This interdisciplinary course will address the theory and practice of sustainability. Its primary goal is to introduce concepts and help students to develop a framework to better understand the challenges surrounding the transition towards sustainability, with regards to both human well-being and the protection of the environment. Class discussions will involve a broad range of topics related to global climate, ecosystems, quality of life, poverty and affluence, and provide a basic overview of the complexities involving social, ecological, political, cultural and economic goals.

Clothing from any time and any place is a historical document: it sheds light on values, technologies, aesthetics, gender and class expectations, politics and economics associated with past cultures. From the boycotts of the American Revolution to the cotton market during the American Civil War to the 20th century development of high-performing fabrics like rayon and Kevlar, fashion history is inextricably entwined with larger developments in our history. Today, digital tools are helping scholars from a range of disciplines research and write about clothing and fashion history.

This course would explore the role that journalism has played throughout historic revolutions. While we will examine specific revolutions such as the American Revolution and the most recent uprisings in the Arab World, we will also explore the role jornalism played in revolutions such as the civil rights movements from the days of abolition to the Freedom Riders. We will examine how female journalists paved the way for women's liberation. The course will be structured through reading and documentaries and will explore traditional media to social media.

Microbes run the world. It?s that simple. Although we cannot usually see them, microbes are essential for every part of human life?indeed all life on Earth. Every process in the biosphere is touched by the seemingly endless capacity of microbes to transform the world around them. This course is designed for undergraduates with little background in the biological sciences, who are curious about this unseen life on Earth and who want to understand how microbe have influenced essentially every aspect of biological evolution.

Through games and experiential exercises, students in this seminar will be provided the opportunity to reexamine assumptions about interpersonal relations and human behavior in organizations. Topics will include social perception, group dynamics, managing conflict, and celebrating diversity. The application of concepts and topics covered to careers in the field of business, especially hospitality and tourism management, will be explored.

This course will introduce students to fundamental "design thinking" and graphic communication skills in architecture.
Students will gain an understanding of drawing as a vital means to see, analyze, and represent essential aspects of the
visual environment. Emphasis will be placed on freehand drawing and sketching, using UMass buildings as case
studies.

How do teachers and schools determine our future? The world of schools has 50 million students and 3 million teachers. It is complex and reflects our culture, history, finances, and politics. In this seminar, we will explore a series of hot, controversial topics in education. Video clips and case studies will open each session and provide a catalyst for discussion and debate. The experience, background, and interest of students will drive the weekly analysis.

This seminar will provide an introduction to a particular theory about how the human mind works. According to this theory, which known as the computational theory of mind, the mind is a digital computer. This idea sounds very strange at first, but actually it is central to cognitive science, which includes research in psychology, computer science, linguistics, and philosophy. We will read How the Mind Works, by Steven Pinker, which explains the theory and the evidence for it in an accessible way.

Is it safe? An introduction to the ideas that we need protect ourselves from naturally occurring toxic chemical substances in our environment. We will look at the details of what arsenic compounds are in our food, how they got there and whether they are potentially harmful. We will discuss (a) the current regulations concerning arsenic in drinking water, and (b) the reasons why consumer advocacy groups are calling for regulations governing the concentrations of arsenic in food and in rice in particular.

While neither assisted reproduction nor adoption are entirely new, both have radically increased in recent decades, potentially transforming the face of the American family. No longer performed in secrecy nor limited to heterosexual couples, assisted reproduction methods such as sperm and egg donation, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy have become increasingly sophisticated. Meanwhile the landscape of adoption has been redefined by transparency, the rise of transracial and international adoption, and the partial acceptance of single and same-sex adoptive parents.