An independent study is a semester-long academic endeavor planned in conversation between a student (sometimes a group of students) and a faculty member. Faculty permission is required. In some cases there may be an additional person(s) from the Hampshire community participating in the independent study as a mentor. Hampshire recommends four credits for a successfully completed independent study. It is equivalent to taking a course in terms of academic rigor and time commitment (generally 180 hours of academic engagement) and counts towards full-time enrollment for Hampshire students.

An independent study is a semester-long academic endeavor planned in conversation between a student (sometimes a group of students) and a faculty member. Faculty permission is required. In some cases there may be an additional person(s) from the Hampshire community participating in the independent study as a mentor. Hampshire recommends four credits for a successfully completed independent study. It is equivalent to taking a course in terms of academic rigor and time commitment (generally 180 hours of academic engagement) and counts towards full-time enrollment for Hampshire students.

An independent study is a semester-long academic endeavor planned in conversation between a student (sometimes a group of students) and a faculty member. Faculty permission is required. In some cases there may be an additional person(s) from the Hampshire community participating in the independent study as a mentor. Hampshire recommends four credits for a successfully completed independent study. It is equivalent to taking a course in terms of academic rigor and time commitment (generally 180 hours of academic engagement) and counts towards full-time enrollment for Hampshire students.

Physics I covers the fundamental principles of physics by teaching classical mechanics, while emphasizing the correspondence to quantum physics. The topics will include the essence of measurement, properties of elementary constituents of Nature (particles and probability waves), mechanics (motion and its causes), and fundamental interactions. Special focus will be placed on general principles, such as the conservation laws (energy, linear and angular momentum, spin) and the superposition principle.

Scientists study the physical world at spatial, temporal, and complexity scales that are beyond the reach of ordinary perception. How does a scientist construct their understanding of the physical world at those scales? This course takes a transdisciplinary approach to the study of scientific understanding. What role does visualization play in the formation of scientific knowledge? How do various forms of representation become accepted scientific practice? How can artistic practice help us illuminate what it means to understand something in a scientific context?

Cinema travels through time much as the human memory can, reliving moments in various times with "limitless possibilities," wrote Marxist philosopher and literary historian Gyorgy Lukacs. In this seminar, we will explore the ways in which global films engage with and can manipulate time and memory, both thematically and in terms of its aesthetic devices and different genre forms. We will examine how cinema as a time-based medium addresses nostalgia, trauma, dreams, and amnesia on both an individual and collective level.

The course explores the thriller as a popular literary and film genre. An amalgam of intrigue, suspense and mystery, the thriller evolved from Gothic romance novels and both Victorian adventure tales and 'sensation' (crime) fiction in response to shifting social anxieties. We focus on several influential forms of the genre, including Gothic-influenced romantic thrillers dramatizing threats to women and the constraints of the domestic sphere; and espionage stories and related crime thrillers reflecting fears of deception, conspiracy, war and the pursuit of power and wealth.

As climates, landscapes, and ecosystems undergo unprecedented transformation we must reconsider not only our own well-being, but the future of the planet as a whole. What role can art play in reimagining the world as it is and as it might come to be? This course is a combination of seminar and studio: We will examine practices of contemporary artists that engage eco-cultural concerns and make art in multiple media-on paper, outside, as speculative proposals, and as experiments in expanding aesthetics.

This course is held in the Harold F. Johnson Library at Hampshire College and we will use it as our laboratory-not simply a resource for research, but an active site for creation. With our attention increasingly shaped by algorithms and mediated by screens, aisles of books offer an opportunity for open exploration, serendipity, and non-linear curiosity. While making use of short assignments in the stacks and a longer self-directed project through the semester, we will also consider the roles that archiving and arrangement can play in generating new knowledge.

This course will strive to serve as an introduction to trail running, as well as being able to experience the outdoors each class. During each class period, we will have a discussion about trail running techniques and strategies, go for a run on the trails, and then reflect and stretch at the end. This course is designed to be a positive and inclusive space for all participants who sign up, the distances and paces will be determined based what will be best for the group.