Topics course. This course explores matter as the spiritual economy of art in Italy from ca. 1550 to ca. 1750 and thereby challenges prevailing conventional historical and art-historical assumptions that the period is best understood as an articulation of liturgy, the Council of Trent, or the ?Counter Reformation.? How were associations between matter and the holy understood, contested and redefined? How were relationships between materiality and spirituality explored?

This course examines the Western Traditions in art through a selection of key buildings, images and objects created from the prehistoric era, the ancient Middle East, Egypt, Greece and Rome, Byzantium and medieval times through the Romanesque and Gothic periods, the 15th Century in Northern Europe and Italy (Renaissance) to circa 1500. Enrollment limit of 50 students.

This course explores how art and architecture have profoundly shaped visual experiences and shifting understandings of past and present. While featuring different case studies, each section includes work with original objects, site visits, and writings about art. Unifying themes include (1) materials, techniques and the patterns variously deployed to create space; (2) the design, function and symbolism of images and monuments; (3) artistic production and its relation to individual and institutional patronage, religion, politics and aesthetics; (4) issues turning on artists?

This course explores how art and architecture have profoundly shaped visual experiences and shifting understandings of past and present. While featuring different case studies, each section includes work with original objects, site visits, and writings about art. Unifying themes include (1) materials, techniques and the patterns variously deployed to create space; (2) the design, function and symbolism of images and monuments; (3) artistic production and its relation to individual and institutional patronage, religion, politics and aesthetics; (4) issues turning on artists?

This course focuses on the interpretation and communication of environmental issues and solutions from multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives. Using contemporary environmental topics as a foundation, this course introduces students to written, oral, visual, and quantitative communication for a variety of audiences and intents. Students develop the ability to interpret environmental information from multiple sources, to synthesize that information for their own understanding, and to communicate that knowledge in ways appropriate to the particular objective and audience.

Topics course. A seminar on the role of possessions in people?s lives, especially as related to compulsive hoarding, a form of obsessive compulsive dis- order. We will study the empirical research, theories of OCD and hoarding behavior, and efforts to develop treatments for this condition. Related constructs such as compulsive buying and acquisition, materialism, kleptomania, and psychopathologies of acquisition will also be addressed. Prerequisites; PSY 150 or PSY 287.

Topics course. In this seminar we will discuss the history of Alzheimer's Disease, the underlying cellular and molecular changes associated with this disease, and the range of symptoms. Both motor, cognitive, and emotional disturbances will be studied. Current treatments and potential future therapies will be covered. Prerequisites: a course in experimental methods, a course in statistics, a course in neuroscience, and per-mission of the instructor.

A tour via SPSS of the major statistical models encountered in psychology. Topics include most of the following each year: complex and mixed analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, multi-item scale analyses, factor and cluster analysis, multiple regression, path analysis, and structural equation modeling. Adopting a pragmatic approach, we emphasize assumptions and requirements, rules of thumb, decision-making considerations, interpretation, and writing statistical results according to the conventions of psychology.

A broad consideration of the nature of prejudice, stereotypes and intergroup relations from the perspective of social cognition with emphasis on issues of race and ethnicity. We will encounter theories and research concerning the processes of self-and-other categorization, socioidentity, stereotyping, prejudice, and strategies from the reduction of intergroup hostility that these approaches inform. Enrollment limited to 18.

(Formerly PSY 192) Introduces students to a variety of methods used in psychological research. All sections of this course will cover the basic methodological techniques of contemporary psychology such as observational, experimental, and survey methods. Sections will differ in the particular content theme used to illustrate these methods. PSY 100 or equivalent is required for PSY 202. We recommended that PSY 201 is taken prior to, or concurrently with, PSY 202. Priority will be given to Smith College Psychology majors and minors.