents, and cinema.
Meaning & Truth
This course is an introduction to central topics and debates in classic and contemporary philosophy of language. What is the relation between thought, language and reality? What kinds of things are accomplished with words? Is there anything significant about the definite article "the"? How does meaning accrue to proper names? Is speaker meaning the same as the public, conventional (semantic) meaning of words? Is there a distinction between metaphorical and literal language? This course also considers contemporary topics such as silencing speech, slurs, and misleading speech.
Aesthetics&Philosophy of Art
This course focuses on two overlapping clusters of philosophical questions. The course considers aesthetic problems like: What is beauty? How does one experience it, and where—in nature, in art, in ordinary objects and activities? Are there objective standards for aesthetic judgments? In philosophy of art, the course considers problems like: What makes something a work of art? What is art for? Do artists have moral responsibilities, and can art cultivate our moral sensibilities? Readings are from worldwide philosophical traditions.
Materials Chemistry
This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of materials from a chemist's viewpoint. Students learn fundamentals of solid state chemistry as well as techniques used to synthesize and characterize materials (including crystalline and amorphous solids as well as thin films). These concepts are applied to current topics in materials chemistry, culminating in a final paper and oral presentation on a topic of each student's choice. Prerequisites: CHM 224 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20.
Sam Albury
Primary Title:
Departmental Assistant
Institution:
UMASS Amherst
Department:
Physics
Email Address:
salbury@umass.edu
Look Ma, No Hands
Look Ma, No Hands: An introductory design class focused on assistive technology: We will learn about some of the practical and ordinary problems faced by individuals who do not have full use of their hands or arms, then design, fabricate and collaboratively design assistive devices. Projects may be for children, or adults with temporary injuries/conditions or ongoing physical disabilities. We will also examine the concept of "Universal Design" - designing in a way that gracefully accommodates the range of human experience.
The Science of Space and Time
What are space and time? This course will follow the evolution of the scientific understanding of these concepts which are so fundamental to our experience of the world and of ourselves. Our journey will trace the intellectual paths of philosophers and physicists who grappled with these questions, including Aristotle, Newton, and Einstein, taking us from the conceptions of space and time familiar from our daily experiences to the modern understanding of four-dimensional spacetime as described by the special theory of relativity.
Steve Westerduin
Primary Title:
Aso Dir Athl Fac/Oper/Events
Institution:
UMASS Amherst
Department:
Athletic Department
Email Address:
swesterduin@umass.edu