This class explores the evolutionary roots of humanity. It is intended to provide a foundation in how the scientific method can reveal aspects of our ancestry, using the fossil record of early humans, the behavior of living primates, and the behavior of living hunter-gatherer people. The course is a lecture format with a weekly lab and a field project. The core of this course is Darwinian theory, and all components of it. These principles explain how an ape ancestor evolved and diversified over 5 million years, leading to modern homosapiens.

Readings and Assignments:
Texts: Boyd and Silk: How Humans Evolved
Physical Anthropology Reader
Goodall: Through a Window
Plus other supplemental readings and much hands-on work in TA-run labs.

Note: The readings and assignments list may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.

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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 102Lg
Humans and their Environment
Professors Kiefer & Perkins
TTh, 2:00 - 3:20

The goals of this course are to teach ecological and evolutionary principles that control the size and species composition of populations plant species buy also the human population. We will see how the activities of humans have modified and destroyed natural communities, and how the human population is itself ultimately constrained by these principles. Each week the course material is presented in two 80-minute lectures and is discussed in one 120 minute discussion group. The discussion group also includes local field trips, a computer lab devoted to population dynamics, and several laboratory studies. Grades are based upon examinations, papers, and participation during the discussion group. This course explores principle of energy and material transformations, genetics, evolution, and ecology.

Readings and Assignments:
Reading assignments are in Audesirk and Audesirk, "Life on Earth," and in Goldfarb, "Taking Sides." The field trips are made to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and the Page Museum. The laboratory studies explore natural selection and predator prey interactions. Students are required to write short papers on the articles from Goldfarb, their field trips, and their laboratory studies.

Note: The readings and assignments list may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.

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The following course description belongs to Professor Appleman.

BISC 150L is designed to bring students to a level of understanding of modern Biomedical Science that will enable them to make rational decisions on personal, ethical, and political issues in health and disease. This level will be reached through lectures, reading of texts and news media, discussions, and laboratory experiments. Topics include:
* The molecular and cellular nature of man
* Nutrition, aestherosclerosis, and osteoporosis
* Human genetics and genetic diseases
* Cancer, its treatment and its prevention
* Infection and the immune response
* HIV, HIV therapy, and AIDS
* Neurology and mental disease

BISC 150Lg is a participatory course. Frequent lecture exercises will encourage students to take ethical and social positions on health issues; critical assignments will allow students to evaluate public and media views on controversial subjects; a research project will lead students to become true experts on a subject of their choice; and laboratory experiments will give an appreciation of modern biotechnology. Examinations, which count for about one third of the course grade, will be open-book.

Please contact the department for the readings and assignments list.

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"Chemistry in Life" is a friendly new category IV GE course designed for "non"-science majors. However, students interested in health sciences (medicine, pharmacy, dentistry will find it interesting as well as business (entrepreneurism and biotechnology companies), law, social sciences and humanities students; undeclared majors are also welcomed (the first class, given F / 97 included cinema and exercise science majors, among others). The focus of the course is the science underlying new AIDS drugs. 'Real world' aspects are also covered: how a drug is synthesized and tested, patent issues, economics of bringing a drug to the marketplace, how drugs are approved for human use. The course itself provides the necessary chemistry and other scientific background which is introduced on an as-needed, "just-in-time" basis. A multimedia snapshot of the course is currently available at the Chemistry 203Lg Website. Prospective students are encouraged to explore this site (for a quick overview, try the Chemistry 203Lg FAQ).

Students are guided through the amazing new molecular technology which is revolutionizing medicine, with focus on the science underlying new anti-viral agents or diagnostic reagents, from drug design to clinical use. The course adopts a multidisciplinary approach, integrating different scientific principles to explore how effective drugs have been developed against AIDS, a disease which was only clearly recognized 15 years ago.

Readings and Assignments:
A multimedia snapshot of this course is currently available at the Chemistry 203Lg Website. The Website lists the text and includes outline notes for the entire course. The course makes extensive use of the World Wide Web to find information resources. A virtual lab (computer-based) is included which provides every student with a hands-on tutorial on:
1) how to use a computer interface with the Web;
2) how to find medical and other scientific information on the Web;
3) how to locate specific drugs and drug makers on the Web; and much else. In addition, the course features several guest lectures by experts who provide current perspectives on course topics.

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EXERCISE SCIENCE 205Lg
The Science of Human Performance
Professor Girandola
MWF, 9:00 - 9:50

This course is designed to allow students to understand the scientific basis of human performance. What are the underlying factors that cause fatigue during exercise? Are these factors the same, regardless of what kind of exercise? What can be done to prevent or reduce levels of fatigue? In addition, the course looks at factors that can improve exercise tolerance, such as training, ergogenic aids and drugs. It is a course that will be of interest to the general student as well as the elite athlete. Lectures include discussions of the physiological, biochemical, morphological and nutritional contributions.

Lectures are three days per week, and there is a formal 2-hour lab section each week. The laboratory exercises will allow students hands-on experience to test some of the theoretical concepts that are discussed in the lectures. These experiments are aimed at helping students understand scientific conclusions. In other words, how do we know what we know? Some of the laboratory exercises include the measurement of aerobic capacity, body composition, strength and anaerobic capacity. It should be emphasized that athletic performance in the laboratory is NOT a prerequisite for an excellent grade.

Textbook: McArdle, Katch, & Katch. Essentials of Exercise Physiology. (2nd edition)

Grading:
First Mid-term: 25%
Second Mid-term: 25%
Final Exam: 25%
Laboratory Grade: 25%

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GEOGRAPHY 165Lg
The Atmospheric Environment
Professor Bauer
TTh, 12:30 - 1:50

Please contact the department for course description.

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GEOGRAPHY 260Lg
Natural Hazards
Professors Wilson & McKenzie
TTh, 9:30 - 10:50

The environment has always posed risks to its human inhabitants. While we may pride ourselves on just how far civilization has progressed in protecting us from the varieties of the physical world, we cannot escape the nagging worry that natural disasters seem to be impacting greater numbers of people and greater amounts of property than ever before. This course will provide an introduction to extreme geophysical and atmospheric events inquiring into the scientific nature of these phenomena as well as their time/space distribution. Methodologies for analyzing these events will be discussed and students will have the opportunity to make their own measurements and analysis through laboratory exercises. As different disaster typologies are developed in class consideration of structural and non-structural modifications and mitigation will be developed and students will develop an appreciation of how and why some strategies seem to ameliorate effects of hazards while others seemingly exacerbate the situation.

This course is designed to explore the interrelationship between science and technology by focusing on a related set of natural hazard phenomena including geophysical events (earthquake, volcanism, mass movement, and coastal zone erosion) and atmospheric events (hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding) as well as fire. How society has, continues to and will attempt to cope with these events is clearly a major thrust of this course.

Readings and Assignments:
Students will be evaluated through three midterms (half the course credit), a research paper (20% of the course credit) and an interrelated series of 10 laboratory exercises (30% of the course credit.) A laboratory manual plus two textbooks are required.

Note: Please contact the department for the readings and assignments list.

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GEOGRAPHY 281Lg
Environmental Geographic Information Systems
Professor Wilson
TTh, 12:30 - 1:50

This course introduces students to the evolving science, technology, and applications of Geographic Information Systems. These methods are increasingly used to advance scientific knowledge of the natural and built environments, and they have been applied to problems of water supply, soil water distribution, erosion and deposition, non-point source pollution, crop yield and growth, and ecological modeling. The lab assignments provide "hands-on" exposure to computer processing of environmental information with a variety of GIS software packages.

Required Text:
Clarke K.C. (1999) Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems (2nd edition). Upper Saddle Creek, NJ, Prentice Hall. 338p.

Grading:
Laboratory Assignments (10 total) 40%
Mid-term Exam                   20%
Final Exam                           40%

Note: Please contact the department for the readings and assignments list.

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GEOLOGY 125Lg
Earth History: A Planet and Its Evolution
Professor Hammond
MWF, 9:00 - 9:50

Our planet has a history extending back over 4.5 billion years. The objective of this course is to use basic principles of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics to decipher clues to this history that have been written in the rock record. A weekly laboratory section will emphasize skills in observation and analysis of data. A field trip will be required to visit rocks in their habitat. Through this effort we gain an appreciation of the processes that have shaped our planet. An emphasis will be placed on observational phenomena and differentiating between competing hypotheses. I will assume that the students may have had minimal exposure to science in high school and have not previously taken a college science course. We will discuss questions such as: Where did the earth come from? How and why does our planet differ from others? Why did life emerge from the sea? Why did the dinosaurs die? Will California fall into the Ocean? Will our climate change? Why do earthquakes occur?

Note: The course's most current information is available through the instructor's website.

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GEOLOGY 150Lg
Climate Change
Professor Stott
MWF, 10:00 - 10:50

The Earth's climate influences all aspects of Earth's environment and plays an important role in determining the economic vitality development within a society. The Earth's climate also plays an important role in determining patterns of biological change. Earth's geological history teaches us that some climate changes that have occurred have been very abrupt and had dramatic effects on the Earth's biota. Future climate changes are inevitable and, to some extent, predictable. Yet predicting exactly how, why and when climate will change is very difficult, requiring sophisticated scientific data gathering techniques and advanced computer models in order to make even the most fundamental predictions, like what the climate will be tomorrow or the next day. Understanding the climate system and being able to make accurate statements about future climate change is of such importance to our social well being that climate research is a major focus in the United States scientific community.

This course is designed to provide the student with an introduction to the science of climate change. In this course we will examine how the climate system operates. We will investigate records of past climate on Earth ranging from the time of the dinosaurs to the dawn of man. We will examine the impact of climate change on biological, sociological and economic patterns on Earth. We will also examine some of the controversial aspects of potential future climate change, including global warming and greenhouse effect and El Niño. The course consists of three lectures each week and one laboratory . In the laboratory the students will participate in the development of scientific hypothesis which will then be tested by conducting an experiment or making observations. The laboratory assignments will provide a hands-on experience with the science of climate change.

The laboratory portion of the class is intended to help you understand the complexity of the climate system, how it operates and how it is susceptible to change. We will examine real climate data and will use this data to learn how climate change is evaluated. You will also be asked to form work groups (of approximately 5 people) to conduct a research project. The project will be to investigate a climate event. You can use all the resources you've learned in the class to document as much about the climate of this event as possible. The group will then present its findings on the last week of the class.

Required Texts:
Text Book: Atmosphere, Climate and Change, by T. Graedel and P. Crutzen (required)
Text Book: The Atmosphere 7th ed., F. Lutgens and E. Tarbuck (optional)
Lab Manual: The Atmosphere 7th ed., C. Carbone (required)
plus handouts provided.

Grading: The course grade is based on a total point scale of 500 points. There are two midterm exams (100 points each). The laboratory portion of the class is worth 150 points. Group Reports are 50 points. The final exam is worth 150 points.

Note: The readings and assignments list may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.

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GEOLOGY 240Lg
Earthquakes
Professor Owen
TTh, 12:30 - 1:50

This course description belongs to Professor Sammis.

In this course we explore earthquakes, volcanoes, seismic Sea Waves, and participate in a thorough discussion on the physical principles and their impacts to the human society, as well as how we cope with these hazards.

Note: Please contact the department for the reading and assignments list.

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LINGUISTICS 110Lg
In a Word
Professor Borer
MWF, 11:00 - 11:50

Please contact the department for course description.

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LINGUISTICS 275Lg
Language and Mind
Professors Mintz & Walker
TTh, 11:00 - 12:20

The following course description belongs to Professor Byrd.

LING 275 is an introduction to language as a cognitive science. It is a course team-taught by a linguist and a psychologist, using multi-media lectures. In addition to exploring a variety of topics in speech and in language processing, students are introduced to the use of computers in the scientific analysis of spoken language.

Topics include: speech and hearing physiology, acoustics, language acquisition, the structure, perception, and reading of words, linguistic diversity in signed and spoken languages, language representation in the brain and associated disorders, and speech technology.

Please see the course website and on-line syllabus at: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~dbyrd/ling275.index

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PHYSICS 200Lg
The Physics and Technology of Energy: Keeping the Motor Running
Professor Bozler
TTh, 10:00 - 11:50

The following course description belongs to Professor Wagner.

This general education course is designed for the non-physics major with little, if any, previous background in the sciences and mathematics. This is an evolving course, and this semester its laboratory component will include not only experiments, in which your participation will give you a better understanding of measurements and quantitative reasoning, but also some computer simulations.

The central topic of this course is energy. Everybody has some idea of what the word energy means. For those who saw the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in 1984, energy seemed to be best represented by Mary Lou Retton, a sixteen year old athlete who became the first American woman to win a gold medal in gymnastics by achieving two perfect scores in the final events. That idea of energy is in common use, but in this course we shall restrict the meaning somewhat. One early goal of this course is to develop an intuitive sense of what energy is -- from the physicist's perspective. Another goal, supplementing that intuitive sense, is to understand the numbers and units involved in dealing scientifically and technologically with energy. Numbers play an important role because the scale of the energy needed to keep out society is huge. (How much of the nation's energy supply does a supertanker sitting in San Pedro represent?) Commercially, energy is measured in strange units - barrels of oil, tons of coal, cubic meters of gas, megawatt hours of electricity, etc., and we need to know the implied assumptions involved in converting such units to a universal standard, such as scientific units.

Another goal of the course is to understand "the energy problem". Physicists insist that "energy is conserved" as a law of nature, so why to individuals, groups, organizations, nations, and trans-national bodies devote so much attention to the "energy problem"? The most important goal may be to understand why the "energy problem" has not only scientific and technological components, but also economic and political components. There are interesting technological and fundamental scientific aspects of "the energy problem" that should be understood by all who wish to participate in the formulation of energy policies. In this vein, we need to address the consequences of energy transformations, such as depletion of resources and the generation of pollution.

Texts
* Aubrecht, Gordon J. Energy, 2nd edition. Prentice Hall.

Grading
* 2 Midterms: 25 % (12.5% each)
* Final: 25%
* Homework: 15%
* Lab: 20%
* Quizzes: 15%

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PSYCHOLOGY 165Lg
Drugs, Behavior and Society
Professor Earleywine
MW, 2:00 - 3:50

Please contact the Psychology department for course description.