Honors project expectations are high. The intended end-product is a traditional project manuscript with accompanying artifact(s), all projects: - are 6 credits or more of sustained research on a single topic, typically conducted over two semesters. - begin with creative inquiry and systematic research. - include documentation of substantive scholarly endeavor. - culminate in an oral defense or other form of public presentation.

This course looks at the intersection of mathematics and social justice thru the lens of wealth in America. Social justice topics include wealth distribution, taxes, the Gini index and the poverty cycle. Mathematical topics include mathematical modeling, logic, set theory, statistics and probability. Enrollment limited to 25. (E)

Even with the wealth of microbial genomic data, microbiologists are faced with deciphering the ever-increasing complexity of macromolecules, their regulation and how this impacts bacterial pathogenesis. This hands-on research course will utilize state-of-the-art molecular biology and microbiology techniques in student/faculty-designed projects. This fully integrated lab/lecture course utilizes lectures for experimental design, discussion of relevant literature, protocol development, data analysis and other related topics to support the experimental work in the laboratory section.

This capstone course is required for all senior ARS majors. Students use the framework of the course to focus, challenge and re-conceptualize their studio work in media of their choice. Critiques, readings, written assignments, presentations and discussions support the development of an inventive and rigorous independent art practice. The semester culminates in a group exhibition. Core studio materials are provided. Students are responsible for the purchase of additional supplies required for individual projects. Enrollment limited to Smith College Senior ARS majors.

This beginning-level course invites students to develop movement, making, and performance practices as vehicles for thinking about and supporting new beginnings. The course will function as dance class, rehearsal, and research seminar where we will examine assumptions about whose bodies are afforded the opportunity to be expressive, and learn to trust what our bodies already know.

In the last decade, queer scholars have turned away from the study of identity and textuality to consider the role of affect and emotion in the production, circulation, and regulation of sexuality, race, and gender. This course examines a new body of work in queer studies, feminist studies, and sexuality studies that explores emotion and affect as central to the operation of social, political, and economic power. Topics will include mental illness, hormones, happiness, sex, trauma, labor, identity, and social movements, among others.