This course examines the structure of matter from both a microscopic and macroscopic viewpoint. We begin with a detailed discussion of the physical structure of atoms, followed by an analysis of how the interactions between atoms lead to the formation of molecules. The relationship between the structures of molecular compounds and their properties is then described. Experiments in the laboratory provide experience in conducting quantitative chemical measurements and illustrate principles discussed in the lectures.

(Offered as CHEM 131 and BIOL 131.) What are the natural laws that describe how biological processes actually work?  This course will use examples from biology such as human physiology or cellular signaling to illustrate the interplay between fundamental chemical principles and biological function.  We will explore how bonding plays a central role in assembling simple biological building blocks such as sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids to form complex carbohydrates, proteins, and membranes.  What underlying thermodynamic and kinetic principles guide systems to biological h

Fall and spring semesters. Members of the Department.

(Offered as ENGL 474 and BLST 452.)  Concurrent migrations of Chinese and Indian indentured laborers to the Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean workers to and from the Panama Canal, at the turn of the twentieth century, profoundly influenced the style and scope of modern Caribbean literature.  Both migrant groups worked under difficult conditions for exploitative wages, yet members of each managed to save enough to enter the educated middle class.  Their cultural forms and political aspirations shaped Caribbean literary production as well as anti-colonial political movements. 

(Offered as ENGL 454 and BLST 442.)  William Faulkner and Toni Morrison are generally understood as two of the most important writers of the twentieth century.  In a country that works hard to live without a racial past, both authors have brought deep articulation to what it means to experience that which is often otherwise ignored and regardless unspoken.