Independent Study
In this class, students will acquire hands-on experience in diverse aspects of the research process in any field of Biology, from familiarizing themselves with a research topic, generating interesting questions, designing experiments, acquiring technical skills, collecting and analyzing data, to writing and/or presenting their results. To inquire about enrollment, students should fill out the application survey available on the departmental website or on my.mtholyoke.
Independent Study
In this class, students will acquire hands-on experience in diverse aspects of the research process in any field of Biology, from familiarizing themselves with a research topic, generating interesting questions, designing experiments, acquiring technical skills, collecting and analyzing data, to writing and/or presenting their results. To inquire about enrollment, students should fill out the application survey available on the departmental website or on my.mtholyoke.
Russian Lit on Trial
Why are novels so interested in trials? What is the relationship between literary and legal analysis, and between the role of the reader and that of a juror? How do we interpret “facts” in a literary text versus a legal context?
Russian Arch and Cities
(Offered as ARCH 238, ARHA 238, RUSS 238) This course investigates the complex relationship between Russia, its imperial subjects—in the Baltics, Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Siberia—and global cultures of architecture and city-building. Case studies from across this vast territory (one-sixth of the Earth’s landmass) demonstrate that, far from being isolated on a “periphery” or behind an “Iron Curtain,” the region’s architects and planners actively participated in complex international design debates.
Russian Arch and Cities
(Offered as ARCH 238, ARHA 238, RUSS 238) This course investigates the complex relationship between Russia, its imperial subjects—in the Baltics, Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Siberia—and global cultures of architecture and city-building. Case studies from across this vast territory (one-sixth of the Earth’s landmass) demonstrate that, far from being isolated on a “periphery” or behind an “Iron Curtain,” the region’s architects and planners actively participated in complex international design debates.
Grand Strategy
This course will examine the theory and practice of Grand Strategy in a historical and contemporary context, from a variety of analytical perspectives, integrating academic disciplines, including history, economics, political science, international relations, and security studies, with elements from the profession of arms. This methodology will expose students to a rich tapestry of challenges facing senior political and military leaders and help students understand the complex relationship between national resources, military objectives, and national security policy.
Calculus of Variations
What is the shape of a hanging chain? What shape of fixed perimeter encloses the most area? The calculus of variations answers questions such as these through maximizing or minimizing values of functionals over different input functions. Topics covered will include functional differentiation, the Euler-Lagrange equations, necessary and sufficient conditions for extrema, and direct minimization methods. Additionally, there will be applications to physics and optimization, including Hamiltonian mechanics and image processing.
Fall semester. Professor Kraisler
Comp Algebraic Geometry
The central object of study in algebraic geometry is a system of polynomial equations and its solution set.