Critical introduction to American welfare programs, past and present. Analysis of why programs change over time and of the effects of those changes on the people that welfare purports to "help."

Contrary to the associations with superheroes and children at play, comics can demonstrate a sophisticated use of visual language that can illuminate relationships between seemingly unrelated concepts. This course will explore comics as a unique and robust communication form, with an emphasis on understanding comics by the process of "making." We will take a multifaceted approach to analyzing the medium, from examining the various genres across the globe, to delving into the formal elements and interdisciplinary connections.

This course examines the use of diagnostic laboratory procedures in the field of hematology, blood chemistries, urinalysis, and cytology. Lectures will make use of online work in addition to in person and will cover the theories on which the tests are based and the correlation of the laboratory results with pathological conditions. The collection, handling, and storage of laboratory specimens and general laboratory management procedures including safety and quality control, will be discussed.

How does your life intersect with plants? In this seminar we will engage this question using essays, popular media, and our own observations to illuminate historical and contemporary connections between plants and humans. Inside the classroom and in the outdoors, we will carefully examine our own plant awareness, develop our critical thinking, and challenge our perceptions of the impacts and roles of plants throughout human history.

In this class, students will acquire hands-on experience in diverse aspects of the research process in any field of Biology, from familiarizing themselves with a research topic, generating interesting questions, designing experiments, acquiring technical skills, collecting and analyzing data, to writing and/or presenting their results. To inquire about enrollment, students should fill out the application survey available on the departmental website or on my.mtholyoke.

In this class, students will acquire hands-on and/or applied experience in diverse aspects of the research process in any field of Chemistry under the direction and supervision of a faculty advisor. Typically, these projects are related to the research program of the advisor. Student experiences often include: familiarizing themselves with a research topic, generating interesting questions, designing experiments, acquiring technical and instrumentation skills, collecting and analyzing data, writing and/or presenting their results.

Offered as SDS 109 and CSC 109. The world is growing increasingly reliant on collecting and analyzing information to help people make decisions. Because of this, the ability to communicate effectively about data is an important component of future job prospects across nearly all disciplines. In this course, students learn the foundations of information visualization and sharpen their skills in communicating using data. This course explores concepts in decision-making, human perception, color theory and storytelling as they apply to data-driven communication.