Throughout history individuals with radically new ideas and perspectives have been considered ?mad scientists.? The mad scientist has also been a popular character in literature and film, often appearing as a hero or antihero. In this
course we will examine some of these historical and fictional figures from German-language regions. We will ask how and why the mad scientist is such a common theme, and examine how individuals come to be designated as mad

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction, also known as the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, occurred 66 million years ago and is one of the ?Big Five? mass extinctions in Earth history. The two leading hypotheses to account for the rapid and widespread loss of many terrestrial and marine organisms are: 1) impact by an asteroid, and/or 2) massive volcanism. An impact crater dating to the K/Pg event is preserved at the northernmost tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and fallout deposits from the impact are global and coincide with mass extinction.

This course is designed to introduce students to the ways in which the medium of film
participates in efforts towards social change across the global landscape. You will gain an
understanding of the relationship between artistic expression, culturally-specific context,
societal impact, and political efficacy in films addressing social change. We will look at the documentary film as a form of "intelligence work" (Kahana) in culture and a "social

There is no more powerful way to show that we know something well than to draw a visual of it. But due to our
dependence on technology and a preference for typing words, we rarely take the time to create something with our
hands. In this class, we will make the time. We will discuss, analyze, and reflect on how visuals help us remember and
understand information for class and why certain visual thinking frameworks work well for particular purposes. And
we will answer the questions: How can visuals help us notice patterns in our behavior, learn more about UMass

This first year seminar will explore the topic of CRISPR, a relatively new gene editing tool. With CRISPR comes the potential for great strides in medicine such as gene therapy, as well as potential ethical concerns such as with the creation of gene edited human beings. We will explore the science of ?how? and ?what? CRISPR can do as well as the ethics associated with whether we ?should? utilize CRISPR in certain scenarios.

Genes that cause some common human diseases can provide an advantage under certain scenarios (e.g. sickle cell trait in areas with high prevalence of malaria) or remain in a population because they are associated to some other advantageous trait (e.g. high levels of uric acid, like those found in patients with gout, might slow aging or tumor growth). Some others, like those associated to metabolic syndrome, seem to be remnants of our adaptation to an ancestral environment. There are numerous examples of how the application of evolutionary principles has enhanced the treatment of disease.

This course examines the movement of food from seed to table. Participants explore food systems and specific food related issues that impact health of communities. Among the topics we'll cover are: examining the economic and political decisions that frame our industrial food chain: production, processing, marketing, distribution. We will also explore sustainable agriculture, food justice, hunger, health, food security, school food systems and school gardens, Community Supported Agriculture, farmers' markets, small-scale farming and homesteading.

An examination of the historical, legal, and political issues relating to the American "War on Terrorism." Discussions and readings will include the war on al Qaeda and ISIS, domestic terrorism, restrictions on immigration and Presidential emergency powers, executive and legislative war powers, the laws of war in regard to drones and robots, and the use of torture. Past topics have also included using military and diplomatic power to promote democracy, criminal actions against terrorists, FISA, wiretapping and the NSA, and a debate on the actions of Edward Snowden.

Examination of the ecology of the classroom. Typical topics include a historical perspective of research on teaching, research on effects of teaching, teachers' knowledge, research on teaching specific subjects and grade levels, and responding to students' alternative conceptions of subject matter.