|
|
Course Criteria
Add courses to your favorites to save, share, and find your best transfer school.
-
3.00 Credits
R. Shiner Throughout history, men and women have been captivated by questions of what constitutes the "good life" and how such a life can be cultivated. What is the nature of human happiness, joy, and pleasure How can altruism be encouraged Are some people simply born more content or more kind than other people Are material wealth, spiritual practice, or outward achievement related to happiness This course surveys contemporary psychological research addressing these enduring questions. Students are introduced to a variety of psychological methods and apply these methods through hands-on demonstrations. Throughout the course, students are helped to recognize the unique strengths and limitations of the scientific method for approaching questions such as these, and students are encouraged to articulate their own emerging views on what constitutes a life worth living.
-
3.00 Credits
M. Volker This course explores the way sound is perceived (physically, psychologically), studied (with scientific instruments), and manipulated (technology), and how technology has changed the place of music and sound in our culture. This is done through discussions of the physics of sound and musical phenomena, the structure of musical instruments, techniques of sound analysis and recording, and the ways we react in relation to these elements. A substantial amount of the course involves experiments utilizing the resources of the Digital Music Studio. In addition, the course provides a survey of the history of music technology.
-
3.00 Credits
J. Baldani Darwinian theory has been likened to "universal acid," a mythical substance so powerful that it eats its way through any container or attempt to contain it. This course examines the far-reaching consequences of Darwinian theory for attempts to understand human nature and human identity. The course begins with an overview of Darwinian theory, with an emphasis on how mindless algorithmic processes can give rise to complex organisms and behavior, and an overview of the game theory and statistical concepts needed to understand literature on evolution and human behavior. It then turns to broad issues concerning human identity and culture: whether humans are "blank slates" or whether there is an evolved human nature, how altruistic behavior and morality might have evolved under pressure from natural selection, and the nature of (and misconceptions about) motherhood and how mothers' behavior has been molded by selection pressures. Throughout the course particular attention is paid to the intersection of philosophy and empirical da
-
3.00 Credits
R. Conti Willpower allows people to delay gratification, resist temptations, and reach challenging long-term goals. This course is devoted to the study of this unique human capacity to regulate behavior. Students explore the psychological mechanisms underlying willpower from a scientific perspective. While reading relevant theoretical and empirical works, students test the ideas under study through laboratory exercises. Discussions explore the broader implications of research findings and apply these principles to the self-regulatory challenges that one faces every day. Assignments focus on developing strong writing and scientific-reasoning skills, and gaining useful insight into one's own motivational tendencies. A final research project allows students to investigate empirically an original idea on the nature of willpower.
-
3.00 Credits
Y. Hirata, A.D. Nakhimovsky, N. Stolova Language is by far the most important means of communication among humans and the central cognitive ability separating them from the rest of the animal kingdom. Linguistic activity is all-pervasive and forms the foundation of all other high-level symbolic activities. At the same time, many aspects of this activity remain deeply mysterious. How did the language ability come about Why is it that children learn their first language with such ease, while most adults have great difficulties learning a second one How is it possible to learn such a complex set of rules in such a short time, on the basis of a very small corpus of data, much of it grammatically incorrect These and other questions form the subject matter of the field of linguistics and are explored in this course.
-
3.00 Credits
K. Valente The course explores the lives, experiences, and representations of LGBTQ persons, those who identify or are identified as transgressive in terms of their sexuality and/or gender expression. Particular emphases may vary, but topics typically explore LGBTQ communities and families, cultures, and subcultures; histories, institutions, and literatures; and/or economic and political lives. Selected topics serve to expose complex cultural forces that continue to shape sexuality and regulate its various expressions. The course promotes the examination of new theories and methodologies in relation to established disciplines as it underscores the generation of new knowledge within traditional fields of scholarship. By examining sexualities, students gain an understanding of and respect for other differences in human lives such as age, ability, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and religion.
-
3.00 Credits
Independent Study
-
-
3.00 Credits
Staff Introduces students to statistical thinking by examining data collected to solve real-world problems. A wide range of applications are considered. Topics include experimental design, descriptive statistics, the normal curve, correlation and regression, probability theory, sampling, the central limit theorem, estimation, hypothesis testing, paired observations, and the chi-square test. Particular emphasis is given to the models that underlie statistical inference. Prerequisite: three years of secondary school mathematics. Note: This course is not open to students who have either received credit for or are currently enrolled in MATH 316 or 317. This course is crosslisted as CORE 143.
-
3.00 Credits
Staff An introduction to the basic concepts of differential and integral calculus including limits and continuity; differentiation of algebraic, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions; applications of the derivative to curve sketching, related rates, and maximum-minimum problems; Riemann sums and the definite integral; and the fundamental theorem of calculus. Prerequisite: three years of secondary school mathematics including trigonometry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|