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 individuals, populations, and communities of plants and animals of the geologic past: their taphonomic histories, interactions with changing environments, and relationships to the sedimentary rock record. One weekend field trip.
A study of soils as they relate to land use, bedrock and geomorphology, site quality, and vegetation processes. Emphasizes field interpretation of soils as one component of terrestrial ecosystems. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips, three hours.
A study of soils as they relate to land use, bedrock and geomorphology, site quality, and vegetation processes. Emphasizes field interpretation of soils as one component of terrestrial ecosystems. Lecture, three hours; laboratory and field trips, three hours.
A study of deformed rocks and an introduction to tectonics. Preparation and interpretation of geologic maps; solution of basic structural problems. Field work emphasizes geologic mapping on the Cumberland Plateau and in more structurally deformed areas in eastern Tennessee. Lecture, three hours.
A study of deformed rocks and an introduction to tectonics. Preparation and interpretation of geologic maps; solution of basic structural problems. Field work emphasizes geologic mapping on the Cumberland Plateau and in more structurally deformed areas in eastern Tennessee. Lecture, three hours.
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.
German and German Studies
This course is an introduction to life and culture in German-speaking societies. It enables students to express ideas in German about everyday topics, including friends, relationships, weather, clothing, food, and daily routines. Through communicative activities, students learn to ask and answer questions, seek information and share opinions, navigate a variety of conversational settings, and develop sensitivity for cultural difference.
This course is an introduction to life and culture in German-speaking societies. It enables students to express ideas in German about everyday topics, including friends, relationships, weather, clothing, food, and daily routines. Through communicative activities, students learn to ask and answer questions, seek information and share opinions, navigate a variety of conversational settings, and develop sensitivity for cultural difference.
This intermediate-level course integrates German language learning with developing a deeper understanding of cultural production in German-speaking societies. Exploring the spatial and human diversity of German-speaking Europe, students study familiar and essential topics from German perspectives and make cross-cultural comparisons about topics such as cities, travel and the self, consumption and consumerism, historical transformations, the environment, and visions of the future.
This intermediate-level course integrates German language learning with developing a deeper understanding of cultural production in German-speaking societies. Exploring the spatial and human diversity of German-speaking Europe, students study familiar and essential topics from German perspectives and make cross-cultural comparisons about topics such as cities, travel and the self, consumption and consumerism, historical transformations, the environment, and visions of the future.
This course investigates topics related to the environment and sustainability in German culture, such as climate change, green energy, environmental policy, grassroots activism, and sustainable cities. The course examines how such topics illuminate and inform aspects of contemporary German society. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic differs.
Global Citizenship
Students engage in an approved internship on an authorized study abroad or study away program. Students are expected to complete 45-67.5 hours of internship work per credit hour. Interning students will complete bi-weekly reflective exercises and an academic paper at the end of the internship.
Greek
An intensive, introductory course in classical and koine Greek emphasizing forms and syntax and with extensive readings. Four class hours per week.
A continuation of the study of grammar with readings from a variety of classical authors. Four class hours per week.
Selections from the elegiac, iambic, and melic poets are read.
History
Two principles central to modern American culture are "separation of church and state" and individual freedom of religious choice. For most of Western history, however, these principles would have been largely incomprehensible. This course examines the close relationship between religion and "the state" in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and medieval Europe, analyzing the ways in which they reinforced each other as well as instances in which they came into conflict. More broadly, the course examines ways in which religion reinforced or challenged social norms relating to gender, hierarchy, and the identification of "insiders" and marginalized groups.
The course delves into the intellectual, social and cultural aspects of the Native American/European encounter in what came to be called Latin America in the first century after the arrival of Columbus. It examines such facets as the underlying religious and political legitimation of the Iberian conquests, indigenous responses, and the issue of "othering" and mutual perceptions. It also scrutinizes material and institutional factors such as Spanish imperial and Indian policy, forms of surplus extraction established by the Spanish, and political arrangements embracing native peoples and Europeans.
This course focuses on Race, Class, and Identity in American history since the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 to the present, emphasizing specific political, social, and economic developments. It examines such topics as expansion, Populist and Progressive movements, the Great Depression, the World Wars, reform and dissent in the 1960s and the Vietnam conflict.
This course examines how ideas about sex, gender, and work have intertwined and changed across U.S. history. It considers both how women have negotiated sex and sexuality in their work—including wanted and unwanted sexual advances in the workplace—and how activism around issues of sex, sexual assault, and rape has itself been work. This course will pay special attention to women’s experiences of sexual harassment both in and outside the workplace. Students will consider how the history of unwanted sexual attention informs present-day debates and activism around these issues, up to and including the #MeToo movement.