RESULTS:College of Arts & Sciences, Advent Semester 2025

Download CSV

Forestry

This course explores the identification, biology and morphology of woody plants, with emphasis on the major forest species of North America. Primary focus is on the ecophysiological characteristics of species and their roles in forest succession, species distribution across the landscape, and responses to disturbance and environmental stress. Includes field identification of native trees and shrubs of the eastern U.S., with special emphasis on the Cumberland Plateau and the southeast. Lecture, laboratory, and weekend field trips.
This course examines how natural and anthropogenic changes in the earth system are affecting the composition, functioning, and stability of the world's forests. Topics include: the impacts of climate change, altered atmospheric chemistry, land-use change, invasive species, species extinctions, and sea level rise on forests at the regional scale and the accompanying feedbacks on the earth system at the continental to global scales.
A survey of theory and methods used in natural resource management analysis and decision making with an emphasis on forests and some other renewable resources such as wildlife. Students will use resource modeling and decision-making software to address problems in managing multiple resources. Emphasis will be on (1) evaluation of the effects of land characteristics, tax policy, risk, and interest rates on management; (2) choice among policy alternatives proposed by competing groups; and (3) application of concepts of management, policy, economics, and spatial analysis to land management. Practicums will involve analysis of resource data and presentation of preferred strategies.
Oral presentations of important topics and published data in forestry, geology, and other environmental sciences. Course goal is to train students through practice to give and critique oral presentations appropriate for scientific or other professional research. Each student gives several presentations and formally critiques other presentations as part of the course.

French and French Studies

An intensive course in the basic elements of the language: pronunciation, structure of sentences, conversation, and reading. Use of language laboratory required. Four hours of class per week.
An intensive course in the basic elements of the language: pronunciation, structure of sentences, conversation, and reading. Use of language laboratory required. Four hours of class per week.
An intensive course in more advanced elements of the language: pronunciation, structure of sentences, conversation, and reading. Use of language laboratory required. Four hours of class per week.
An intensive course in more advanced elements of the language: pronunciation, structure of sentences, conversation, and reading. Use of language laboratory required. Four hours of class per week.
An intensive course in more advanced elements of the language: pronunciation, structure of sentences, conversation, and reading. Use of language laboratory required. Four hours of class per week.
A continuation of the study of advanced French language, leading to readings from various authors, periods, genres, and Francophone countries. Specific grammatical structures are studied parallel to the readings, and progress in oral and written French is also stressed.
Advanced language review and emphasis on accuracy of expression with intensive writing on diverse themes. Development of oral expression and vocabulary expansion; materials used include audio, video, and electronic sources, as well as readings.
Intensive grammar review and vocabulary expansion–specifically, the acquisition of pivotal expressions that aid in modulating the flow of the French sentence; the overall goal is to improve students' compositional skills for the various writing assignments required while studying in Nantes. Literary and cultural readings are also discussed and analyzed in the second part of the course, with excursions to areas within Nantes and the Brittany region that have a significant connection to the authors' lives. This course is part of the Sewanee Semester in France program.
Readings in baroque poets, Descartes, Pascal, LaFontaine, moralistes, Boileau, as well as in the great dramatists of the century: Corneille, Moliere, and Racine.
A study of the stylistic strains of the century, with particular emphasis on enlightenment writings and on the development of the novel and of comedy: Montesquieu, Marivaux, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Beaumarchais, Isabelle de Charriere, Andre Chenier, among others.

Geology

A study of the geological features and processes that shape the earth's surface and subsurface. Lectures detail major components of the earth and the dynamic processes that generate them (including rocks, minerals, fossils, mountain belts, ocean basins, tectonic activity, magma formation, and climate change). Environmental issues related to geology (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, groundwater contamination, and coastal and stream erosion) are major topics of discussion. Field-oriented lab exercises utilize excellent geological exposures of the Cumberland Plateau and the nearby Appalachian Mountains. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips (including one weekend trip).
A study of the geological features and processes that shape the earth's surface and subsurface. Lectures detail major components of the earth and the dynamic processes that generate them (including rocks, minerals, fossils, mountain belts, ocean basins, tectonic activity, magma formation, and climate change). Environmental issues related to geology (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, groundwater contamination, and coastal and stream erosion) are major topics of discussion. Field-oriented lab exercises utilize excellent geological exposures of the Cumberland Plateau and the nearby Appalachian Mountains. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips (including one weekend trip).
A study of the geological features and processes that shape the earth's surface and subsurface. Lectures detail major components of the earth and the dynamic processes that generate them (including rocks, minerals, fossils, mountain belts, ocean basins, tectonic activity, magma formation, and climate change). Environmental issues related to geology (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, groundwater contamination, and coastal and stream erosion) are major topics of discussion. Field-oriented lab exercises utilize excellent geological exposures of the Cumberland Plateau and the nearby Appalachian Mountains. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips (including one weekend trip).
A study of the geological features and processes that shape the earth's surface and subsurface. Lectures detail major components of the earth and the dynamic processes that generate them (including rocks, minerals, fossils, mountain belts, ocean basins, tectonic activity, magma formation, and climate change). Environmental issues related to geology (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, groundwater contamination, and coastal and stream erosion) are major topics of discussion. Field-oriented lab exercises utilize excellent geological exposures of the Cumberland Plateau and the nearby Appalachian Mountains. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips (including one weekend trip).
A study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and properties of minerals. Lectures focus on the connection between the atomic structure and chemical bonding of minerals and the macro-scale physical properties that dictate their role in society. Laboratory work uses the physical properties of minerals observed in hand samples, combined with microscopy and X-ray diffraction to identify the most abundant minerals in the Earth’s crust.
A study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and properties of minerals. Lectures focus on the connection between the atomic structure and chemical bonding of minerals and the macro-scale physical properties that dictate their role in society. Laboratory work uses the physical properties of minerals observed in hand samples, combined with microscopy and X-ray diffraction to identify the most abundant minerals in the Earth’s crust.
Visit The Main Sewanee Site