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Category IV: Investigations in Science and Technology These courses focus on a particular area of research using perspectives from several scientific disciplines and demonstrating connections among scientific principles, their technological applications, and social consequences. A lab or field experience is required.
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ANTHROPOLOGY 200Lg
The Origens of Humanity
Stanford
MW, 2:00 - 3:20
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.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 102Lg
Humans and their Environment
Kiefer/Bakus
TTh, 11:00 - 12:20
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.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 150g
Human Health and Disease
Appleman
TTh, 9:30 - 10:50
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, atherosclerosis, 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.
Note: Please contact the department for the readings and assignments list.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 230
Brain, Mind and Machine
McClure/Greene
TTh, 12:30 - 1:50
The goal of BISC 230g is to bring the excitement of the neural sciences to a general education audience. The 1990's have been designated the Decade of the Brain by the US Congress; the next century might well become the Century of the Brain. The function of the brain is simple: it generates behavior. All behavior; any behavior. How this happens is not simple. Neuroscience is expanding our understanding of the brain and its functions in remarkable ways. We can visualize the human brain as people think and create. We can see parts of the brain become active as we feel emotions of love; of hate; of rage. The secrets of errors in the way the brain works are becoming known. We can learn about mental illness, and may be able more effectively to help those terrorized by it. Autism, depression, and ADD are all diseases which we can now study.
BISC 230g has a laboratory / discussion which meets for three hours each week, and is supplemented weekly by three hours of lecture. Laboratory sections are about 20 students in size. The course uses three examinations, several quizzes and lab reports, a verbal presentation, and a term paper as the basis for assigning grades.
BISC 230g examines thinking, perception, movement, sleep memory, emotion and other aspects of behavior in both healthy and diseased individuals. Examples come from many kinds of animals, from planarians and squid to monkeys and man. The fields of biology, chemistry and physiology are central to our study, but concepts from physics and medicine are also used. The fundamental principles include evolution, development, and psychological concepts of learning and behavior.
BISC 230g uses a textbook from the area of biological psychology supplemented with readings from Influence, a text of social psychology by Robert Caildini., A laboratory manual written by the instructors will be used. For the verbal presentation and term paper (which are expected to be on the same topic), use of the library and standard reference sources will be required. The laboratory and other aspects of the course will requires use of the World Wide Web, with which the student must become familiar. In addition to quizzes and examinations, assignments include lab reports, which average one every two weeks; occasional homework problems, which will be given in class to familiarize the student with simple calculations; the verbal presentation, and the term paper.
Note: Please contact the department for the readings and assignments list.
EXERCISE SCIENCE 205Lg
The Science of Human Performance
Girandola
MWF, 9:00 - 9:50
Please contact the department for course description.
GEOGRAPHY 260Lg
Natural Hazards
Sherman
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.
GEOGRAPHY 265Lg
The Water Planet
Bauer
TTh, 11:00 - 12:20
Please see department for description.
GEOLOGY 108Lg
Crises of a Planet
Davis
MWF 9:00 - 9:50
Please contact department for course description.
GEOLOGY 150Lg
Climate Change
Poulsen
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 within a society. The Earth's climate also plays an important role in determining patterns of biological change. Earth's geologic history teaches us that some climate changes have been very abrupt and had dramatic effects on the Earth's biota. Future climate changes are inevitable and, to some extent, predictable. These events will certainly impact humans and our economic and sociological vitality. Yet predicting exactly how, why and when climate change will occur is very difficult. Sophisticated scientific data gathering is essential to the evaluation of future climate variability. Understanding how the climate system varies and learning 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 you 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 early life through the time of the dinosaurs, to the dawn of man. We will examine the impact of climate change on biological, sociological and economic systems on Earth. We will also examine some of the controversial aspects of potential future climate change, including global warming and greenhouse effect and El Nino.
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 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. We will also examine case studies of climate events to see how they impacted biology, sociology and economies.
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 it's findings on the last week of the class.
Required Readings:
* Lutgens and Tarbuck
* Graedel and Crutzen
Grades:
The course grade is based on a total point scale of 500 points. There are two mid term 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.
GEOLOGY 240Lg
Earthquakes
Sammis
MW 8:30 - 10:00
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.
LINGUISTICS 275
Language and Mind
McDonald
MW, 2:00 - 3:20
Please contact the department for course description.
PHYSICS 200Lg
The Physics and Technology of Energy: Keeping the Motor Running
Wagner
MWF, 11:00 - 11:50
Please contact the department for course description.
