FACULTY & STUDENT RESOURCES
Environmental Courses
Core
Literature and Arts
Literature and Arts B-20. Designing the American City: Civic Aspirations and Urban Form 3243
A. Krieger Spring T, Th 1:00
An interpretive look at the American city in terms of changing attitudes
toward urban life. City and suburb are experienced as the product of design
and planning decisions informed by cultural and economic forces, and in
relationship to utopian and pragmatic efforts to reinterpret urban traditions
in search of American alternatives. Topics include: persistent ideals such as
the single-family home, attitudes toward public and private space, the rise of
suburbs and suburban sprawl, cycles of disinvestment and renewed interest
in urban centers, and impacts of mobility and technology on settlement
patterns. Note: Expected to be omitted in 2009-10.
Science
Science A-35. The Energetic Universe 5923
R. Kirshner Spring T, Th 11:30–1:00
The nature and history of matter revealed by astronomical observation and experimental physics. Explores the Big Bang and models of the universe, stellar evolution and supernova explosions, evidence for invisible matter, and the development of structure in the universe. Demonstrates the physical principles used to interpret astronomical data and to construct a model for the evolution of the universe on the microscopic and cosmic scales. Examines the way microscopic properties of matter determine properties of people, stars, galaxies, and the universe as a whole.
Science A-43. Environmental Risks and Disasters 6001
B. Meade Fall M, W, F 11:00
An introduction to risks in the environment. Different types of hazards are analyzed and compared: natural disasters, such as tornados, earthquakes, and meteorite impacts; adverse health effects caused by exposure to radiation and toxic substances, such as radon, asbestos, and arsenic; long-term effects due to environmental change, such as sea-level rise and global warming. Emphasizes the basic physical principles controlling the hazardous phenomena and develops simple quantitative methods for making scientifically reasoned assessments of the threats posed by hazardous events, processes, and exposures. Discusses methods of risk mitigation and sociological, psychological, and economic aspects of risk control and management.
Science A-50. Invisible Worlds: Micro- and Nanothings. Science, Technology, and Public Policy 5565
G. Whitesides, M. Prentiss Fall M, W, F and a weekly section TBA
What we perceive as "reality" is the best effort of our senses to interpret a deeper, largely invisible, reality that is unnervingly strange. This course will survey the world of very small things, objects with dimensions of nanometers and micrometers. The behaviors of these objects are often entirely counterintuitive; they can also be quite useful. Micro- and nanostructures are the basis both of fundamentally new science, and of ubiquitous technologies: quantum dots, computers, the biological nanomotors that power muscle, buckyballs, tools for examining single mammalian cells, lasers. The course will describe these objects and how they function; it will also touch on issues of commercialization, economics, public policy, and ethics that spring from the avalanche of discovery and invention in this area.
Science B-23. The Human Organism 6581
J. Brain, S. Shore, R. Verrier Spring M, W, F 12:00, plus two two-hour
laboratories and periodic section meetings to explore special topics in depth.
The physiology and pathophysiology of the human body will be presented with special emphasis on cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, and reproductive biology. Besides learning human biology, students will identify critical determinants of their health, as well as the health status of diverse communities. Topics include not only the normal functioning of these systems, but also their responses to infection, injury, and environmental stress. Through lectures and laboratories, students will explore how their own body functions. The relative power of diagnosis and treatment of disease (medicine) versus primary prevention of disease (public health) in promoting health will be emphasized.
Science B-29. Evolution of Human Nature 0152
R. Wrangham, M. Hauser, K. Kramer Spring M, W 1:00-2:30, and
a 90-minute weekly section/laboratory TBA
Human biology and behavior are considered in a broad evolutionary
context, showing how the facts of development, physiology, neurobiology,
reproduction, cognition, and especially behavior are informed by evolutionary
theory and comparative evidence. Field and experimental data on other
species are introduced with the aim of illuminating human behavior.
Behavior is traced from its evolutionary function as adaptation, through
its physiological basis and associated psychological mechanisms, to its
expression. The role of ecology and social life in shaping human behavior
is examined through the use of ethnographies and cross-cultural materials
on a variety of human cultures. Topics include basic genetics, neural and
neuroendocrine systems, behavioral development, sex differences, kinship
and mating systems, ecology, language, and cognition.
Science B-35. How to Build a Habitable Planet 7621
C. Langmuir Fall T, Th, 10:00–11:30
The steps involved in creation of our habitable planet: the Big Bang, origin of the elements, formation of minerals, origin of the solar system, formation of planets, origin of life, co-evolution of ocean, atmosphere, solid earth, and biosphere, development of plate tectonics, operation of the modern whole earth system, and climate regulation. Finally we consider the arising of intelligent life that can understand and influence the planetary system, and whether Earth may be a microcosm reflecting laws of planetary evolution that may be common to a class of planets throughout the universe, or alternatively may be a low probability accident.
Science B-40. The Biology of Trees and Forests 2635
D. Pfister Spring T, Th 10:00-11:30
Trees are prominent and important organisms in the ecosystem. By
photosynthesis, trees convert carbon dioxide into organic molecules that
are used as energy reserves and as structural components of these plants.
Oxygen is also released. Trees, carbon cycling, and the greenhouse effect are
intimately intertwined. This course uses trees as examples to explore several
facets of plant biology as they relate to identification, growth, reproduction,
physiology of transport, ecology, management, and use of plant products.
Science B-53. Marine Biology 7050
R. Woollacott Fall T, Th 11:30–1:00 and a two-hour weekly section/lab TBA, including one required fieldtrip.
Explores the life histories and adaptations of marine life and the ecosystems
of the sea. Centers on the complex interrelationships of organisms, the
diversity of various habitats, reproductive strategies, and speciation as well
as the interplay of currents, light, temperature, and nutrient supply on the
distribution of life in the sea. Explores human impacts on marine organisms
and ecosystems.
Science B-65. Evolutionary Biology 9680
J. Losos Fall T, Th 10:00-11:30
An exploration of the process of biological evolution, the way the biosphere
and its inhabitants have changed through time, and how human actions
affect the evolutionary process, thereby changing our contemporary
biological environment. The mechanics and pace of evolution are
examined from the molecular to the species level with an emphasis on the
ecological context of natural selection. Modern approaches to the study of
evolution-from genome sequencing to manipulative experiments in natural
populations-are emphasized. Current controversies over the occurrence of
evolution are discussed.
Social Analysis
Social Analysis 10. Principles of Economics 3660
N. Gregory Mankiw, and members of the Economics Department
Full course (Fall and Spring) M, W, F 12:00
Introduction to economic issues and basic principles and methods of economics. Fall term focuses on microeconomics: how markets work, market efficiency and market failure, firm and consumer behavior, and policy issues such as taxation, international trade, the environment, and the distribution of income. Spring term focuses on macroeconomics: economic growth, inflation, unemployment, the business cycle, the financial system, international capital flows and trade imbalances, and the impact of monetary and fiscal policy. Note: Microeconomics (taught in the fall term) is a prerequisite for macroeconomics (taught in the spring term). Students may elect to take only the fall microeconomics course and receive a half-course credit. Taught in a mixture of lectures and small sections. No calculus is used, and there is no mathematics background requirement. Designed for both potential economics concentrators and those who plan no further work in the field. The Department of Economics strongly encourages students considering concentration to take the full-year course in their freshman year. This is a required course for all economics concentrators and a prerequisite for higher level courses in economics.
24 Oxford Street