In this course we explore ways in which communication and culture are intertwined, focusing on cultural and social variability in patterns of perception, interaction, and meaning making. Topical foci include implications of subjectivity for communication; types of meaning in language and interaction; cultural and ritual organization of talk; language socialization; interethnic and intercultural communication; and gender and interaction. (Gen.Ed. SB, DU)

This course examines policies, laws and regulations affecting legacy and digital media, including media ownership, universal service, intellectual property, advertising, online privacy, free speech, media diversity and digital content creation. Students are introduced to practices of public interest advocacy and media technology policy-making in the U.S.

Course topics: fundamentals of Fourier theory and its application to speech signals, parameterization of the speech signal for automatic and human speech recognition, state space models for speech recognition and connections to human language parsing, fundamentals of machine learning applied to supervised learning of sound categories.

This course examines evolutionary biology with an emphasis on the scientific basis of evolution, and attention to the implications of evolutionary thought in contemporary society. Not intended for life-science majors. (Gen.Ed. BS)

For non-science majors; not for Biology major credit. Designed to provide non-science majors with the basic scientific knowledge that an informed citizen requires to develop thoughtful positions on sometimes controversial questions related to medical ethics, environmental degradation, cloning, biotechnology, STDs, and education.(Gen.Ed. BS)

There are a mind-boggling 400,000 species of plants on earth, with new species discovered every year. Plants have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to efficiently capture the sun's energy and cycle oxygen in the atmosphere. How did this diversity come to be, and why are plants so varied in form and function? Explore the plants of the world in a hands-on laboratory setting using live temperate and tropical plants from the UMass greenhouses and forests. You will use this new-found knowledge to study your favorite plant in an independent project for the web.

Mechanisms underlying organ system function in vertebrates; nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, digestive, excretory, reproductive systems.

Our first goal in this course will be to examine the mechanisms that underlie the expression of behavior. For example, how do predators locate prey, how do animals avoid becoming prey, and how do animals navigate through their worlds? To help answer these questions we will apply neurobiological, hormonal, genetic, and developmental perspectives. Our next goal in the course will be to examine the evolutionary bases of behavior, asking for example why animals move, forage, hide, communicate, and socialize as they do.

Our first goal in this course will be to examine the mechanisms that underlie the expression of behavior. For example, how do predators locate prey, how do animals avoid becoming prey, and how do animals navigate through their worlds? To help answer these questions we will apply neurobiological, hormonal, genetic, and developmental perspectives. Our next goal in the course will be to examine the evolutionary bases of behavior, asking for example why animals move, forage, hide, communicate, and socialize as they do.

Our first goal in this course will be to examine the mechanisms that underlie the expression of behavior. For example, how do predators locate prey, how do animals avoid becoming prey, and how do animals navigate through their worlds? To help answer these questions we will apply neurobiological, hormonal, genetic, and developmental perspectives. Our next goal in the course will be to examine the evolutionary bases of behavior, asking for example why animals move, forage, hide, communicate, and socialize as they do.