Global Arc

This seminar will explore, primarily in American literature, themes of individual and cultural identity from 19th century texts (Irving, Poe, James) to 20th and 21st century fiction and selected works of art, photography, and film. Students will write 1-2 page papers each week, present an analysis and discussion of a text or art-work, and write a paper of 12-15 pages. Questions will be: Is the "American Dream" an ideal, a shared cultural identity, or is it a chimera? How does the "Dream" manifest itself in individual works of art?

Lasers are not focused, and quantum leaps are tiny. This freshman seminar first explores the science behind quantum technologies. What makes a physical object "quantum", and what does it mean for the way it behaves? The future of quantum technologies, especially quantum computation and quantum cryptography are discussed. Besides the technical aspects, this freshman seminar also explores the use of "quantum" in popular culture, media, film, and literature. This seminar is open to all first-year students, and does not require any specialized prerequisites beyond general high school science and mathematics.

New York's Central Park, 843 acres in the center of Manhattan Island, remains, now more than a century and a half after its construction, the most iconic urban park in the United States. Visited by 42 million people each year, Central Park has been called the most filmed location in the world. This seminar will take a deep dive into its history and cultural meanings, and will approach the park through a myriad of disciplinary lenses. The course will take up the complexity and contradictions inherent in the creation and preservation of 'nature' in the city that would become the cultural and economic capital of the United States.

In a universe filled with movement, how and why and where might we find relative stillness? What are the aesthetic, political, and daily life possibilities within stillness? In this studio course, we'll dance, sit, question, and create substantial final projects. We'll play with movement within stillness, stillness within movement, stillness in performance and in performers' minds. We'll look at stillness as protest and power. We'll wonder when stillness might be an abdication of responsibility. We'll read within religious, philosophy, performance, and disability studies, and will explore social justice, visual art, and sound (and silence).

Are human activities changing our climate? Is climate change a major problem? To answer these questions, we will learn the basics of how Earth's climate works and how climate shapes environments. We will also investigate past climate changes and identify the most important ways in which climate change can affect the natural world and humans. Finally, we will use climate science to evaluate possible responses and solutions. The course is designed for students from all majors-no science background required-while still offering a comprehensive overview for any student seeking to pursue climate science or a climate-related topic.

Are human activities changing our climate? Is climate change a major problem? To answer these questions, we will learn the basics of how Earth's climate works and how climate shapes environments. We will also investigate past climate changes and identify the most important ways in which climate change can affect the natural world and humans. Finally, we will use climate science to evaluate possible responses and solutions. The course is designed for students from all majors - no science background required - while still offering a comprehensive overview for any student seeking to pursue climate science or a climate-related topic.

An introduction to natural (and some society-induced) hazards and the importance of public understanding of related issues. Emphasis is on the geological processes that drive the hazards, and how these can inform policy choices. Topics include: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunami, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, meteorite impacts, climate change. Intended primarily for non-science majors. Two lectures, one three-hour laboratory.

Students will use drone-derived models of landscapes, georeferenced field observations of the natural world, and data mining of the primary literature in combination with quantitative modeling to answer questions like: How have ancient climate changes been preserved in modern landscapes and the rock record? How is climate changing now, and how do we measure it? Students will build on what they learned as freshmen in the Writing Seminars about articulating a compelling hypothesis and making an argument based on data and analysis.

How do the ocean and atmosphere control Earth's climate? How do changes in climate and the atmosphere influence the ocean? Join us to explore what sets Earth's temperature and the connections between oceanic and atmospheric circulations, including exchanges of heat and carbon. We'll also investigate how these circulations control marine ecosystems and the cycling of chemicals in the ocean. In the final part of the course we will focus on human impacts, such as changes in coastal environments and the acidification resulting from increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. One 50-minute precept per week complements lectures.

This course introduces the Earth system, quantifying the underlying physical and chemical processes that connect the Earth's land, water and atmosphere. We discuss how these processes and feedbacks sustain habitable conditions on Earth's surface. Topics include: plate tectonics, volcanism, mountain formation, the rock cycle, mineralogy, magnetism, the hydrologic cycle, the carbon cycle, earthquakes and seismology.