Music, Ensembles and Lessons (Individual and Group)
Weekly lessons with the instructor and daily practice are expected. Music majors may earn a full course credit during the semester in which a senior recital is given. This course may be repeated more than once for credit.
Neuroscience
This course provides an introduction to the structure and function of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Fundamental concepts and topics in neuroscience will be discussed using molecular/cellular, behavioral and/or cognitive frameworks; clinically relevant conditions (e.g., neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders) will also be explored. Methods and techniques used by neuroscientists in research laboratories and clinical settings will be used to understand how neuroscience knowledge is constructed.
This course explores the neural mechanisms underlying behavior and cognition. Topics may include motivation, learning and memory, emotion, stress, sleep and circadian rhythms, attention, and decision-making. Neuroscience methodology and preclinical models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders will be discussed.
This lecture and laboratory course utilizes electrical recordings from a variety of invertebrates to build upon topics discussed in NEUR 208, illustrating the principles of nervous system communication in sensory and motor systems. The course will also include the roles of hypothesis testing, models, data analysis, and the scientific method in understanding how experimental data can lead to knowledge of nervous system function.
This lecture and laboratory course utilizes electrical recordings from a variety of invertebrates to build upon topics discussed in NEUR 208, illustrating the principles of nervous system communication in sensory and motor systems. The course will also include the roles of hypothesis testing, models, data analysis, and the scientific method in understanding how experimental data can lead to knowledge of nervous system function.
Philosophy
Topics and themes in philosophy related to central questions of philosophy: Is there a meaning to human life? What can we know? What is the nature of reality? And how should we live? These questions are addressed through a rigorous examination of philosophical texts, works of literature, films, and contemporary issues.
Topics and themes in philosophy related to central questions of philosophy: Is there a meaning to human life? What can we know? What is the nature of reality? And how should we live? These questions are addressed through a rigorous examination of philosophical texts, works of literature, films, and contemporary issues.
An examination, through classical and contemporary texts, of the ways in which our economic actions and interests are shaped by our political values and institutions, and also by more general considerations of justice and fairness. Special attention is given to the following questions: Do the political values cherished most highly presuppose a market economy? Or would they be better served by a socialist economy? Can a market economy flourish in the absence of these values? Which sort of economic structure is most conducive to the common good? Can a just society tolerate economic inequality?
An examination, through classical and contemporary texts, of the ways in which our economic actions and interests are shaped by our political values and institutions, and also by more general considerations of justice and fairness. Special attention is given to the following questions: Do the political values cherished most highly presuppose a market economy? Or would they be better served by a socialist economy? Can a market economy flourish in the absence of these values? Which sort of economic structure is most conducive to the common good? Can a just society tolerate economic inequality?
An analysis of the major turning points in the development of the concept of the self in Western philosophical thought. The point of the analysis is to elucidate our contemporary conception and the problems with it in order to point to a solution to these problems. In so doing, possible answers to the questions of the nature of rationality, knowledge, faith, and the meaning of life will be proposed.
An examination of artificial intelligence and the philosophical questions raised by its development and use. Topics include the basic principles and operation of contemporary AI systems; classic and contemporary philosophical accounts of intelligence, thought, language, and consciousness; debates over whether machines can think, understand, or create; and the implications of AI for knowledge, authorship, moral responsibility, and political questions. Students will read and discuss texts and ideas drawn from the history of philosophy, the philosophy of mind, as well as contemporary debates in ethics and political economy.
A philosophical examination of the moral, political, and economic developments which attended the birth of modernity. Special attention is given to the following topics: the nature and source of our moral obligations; the necessity and scope of political authority; the nature and extent of our individual rights and liberties; the moral and social implications of the market economy.
The aim of this course is to provide students with a working knowledge of modern logic through an examination of three increasingly powerful methods of representing the logical structure of ordinary language arguments. Emphasis on developing strategies for proving validity and invalidity.
A study of selected Platonic dialogue-especially the early and middle dialogues-together with the ethics of Socrates and the theories of knowledge, reality, and value developed by Plato.
An examination and evaluation of Wittgenstein's philosophical views through a close reading of various writings from Tractatus Logico-Philosophicusto to Philosophical Investigations.
Physics and Astronomy
A continuation of Physics 101. Topics include thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, circuits, optics, nuclear and atomic physics.
A continuation of Physics 101. Topics include thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, circuits, optics, nuclear and atomic physics.
A continuation of Physics 101. Topics include thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, circuits, optics, nuclear and atomic physics.