An introduction to the global marine environment, with emphasis on the carbon cycle, seafloor dynamics, submarine topography and sediments, the nature and circulation of oceanic waters, ocean-atmosphere-climate interactions and global climate change, coastal processes, marine biologic productivity, and issues of ocean pollution and the sustainable utilization of marine resources by humans. At least one required field trip.

An introduction to the global marine environment, with emphasis on the carbon cycle, seafloor dynamics, submarine topography and sediments, the nature and circulation of oceanic waters, ocean-atmosphere-climate interactions and global climate change, coastal processes, marine biologic productivity, and issues of ocean pollution and the sustainable utilization of marine resources by humans. At least one required field trip.

A journey through the 4.6 billion year history of global change focuses on the extraordinary events that shaped the evolution of the Earth and life. Some of these events include the origin of life, the buildup of oxygen in the atmosphere, mass extinctions of dinosaurs and other organisms, continental glaciations, profound changes in climate, and the evolution of humans. Discussion topics also include the changes that humans have been making to their environments, and the possible consequences and predictions for the future of our planet.

This is a full-year course.

Arranged in consultatioin with the department.

Same as SPN 481. The theoretical and instructional implications of teaching foreign languages. This course reflects contemporary research and is designed to prepare aspiring instructors for the challenges of the profession. A theoretical component incorporates recent trends in language pedagogy and critical appraisal of SLA theories. A practical component focuses on developing a teaching persona, a relationship with learners, and classroom organization and presentation skills. The course will transform knowledge into practice, and will culminate in the creation of a teaching portfolio.

Admission by permission of the department; normally for junior and senior majors and for qualified juniors and seniors from other departments.

Topics Course. An overview of commercial and financial terminology against the backdrop of contemporary French business culture, using case studies, French television and newspapers, and the internet. Emphasis on essential technical vocabulary, reading and writing business documents, and oral communication in a business setting. Prepares students for the Diplome de francais professionnel (Affaires B2) granted by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry and administered at Smith College.

One of the most ancient and universal feelings, love is also infinitely elusive and as much about the self as it is about anything else. In this course, intended for literary as well as non-literary students, we will examine what the Romantic imagination has made of the mystery, magic and travails of love and how it confronted some of the major cultural and social issues of its time: marriage and happiness, exotism, class divide, love and death. Novels by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Chateaubriand, George Sand, Lamartine, Alexandre Dumas and Nerval.

What effects does theater have on its audience and society at large? Does it corrupt the public and society, as J.-J. Rousseau argued, or on the contrary, can it morally reform its audience and society, as Diderot believed? The debate about the moral and political uses and misuses of theater animated the public, the philosophes and their critics, as well as the state, from the mid-seventeenth century until the Revolution, and on to today.