A calculus-based introduction to the properties, structure, formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. The laws of gravity, thermal physics and atomic physics provide a basis for understanding observed properties of stars, interstellar gas and dust. We apply these concepts to develop an understanding of stellar atmospheres, interiors and evolution, the interstellar medium, and the Milky Way and other galaxies. Prerequisites: two semesters of college-level physics and second-semester calculus.

Topics course.: This seminar explores the intersection of physical science, social science, psychology, politics and the environment. How do scientists, decision makers and the public communicate with each other, and how can scientists do it better? What should the scientist’s role be in advocacy and social movements? How does scientific information influence lifestyle and behavior choices among the public?

An introduction to observational astronomy for students who have taken or are currently taking a physical science class. Become proficient using the telescopes of the McConnell Rooftop observatory to observe celestial objects, including the Moon, the Sun, the planets, stars, nebulae and galaxies. Learn celestial coordinate and time-keeping systems. Find out how telescopes and digital cameras work. Take digital images of celestial objects and learn basic techniques of digital image processing. Become familiar with measuring and classification techniques in observational astronomy.

This course explores the astronomical roots of clocks and calendars, and relies on both real and simulated observations of the Sun, Moon and stars. In addition to completing weekly projects based on collecting and interpreting data, students independently research a clock and a calendar from another culture, either ancient or modern. There are no prerequisites, and students from all disciplines and backgrounds are welcome. Enrollment limited to 25 per section.

This course explores the astronomical roots of clocks and calendars, and relies on both real and simulated observations of the Sun, Moon and stars. In addition to completing weekly projects based on collecting and interpreting data, students independently research a clock and a calendar from another culture, either ancient or modern. There are no prerequisites, and students from all disciplines and backgrounds are welcome. Enrollment limited to 25 per section.

With more than 80 percent of its population based in rural areas, China is usually viewed as a primarily agrarian society. However, economic reforms in the past 20 years have brought about dramatic growth in China’s urban areas. This course examines the conceptualization of urban and rural China in terms of political and economic processes and social relations from the Communist revolution in 1949 to the present day.

Landscapes have long figured as a backdrop for anthropological studies, but recently the landscape has emerged as an object of deeper interest. From abandoned city blocks in Detroit, the shores of Walden Pond, the savannas of Eastern Africa, or the Chernobyl exclusion zone, landscapes are potent social and material phenomena. In this course, we explore theories of landscape from different disciplinary perspectives, and then use them to think through the ways that landscapes present themselves to anthropologists and their subjects.

This course is a general introduction to the relationship between indigenous societies and the state in Mesoamerica. Taking a broad historical perspective, we explore the rise of native state-level societies, the transformations that marked the process of European colonization, and the relationship of local indigenous communities to post-colonial states and transnational social movements. Texts used in the course place special emphasis on continuities and changes in language, social organization, cosmology and identity that have marked the historical experience of native groups in the region.

Death, the “supreme and final crisis of life” (Malinowski), calls for collective understandings and communal responses. What care is due to the dying? What indicates that death has occurred? How is the corpse to be handled? The course uses ethnographic and historical sources to indicate how human communities have answered these questions, and to determine just how unusual are the circumstances surrounding dying in the contemporary Western world. Enrollment limited to 30.

In Western discourses, African environments are defined by violence, famine, and degradation—symptoms of African cultures that resist Western values such as private property, democracy, and environmentalism. This course encourages students to think critically about such portrayals by learning about specific environments in Africa and how humans have interacted with them across time. The syllabus is anchored in cultural anthropology, but includes units on human evolution, the origins and spread of pastoralism, the history of colonial conservation science, and more.