(Offered as BIOL 251 and BCBP 251) A study of the molecular mechanisms underlying the transmission and expression of genes. DNA replication and recombination, RNA synthesis and processing, and protein synthesis and modification will be examined. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems will be analyzed, with an emphasis upon the regulation of gene expression. Application of modern molecular methods to biomedical and agricultural problems will also be considered. The laboratory component will focus upon recombinant DNA methodology.

Independent Reading Course.

Fall and spring semesters. The Department.

The same basic laws describe stars and planets. We will learn about equations of state as well as radiative and convective heat transport in order to understand the steady-state structure of stellar and planetary interiors and atmospheres. We will then see how waves propagate through these bodies, producing stellar pulsations, earthquakes, and weather.

Requisite: MATH 121 and PHYS 124 or 117.  Fall semester.  Visiting Professor Stage.

An introduction to the cosmos, with an emphasis on modern theories and observations. We'll discuss the nature and evolution of stars, our Milky Way Galaxy, external galaxies, black holes, and the origin and fate of the universe itself. The emphasis will be on conceptual, as contrasted with mathematical, comprehension, making this an excellent opportunity for non-science majors. Two 80-minute sessions per week.

Not open to upper-division students majoring in the physical sciences.  Fall semester.  Visiting Professor Stage.

Independent Reading Course.

Fall and spring semesters.  Members of the Department.

(Offered as HIST 489 [ME] and ASLC 489.) The Ottoman Empire underwent a process of intense reform in the nineteenth century. Reformers were determined to strengthen their countries’ sovereignty vis-à-vis increasingly aggressive European imperial powers and embarked on a series of measures designed to improve their economies, political institutions and militaries. European institutions served as one important source of inspiration for Ottoman reformers.

(Offered as HIST 475 [AS] and ASLC 475.) The practice of history has been reshaped over several decades by a series of theoretical turns that cut across the humanities: the cultural turn, the linguistic turn, and transnational turn. Historians now grapple with a number of "posts" (post-structuralism, post-modernism, post-colonialism), "news" (the new imperial history, the new humanities, the new environmental history) and "criticals" (critical regionalism, critical race studies, critical Asian studies) as we read, write, and teach history.