In this course you will learn to recognize the common rock-forming minerals and principal rock types, and to understand their origins, properties, associations, and geological significance. Observational skills and hand sample identification will be emphasized in lab and on field trips. Students must have either a one-year high school earth science class or any 100- or 200-level geology course or Geography 107.

Because more than seventy percent of our planet is covered by oceans, the study of marine systems is crucial to our understanding of the Earth. In this course, we will examine chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes in the oceans at a variety of scales in time and space. We will explore how the Earth's oceans formed, how they provided the foundations for life, and how they continue to affect weather and climate, stabilize global chemical cycles, interact with the terrestrial environment, and give us access to resources.

The only planet known to sustain life, Earth provides all the resources that sustain us, yet it can be an unpredictable and sometimes dangerous home. Floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural processes challenge our ingenuity, while we also contend with self-induced problems such as pollution, desertification, and even global climate change. This course examines earth processes, how these affect our lives, and how we can best live with and sustain our environment.

This course provides support and mentoring for geology and geography majors as they pursue internships, summer jobs, independent research, and careers. Experiences will include: resume and communication workshops; self-reflection and sharing opportunities for students returning from internships, work experiences, and semesters abroad; guidance on preparing for, selecting, and applying to graduate school; information about careers in education and teacher licensure; and discussion of new research in geology and geography.

The voluntary and involuntary movement of people around the globe is the focus of this course on migrations, refugees, and diasporas. Questions of borders, nativism, transnationalism, the global economy, and legality thread through this course as we consider the many social, cultural, environmental, economic, and political factors shaping decisions to leave a home or homeland. Historical and contemporary case studies, compelling theoretical texts, and geographic perspectives on these topics collectively animate our discussions.

A systematic introduction to the processes operating on the surface of the earth, their spatial variation and their contribution to the spatial patterning of life on earth. The course stresses interactions among the earth's energy balance, weather, ecological resources and human impacts on environmental systems.

This course surveys the major geographic regions of the world in terms of environmental features and resource distributions, economic mainstays, population characteristics, cultural processes, social relationships, and patterns of urbanization and industrial growth. In addition to these topical foci, we use various sub-fields of geography to animate different regions. This approach provides a sense of depth while we also pursue a breadth of knowledge about the world.

Images et Patrimoine: In this multimedia course students learn to decode images and study the social and historical context of French art and architecture: Medieval tapestries, Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, Renaissance castles, Classic and Rococo art, and nineteenth century schools of painting. Students give in-class presentations and write essays about notable French landmarks. The purpose of such inquiry is to revisit the past and see how it has affected contemporary French society. All course material is online.