Courses

Students can satisfy their advanced writing skills requirement in two ways. After successfully completing Writing 101, they can either take any WRIT 300-level course from the Writing Program or any W-coded advanced writing skills course offered by one of the five concentrations. These courses are indicated by the letter "W" after the course number, for example, "INTS 348W." Advanced writing skills courses in the concentrations may satisfy other degree requirements (e.g., one of the five courses taken in the upper division in their home concentration). Dual concentrators are only required to complete one advanced writing skills course. 

This course is an introduction to the sub-discipline of sociocultural anthropology, which is the study of contemporary human cultures and societies. The course introduces the basic terminology and theoretical perspectives anthropologists use to understand the ways that humans organize themselves and the cultural logic through which they think about the world and their social relations. Course material covers a wide variety of cultural contexts, both familiar and unfamiliar, to help students understand the cultural logic of the beliefs and social practices of others and critically examine the cultural logics and assumptions of their own culture.

What do you want to be? How can you find a life of value? This one-unit course helps students explore career choices and expand understanding of the relationship between education and the world of work. Career choices include non- or for-profit companies, large and small; non-governmental and intra-governmental organizations; and academia. Students will place emphasis on self-assessment, path making, professional discernment, tackling the job search, issues related to hiring and the workplace, and the graduate school admissions process, depending on interests. Instruction is personalized and dynamic: small group and individual work with instructors are emphasized.

The ability to think creatively is vital to creating value and living contributive lives, and is one of the significant learning outcomes at SUA. The fundamental assumptions underlying this course are 1) that creativity is not limited to any one discipline or subject and 2) that the capacity to think creatively is inherent in everyone, and can be fostered and brought out. This course will examine both the theory and practice of creativity, at both the individual and team or group level, looking at application of creative thinking processes in a range of fields of endeavor.

This course, open to students regardless of prior musical experience, focuses on developing musical imagination and the ability to realize and communicate the fruits of that imagination. The course emphasizes fundamental music skills (aural skills, basic performing skills, and music literacy) to support students’ future and ongoing musical endeavors.

This course will introduce students to the study of songs and songwriting, with special attention paid to the art of lyrics, melody, harmony, and structure to create songs. We will analyze and compose songs, and listen to popular American songwriting throughout modern history. There are no prerequisites, and no previous knowledge of music reading and notation is required, though students are expected to listen critically and create and collaborate on original song lyrics and music.

The course explores the relation between the two terms ‘visual’ and ‘culture’ as constructions, examining visual forms of expressions, such as painting, photography, advertisement, comics and digital imagery. The course revolves around some of the following questions: What is the difference between the terms art and visual? What are the diverse forms of the visual? How has the visual impacted us today? How does culture determine visual form? With an emphasis on the determining role of visual culture in the wider culture to which it belongs, it draws on images from both western and non-western worlds to be analyzed and placed in their cultural context.

The course introduces the students to the major works of art and art movements of the world by analyzing the visual characteristics of works of art and placing them in their historical and cultural context. It covers sculpture, painting, architecture, print, ceramics, and photography from ancient to modern cultures from east and west. The course seeks to provide the beginning art history student with a range of conceptual, visual and verbal skills essential to the description and analysis of visual forms.

This course explores the fundamentals of acoustics and digital sound and gives students opportunities to use techniques such as software synthesis, sound sampling and editing, and MIDI sequencing in creating their own works. The focus is on the creative process, foundational principles, and familiarizing students with technology to support future endeavors in multimedia production.

This course is an introduction to environmental issues – the interactions of humanity and industrial civilization with the natural environment of Earth. The course draws on scientific, technological, and social perspectives to examine current and future environmental challenges, including the impacts of human actions on natural ecosystems, natural resources, pollution, and climate change.

Everyone knows someone who has been impacted by cancer. By merely surviving, our bodies are primed with the capacity to develop this disease. This course will explore the ‘war on cancer’ in the context of human history, cell biology, and dramatic storytelling. Laboratory exercises will explore the biological basis of this disease. Not open to students who are enrolled in or who have taken and passed IBC 200 with at least a grade of C- or P.

This course will explore how astronomers have been able to discover Earth’s place in the universe, and the structure of the local galaxy and universe. Within this exploration, astronomers have also discovered thousands of other planets, and have begun to map the deepest extents of time and space. From the discovery of distant galaxies and signatures of the origins of the universe, we also have begun to unravel the mysteries of the Big Bang, the formation of the first stars and galaxies, and how the earth arose from billions of years of cosmic evolution. The course will explore the search for exoplanets and the early universe with a mix of in-class exercises, analysis of space-based datasets and observations with telescopes and instruments. The class will also explore how we have mapped the universe over the centuries - with a multicultural approach - and will examine the limits of our knowledge of the universe on the very largest and smallest scales. 

This course explores drawing as a process for seeing, generating ideas, and personal expression. It includes drawing the human figure, still life, nature, and the imagination and uses a variety of media and techniques. This course is open to all students, regardless of previous experience in this medium.

The human body is an amazing product of 3.5 billion years of evolution. From our cells to our organ systems, our bodies are beautifully designed to thrive on planet Earth. In this course, we will explore the structure and function of various human organ systems including the circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, reproductive system, and portions of the endocrine system (kidneys and adrenal glands). Along the way, we will discuss challenges faced by each of these organ systems in this modern age that can result in disease such as air pollution, endocrine disrupting chemicals, overuse of antibiotics, chronic stress, and a highly-processed industrial diet. Students will perform various hands-on laboratory activities that will reinforce how their bodies function and how they can live a healthy life. Not open to students who are enrolled in or who have taken and passed BIO 303 with at least a grade of C- or P.

This course will cover how addictive substances effect the nervous system. Students will explore the addictive nature of drugs and related behavioral changes. We will also discuss the impact drugs and addiction have on society including public health and legislative policies.

This course focuses on the following marine habitats: fouling communities, rocky intertidal, deep sea, coral reefs, and open oceans.  You will learn the abiotic factors that define each habitat (e.g. light, temperature, nutrients), which species live in each habitat, and how these species interact with each other and with humans.  The coral reef and open ocean habitats in particular are under threat from global warming, overfishing, and pollution.  We will learn about these challenges, as well as solutions.  

Humanity’s ability to read and modify the genetic code of life within DNA has advanced exponentially in the preceding decades. This course introduces genetic engineering and how and why it is revolutionizing fields such as medicine, agriculture, and research. This course will utilize case studies, projects, and various laboratory activities to explore genetic engineering and the cell and molecular biology underlying it. We will explore topics such as CRISPR, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), gene therapies, and the human history and broader social impacts of genetic engineering. Not open to students who are enrolled in or who have taken and passed Integrated Biology & Chemistry (IBC) or Genetic Engineering Learning Cluster with at least a grade of C- or P.

This course explores the creative process in the art of ceramics. Students learn techniques of working in clay, building, glazing and finishing works, and traditional and contemporary approaches to ceramic art. This course is open to all students, regardless of previous experience in this medium.

Have you ever wondered about DNA and how slight alterations to the genetic code have produced the amazing variety of life forms that inhabit our planet? This class will explore exciting topics in both genetics and evolutionary biology, some of which include: the genetics of cancer, reproduction and inheritance, epigenetics, GMOs, DNA forensics, antibiotic resistance, evolution of the “fat gene,” and how to build evolutionary trees. Students will explore these topics through lectures, case study work, and hands-on laboratory exercises. Not open to students who are enrolled in or who have taken and passed IBC 200 with at least a grade of C- or P.

This course gives students opportunities to create images in three-dimensional form using a variety of media and processes, including modeling, carving, and casting. The course focuses on human, animal, and non-representational forms from various cultures. Experiences with sculpting lay the foundation for discussions of the creative process. This course is open to all students, regardless of previous experience in this medium.

This course explores the anatomical form and function of representatives from major animal phyla. Students will first learn about evolutionary processes that have generated the tremendous variety of form and function present in the animal kingdom. They will then learn about different lines of evidence that support the theory of common descent and examine how major lineages within the animal kingdom were created from key morphological innovations. Students will then take a tour of the major animal phyla. Students will explore these topics through lectures and hands-on laboratory activities that include live animal observations, dissections, field trips, and case studies. Not open to students who are enrolled in or who have taken and passed BIO 306 with at least a grade of C- or P.

Students explore technique and creativity through descriptive and expressive approaches to painting. Projects emphasize the application of personal experience and vision to aesthetic problem-solving while helping students to develop painting technique, including mixing and blending colors and different methods of application. This course is open to all students, regardless of previous experience in this medium.

This course introduces students to biological anthropology and anthropological archaeology – those portions of the discipline concerned with human prehistory and continuing human development. The course examines reconstructions of the human record based on fossil and artifact-based evidence of human biological and cultural change over time. It considers various theories of human biological evolution and the emergence of culture – humanity’s unique ecological niche. The course examines the origins and development of world civilizations, and takes a critical look at theories that try to explain the development of social complexity.

This course is an introduction to general chemistry with an emphasis on developing problem- solving skills for students planning a professional career in science, engineering, and medical fields. We will explore basic concepts of chemistry along with the mathematics required for quantitative problem solving. The topics include elements and compounds, chemical calculations, atomic structure, bonding, stoichiometry, chemical equations, reactions in aqueous solutions, oxidation-reduction, energy and chemical changes, quantum mechanical atom, chemical equilibrium, and acids & bases & buffers. This course can be taken at the same time or before CHEM 150L. 

This course, combined with CHEM 150L and CHEM 151 (Integrated Biology and Chemistry), is equivalent to the material in a year-long Introductory Chemistry sequence.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental skills necessary to visually communicate ideas using photographic processes. These skills include technical proficiency, knowledge of the characteristics of photography which distinguish it from other media, and a cognizance of the role of the diverse uses of photography and their implications in society. Students are given the opportunity to explore their personal creativity by developing a final project of their own choosing within the larger context of the photographer as a responsible global citizen. This course is open to all students, regardless of previous experience in this medium.

This course provides an introduction to both astrophysics and physics, exploring models of time and space that describe the universe's origins and evolution. The course will delve into both classical and modern concepts, including Einstein’s theories of relativity, the Big Bang, black holes, particle physics, and the discovery of the Higgs Boson at CERN. Students will learn how these models help us understand the fundamental forces and particles that govern the universe and key discoveries made possible by developing particle accelerators, gravitational wave detectors, and new space telescopes. The course will balance theoretical understanding with practical exploration of astronomical and cosmological phenomena, empowering students to think critically about the universe and its underlying physics. The course will be taught at a level that minimizes the use of mathematics and explores the most profound concepts of how physics and astrophysics shape our conceptions of reality and have enabled us to map the physical universe from the smallest possible scales to the limits of the observable universe.

Students will engage with both historical and modern theories, develop a deep understanding of the forces that govern the universe, and explore the practical applications of these theories in scientific research and technology

This course was formerly named BIO 141

This course is designed as an introductory biology course that will provide foundational knowledge for upper division Life Sciences electives such as Evolution, Evolutionary Genetics PBL, Zoology, Human Physiology, and Marine Ecophysiology PBL. This course is also designed for those students who are interested in science courses offered in Environmental Studies. This course, combined with BIO 150L, and BIO 151 (Integrated Biology and Chemistry), is equivalent to the material in a year-long Introductory Biology sequence.

This course focuses on the five fundamental characteristics of life:

1. All living things evolve
2. All living things are made of cells
3. All living things reproduce/replicate themselves
4. All living things process information, either information encoded in their genes or information from their environment
5. All living things acquire, use, store, and transport energy

This laboratory is a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to complement Foundation of Chemistry (CHEM 150) course and will build upon the basic general chemistry knowledge. The CURE project is designed to challenge students to frame real-life practical research questions and design viable approaches to acquire meaningful data. This is a student-centered, guided, and inquiry-based research project that will allow students to engage in activities with greater decision-making and collaborative work.

This is an introductory biology course-based research experience intended to teach experimental design, data collection, and basic laboratory skills appropriate for students concentrating in Life Sciences.

This course was formerly named IBC 200-BIO.

Students will learn how proteins are encoded and the impact of genomic instability on protein structure and function; alterations of normal metabolism in cancer cells; and basic pathways of cell division and death.

BIO 151 and CHEM 151 are co-taught and integrated into one course. In this interdisciplinary course, students will learn both chemistry and biology topics in an integrated way to understand the cell and molecular biology of cancer. 
 

This course was formerly named IBC-200 CHEM.

Students will learn chemical structure and bonding, polymerization, gas laws, thermodynamics (1st law, 2nd law, and equilibrium), kinetics (reaction rates, rate laws, and transition state theory), and redox reactions (redox potentials and Nernst equation).

CHEM 151 and BIO 151 are co-taught and integrated into one course. In this interdisciplinary course, students will learn both chemistry and biology topics in an integrated way to understand the cell and molecular biology of cancer. 

This class explores creativity and the art-makingprocess using the tools of digital photography. An emphasis will be placed students understanding the photographic image as a means of communication, self expression, and contemporary story telling. Several projects will be completed during the semester utilizing a DSLR camera and post production software such as Camera RAW, and Adobe Lightroom.

This course explores the creative process in dance, with an emphasis on expression and improvisation. Students are exposed to different styles of dance and study elements of choreography such as form, composition, and the relation of body movements to music, through developing and performing their own works. This course is open to all students, regardless of level of previous training in dance.

The course explores architecture as a cultural force and its interaction with the environment, in the context of social, cultural, and political realities. It draws examples from ancient Classical, Renaissance, Islamic, Asian, and Modern architecture comparing form, function, concept, association, and intent. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of architecture and art, design, space, structures, styles, theories and development of architecture.

This multidisciplinary course explores the American experience in its social, political, cultural, and historical dimensions. The course examines major American institutions, including the philosophy and history of the United States Constitution from its founding to present day interpretations; the struggle over individual and group rights; and America’s presence in the world, taking an approach to the American experience that exposes it to many and varied interpretations. The course includes such topics as American musical, film, and literary traditions, contemporary social and economic issues, politics and political history, the immigrant experience, slavery and its aftermath, American isolationism/expansionism, and the question of what is “mainstream” and what is “marginal” to American life. As a result of taking this course, students will develop a critical understanding of the social, political, cultural, and historical dimensions of the diversity of US experiences; perspectives on US institutions and their role in local and global power relations; interpretive skills through close readings of texts across a variety of genres and media; written and oral communication skills.

This course focuses on composing music based on the “common-practice tonal” tradition of Western music and the contemporary traditions that have evolved from it, including jazz and fusion with non-Western music. Students will learn the key elements of tonal theory and practice, develop aural, keyboard and notation skills, and create a series of compositions aimed at imaginative expression in the tonal idiom. Basic music literacy skills are required.

This course is an introduction to statistics, a field which involves the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of continuous or categorical data. This course will focus specifically on biological and chemical examples and datasets.

This course is an introduction to improvising music, and is open to interested students with all levels of prior improvising experience, including none. Students will explore approaches to improvisation found in diverse cultural traditions, learn both theoretical and practical tools and approaches, and engage in both individual and group improvisation exercises, all aimed at developing skill, creativity, and confidence as musicians.

This course is designed to serve students with some experience composing music, who want to further develop their abilities and explore new approaches to creating new music. Class meetings will consist of a weekly seminar, in which various contemporary approaches to composition will be explored, followed by individual lessons, to support each student's pursuit of her/his own interests. Instructor permission or prior composition course (CARTS 101, 102, 110 or 201) required.

The course will further expand the dancer's technical abilities in movement language in both classical ballet and modern dance repertory. Students will explore in depth advanced choreographic techniques.

This course provides a fundamental overview of organic chemistry to students interested in pursuing careers in the sciences, engineering, or medical fields. We will explore the relationship between the structure and function of molecules, the major classes of organic compounds, and their reactions and reaction mechanisms. Students will learn how to determine molecular structure via spectroscopic techniques. In the laboratory, students will be introduced to some techniques and procedures for the isolation, purification, and characterization of organic compounds and to some of the reactions used in the organic chemistry laboratory such as the Grignard, elimination, and substitution reactions.

This course will take an in-depth analysis of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genetics at the level of molecular, cellular, organismal, and population genetics. Data analysis will rely on a quantitative approach. An integrated laboratory project will utilize basic genetic techniques.

This course is continuation of CHEM 301 that provides a deeper overview of organic chemistry to students interested in pursuing careers in the sciences, engineering, or medical fields. We will specifically explore the synthesis and reaction mechanisms of aromatic compounds and organic molecules with carbonyl and carboxylic acid functional groups. Students will learn how to plan for multi-step synthetic pathways to form a given organic molecule and the reaction mechanisms involved. A complementary laboratory will reinforce content.

Bioinformatics is the use of computer databases and algorithms to analyze biological data. This course will apply bioinformatics to the field of genomics: the study of the protein, mRNA, and DNA sequences that comprise an organism’s genome. Topics will include sequence databases, pairwise and multiple sequence alignments, genome browsers, genome assembly and annotation, molecular evolution, phylogenetic analysis, and population genetics. The computer-based laboratory component will provide students with training in several command-line and web-based bioinformatics tools.

This course will explore the fascinating workings of the human body in both form and function. We will examine the major organ systems including nervous, muscular, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, renal, and reproductive systems, and understand how they work together to maintain homeostasis. Students will also examine metabolism and energy balance within the human body. This course will use a combination of pre-recorded lectures, class discussions, interactive polling, laboratory activities (in-person labs and lab simulations), and case studies to enhance mastery of course material. This course will be useful for those who are planning on pursuing a career in health sciences.

Prevents co- or later enrollment in BIO 120.

Theodosius Dobzhansky famously said, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”  Evolution is genetic change over time, and as genes change, so does the organism.  This course will explore microevolution, which is evolution at the population level, and macroevolution, which is evolution at the species level and higher.  An example microevolutionary question is: Why does a male peacock have such a large tail when it makes him more vulnerable to predation?  An example macroevolutionary question is: Why do some modern humans have gene variants that originated in Neanderthals?

The course offers a broad view of Modern Asian Art, including painting, photography and print of China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal and India for a selective and meaningful understanding of its visual culture. The focus is on Tradition vs. Modernity with a wide range of art historical issues and discourses. Emphasis will be placed on thematic issues in visual culture such as movement of people, ideas, images, cross-cultural influences, and variations in the structure of political, economic, and social institutions.

This course will enable students to describe cellular contents in terms of membranes, organelles, and intracellular trafficking; recognize amino acids, their modifications, and the implications on protein structure and function; describe cellular biochemistry including basic enzyme kinetics, glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthesis, fermentation, and alternative pathways; manipulate signaling pathways from extracellular or intracellular stimuli to generate a cellular response; describe how cells divide and die, specifically in terms of protein regulation of these pathways; and apply all these normal cellular processes to neurobiology and its pathology. A laboratory component will practice basic tissue culture techniques by imaging cellular proteins under different signaling conditions.

This course will explore the evolution, physiology, behavior, and ecology of major phyla within Kingdom Animalia as well as the phylogenetic relationships between animal taxa. We will learn how natural selection and genetic drift have made modest changes to the “operating instructions” of the animal genetic toolbox that have resulted in major variations to body form. We will examine how key morphological innovations define major branches on the animal tree of life and we will determine how representatives from each branch sense their environment, exchange gases, acquire nutrition, excrete wastes, reproduce, and move about. Students will explore these topics through lectures and group activities that include dissections, live animal observations, field trips, and group projects.

Are you fascinated by the incredible way the tiniest organisms (microorganisms) can impact our lives? They are small but mighty impacting health (human and animals), environment, food, energy, water, and industries. This course begins with an overview of microbial groups, their physiology, growth, metabolism, and genetics. We will learn how these concepts enable microbes to cause disease and how they can be controlled. The understanding of how microbes feed, grow, utilize nutrients, acquire and alter their genes, and the ability to function effectively as pathogens will provide the foundation in microbiology for the subsequent study of infectious diseases, their use in sustaining the environment, food production, and safety and the synthesis of various useful products. The laboratory sessions will equip students with basic technical skills required for growing, identifying, and studying antibiotic sensitivity of microorganisms using cultural, microscopic, biochemical, and molecular methods.

This course is a lecture- and laboratory-based introduction to human anatomy featuring a strong clinical perspective. Students learn anatomical structures and functions from drawings, images, virtual learning tools, 3D models, physical exam techniques, medical imaging (e.g., x-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, and PET), and images/video of clinical interventions (e.g., open surgeries, laparoscopy, bronchoscopy, endoscopy, cystoscopy, hysteroscopy, and colonoscopy). The course covers the musculoskeletal system, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, head, neck, brain, and spinal cord, and explores topics that facilitate understanding of anatomical structures and functions in healthy and diseased or injured states.  Throughout the course, students also engage in discussions on what makes someone human beyond the structures and functions of their human body. 

Every second of the day, the human body encounters a myriad of non-self agents that could hamper human health, however, the body is able to fight and maintain its integrity through a collection of cells, tissues and organs called the immune system.  The course will explore the immunologic sites on the human body and elucidate the mechanisms underlying the immune system’s recognition and eradication of invading pathogens. It will also shed light on the ways in which pathogens have evolved strategies to evade destruction, which has sometimes resulted in misperceptions that the immune system is not functioning effectively. The course will provide insight into how allergies and autoimmune disorders can arise from the immune system as a result of mistakenly attacking self-cells. Furthermore, students will gain an understanding of the critical role of vaccines in boosting the immune system’s ability to combat invading pathogens.

The objectives of this course are to introduce students to the theories and empirical research currently addressing the neuronal basis of human behavior. This combination lecture/seminar-based course, including bioinformatics research projects, will provide introductions to the basic concepts of brain neuroanatomy and biochemistry, molecular neurogenetics, evolutionary psychology, and human genomics, with readings and discussions from selected books, reviews and research articles. Emphasis will be placed on how disruptions of typical brain function, resulting in disorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and depression, can reveal how the brain mediates our most fundamental experiences.

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

In this course, we will study the interdisciplinary field of human nutrition by first examining the biological processes of human digestion, metabolism, and energy balance, then exploring the connection between improper nutrition and metabolic dysfunction and disease, and finally, examining cultural and societal impacts on nutrition and associated health outcomes. This course will use a combination of pre-recorded lectures, live lectures, class discussions, group activities, and student presentations to enhance mastery of course material.

This course is about the way that Latin American immigration to the US, and often their return back to Latin America, affects the communities, families, racial identities, and even sex lives of both immigrants and the people they leave behind. The course will draw on readings primarily from Anthropologists and Sociologists who see immigration, not as a linear process of arrival and eventual integration, but as a transnational process of the movement of people, money, culture, and politics back and forth across borders in complex ways that affect both the US and Latin America. Thus, while the course will cover the overall historical trends of Latino immigration to the US, changing demographics, the effects of US immigration laws on immigrants and their families, and the overall economic and political trends in Latin America that explain why people migrate, the real focus of the course is on the effects of these overall trends on communities and families in both the US and Latin America as illustrated through ethnographically rich case studies based on participant observation with migrants, return migrants, and members of the sending communities.

Drug design and development is a complex interdisciplinary enterprise that draws upon many disciplines in science, engineering, and business. The cost to develop the average FDA-approved drug is estimated to be as much as $1.5 billion. This course will explore core medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and molecular biology topics related to drug design and development. Using a case study-focused approach, students will study and present on traditional small molecules, biologically derived larger drugs, and next-generation gene therapies. Topics for discussion include receptor theory, common drug targets, lead molecule discovery and development, pharmacokinetics, ADMET, monoclonal antibody therapies, vaccines, nucleic acid-based drugs, CRISPR, and more.

Cultural anthropology is the comparative study of society, culture, and human diversity. The discipline focuses on the various ways in which social relations, history, politics, and cultural products, like the media, shape peoples’ everyday lives. This course examines ethnographic studies that document the strategies people use to cope with the demands posed by modern urban environments. It also examines some common social problems encountered in urban contexts, such as those involving the historical origins of urban settings, social class and inequality, urban youth subcultures, migration and economic globalization, and public health.

This course introduces students to the basic histories, social structures, cultures, and current issues facing indigenous peoples in Central and South America. It explores how indigenous communities and identities have been formed, from the conquest and through today, examining a range of processes and events, such as colonialism, integration into the global economy, racism and racial hierarchies, civil wars, indigenous social movements, and migration and exile. It also examines the responses of indigenous peoples to these processes and events, looking specifically at topics such as retreat, revolution, and political activism. The goal of the course is to understand indigenous peoples as products of complex processes through which communities, identities and inequalities are produced.  

This course allows advanced students to pursue their creative endeavors in Drawing. Students learn to investigate advanced drawing materials and techniques while completing substantial projects.

Central America is often known as a region of rich cultural heritage but also a legacy of vast inequalities and forms of violent repression and rebellion. The purpose of this course is to understand the cultural, political, and economic factors that have led to this particular situation. We begin by looking at the process of conquest and colonization in shaping new societies and social structures, then explore the socio-economic processes that set the stage for many of the conflicts and problems that Central America faces today, and finally we explore the current situation in Central America as it relates to changing ideas about gender and the role of women, racism and race mixing, immigration and exile, and forms of violence caused by over 30 years of civil war and economic upheaval. 

This course engages students in an examination of how indigenous peoples of Oceania have been deeply engaged in global cultural, political, and economic processes since the time of their earliest encounters with representatives of the West. This class incorporates classic and contemporary studies from Anthropology and Pacific History together with the voices and views from islander writers and artists. Social science perspectives are helpful for understanding natural and cultural environments, cultural history and change, language issues, and current socioeconomic and educational issues facing the Islands today. Writers and artists can show how islanders are active in shaping their views of themselves, and the larger political-economic processes in which they participate. By combining these two points of view, the class will examine the tensions between cultural traditions and globalization and how we, as outsiders and as islanders, come to know and empathize with the peoples of Oceania.

This course introduces students to advanced techniques in ceramics, including use of the potter's wheel and advanced hand-building techniques, glazing, decoration and treating surfaces of their ceramic work. The course will also present both historical and contemporary examples of ceramic work that illustrate ideas of design, functionality, and ceremony, so that students can gain deeper understanding and appreciation of the medium.

We will learn, in detail, how the cell uses just a few types of raw materials to construct complex structures. Some have evolved to catalyze chemical reactions with a high degree of selectivity and specificity; we will uncover their enzymatic strategies. Living things harvest energy from their environment to fuel metabolic processes, reproduce, and grow; we will keep account of these transactions and consider the exquisite control that permits a cell to be responsive and adapt its responses to inputs from the environment. Key topics: protein structure and function, thermodynamics, enzyme mechanisms, transport, signaling, intermediary metabolism, and regulation. (Recommended prerequisite for medical school admissions.)

This course, intended for students with some background in painting, aims at further development of painting skills, observation techniques, creativity, conceptual thinking and a theoretical appreciation for painting. Students will examine historical and contemporary conceptual and theoretical issues linked to the art of painting, explore both representational and non-representational contemporary practices, and work with both traditional and non-traditional materials. The course will be structured to include a significant level of independent work, under the guidance of the instructor.

This course uses ethnographic case studies to understand how sex, gender, and sexuality are socially constructed in different societies around the world and how these social constructions generate different identities, social categories, and relations of power. The course uses analytical tools of Anthropology to understand the cultural logic behind practices and beliefs that are informed by culturally specific sex/gender/sexuality systems; how those cultural logics and practices are related to relations of power between individuals; how they become embedded in institutions of the state that affect the way rights are distributed and often violated; and what happens when they come into contact through various types of transnational movements of people and ideas. The course will also expose students to debates about how we use these understandings of the cultural logics of gendered practices and ideologies in order to address specific examples of gender/sexuality discrimination, gender violence, and international human rights discourse and policies.

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

This project-based, laboratory-intensive course will focus on completing an authentic semester-long research project within the field of protein molecular biology and biochemistry. Students will propose and then use molecular cloning techniques to generate a novel protein mutant. They will then express and purify both the mutant and a wild-type control protein for comparative analysis. Through biochemical and biophysical experiments, students will gain new insights into how protein sequence dictates assembly and function. Students will gain experience with key molecular biology lab techniques such as molecular cloning, protein expression, and protein purification, Biochemical and biophysical methods including SDS-PAGE, UV-Vis spectroscopy, light scattering, and microscopy. Students will communicate their novel results through a final oral presentation and research paper. 

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.
 

The objective of this course is to enable students to advance and develop their own creative voice in photography beyond the introductory level through exploring both a wide range of processes and media and the study of history and theory of contemporary art. The course includes exposure to various equipment types and advance printing techniques, and is intended for those with prior experience.

Students will study the symbiotic relationship of the aggregating anemone, A. elegantissima and its zooxanthellae symbionts in the genus Breviolum. Students will design controlled experiments to elucidate how a chosen environmental variable can affect this delicate symbiosis, altering cellular and/or physiological characteristics in the symbiont and/or host.
Students will measure multiple dependent variables in the symbionts and/or hosts (anemones). Students will learn laboratory skills associated with cellular and physiological research techniques associated with quantifying symbiont and host characteristics including differential centrifugation, microscopy, flow cytometry, spectrophotometry, colorimetric protein assays, fluorometry, etc. Students will also learn seawater aquaria maintenance, anemone husbandry, experimental design, how to keep a scientific lab notebook, statistical data analysis, and how to write like a scientist. 

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

This is a project-based laboratory course focusing on the fundamental and practical aspect of analytical instrumentation typically employed in chemical and biochemical research laboratories. Through assigned projects, students will make new organic and inorganic compounds and apply various instrumental methods for separation, purification, and identification. 

This project-based, laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design and techniques, data collection and analysis, and science communication in the context of cell biology. Students will do a structured, skills-building experiment to examine cell signaling using tissue culture techniques and then design their own novel experiment to understand subcellular localization or protein-protein interactions inside a cell.

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

Using techniques relevant to evolutionary genetics, this laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and science communication.  In this course you will gain research experience in the field, in the laboratory, and in silico.  We will start by collecting marine invertebrates at local marinas, then extract DNA from tissue, amplify genes using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), visualize the PCR products using agarose gel electrophoresis, sequence the genes, edit and align the sequences, and finally analyze the sequences.  First, we will determine the population structure of the species using population genetics software.  Population structure is driven by the combined effects of the processes that disrupt Hardy Weinberg equilibrium: genetic drift, gene flow, non-random mating, mutation, and natural selection.  Next, we will build phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks to visualize the relationships between the individuals of these species.

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

This project-based laboratory course provides theoretical and practical training of fundamental organic laboratory techniques. Students will be guided through experimental design process of an organic chemistry-based project. Synthesis, isolation, and purification of the organic compounds will be carried out by utilizing techniques including distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, recrystallization, thin layer chromatography, and column chromatography. Characterization of the purified products will be done by spectroscopic techniques including IR, 13C NMR, 1H NMR, and Mass spectroscopy. Students will also practice fundamentals of effective scientific writing according to the American Chemical Society guidelines. The laboratory techniques and the student effort in this course are equivalent to what is offered and expected in traditional Organic Chemistry Laboratory I & II combined.

The goal of this course is to address real-world problems pertaining to microbiology. Students will gain experience in microbiological research related to aseptic technique, antimicrobial strategies, microbial isolation, and identification using microscopy, biochemical, and molecular techniques. Throughout the course, students will analyze data, make inferences, and communicate their findings both orally and written. This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

This course is an introduction to how the field of Medical Anthropology uses theoretical models, ethnographic research techniques, and writing from Cultural Anthropology to investigate the way that ideas about illness and things related to "medicine," "medical" procedures, and medical practitioners vary cross-culturally and intersect with relations of power both within societies and in cross-cultural encounters. Medical Anthropology is a relatively new field within Anthropology that can draw on Cultural, Biological, or Applied Anthropology. The basic premise of Medical Anthropology is that illness and suffering take place within complex social, cultural, and environmental systems that must be understood holistically, taking into consideration peoples' ideas about the body, mental states, economic relations, kinship, gender, sexuality, the supernatural, and other aspects of culture. This course will focus on the areas of Medical Anthropology that mainly consider how cultural ideas shape the way that people experience illness and "medicine" differently, their relations to different types of practitioners (doctors, shamans, others), ways that illnesses are categorized according to "folk" understandings, how illness can emanate from and express other social problems, and how even "biomedicine" contains within it certain cultural assumptions and ritual practices that stem from "western" culture and are therefore not culturally-neutral. It also explores other "niedical" processes that are not necessarily about illness such as reproductive technology, but that do involve ideas about the body, marriage, kinship, personhood, and so forth.

This project-based, laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design and techniques, data collection and analysis, and science communication in the context of biochemistry. Students will express, purify, detect, quantify, and perform biochemical assays of recombinant enzymes to gain new insights into their mechanism of action and how they may be inhibited. Students will gain experience with lab techniques such as sonication/homogenization, column chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, immunoblotting, etc. Students will communicate their results and ideas through oral presentations, research proposals, and research articles.

This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.

Architecture and Urbanism will explore the history and patterns of urban forms in some major cities of the modern world, as it relates to urbanism, environment and community. The course focuses on Natural and Green Architecture as well as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Rating System as an emerging movement and requirement in modern architecture that reconnects man to earth through the built environment, which will provide a new framework to approach buildings and structures.

This is a three-credit hour, six-contact hour course designed to introduce students to materials (paints, brushes, supports), and the various techniques for utilizing those materials (analyzing and mixing color, methods of using water-based media including, watercolor, ink, liquid acrylic to a variety of papers), visual elements (colors, lines, shapes, volumes, textures), and design elements (balance, rhythm, repetition, movement, scale, etc.) through observational studies of the still life, landscape, and figure.

In this course we examine “education” by looking beyond the typical setting of the school. Instead, we will consider education in the context of learning and culture. As scholars in history and anthropology have shown during recent decades, learning can be found in classrooms, families, churches, and public places. Learning can be thought of broadly as the process by which people acquire knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills. We will study the past as a deeply constitutive force in the present. Historians call this approach cultural history, anthropologists call it historical ethnography. Specific topics will include prominent and influential theories of pedagogy and learning, as well as the historical and cultural dynamics of race and ethnicity in learning. Throughout the course, we will keep the long history of education reform in mind – including contemporary initiatives. The course is modeled as an intensive reading and writing seminar in which students will be expected to complete an original research paper testing or applying principles discussed in class.

The Americas were populated for millennia before European colonization transformed the hemisphere and the lives of its first inhabitants. Descendants of these first inhabitants live in many parts of North America – including Orange County, California. This seminar explores the histories and cultures of select Native American peoples from Canada, Mexico, and the United States during selected eras, from before colonization and into the contemporary period. Through reading current and classic scholarship on Native Americans, along with writing a research essay on a topic of the students’ choosing, students will acquire an understanding of the historical and cultural processes that have defined Native American lives. 

This course examines anthropological and sociological perspectives of race and ethnicity. Drawing on studies from many different parts of the world, the course explores the nature of ethnic identity, the cultural construction and social meaning of race, the dynamics of race relations and ethnic stratification, and current theories of ethnic conflict and minority rights. The aim of this course is to develop the theoretical tools for comparing the politics of identity and cultural and racial difference cross-culturally and to be able to think critically about our own common sense understandings of race and ethnic relations.

This course offers students an in-depth look at historical and current trends in the theoretical frameworks and debates in the field of Socio-Cultural Anthropology. Beginning with the "founding fathers" of the discipline, the course traces the emergence of anthropology as a discipline, the development of the ethnographic method, and exposes students to current debates in the field concerning the ethics of anthropological research and ethnographic writing.

This course engages students in a critical examination of contemporary urban experiences with a focus on peoples living in the margins of large, dense urban communities, both inside and outside of North America. The course will address questions surrounding how the articulation of global and local markets affects the expression of traditional and modern identities, how underground or informal economies shape the creation of urban street life, and how children and adults actively pursue meaningful family life in contexts of extreme poverty. Readings will focus on cities in the Pacific basin.

The goal of this class is to understand the particular forms of violence that exist in Latin America, the causes of these forms of violence, and how they are connected to particular local and national histories, cultural ideologies, and social structures. It is also the goal of this class to understand the meaning of violence: that is, how do people in Latin America make sense of the violence around them? How do they justify and/or condemn it? How is violence sometimes used as a way to make meaning, to protest inequality and impunity, and to assert subjectivity? The course will be based primarily on ethnographic case studies of different forms of violence (structural, institutional, state-sponsored, intra-familial, vigilante, armed resistance, etc.) that look at its socio-economic-political context but also its cultural meaning to the perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. The rationale of the course is that it is by understanding the meaning of violence, the context within which it is carried out, and its cultural logic, that we are best equipped to begin to address it. 

The Capstone research project, consisting of Capstone 390, 400, and 450, is a culminating experience that draws upon the skills and knowledge students have developed through their liberal arts education and their chosen concentration. Each student works with a faculty mentor to develop a research project related to the student’s declared concentration. Students meet regularly with their Capstone mentor for support and feedback. Work completed in Capstone 390 includes the development of a proposal that outlines a body of work to be completed through the full Capstone sequence and that aligns with the Undergraduate Capstone Policy, the Capstone Learning Objectives, and the standards set by the student’s concentration.

The Capstone research project, consisting of Capstone 390, 400, and 450, is a culminating experience that draws upon the skills and knowledge students have developed through their liberal arts education and their chosen concentration. Each student works with a faculty mentor to carry out a research project related to the student’s declared concentration. Students meet regularly with their Capstone mentor for support and feedback. Work completed in Capstone 400 develops the Capstone 390 proposal toward the final body of work to be submitted in Capstone 450 and must meet the criteria set in the Undergraduate Capstone Policy as well as standards set by the student’s concentration.

The Capstone research project, consisting of Capstone 390, 400, and 450, is a culminating experience that draws upon the skills and knowledge students have developed through their liberal arts education and their chosen concentration. Each student works with a faculty mentor to complete a research project related to the student’s declared concentration. Students meet regularly with their Capstone mentor for support and feedback. The final Capstone project submitted at the end of Capstone 450 constitutes a unified body of work commensurate with the 6 units awarded for the entire Capstone sequence and must meet the criteria set in the Undergraduate Capstone Policy as well as standards set by the student’s concentration.