The course will begin with a description of the motion of particles and introduce Newton’s dynamical laws and a number of important force laws. We will apply these laws to a wide range of problems to gain a better understanding of them and to demonstrate the generality of the framework. The important concepts of work, mechanical energy, and linear and angular momentum will be introduced. The unifying idea of conservation laws will be discussed.

A first course in writing fiction. Emphasis will be on experimentation as well as on developing skill and craft. Workshop (discussion) format.

Limited enrollment. Preregistration is not allowed. Please consult the Creative Writing Center website for information on admission to this course.  Fall semester:  Professor Douglas.  Spring semester:  Professor Frank.

A first workshop in the writing of poetry. Class members will read and discuss each others’ work and will study the elements of prosody: the line, stanza forms, meter, free verse, and more. Open to anyone interested in writing poetry and learning about the rudiments of craft. Writing exercises weekly.

Limited enrollment. Preregistration is not allowed. Please consult the Creative Writing Center website for information on admission to this course.

Fall semester:  Writer-in-Residence Hall.  Spring semester:  Professor Sofield and Simpson Lecturer Wilbur.

This course will explore the concept of wilderness in American culture.  Americans have portrayed the less tamed region of the American landscape in a variety of ways:  as a hostile space full of evil, as a rugged frontier that shapes individuals into Americans, and as a protected sanctuary for endangered species.  In this class, we will focus on writings that explore the range of definitions and responses to the nation’s wild spaces.  Students will explore these issues in class discussions about the texts and in writing assignments that analyze and critique the re

Students, as part of the work of the course, each week will tutor or lead discussions among a small group of students at Holyoke High School. The readings for the course will be essays, poems, autobiographies, and stories in which education and teaching figure centrally. Among these will be materials that focus directly on Holyoke and on one or another of the ethnic groups which have shaped its history. Students will write weekly and variously: critical essays, journal entries, ethnographies, etc.

A first course in reading fictional, dramatic, and lyric texts: stories, a major novel, one or more plays by Shakespeare, poems by Donne, Dickinson, Frost, and others.

Using a variety of texts–novels, essays, short stories–this course will work to develop the reading and writing of difficult prose, paying particular attention to the kinds of evidence and authority, logic and structure that produce strong  arguments.  The authors we study may include Peter Singer, Aravind Adiga, Willa Cather, Toni Morrison, George Orwell, Charles Johnson, James Baldwin, Alice Munro, William Carlos Williams.  This is an intensive writing course.  Frequent short papers will be assigned.

Using a variety of texts–novels, essays, short stories–this course will work to develop the reading and writing of difficult prose, paying particular attention to the kinds of evidence and authority, logic and structure that produce strong  arguments.  The authors we study may include Peter Singer, Aravind Adiga, Willa Cather, Toni Morrison, George Orwell, Charles Johnson, James Baldwin, Alice Munro, William Carlos Williams.  This is an intensive writing course.  Frequent short papers will be assigned.

The topic changes from year to year.  The topic for fall 2012 is "Combinatorial Optimization Algorithms."  We will examine algorithms for a range of optimization problems, including linear programming, matching, computation of network flows, and integer programming.  Many of the algorithms are both surprising and efficient. Topics will include the simplex algorithm, duality, primal-dual algorithms, and cutting-plane algorithms.

Requisite: COSC 121 and 201.  Fall semester.  Professor L. McGeoch.