RESULTS:College of Arts & Sciences, Advent Semester 2026

Physics and Astronomy

This broad study of classical and modern physics includes all major fields. The mathematical description utilizes geometry, trigonometry, algebra and calculus. Lectures: three hours; laboratory, three hours.
This broad study of classical and modern physics includes all major fields. The mathematical description utilizes geometry, trigonometry, algebra and calculus. Lectures: three hours; laboratory, three hours.
This broad study of classical and modern physics includes all major fields. The mathematical description utilizes geometry, trigonometry, algebra and calculus. Lectures: three hours; laboratory, three hours.
This broad study of classical and modern physics includes all major fields. The mathematical description utilizes geometry, trigonometry, algebra and calculus. Lectures: three hours; laboratory, three hours.
This course begins with the conservation of momentum and energy. It deals with energy and gravitational interactions, and emphasizes the atomic structure of matter, and the modeling of materials as particles connected by springs. The course is designed for engineering and science students. The main goal of this course, which is formatted with an integrated lab-lecture (studio) approach, is to have the students engage in a process central to science-the attempt to model a broad range of physical phenomena using a small set of powerful fundamental principles. The course counts in fulfillment of the general distribution requirement for a laboratory science course. The course is not open for credit to students who have earned credit for PHYS 101.
A study of the fundamental principles of geometrical and physical optics with lasers and holography used extensively in the laboratory. Lecture, three hours.
The electric and magnetic fields produced by simple charge and current distributions are calculated. Alternating and direct-current circuits with passive and active components are tested.
A brief introduction to modern physics. Topics will include photoelectric effect, relativist energy and momentum, Rutherford and Compton scattering, brief introduction to one-dimensional quantum mechanics, models of the atom, radioactivity, and quantum computing or quantum entanglement.
This course offers an introduction to the theory and practice of experimental physics, with an emphasis on modern experiments and techniques. Experimental topics can include spectroscopy from gamma energies into the infrared, NMR, visible and infrared optics, holography and diffractive optics, scanning electron microscopy, and advanced electronics with computer interfacing. Some experiments are performed offsite to use instruments not available on campus. Programming languages such as LabVIEW, MatLab, and Mathematica are used. Attendance at departmental seminars is required. This course can be repeated once for credit.

Politics

A study of the United States federal government.
A study of the United States federal government.
A study of the United States federal government.
An introduction to the comparative study of politics, employing a conceptual or thematic approach. Selected countries' political systems will be examined with a focus on major features, including their governmental institutions, political parties, and political culture.
An introduction to the comparative study of politics, employing a conceptual or thematic approach. Selected countries' political systems will be examined with a focus on major features, including their governmental institutions, political parties, and political culture.
An introduction to the study of international relations concentrating on perspectives and policies of major countries, principal institutions, international law and international organization, and selected topics-for example, arms races and arms control, economic and political integration, disparities of income, problems of food and population, and human rights. Course requirements may include simulation.
An introduction to the study of international relations concentrating on perspectives and policies of major countries, principal institutions, international law and international organization, and selected topics-for example, arms races and arms control, economic and political integration, disparities of income, problems of food and population, and human rights. Course requirements may include simulation.
Why punish? How might one justify it? Is punishment, ultimately, good? This course will begin with the thesis that punishment, as a whole, is good: the rehabilitative and restorative traditions, along with relevant readings from thinkers like Kant and Hegel, articulate the moral and social benefits of punishment. A look to more instrumental utilizations of punishment will follow, including utilitarian and deterrent traditions and readings from Bentham and Machiavelli. Finally, critical historical genealogies of punishment in Nietzsche and Foucault will serve as a bridge to the covering violence inherent in mass incarceration and the alternative of prison abolition.
Beginning in the third century B.C.E., China began construction of its Great Wall, an attempt to keep out "barbarian invaders." Since that time, China has had an uneasy relationship with foreign powers. Students analyze early Chinese conceptions of its proper relations with foreign powers, contemporary relations with Japan and the United States, and attempts by foreigners to change Chinese politics, culture, and economy. Readings emphasize Chinese notions of nationhood and the dynamics of globalization.
An applied course in the theoretical literature that underlies understandings of the natural environment, human interaction with the environment, and the rights both of humans and of elements of the natural order. Readings and discussion emphasize the theoretical underpinning of environmental justice, both domestic and international, as well as the intersection of environmental theory with international political economy.
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of the scientific process of social inquiry. Students develop skills enabling them to better digest the social science literature and produce causal theories related to important outcomes, behaviors, or institutions. Additionally, students learn how to assess the validity of social theories by collecting data, testing observable implications and exploring an interesting question about domestic or international political behavior or institutions.