Students will construct a foundation of knowledge in plant structure and function (morphology and physiology). We will look briefly at plant evolution and then apply all of this to understand plant taxonomy: the identification, naming and classification of plants. In labs, we will focus on plant morphology and identification. All students will conduct a research project on some aspect of plants, and students at the 300-level will each conduct an independent study on a frontier in plant biology and lead a tutorial on the subject.

Students will construct a foundation of knowledge in plant structure and function (morphology and physiology). We will look briefly at plant evolution and then apply all of this to understand plant taxonomy: the identification, naming and classification of plants. In labs, we will focus on plant morphology and identification. All students will conduct a research project on some aspect of plants, and students at the 300-level will each conduct an independent study on a frontier in plant biology and lead a tutorial on the subject.

In this course, we will look at forest management systems around the world, from commercial forestry in government reserves in Bhutan to fallow forestry by smallholder farmers in the Amazon, any many others in between. We will look at these as socio-ecological systems, considering the ecology in the systems and the socio-economic factors and drivers of policy and management decisions. In the labs, we will take an in-depth look at forest management in the Northeast US and conduct fieldwork to contribute to the Hampshire College Forest Stewardship Plan.

Latin America has undergone massive transformations since the end of the Cold War. It was both the region that most fully embraced neoliberal, free market capitalism and then-through the election of Left and Left-leaning governments, often collectively referred to as the "Pink Tide"-became the region with the most significant response to these economic policies.

How does a place become part of our cultural memory and national heritage, even if we've never been there? In this interdisciplinary course we will draw on Anthropology, History, American Studies, Native American Studies, and other fields to explore how certain places and histories come to be important to an American national imaginary. We will engage social theories of place, memory, nationalism, settler colonialism, and decolonization to help us critically examine specific sites of national memory such as Plymouth Rock, Mt. Rushmore, and the Alamo.

Using virtual reality as an explorative tool, this class explores how culturally different theories of reality (metaphysics) exist in societies, objects and artifacts. This class is based on new anthropological research that explores how people's assumptions and beliefs about reality can dramatically affect daily life. Breaking from older world view approaches, the ontologically oriented anthropological research discussed in this class explores indigenous metaphysics and non traditional philosophies that resonate with quantum mechanics and new scientific theories of reality.

What is the relationship between settler colonialism, environmentalism, and indigenous peoples in the US? In this course we will examine how settler-colonial practices of indigenous erasure and dispossession made possible the rise environmental thought and activism in the US. We will consider how and why the specter of the "ecologically noble Indian," the ultimate environmental savior, haunts environmentalist movements and the effects of this image on indigenous peoples and their ongoing struggles to protect their lands and sovereignties.