AA 116Q:
Electric Automobiles and Aircraft
Transportation accounts for nearly one-third of American energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and three-quarters of American oil consumption. It has crucial impacts on climate change, air pollution, resource depletion, and national security. Students wishing to address these issues reconsider how we move, finding sustainable transportation solutions. An introduction to the issue, covering the past and present of transportation and its impacts; examining alternative fuel proposals; and digging deeper into the most promising option: battery electric vehicles. Energy requirements of air, ground, and maritime transportation; design of electric motors, power control systems, drive trains, and batteries; and technologies for generating renewable energy. Two opportunities for hands-on experiences with electric cars. Prerequisites: Introduction to calculus and Physics AP or elementary mechanics.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR, WAY-SMA
AFRICAAM 48Q:
South Africa: Contested Transitions (HISTORY 48Q)
Preference to sophomores. The inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president in May 1994 marked the end of an era and a way of life for South Africa. The changes have been dramatic, yet the legacies of racism and inequality persist. Focus: overlapping and sharply contested transitions. Who advocates and opposes change? Why? What are their historical and social roots and strategies? How do people reconstruct their society? Historical and current sources, including films, novels, and the Internet.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI, Writing 2
AFRICAAM 52N:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (ENGLISH 52N, POLISCI 29N)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? In this course, we approach issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st century U.S. We will examine issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation and racial prejudice in American society. Topics we will explore include the political and social formation of ¿race¿; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the ¿one-drop rule¿ and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of Census categories and the rise of the Multiracial Movement.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
AFRICAAM 54N:
African American Women's Lives (AMSTUD 54N, CSRE 54N, FEMGEN 54N, HISTORY 54N)
Preference to freshmen. We will examine the struggles of African American women to define their own lives and improve the social, economic, political and cultural conditions of black communities. Topics will include women's enslavement and freedom, kinship and family relations, institution and community building, violence, labor and leisure, changing gender roles, consumer and beauty culture, social activism, and the politics of sexuality.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 10Q:
Dystopian California: Imagining the Golden State in Disaster and Science Fiction Film
Dystopian California examines the ways the Golden State has been popularly imagined both historically as the Land of Promise and more recently as the land of apocalypse in science fiction and disaster films. Through this lens, we¿ll be exploring anxieties articulated through images of natural disaster, environmental degradation, urbanization and urban decay, invasion (both viral and ¿alien¿), societal collapse, overpopulation, and nuclear holocaust ¿ as well as the tenacity of the human spirit. We¿ll be discussing conceptions of survival and the ways these films both articulate societal fears and help to neutralize them. More broadly we will discuss how these films metaphorically address, through the loss of innocence, the possibility of establishing a truly Utopian California ¿ the Golden Land of Opportunity promised to us ¿ that had been unattainable or lost in the melee of postmodernity
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
AMSTUD 25Q:
The Origins of the Modern American City, 1865-1920 (HISTORY 55Q, URBANST 25Q)
Are we living in a new Gilded Age? To answer this question, we go back to the original Gilded Age, as well as its successor, the Progressive Era. How did urban Americans around the turn of the twentieth century deal with stark inequalities of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality? And what can we learn from their struggles for our own time? Students use primary and secondary sources in digital and print formats. Possible field trip to San Francisco.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
AMSTUD 51Q:
Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity (COMPLIT 51Q, CSRE 51Q)
We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
AMSTUD 54N:
African American Women's Lives (AFRICAAM 54N, CSRE 54N, FEMGEN 54N, HISTORY 54N)
Preference to freshmen. We will examine the struggles of African American women to define their own lives and improve the social, economic, political and cultural conditions of black communities. Topics will include women's enslavement and freedom, kinship and family relations, institution and community building, violence, labor and leisure, changing gender roles, consumer and beauty culture, social activism, and the politics of sexuality.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 55N:
Social Movements through Song in Modern America (HISTORY 55N)
This discussion class will explore a series of social movements in modern America through the songs produced to support efforts to achieve labor unions, civil rights and racial justice, peace, and women's rights. For each class we will read short historical texts to provide contexts for the movements and then concentrate on the role of music within them. We will listening to and discuss several core songs for each topic. Biographical and autobiographical readings on a key set of musicians (including Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Malvina Reynolds, and Bernice Johnson Reagon) will provide personal accounts of the relationship of songs to social movement . The music we include in class will range from ballads to anthems, from oral traditions to the work of singer-songwriters.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
AMSTUD 63N:
The Feminist Critique: The History and Politics of Gender Equality (CSRE 63N, FEMGEN 63N, HISTORY 63N)
This course explores the emergence of concepts of gender equality in world history. It asks how gender inequality relates to racial, ethnicity, and sexual identities, how men engage with feminism, whether gender equality is purely a western cultural tradition, and much more. We approach the long history of ideas about gender and equality by reading primary historical documents from around the world, moving from the 15th century to the present. Topics include education, the body, sexuality, violence, labor, and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AMSTUD 68N:
Mark Twain and American Culture (ENGLISH 68N)
Preference to freshmen. Mark Twain defined the rhythms of our prose and the contours of our moral map. He recognized our extravagant promise and stunning failures, our comic foibles and tragic flaws. He is viewed as the most American of American authors--and as one of the most universal. How does his work illuminate his society¿s (and our society¿s) responses to such issues as race, gender, technology, heredity vs. environment, religion, education, art, imperialism, animal welfare, and what it means to be ¿American¿?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 109Q:
On the Road: A Cultural History of Travel in 20th Century America (HISTORY 69Q)
From Mark Twain¿s Roughin¿ It to Cheryl Strayed¿s Wild, this seminar explores epic road trips of the twentieth century. Travel is a cultural practice through which Americans have constructed ideas about the self, society, race, the past, and the future. Engaging historical and literary texts, film, autobiography, photography, and music, we will consider how writers have explored the theme of travel and what the differences in their texts tell us about American writing, American history, and American life.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
AMSTUD 117N:
Losing My Religion: Secularism and Spirituality in American Lives (EDUC 117N, RELIGST 117X)
In this seminar you will explore theory and practice, sociological data, spiritual writing, and case studies in an effort to gain a more nuanced understanding about how religion, spirituality, and secularism attempt to make legible the constellation of concerns, commitments, and behaviors that bridge the moral and the personal, the communal and the national, the sacred, the profane, and the rational. Together we will cultivate critical perspectives on practices and politics, beliefs and belonging that we typically take for granted.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
ANES 70Q:
Critical Illness: Patients, Physicians, and Society
Examines the various factors involved in shaping the critical care illness experience for three groups of people: the clinicians, the patients, and patients' families. Medical issues, economic forces and cost concerns, cultural biases, and communication errors can all influence one's perception. Helps students understand the arc of critical illness, and how various factors contribute to the interactions between those various groups. Includes an immersion experience (students are expected to round with clinicians in the ICU and to attend Schwartz rounds, a debriefing meeting about difficult emotional situation) and a mentoring experience (with critical care fellows), in addition to routine class work.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ANES 72Q:
The Art of Medical Diagnosis: Enhancing Observational Skills through the Study of Art
The Art of Medical Diagnosis: Enhancing Observational Skills through the Study of Art is an interactive, multidisciplinary undergraduate course that explores various ways in which studying art increases critical observational skills vital for aspiring health care providers. Students will be introduced to the concept of `Visual Thinking Strategies¿ through classroom, art creation, and museum based activities. Students will apply these skills to both works of art and medical cases. Significant focus will be on engaging in group discussions where they will collaboratively use visual evidence to generate and defend hypothesis. Drawing and sketching from life will play a critical role in honing observational skills through weekly assignments, workshops, and a final project. The interactive nature of this course pivots students away from a typical lecture based course to a self-directed learning experience.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
ANTHRO 30Q:
The Big Shift
Is the middle class shrinking? How do people who live at the extremes of American society- the super rich, the working poor and those who live on the margins, imagine and experience "the good life"? How do we understand phenomena such as gang cultures, addiction and the realignment of white consciousness? This class uses the methods and modes of ethnographic study in an examination of American culture. Ethnographic materials range from an examination of the new American wealth boom of the last 20 years (Richistan by Robert Frank) to the extreme and deadlynworld of the invisible underclass of homeless addicts on the streets of San Francisco (Righteous Dopefiend by Phillipe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg). The experiences of Hispanic immigrants and the struggle to escape gang life in Los Angeles are highlighted in the story of Homeboy Industries a job creation program initiated by a priest working in LA's most deadly neighborhoods (G-Dog and the Homeboys by Celeste Fremon). Finally in Searching for Whitopia: an improbable journeyninto the heart of White America, Rich Benjamin explores the creation on ethnic enclaves (whitopias) as fear over immigration and the shrinking white majority redefine race consciousnessnin the 21st century. Each of these narratives provides a window into the various ways in which Americans approach the subjects of wealth and the good life, poverty and the underclass, and thenconstruction of class, race, and gender in American society. Students will not be required to have any previous knowledge, just curiosity and an open mind.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
ANTHRO 182N:
Smoke and Mirrors in Global Health
A few years ago, health experts began calling out tobacco as engendering a global health crisis, categorizing the cigarette as the world's greatest weapon of mass destruction. A "global health crisis"? What merits that title if not tobacco use? A hundred million people were killed by tobacco in the 20th century, and ten times that number ¿ a billion people ¿ are predicted to die prematurely from exposure to cigarette smoke over the next hundred years. How has tobacconcome to be labeled a global health crisis over the last decade and what has been the political response? From whence does activism and ongoing complacency regarding tobacco arise? How are they created in different cultural contexts?nnThis course aims to provide students conceptual tools to tackle two specific thought projects: (1) to understand how institutional actors compete to define a situation in the world today as a problem of global health, and (2) to understand the sociocultural means by which something highly dangerous to health such as the cigarette is made both politically contentious and inert. On both fronts, special attention will be given to the ways global health activism and complacency unfold in the U.S. and China.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
APPPHYS 77N:
Functional Materials and Devices
Preference to freshmen. Exploration via case studies how functional materials have been developed and incorporated into modern devices. Particular emphasis is on magnetic and dielectric materials and devices. Recommended: high school physics course including electricity and magnetism.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
APPPHYS 79N:
Energy Options for the 21st Century
Preference to freshmen. Choices for meeting the future energy needs of the U.S. and the world. Basic physics of energy sources, technologies that might be employed, and related public policy issues. Trade-offs and societal impacts of different energy sources. Policy options for making rational choices for a sustainable world energy economy.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
ARCHLGY 21Q:
Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe (CLASSICS 21Q)
(Formerly CLASSART 21Q.) Preference to sophomores. Focus is on excavation, features and finds, arguments over interpretation, and the place of each site in understanding the archaeological history of Europe. Goal is to introduce the latest archaeological and anthropological thought, and raise key questions about ancient society. The archaeological perspective foregrounds interdisciplinary study: geophysics articulated with art history, source criticism with analytic modeling, statistics interpretation. A web site with resources about each site, including plans, photographs, video, and publications, is the basis for exploring.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, Writing 2
ARTHIST 100N:
The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (CLASSICS 18N)
Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. n nWhy did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves? Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?" What prompted Homer to claim that "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?n nPainted pottery was essential to the religious and secular lives of the Greeks. Libations to the gods and to the dead required vases from which to pour them. Economic prosperity depended on the export of wine and oil in durable clay containers. At home, depictions of gods and heroes on vases reinforced Greek values and helped parents to educate their children. Ceramic sets with scenes of Dionysian excess were reserved for elite symposia from which those who potted and painted them were excluded.n nSculptors were less lowly but even those who carved the Parthenon were still regarded as "mechanics," with soft bodies and soft minds (Xenophon) "indifferent to higher things" (Plutarch).n nThe seminar addresses these issues. Students will read and discuss texts, write response papers and present slide lectures and gallery talks on aspects of the artist's profession.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 160N:
The Sisters: Poetry & Painting (ENGLISH 51N)
Poetry and painting have often been called the "sister arts". Why? Sometimes a poem or a painting stands out to us, asking that we stay with it, that we remember it, although we cannot exactly say why. Poems have a way of making pictures in the mind, and paintings turn "rhymes" amid the people, places, and things they portray. Each is a concentrated world, inviting an exhilarating closeness of response: why does this line come first? Why does the artist include that detail? Who knows but that as we write and talk about these poems and pictures we will be doing what John Keats said a painter does: that is, arriving at a "trembling delicate and snail-horn perception of Beauty." Each week explore the kinship between a different pair of painter and poet and also focuses on a particular problem or method of interpretation. Some of the artist/poet combinations we will consider: Shakespeare and Caravaggio; Jorie Graham and (the photographer) Henri Cartier-Bresson; Alexander Pope and Thomas Gainsborough; William Wordsworth and Caspar David Friedrich; Christina Rossetti and Mary Cassatt; Walt Whitman and Thomas Eakins; Thomas Hardy and Edward Hopper.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 183N:
Making Paradises on the Silk Road: Buddhist Arts of the Dunhuang Grottoes
The cave temples of Dunhuang in far northwest China are the greatest repository of Chinese and Central Asian Buddhist arts from the medieval period of 5th to 14th centuries. This seminar will focus on caves that will be exhibited as full-scale replicas as part of the Getty Malibu Museum's International Dunhuang exhibition, which we will visit in a seminar field trip to Los Angeles. We will explore the spatial arrangement of sculptures and wall paintings, the imagery of Pure Land paradise scenes and narrative story cycles, and the embodied experience of movement around the caves. Through readings, discussions, VR simulation viewings, and exhibition visits we will also explore varied approaches to understanding the patronage, artistic styles, production techniques, devotional practices, and significance of these sacred spaces.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ARTSINST 11Q:
Art in the Metropolis (TAPS 11Q)
This seminar is offered in conjunction with the annual "Arts Immersion" trip to New York that takes place over the spring break and is organized by the Stanford Arts Institute (SAI). Participation in the trip is a requirement for taking part in the seminar (and vice versa). The trip is designed to provide a group of students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City guided by faculty and the SAI programming director. Students will experience a broad range and variety of art forms (visual arts, theater, opera, dance, etc.) and will meet with prominent arts administrators and practitioners, some of whom are Stanford alumni. For further details and updates about the trip, see http://arts.stanford.edu.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTSTUDI 156Q:
Installation Art in Time and Space
This hands on studio based sculpture course focuses on developing concepts, and creating a site-specific installation art project. This class will addresses the impact of material and technique upon form and content; therefore understanding the physical and expressive possibilities of diverse materials. Conceptual and technical considerations will be addressed. Students will learn traditional building techniques as needed (wood shop, metal shop, mold making, found object) as well as anti-object techniques. Students will make 3-4 projects that will culminate in a final site-specific installation. We will look at contemporary artists working in the field of installation art. Group discussions, critiques, readings, video presentations, field trips and visiting artists will augment the class. Installation Art is based on the merger of Space and Time and on a relationship between the artist and the visitor. Utilizing your interests and abilities in a variety of subjects and media, you will create environments that immerse the viewer in a sensory/ intellectual/ emotional experience. The material and methods you use can range from everyday objects, to highly personalized forms, from appropriated sounds to surveillance video, from large wall drawings to interactive switches for the participant to manipulate. The class will consist of demonstrations of art skills particularly useful in installation (sculptural, video, audio, interactive media, etc), presentations by the professor, research and reports and journal entries, and weekly critique. Installation Art is a pervasive, varied, global practice for art-making that acts as a gathering place for expression in all media addressing all subjects in a wide range of styles by broad grouping of artists."
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
ASNAMST 17Q:
Perspectives in North American Taiko (MUSIC 17Q)
Preference to sophomores. Taiko, or Japanese drum, is a newcomer to the American music scene. Emergence of the first N. American taiko groups coincided with increased Japanese American activism, and to some it is symbolic of Japanese American identity. N. American taiko is associated with Japanese American Buddhism. Musical, cultural, historical, and political perspectives of taiko. Hands-on drumming. Japanese music and Japanese American history, and relations among performance, cultural expression, community, and identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-CE, WAY-EDP
BIO 2N:
Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease in a Changing World
This seminar will explore the ways in which anthropogenic change, climate change, habitat destruction, land use change, and species invasions effects the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. Topics will include infectious diseases of humans, wildlife, livestock, and crops, effects of disease on threatened species, disease spillover, emerging diseases, and the role of disease in natural systems. Course will be taught through a combination of popular and scientific readings, discussion, and lecture. .
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
BIO 3N:
Views of a Changing Sea: Literature & Science
The state of a changing world ocean, particularly in the eastern Pacific, will be examined through historical and contemporary fiction, non-fiction and scientific publications. Issues will include harvest and mariculture fisheries, land-sea interactions and oceanic climate change in both surface and deep waters.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
BIO 7N:
Introduction to Conservation Photography
Introduction to the field of conservation photography and the strategic use of visual communication in addressing issues concerning the environment and conservation. Students will be introduced to basic digital photography, digital image processing, and the theory and application of photographic techniques. Case studies of conservation issues will be examined through photographs and multimedia platforms including images, video, and audio. Lectures, tutorials, demonstrations, and optional field trips will culminate in the production of individual and group projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
BIO 12N:
Sensory Ecology of Marine Animals
Animals living in the oceans experience a highly varied range of environmental stimuli. An aquatic lifestyle requires an equally rich range of sensory adaptations, including some that are totally foreign to us. In this course we will examine sensory system in marine animals from both an environmental and behavioral perspective and from the point of view of neuroscience and information systems engineering.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
BIO 25Q:
The Molecular Basis of Genetic Disease
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on two genetic diseases resulting from the production of protein molecules that are unable to fold into their native conformations, called conformational diseases: cystic fibrosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease. Hypotheses and controversies surrounding the molecular basis of these disorders, and implications for novel therapeutics. Readings from research literature.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
BIO 26N:
Maintenance of the Genome
Preference to freshmen. The precious blueprint for life is entrusted to the genomic DNA molecules in all living cells. Multiple strategies have evolved to prevent the deleterious consequences from endogenous DNA alterations and damage from radiation or genotoxic chemicals in the environment. In this seminar you will learn about the remarkable systems that scan cellular DNA for alterations and make repairs to ensure genomic stability. Deficiencies in DNA repair have been implicated in many hereditary diseases involving developmental defects, premature aging, and/or predisposition to cancer. An understanding of DNA repair mechanisms is important for advances in the fields of cancer biology, neurobiology, and gerontology. Background readings, introductory lectures, student presentations, short term paper.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
BIO 32Q:
Neuroethology: The Neural Control of Behavior (HUMBIO 91Q)
Preference to sophomores. Animal behavior offers insights about evolutionary adaptations and this seminar will discuss the origins of the study of animal behavior and its development to the present. How does the nervous system control behavior and how is it changed by behavior? We will analyze and discuss original research papers about the neural basis of behavior. The use and misuse of parallels between animal and human behavior. Possible field trip to observe animals in their natural habitat.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
BIO 33N:
Conservation Science and Practice
Preference to freshmen. This course will explore the potential for harmonizing people and nature, for achieving improved outcomes in the well-being of both as a result of conservation investments and interventions. We will consider biophysical, economic, social, and psychological perspectives, examining an array of conservation goals, from protecting endangered species to securing ecosystem services (such as flood control and climate stability) to alleviating poverty and improving mental well-being. We will also study the design and implementation of real conservation and human development efforts worldwide, among the many farmers, ranchers, fishing people, and others managing Earth's lands and waters. Highlights include a field trip to Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford¿s very own nature reserve, and guest visits of some impressive conservation leaders internationally.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
BIO 34N:
Hunger
The biology of hunger and satiety, disease states that disrupt normal responses to hunger and satiety, starvation responses and adaptations to starvation in a variety of organisms, food production and distribution mechanisms, historic famines and their causes, the challenges of providing adequate food and energy for the Earth's growing population, local and global efforts to alleviate hunger, and hunger in fiction.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
BIOC 118Q:
Genomics and Medicine
Preference to sophomores. Knowledge gained from sequencing human genomes and implications for medicine and biomedical research. Novel diagnoses and treatment of diseases, including stem cells, gene therapy and rational drug design. Personal genomics and how it is used to improve health and well being. Social and ethical implications of genetic information such as privacy, discrimination and insurability. Course Webpage: http://biochem118.stanford.edu/.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
BIOE 32Q:
Bon Appétit, Marie Curie! The Science Behind Haute Cuisine
This seminar is for anyone who loves food, cooking or science! We will focus on the science and biology behind the techniques and the taste buds. Not a single lecture will pass by without a delicious opportunity - each weekly meeting will include not only lecture, but also a lab demonstration and a chance to prepare classic dishes that illustrate that day's scientific concepts.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
BIOE 70Q:
Medical Device Innovation
BIOE 70Q invites students to apply design thinking to the creation of healthcare technologies. Students will learn about the variety of factors that shape healthcare innovation, and through hands-on design projects, invent their own solutions to clinical needs. Guest instructors will include engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and others who have helped bring ideas from concept to clinical use.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
CEE 31Q:
Accessing Architecture Through Drawing
Preference to sophomores. Drawing architecture provides a deeper understanding of the intricacies and subtleties that characterize contemporary buildings. How to dissect buildings and appreciate the formal elements of a building, including scale, shape, proportion, colors and materials, and the problem solving reflected in the design. Students construct conventional architectural drawings, such as plans, elevations, and perspectives. Limited enrollment.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-CE
CEE 48N:
Managing Complex, Global Projects
This freshman seminar highlights the challenges the challenges associated with planning and executing complex and challenging global projects in private, governmental and nonprofit/NGO settings. Covers organization and project management theory, methods, and tools to optimize the design of work processes and organizations to enhance complex, global project outcomes. Student teams model and analyze the work process and organization of a real-world project team engaged in a challenging local or global project.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
CEE 70N:
Water, Public Health, and Engineering
Preference to frosh. Linkages between water, wastewater and public health, with an emphasis on engineering interventions. Topics include the history of water and wastewater infrastructure development in the U.S. and Europe; evolution of epidemiological approaches for water-related health challenges; biological and chemical contaminants in water and wastewater and their management; and current trends and challenges in access to water and sanitation around the world. Identifying ways in which freshwater contributes to human health; exposure routes for water- and sanitation-illness. Classifying illnesses by pathogen type and their geographic distribution. Identifying the health and economic consequences of water- and sanitation-related illnesses; costs and benefits of curative and preventative interventions. Interpreting data related to epidemiological and environmental concepts. No previous experience in engineering is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR, WAY-SMA
CHEM 25N:
Science in the News
Preference to freshmen. Possible topics include: diseases such as avian flu, HIV, and malaria; environmental issues such as climate change, atmospheric pollution, and human population; energy sources in the future; evolution; stem cell research; nanotechnology; and drug development. Focus is on the scientific basis for these topics as a basis for intelligent discussion of societal and political implications. Sources include the popular media and scientific media for the nonspecialist, especially those available on the web.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
CHEM 26N:
The What, Why, How and wow's of Nanotechnology
Preference to freshmen. Introduction to nanotechnology with discussion of basic science at the nanoscale, its difference from molecular and macroscopic scales, and implications and applications. Developments in nanotechnology in the past two decades, from imaging and moving single atoms on surfaces to killing cancer cells with nanoscale tools and gadgets.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
CHEM 27N:
Light and Life
Preference given to freshman. Light plays a central role in many biological processes and color affects everything in our world. This includes familiar processes such as photosynthesis and vision, but also proton pumps in the organisms that make the Bay purple, green fluorescent protein (GFP), the light from fireflies, the blue and red light receptors responsible for directing how plants grow, the molecules responsible for fall colors, and repair enzymes such as DNA photolyase (this year¿s Nobel prize). Light is also used to interrogate (e.g. super-resolution microscopy, last year¿s Nobel prize) and manipulate (optogenetics) biological systems. Light causes sunburn, but can also be used in combination with special molecules to treat diseases. We will discuss the nature of light, how it is measured, how it is generated in the laboratory, how molecules are excited, and how one measures the fate of this excitation. Chem 31X or 31A preferred, but not required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
CHEM 28N:
Science Innovation and Communication
Preference to freshmen. The course will explore evolutionary and revolutionary scientific advances; their consequences to society, biotechnology, and the economy; and mechanisms for communicating science to the public. The course will engage academic and industrial thought leaders and provide an opportunity for students to participate in communicating science to the public.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
CHEMENG 60Q:
Environmental Regulation and Policy
Preference to sophomores. How environmental policy is formulated in the U.S. How and what type of scientific research is incorporated into decisions. How to determine acceptable risk, the public's right to know of chemical hazards, waste disposal and clean manufacturing, brownfield redevelopment, and new source review regulations. The proper use of science and engineering including media presentation and misrepresentation, public scientific and technical literacy, and emotional reactions. Alternative models to formulation of environmental policy. Political and economic forces, and stakeholder discussions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR
CHEMENG 70Q:
Masters of Disaster
Preference to sophomores. For students interested in science, engineering, politics, and the law. Learn from past disasters to avoid future ones. How disasters can be tracked to failures in the design process. The roles of engineers, artisans, politicians, lawyers, and scientists in the design of products. Failure as rooted in oversight in adhering to the design process. Student teams analyze real disasters and design new products presumably free from the potential for disastrous outcomes.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR
CHEMENG 80Q:
Art, Chemistry, and Madness: The Science of Art Materials
Preference to sophomores. Chemistry of natural and synthetic pigments in five historical palettes: earth (paleolithic), classical (Egyptian, Greco-Roman), medieval European (Middle Ages), Renaissance (old masters), and synthetic (contemporary). Composite nature of paints using scanning electron microscopy images; analytical techniques used in art conservation, restoration, and determination of provenance; and inherent health hazards. Paintings as mechanical structures. Hands-on laboratory includes stretching canvas, applying gesso grounds, grinding pigments, preparing egg tempera paint, bamboo and quill pens, gilding and illumination, and papermaking.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
CHILATST 14N:
Growing Up Bilingual (CSRE 14N, EDUC 114N)
This course is a Freshman Introductory Seminar that has as its purpose introducing students to the sociolinguistic study of bilingualism by focusing on bilingual communities in this country and on bilingual individuals who use two languages in their everyday lives. Much attention is given to the history, significance, and consequences of language contact in the United States. The course focuses on the experiences of long-term US minority populations as well as that of recent immigrants.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 17N:
To Die For: Antigone and Political Dissent (TAPS 12N)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 6N.) Preference to freshmen. Tensions inherent in the democracy of ancient Athens; how the character of Antigone emerges in later drama, film, and political thought as a figure of resistance against illegitimate authority; and her relevance to contemporary struggles for women's and workers' rights and national liberation. Readings and screenings include versions of Antigone by Sophocles, Anouilh, Brecht, Fugard/Kani/Ntshona, Paulin, Glowacki, Gurney, and von Trotta.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 18N:
The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (ARTHIST 100N)
Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. n nWhy did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves? Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?" What prompted Homer to claim that "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?n nPainted pottery was essential to the religious and secular lives of the Greeks. Libations to the gods and to the dead required vases from which to pour them. Economic prosperity depended on the export of wine and oil in durable clay containers. At home, depictions of gods and heroes on vases reinforced Greek values and helped parents to educate their children. Ceramic sets with scenes of Dionysian excess were reserved for elite symposia from which those who potted and painted them were excluded.n nSculptors were less lowly but even those who carved the Parthenon were still regarded as "mechanics," with soft bodies and soft minds (Xenophon) "indifferent to higher things" (Plutarch).n nThe seminar addresses these issues. Students will read and discuss texts, write response papers and present slide lectures and gallery talks on aspects of the artist's profession.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 21Q:
Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe (ARCHLGY 21Q)
(Formerly CLASSART 21Q.) Preference to sophomores. Focus is on excavation, features and finds, arguments over interpretation, and the place of each site in understanding the archaeological history of Europe. Goal is to introduce the latest archaeological and anthropological thought, and raise key questions about ancient society. The archaeological perspective foregrounds interdisciplinary study: geophysics articulated with art history, source criticism with analytic modeling, statistics interpretation. A web site with resources about each site, including plans, photographs, video, and publications, is the basis for exploring.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, Writing 2
CLASSICS 24N:
What is a Map?
Exploration of the nature of maps via an overview of premodern mapping practices, combining theory and history of maps. Hands-on research involving Stanford's rare and historical maps, and chance to create own maps.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 26N:
The Roman Empire: Its Grandeur and Fall (HISTORY 11N)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 24N.) Preference to freshmen. Explore themes on the Roman Empire and its decline from the 1st through the 5th centuries C.E.. What was the political and military glue that held this diverse, multi-ethnic empire together? What were the bases of wealth and how was it distributed? What were the possibilities and limits of economic growth? How integrated was it in culture and religion? What were the causes and consequences of the conversion to Christianity? Why did the Empire fall in the West? How suitable is the analogy of the U.S. in the 21st century?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:IHUM-3, WAY-SI
CME 20Q:
Computational Modeling for Future Leaders
Preference to sophomores. How can we harness and exploit the power of computational modeling? What responsibilities are there in developing and using computer models? In this course we will analyze fundamental issues inherent to computational modeling such as uncertainty, predictability, error, and resolution. We will furthermore examine the social context of computational modeling including the public perception of computational models, how computer modeling impacts politics and policy, and how politics and policy, in turn, influence computer modeling.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
COMM 130N:
The idea of a free press
Preference to freshmen. An examination of the meaning of freedom of the press, tied to but not bound by various Supreme Court rulings on the scope and purpose of the First Amendment's speech and press clauses. Discussions will include a look at the recent and rapid computerization of communication and what it portends for the future of a free press.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
COMPLIT 10N:
Shakespeare and Performance in a Global Context
Preference to freshmen. The problem of performance including the performance of gender through the plays of Shakespeare. In-class performances by students of scenes from plays. The history of theatrical performance. Sources include filmed versions of plays, and readings on the history of gender, gender performance, and transvestite theater.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 11Q:
Shakespeare, Playing, Gender
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on several of the best and lesser known plays of Shakespeare, on theatrical and other kinds of playing, and on ambiguities of both gender and playing gender.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 14N:
Imagining India: Art, Culture, Politics in Modern India (CSRE 15N, FEMGEN 14N, TAPS 14N)
This course explores history via cultural responses in modern India. We will examine a range of fiction, film and drama to consider the ways in which India emerges through its cultural productions. The course will consider key historical events such as the partition of the subcontinent, independence from British rule, Green Revolution, Emergency, liberalization of the Indian economy, among others. We will reflect on epochal historical moments by means of artisticnresponses to these events. For example, Ritwik Ghatak's experimental cinema intervenes into debates around the Bengal partition; Rohinton Mistry's novel, A Fine Balance grapples with the suspension of civil liberties during the emergency between 1975-77; Rahul Varma's play Bhopal reflects on the Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. Students willnread, view and reflect on the aesthetic and historical texts through their thoughtful engagement in class discussions and written e ssays. They will also have opportunities to imaginatively respond to these texts via short creative projects, which could range from poems, monologues, solo pieces, web installations, etc. Readings will also include Mahashweta Devi, Amitav Ghosh, Girish Karnad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Manjula Padmanabhan, Salman Rushdie, Aparna Sen, among others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 37Q:
Zionism and the Novel (JEWISHST 37Q)
At the end of the nineteenth century, Zionism emerged as a political movement to establish a national homeland for the Jews, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This seminar uses novels to explore the changes in Zionism, the roots of the conflict in the Middle East, and the potentials for the future. We will take a close look at novels by Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, in order to understand multiple perspectives, and we will also consider works by authors from the North America and from Europe.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 38Q:
Ethics of Jihad
Why choose jihad? An introduction to Islamic ethics. Focus on ways in which people have chosen, rejected, or redefined jihad. Topics include jihad in the age of 1001 Nights, feminist jihad, jihad in Africa, al-Qaida and Hamas, and the hashtag #MyJihad. All readings and discussion in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER, Writing 2
COMPLIT 40Q:
Aesthetics of Dissent: the Case of Islamic Iran (INTNLREL 71Q)
Censorship, Borges tells us, is the mother of metaphors. The Islamic regime in Iran censors all aethetic production in the country. But Iranian dissident artists, from film-makers and fiction writers to composers in a thriving under-ground musical scene, have cleverly found ways to fight these draconian measures. They have developed an impressive body of work that is as sophisticated in style as it is rich in its discourse of democracy and dissent. The purpose of the seminar is to understand the aesthetic tropes of dissent in Iran, and the social and theological roots of rules of censorship. Masterpieces of post-revolutionary film, fiction, and music will be discussed in the context of tumultuous history of dissent in Islamic Iran.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-3
COMPLIT 51Q:
Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity (AMSTUD 51Q, CSRE 51Q)
We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
COMPMED 80N:
Introduction to Animal Behavior
Preference to freshman. Behavior is what makes animals special (thirsty plants don't walk to water), but why do animals behave the way they do? What does their behavior tell us about their inner lives, and about ourselves? What do lipstick and cuckoos and fireflies have in common? Why would nobody want to be a penguin? What do mice say to each other in their pee-mail? Learning how to think about questions like these gives us a unique perspective on the natural world. Format: Discussion and criticism of video examples, documentaries, and research papers. Topics: History and approaches to animal behavior; development of behavior, from genetics to learning; mechanisms of behavior, from neurons to motivation; function of behavior, from honest signals to selfish genes; the phylogeny of behavior, from domestication to speciation; and modern applications of behavior, from abnormal behavior, to conservation, to animal welfare, and animal consciousness.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
COMPMED 81N:
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Mammals
Preference to freshmen. Emphasis is on a comparative approach to anatomy and physiology of a wide range of mammals, the unique adaptations of each species in terms of its anatomical, and behavioral characteristics, and how these species interact with human beings and other animals. Dissection required. Class size is limited to 16.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
COMPMED 83N:
Horse Medicine
Preference to freshmen. The most common equine diseases, ranging from colic to lameness are reviewed using problem-oriented approach. Topics include: equine infectious diseases, care of the newborn foal, medical emergencies, and neurological disorders. A lab on the physical and neurological examination of the horse at the Red Barn.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
COMPMED 84Q:
Globally Emerging Zoonotic Diseases
Preference to sophomores. Infectious diseases impacting veterinary and human health around the world today. Mechanisms of disease, epidemiology, and underlying diagnostic, treatment and control principles associated with these pathogens.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
COMPMED 85N:
Animal Use in Biomedical Research
Preference to freshmen. How and why animals are used in biomedical science. Addresses human and animal disease entities and how animal research has contributed to the treatment and cure of disease. Significantnportions of this course are devoted to documenting the humane care and treatment of laboratory animals in research, including, but not limited to such topics as laws and ethics, animal behavior, animal modeling, and the animal activist movement. Course topics will also include: What advances have been made as a result of the use of animals in research? Who conducts animal research? Predominant animal species used in biomedical research, facts and myths; the regulation of biomedical research; housing and care of laboratory animals; why new drugs must be tested; animal use in stem cell research, cancer research and genetically engineered mice; career choices in biomedical research.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
COMPMED 87Q:
Introduction to the Mouse in Biomedical Research
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on the laboratory mouse, a widely used and important research model. Topics include the ethics of animal use in research; the natural history, origin and husbandry of the mouse; characteristics of key mouse strains; its anatomy and physiology; common diseases and their effects on research; coat color genetics relative to human diseases; immunodeficient mouse models; and genetic engineering of mice. The laboratory includes necropsy, handling, anesthesia, identification methods, and common research techniques using live and dead mice. Enrollment limited to 14 students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
COMPMED 89Q:
Ouch it Hurts! The Comparative Neurobiology of Pain
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on understanding the basic neurobiology of pain pathways. Topics include the physiology, pharmacology, and clinical aspects of effective pain management. In both humans and animals pain is part of the protective mechanisms that prevent further injury to the body. However, if the pain process continues unchecked, it can become extremely detrimental.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
CS 29N:
Computational Decision Making
Although we make decisions every day, many people base their decisions on initial reactions or ""gut"" feelings. There are, however, powerful frameworks for making decisions more effectively based on computationally analyzing the choices available and their possible outcomes. In this course we give an introduction to some of these frameworks, including utility theory, decision analysis, and game theory. We also discuss why people sometimes make seemingly reasonable, yet irrational, decisions. We begin the class by presenting some of the basics of probability theory, which serves as the main mathematical foundation for the decision making frameworks we will subsequently present. Although we provide a mathematical/computational basis for the decision making frameworks we examine, we also seek to give intuitive (and sometimes counterintuitive) explanations for actual decision making behavior through in-class demonstrations. No prior experience with probability theory is needed (we'll cover what you need to know in class), but students should be comfortable with mathematical manipulation at the level of Math 20 or Math 41.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
CS 44N:
Computational Thinking and Systems in the Real-World
Computing in the real-world is too often viewed as working away concocting some computer incantations hidden inside some high technology company. However, computing and computer communication has infiltrated and in many cases revolutionized several ¿systems¿ in the real world, including financial systems, inventory management, advertising systems, supply chain management, transportation systems, defense systems and so on. Moreover, the discipline of thinking that has developed to build these systems, computational thinking, has powerful applicability to real-world problems and situations outside of computer programming. This course provides an introduction and exposure to some of these dramatic trends, opportunities and risks. Also included is an introduction to some basic ideas in ¿computational thinking¿. The course will include guest speakers. No programming competence is assumed but exposure to programming would be useful. Interest in the real world and interest is not being run-over by this trend is essential.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
CS 45N:
Computers and Photography: From Capture to Sharing
Preference to freshmen with experience in photography and use of computers. Elements of photography, such as lighting, focus, depth of field, aperture, and composition. How a photographer makes photos available for computer viewing, reliably stores them, organizes them, tags them, searches them, and distributes them online. No programming experience required. Digital SLRs and editing software will be provided to those students who do not wish to use their own.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
CS 46N:
Big Data, Big Discoveries, Big Fallacies
A sea change has occurred in science, technology, medicine, politics, and society as a whole: many of the world's biggest discoveries and decisions are now being made on the basis of analyzing massive data sets, referred to as "big data". Everyday examples include social-network friend recommendations, and weather predictions far more accurate than a decade ago; both use vast collections of data to model the past and predict the future. But it is surprisingly easy to come to false conclusions from data analysis alone. For example, we might conclude that acne medicine prevents heart attacks and strokes, if we forget to factor in the age of the patients. Privacy is a major concern: Target stores analyzed buying patterns to predict with remarkable accuracy which of their shoppers had just become pregnant, but trouble arose when they sent baby ads to the homes of pregnant teens whose parents weren't yet in the know. We will start by surveying the history of data-driven activities, leading up to the recent Big Data explosion. A variety of data analysis techniques will be covered, leading students to appreciate that even simple techniques can go a long way when the data set is large enough. Common stumbling blocks leading to false conclusions will be discussed, and students will be asked to debate the many issues surrounding privacy. In one project, students will see whose analysis techniques can best predict user movie ratings based on past rating behavior. A second project will be individually designed in an area of the student's choosing. The seminar will include a mix of assigned readings, small-scale investigations and assignments, classroom discussions, and two projects. No computer programming or special math skills are required; students will learn the basic techniques and tools they need to complete the data analysis assignments and projects.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
CS 54N:
Great Ideas in Computer Science
Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Covers the intellectual tradition of computer science emphasizing ideas that reflect the most important milestones in the history of the discipline. No prior experience with programming is assumed. Topics include programming and problem solving; implementing computation in hardware; algorithmic efficiency; the theoretical limits of computation; cryptography and security; and the philosophy behind artificial intelligence.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
CSRE 14N:
Growing Up Bilingual (CHILATST 14N, EDUC 114N)
This course is a Freshman Introductory Seminar that has as its purpose introducing students to the sociolinguistic study of bilingualism by focusing on bilingual communities in this country and on bilingual individuals who use two languages in their everyday lives. Much attention is given to the history, significance, and consequences of language contact in the United States. The course focuses on the experiences of long-term US minority populations as well as that of recent immigrants.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
CSRE 15N:
Imagining India: Art, Culture, Politics in Modern India (COMPLIT 14N, FEMGEN 14N, TAPS 14N)
This course explores history via cultural responses in modern India. We will examine a range of fiction, film and drama to consider the ways in which India emerges through its cultural productions. The course will consider key historical events such as the partition of the subcontinent, independence from British rule, Green Revolution, Emergency, liberalization of the Indian economy, among others. We will reflect on epochal historical moments by means of artisticnresponses to these events. For example, Ritwik Ghatak's experimental cinema intervenes into debates around the Bengal partition; Rohinton Mistry's novel, A Fine Balance grapples with the suspension of civil liberties during the emergency between 1975-77; Rahul Varma's play Bhopal reflects on the Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. Students willnread, view and reflect on the aesthetic and historical texts through their thoughtful engagement in class discussions and written e ssays. They will also have opportunities to imaginatively respond to these texts via short creative projects, which could range from poems, monologues, solo pieces, web installations, etc. Readings will also include Mahashweta Devi, Amitav Ghosh, Girish Karnad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Manjula Padmanabhan, Salman Rushdie, Aparna Sen, among others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 45Q:
Understanding Race and Ethnicity in American Society (SOC 45Q)
Preference to sophomores. Historical overview of race in America, race and violence, race and socioeconomic well-being, and the future of race relations in America. Enrollment limited to 16.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
CSRE 51Q:
Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity (AMSTUD 51Q, COMPLIT 51Q)
We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
CSRE 54N:
African American Women's Lives (AFRICAAM 54N, AMSTUD 54N, FEMGEN 54N, HISTORY 54N)
Preference to freshmen. We will examine the struggles of African American women to define their own lives and improve the social, economic, political and cultural conditions of black communities. Topics will include women's enslavement and freedom, kinship and family relations, institution and community building, violence, labor and leisure, changing gender roles, consumer and beauty culture, social activism, and the politics of sexuality.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 63N:
The Feminist Critique: The History and Politics of Gender Equality (AMSTUD 63N, FEMGEN 63N, HISTORY 63N)
This course explores the emergence of concepts of gender equality in world history. It asks how gender inequality relates to racial, ethnicity, and sexual identities, how men engage with feminism, whether gender equality is purely a western cultural tradition, and much more. We approach the long history of ideas about gender and equality by reading primary historical documents from around the world, moving from the 15th century to the present. Topics include education, the body, sexuality, violence, labor, and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CSRE 188Q:
Imagining Women: Writers in Print and in Person (FEMGEN 188Q)
Gender roles, gender relations and sexual identity explored in contemporary literature and conversation with guest authors. Weekly meetings designated for book discussion and meeting with authors. Interest in writing and a curiosity about diverse women's lives would be helpful to students. Students will use such tools as close reading, research, analysis and imagination. Seminar requires strong voice of all participants. Oral presentations, discussion papers, final projects.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
DLCL 113Q:
Borges and Translation (ILAC 113Q)
Borges's creative process and practice as seen through the lens of translation. How do Borges's texts articulate the relationships between reading, writing, and translation? Topics include authorship, fidelity, irreverence, and innovation. Readings will draw on Borges's short stories, translations, and essays. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: 100-level course in Spanish or permission of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
EARTHSYS 11Q:
Sustainability And Social Justice (ETHICSOC 11Q)
At its core, sustainability is a conversation about equity. Equity between people today and people tomorrow. Equity between the many diverse people today who are all trying to pursue their hopes and dreams. Equity between human beings and the myriad other living creatures we share this planet with. Movements for environmental sustainability and social justice share a concern for equity, but have largely evolved in parallel. Mounting evidence however shows that environmental and social change are almost always inextricably linked, and the climate crisis is pushing together these two areas of study like never before. That is good news, but tough questions remain. What happens when the environmental costs of personal freedom can no longer be sustained? Should the needs of the many always outweigh the needs of the few? Are we responsible for repairing the injustices of our parents' and grandparents' generations? Where are the win-win solutions? In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will explore the theory and practice of sustainability and social justice, examining case studies where they have intersected, and where they have not. Readings will draw from sustainability science, environmental justice, environmental ethics, religious studies, social psychology, and ecological economics. Through weekly readings, discussions, and journal writing, students will develop a personal sustainability manifesto and analyze a policy, technology, or social movement through the lens of social and environmental sustainability.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
EARTHSYS 38N:
The Worst Journey in the World: The Science, Literature, and History of Polar Exploration (ESS 38N, GS 38N)
This course examines the motivations and experiences of polar explorers under the harshest conditions on Earth, as well as the chronicles of their explorations and hardships, dating to the 1500s for the Arctic and the 1700s for the Antarctic. Materials include The Worst Journey in the World by Aspley Cherry-Garrard who in 1911 participated in a midwinter Antarctic sledging trip to recover emperor penguin eggs. Optional field trip into the high Sierra in March.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
EARTHSYS 41N:
The Global Warming Paradox
Preference to freshman. Focus is on the complex climate challenges posed by the substantial benefits of energy consumption, including the critical tension between the enormous global demand for increased human well-being and the negative climate consequences of large-scale emissions of carbon dioxide. Topics include: Earth¿s energy balance; detection and attribution of climate change; the climate response to enhanced greenhouse forcing; impacts of climate change on natural and human systems; and proposed methods for curbing further climate change. Sources include peer-reviewed scientific papers, current research results, and portrayal of scientific findings by the mass media and social networks.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
EARTHSYS 44N:
The Invisible Majority: The Microbial World That Sustains Our Planet
Microbes are often viewed through the lens of infectious disease yet they play a much broader and underappreciated role in sustaining our Earth system. From introducing oxygen into the Earth¿s atmosphere over 2 billion years ago to consuming greenhouse gases today, microbial communities have had (and continue to have) a significant impact on our planet. In this seminar, students will learn how microbes transformed the ancient Earth environment into our modern planet, how they currently sustain our Earth¿s ecosystems, and how scientists study them both in the present and in the past. Students will be exposed to the fundamentals of microbiology, biogeochemistry, and Earth history.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
EARTHSYS 46N:
Exploring the Critical Interface between the Land and Monterey Bay: Elkhorn Slough (ESS 46N)
Preference to freshmen. Field trips to sites in the Elkhorn Slough, a small agriculturally impacted estuary that opens into Monterey Bay, a model ecosystem for understanding the complexity of estuaries, and one of California's last remaining coastal wetlands. Readings include Jane Caffrey's Changes in a California Estuary: A Profile of Elkhorn Slough. Basics of biogeochemistry, microbiology, oceanography, ecology, pollution, and environmental management.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
EARTHSYS 46Q:
Environmental Impact of Energy Systems: What are the Risks? (GS 46Q)
In order to reduce CO2 emissions and meet growing energy demands during the 21st Century, the world can expect to experience major shifts in the types and proportions of energy-producing systems. These decisions will depend on considerations of cost per energy unit, resource availability, and unique national policy needs. Less often considered is the environmental impact of the different energy producing systems: fossil fuels, nuclear, wind, solar, and other alternatives. One of the challenges has been not only to evaluate the environmental impact but also to develop a systematic basis for comparison of environmental impact among the energy sources. The course will consider fossil fuels (natural gas, petroleum and coal), nuclear power, wind and solar and consider the impact of resource extraction, refining and production, transmission and utilization for each energy source.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EARTHSYS 61Q:
Food and security (ESS 61Q, INTNLREL 61Q)
The course will provide a broad overview of key policy issues concerning agricultural development and food security, and will assess how global governance is addressing the problem of food security. At the same time the course will provide an overview of the field of international security, and examine how governments and international institutions are beginning to include food in discussions of security.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ECON 11N:
Understanding the Welfare System
Welfare reform passed by the Federal Government in 1996 heralded a dramatic step in how our nation designs and operates its programs that support poor families. The centerpiece of this legislation known as 'devolution' transferred much responsibility for these programs to the states. States had their first opportunity since the 'war on poverty' of the 1960s to undertake radical changes in setting up their public assistance programs. Recently, many of the reforms instituted in the 1990s are being hotly debated and in some aspects reversed. What flexibility did the states receive under welfare reform, and what considerations are relevant in exercising this flexibility? What selections have states made, and how are their programs and those of the federal government likely to evolve in the future? This seminar will address these questions, exploring how reforms changed welfare and who has been affected by these changes. In addition to covering the patchwork of different programs that currently constitute America's social safety net, the seminar will also scrutinize the makeup and trends in government spending and how our nation defines poverty and eligibility for income support. Moreover, the discussion will illustrate the role that economics plays in assessing the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs and the consequences on families' behavior. Students will participate in a project in which they develop their own recommendations for devising a safety net for poor families in America.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 17N:
Energy, the Environment, and the Economy
Examines the intimate relationship between environmental quality and the production and consumption of energy. Assesses the economics efficiency and political economy implications of a number of current topics in energy and environmental economics. Topics include: the economic theory of exhaustible resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) control (cap and trade mechanisms and carbon fees), GHG emissions offsets, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the "smart" transmission grid for electricity, nuclear energy and nuclear waste, the real cost of renewable energy, natural gas and coal-fired electricity production, the global coal and natural gas markets, Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) and Low-Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS), Energy Efficiency Investments and Demand Response, and Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). For all topics, there will be reading to explain the economics and engineering behind the topic and class discussion to clarify and elaborate on this interaction.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 22N:
Causes and Consequences of the Rise in Inequality
In this class we will discuss the economic and institutional causes of the rise in inequality in the US and other countries over the last 40 years. We will also discuss the consequences of inequality in terms of social justice, economic welfare, aggregate economic performance, intergenerational mobility, and the possible implications of inequality for the recent global financial crisis.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ECON 23N:
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
We will explore the evolution and current performance of capitalist and socialist economies, their interaction with democracy, and the contemporary debate about the appropriate roles of individual vs. collective rights and responsibilities.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
ECON 24N:
Social Choice & Market Design
The design of mechanisms for group decision making, addressing questions about how apartment mates should choose rooms and share the rent, how a government should select and pay its suppliers, how a town should elect a mayor, or how students and college ought to be matches to one another. The first three weeks include classic papers by two Nobel-prize winning scholars about matching students and about government procurement. We will ask questions such as: What are the provable properties of these mechanisms? Is it possible for individuals or groups to manipulate the mechanisms for their own advantage? The remaining weeks focus on group decisions that are guided by "voting" mechanisms, showing the inherent trade-offs and proving theorems about the incompatibility among some simple, desirable properties of mechanisms. The ideas treated in this class are being used today to design new mechanisms for voting, matching, auctions and other applications, based on an awareness of the formal properties that the mechanisms may have.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
EDUC 113N:
Mix | Remix | Mixtape: Writing and Reading DJ Culture
This course looks at the DJ as a crucial figure, a rhetor even, who influences both US and world culture and examines the DJ's practices as writing practices. From there we ask how other kinds of writing-public, academic, creative-can be informed by DJs and DJ culture. We will study specific practices like scratching, remixing, and the mixtape as well as different approaches and spaces in which DJs have shaped culture, from disco to Hip Hop to world music, from radio DJs to party DJs to beat-juggling and turntablism.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
EDUC 114N:
Growing Up Bilingual (CHILATST 14N, CSRE 14N)
This course is a Freshman Introductory Seminar that has as its purpose introducing students to the sociolinguistic study of bilingualism by focusing on bilingual communities in this country and on bilingual individuals who use two languages in their everyday lives. Much attention is given to the history, significance, and consequences of language contact in the United States. The course focuses on the experiences of long-term US minority populations as well as that of recent immigrants.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
EDUC 115N:
How to Learn Mathematics
What is going on in mathematics education in the United States? Why do so many people hate and fear math? What contributes to the high levels of innumeracy in the general population? Why do girls and women opt out of math when they get a chance? In this seminar we will consider seminal research on math learning in K-12 classrooms, including a focus on equity. We will spend time investigating cases of teaching and learning, through watching videos and visiting schools. This seminar is for those who are interested in education, and who would like to learn about ways to help students (and maybe yourselves?) learn and enjoy mathematics. If you have had bad math experiences and would like to understand them ¿ and put them behind you ¿ this seminar will be particularly good for you. The final project for this class will involve developing a case of one or more math learners, investigating their journeys in the world of math.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
EDUC 117N:
Losing My Religion: Secularism and Spirituality in American Lives (AMSTUD 117N, RELIGST 117X)
In this seminar you will explore theory and practice, sociological data, spiritual writing, and case studies in an effort to gain a more nuanced understanding about how religion, spirituality, and secularism attempt to make legible the constellation of concerns, commitments, and behaviors that bridge the moral and the personal, the communal and the national, the sacred, the profane, and the rational. Together we will cultivate critical perspectives on practices and politics, beliefs and belonging that we typically take for granted.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
EE 14N:
Things about Stuff
Preference to freshmen. The stories behind disruptive inventions such as the telegraph, telephone, wireless, television, transistor, and chip are as important as the inventions themselves, for they elucidate broadly applicable scientific principles. Focus is on studying consumer devices; projects include building batteries, energy conversion devices and semiconductors from pocket change. Students may propose topics and projects of interest to them. The trajectory of the course is determined in large part by the students themselves.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
EE 17N:
Engineering the Micro and Nano Worlds: From Chips to Genes
Preference to freshmen. The first part is hands-on micro- and nano-fabrication including the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) and the Stanford Nanocharacterization Laboratory (SNL) and field trips to local companies and other research centers to illustrate the many applications; these include semiconductor integrated circuits ('chips'), DNA microarrays, microfluidic bio-sensors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The second part is to create, design, propose and execute a project. Most of the grade will be based on the project. By the end of the course you will, of course, be able to read critically a New York Times article on nanotechnology. More importantly you will have experienced the challenge (and fun) of designing, carrying out and presenting your own experimental project. As a result you will be better equipped to choose your major. This course can complement (and differs from) the seminars offered by Profs Philip Wong and Hari Manoharan in that it emphasizes laboratory work and an experimental student-designed project. Prerequisites: high-school physics.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
EE 21N:
What is Nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is an often used word and it means many things to different people. Scientists and Engineers have some notion of what nanotechnology is, societal perception may be entirely different. In this course, we start with the classic paper by Richard Feynman ("There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom"), which laid down the challenge to the nanotechnologists. Then we discuss two classic books that offer a glimpse of what nanotechnology is: Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology by Eric Drexler, and Prey by Michael Crichton. Drexler's thesis sparked the imagination of what nano machinery might do, whereas Crichton's popular novel channeled the public's attention to this subject by portraying a disastrous scenario of a technology gone astray. We will use the scientific knowledge to analyze the assumptions and predictions of these classic works. We will draw upon the latest research advances to illustrate the possibilities and impossibilities of nanotechnology.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
EE 22N:
Medical Imaging Systems
Preference to freshmen. The technology of major imaging modalities used for disease diagnosis: x-ray, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance; their history, societal impact, and clinical applications. Field trips to a medical center and an imaging research lab. Term paper and presentation. Prerequisites: high school physics and calculus.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
EE 23N:
Imaging: From the Atom to the Universe
Preference to freshmen. Forms of imaging including human and animal vision systems, atomic force microscope, microscope, digital camera, holography and three-dimensional imaging, telescope, synthetic aperture radar imaging, nuclear magnetic imaging, sonar and gravitational wave imaging, and the Hubble Space telescope. Physical principles and exposure to real imaging devices and systems.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
EE 27N:
Electronics Rocks
Electronics pervades our lives, yet we often feel obliged to let a device function as it was intended. This course is about not being intimidated by voiding a warranty and modding some commercial gadget and about being confident enough to build something cool from scratch. To get there, we will study the basics of "how things work" via "dissection and discussion" and discuss how to hack/mod but focus primarily how to scratch build. Students will be mentored and encouraged to work, in teams, to design and develop a substantial project based on embedded microprocessors and custom circuits as needed. Typical projects include (but are not limited to) microcontrollers such as the Arduino, LED's, sensors, wireless connections to the network or a laptop, and software/firmware as needed. Examples include programmable, color-changing wireless juggling balls, a self-healing mesh-networked hide-and-seek game, and a glowing plasma based clock built from surplus Soviet vacuum tubes and a modern microprocessor. Prerequisites: good hand-eye coordination, intelligence, teamwork skills, curiosity and humility.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
EE 29N:
Electromagnetic Sensors for the Internet of Things
Have you ever wondered how your phone know what way is up? How the traffic light know your car is there? How you can monitor your health with a smart bracelet? If so, you want to learn about electromagnetic sensors. In this course we will the electromagnetic principles that allows us to sense things and communicate with things at a distance. You will learn the fundamentals of electromagnetic sensing and build practical sensors in the laboratory.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
EE 60N:
Man versus Nature: Coping with Disasters Using Space Technology (GEOPHYS 60N)
Preference to freshman. Natural hazards, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, and fires, and how they affect people and society; great disasters such as asteroid impacts that periodically obliterate many species of life. Scientific issues, political and social consequences, costs of disaster mitigation, and how scientific knowledge affects policy. How spaceborne imaging technology makes it possible to respond quickly and mitigate consequences; how it is applied to natural disasters; and remote sensing data manipulation and analysis. GER:DB-EngrAppSci
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
ENGLISH 32N:
Reading Digitally
Exploration of how technology is changing the ways in which we read and think about literature. These changes include the use of text mining, social platforms and the creation of interactive textual platforms. Together, we will discuss these changes in detail as we investigate the new area of study, called, collectively, the ¿Digital Humanities¿ and how this new field is reshaping what it means to read and study literature in the University of the 21st century.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ENGLISH 40N:
Theatrical Wonders from Shakespeare to Mozart
What is the secret of theatrical illusion? How does the theater move us to wonder, sympathetic identification, and reflection? How do the changing stories that theater tells reveal our values? We will ask these questions through a close examination--on the page and on the stage--of dramatic masterpieces by Shakespeare, Calderón, and Mozart. We will attend a live performance of The Magic Flute. No prior knowledge of music is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 48N:
The American Songbook and Love Poetry
A study of performances (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra etc) of songs by classic American composers (Porter, Rogers and Hart, Cohen).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 51N:
The Sisters: Poetry & Painting (ARTHIST 160N)
Poetry and painting have often been called the "sister arts". Why? Sometimes a poem or a painting stands out to us, asking that we stay with it, that we remember it, although we cannot exactly say why. Poems have a way of making pictures in the mind, and paintings turn "rhymes" amid the people, places, and things they portray. Each is a concentrated world, inviting an exhilarating closeness of response: why does this line come first? Why does the artist include that detail? Who knows but that as we write and talk about these poems and pictures we will be doing what John Keats said a painter does: that is, arriving at a "trembling delicate and snail-horn perception of Beauty." Each week explore the kinship between a different pair of painter and poet and also focuses on a particular problem or method of interpretation. Some of the artist/poet combinations we will consider: Shakespeare and Caravaggio; Jorie Graham and (the photographer) Henri Cartier-Bresson; Alexander Pope and Thomas Gainsborough; William Wordsworth and Caspar David Friedrich; Christina Rossetti and Mary Cassatt; Walt Whitman and Thomas Eakins; Thomas Hardy and Edward Hopper.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 52N:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (AFRICAAM 52N, POLISCI 29N)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? In this course, we approach issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st century U.S. We will examine issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation and racial prejudice in American society. Topics we will explore include the political and social formation of ¿race¿; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the ¿one-drop rule¿ and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of Census categories and the rise of the Multiracial Movement.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
ENGLISH 67N:
The Ethical Gangster: How to be Moral, How to be Good--Mafia Style
Is there a difference between being moral and being good? Does it matter? Does knowing the difference matter at all to how a person should conduct him or herself in close relationships, in social groups, in professional life, in politics? The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. This class will explore human moral psychology: the intuitions we have about right and wrong, fair and unfair, harm, justice, loyalty, authority, sanctity, freedom and oppression. We will then relate these intuitions to systematic ethical theories of right and wrong. We will do so by immersing ourselves in a somewhat surprising source¿the greatest hits of Mafia movies from Little Caesar to The Sopranos. We will also consider recent findings in experimental moral psychology.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
ENGLISH 68N:
Mark Twain and American Culture (AMSTUD 68N)
Preference to freshmen. Mark Twain defined the rhythms of our prose and the contours of our moral map. He recognized our extravagant promise and stunning failures, our comic foibles and tragic flaws. He is viewed as the most American of American authors--and as one of the most universal. How does his work illuminate his society¿s (and our society¿s) responses to such issues as race, gender, technology, heredity vs. environment, religion, education, art, imperialism, animal welfare, and what it means to be ¿American¿?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 79N:
The Renaissance: Culture as Conflict
Focus is on the Renaissance not as a cultural rebirth but as a scene of cultural conflict. Course materials are selected from Renaissance art, history, philosophy, politics, religion, and travel writing; authors include More, Luther, Erasmus, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Montaigne, Shakespeare. Among the conflicts we will explore are: old (world)/new (world), wealth/poverty, individual/collectivity, manuscript/print, religion/secularism, Catholicism/Protestantism, monarchism/republicanism, femininity/masculinity, heterosexuality/homosexuality.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 90Q:
Sports Writing
Study and practice of the unique narratives, tropes, images and arguments that creative writers develop when they write about popular sport. From regional fandom to individualist adventuring, boxing and baseball to mascot dancing and table tennis, exceptional creative writers mine from a diversity of leisure activity a rich vein of ¿sports writing¿ in the creative nonfiction genre. In doing so, they demonstrate the creative and formal adaptability required to write with excellence about any subject matter, and under the circumstances of any subjectivity. Discussion of the ways in which writers have framed, and even critiqued, our interest in athletic events, spectatorship, and athletic beauty. Writers include Joyce Carol Oates, Roland Barthes, David James Duncan, Arnold Rampersad, John Updike, Maxine Kumin, Susan Sterling, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, Dervla Murphy, Haruki Murakami, Don DeLillo, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Annie Dillard, John McPhee, and Laura Hillenbrand. Close readings of essays on form and sport, as well as book excerpts. Students will engage in class discussions and write short weekly papers, leading to a more comprehensive project at the end of the quarter.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 91Q:
Twitter Fiction/Future Forms
Digital media--from Twitter to the Kindle--are roiling the literary marketplace. But could these new forms and content delivery methods also create new opportunities for creative work? Twitter is a hotbed of adopted personae and clearly false characters; sites from FiveChapters to Plympton are reviving the serial form; new apps feature inventive short fiction. Additionally, established writers, from Margaret Atwood to Jennifer Egan, are harnessing the forms offered by digital media to spur their own artistic invention. In this unsettled landscape, what does it even mean to write fiction? What does it mean to create stories without the assumption of the reader's undivided attention? And what do lessons from our literary history--from Gutenberg to the serial novels of the Victorian age--have to teach us about our current historical moment? These and many more questions will be our subject as we read the exciting work being done in this new world--and then become pioneers ourselves, by writing, workshopping, and publishing our own Twitter fiction and future forms.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGR 159Q:
Japanese Companies and Japanese Society (MATSCI 159Q)
Preference to sophomores. The structure of a Japanese company from the point of view of Japanese society. Visiting researchers from Japanese companies give presentations on their research enterprise. The Japanese research ethic. The home campus equivalent of a Kyoto SCTI course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
ESS 38N:
The Worst Journey in the World: The Science, Literature, and History of Polar Exploration (EARTHSYS 38N, GS 38N)
This course examines the motivations and experiences of polar explorers under the harshest conditions on Earth, as well as the chronicles of their explorations and hardships, dating to the 1500s for the Arctic and the 1700s for the Antarctic. Materials include The Worst Journey in the World by Aspley Cherry-Garrard who in 1911 participated in a midwinter Antarctic sledging trip to recover emperor penguin eggs. Optional field trip into the high Sierra in March.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
ESS 46N:
Exploring the Critical Interface between the Land and Monterey Bay: Elkhorn Slough (EARTHSYS 46N)
Preference to freshmen. Field trips to sites in the Elkhorn Slough, a small agriculturally impacted estuary that opens into Monterey Bay, a model ecosystem for understanding the complexity of estuaries, and one of California's last remaining coastal wetlands. Readings include Jane Caffrey's Changes in a California Estuary: A Profile of Elkhorn Slough. Basics of biogeochemistry, microbiology, oceanography, ecology, pollution, and environmental management.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
ESS 61Q:
Food and security (EARTHSYS 61Q, INTNLREL 61Q)
The course will provide a broad overview of key policy issues concerning agricultural development and food security, and will assess how global governance is addressing the problem of food security. At the same time the course will provide an overview of the field of international security, and examine how governments and international institutions are beginning to include food in discussions of security.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ETHICSOC 11Q:
Sustainability And Social Justice (EARTHSYS 11Q)
At its core, sustainability is a conversation about equity. Equity between people today and people tomorrow. Equity between the many diverse people today who are all trying to pursue their hopes and dreams. Equity between human beings and the myriad other living creatures we share this planet with. Movements for environmental sustainability and social justice share a concern for equity, but have largely evolved in parallel. Mounting evidence however shows that environmental and social change are almost always inextricably linked, and the climate crisis is pushing together these two areas of study like never before. That is good news, but tough questions remain. What happens when the environmental costs of personal freedom can no longer be sustained? Should the needs of the many always outweigh the needs of the few? Are we responsible for repairing the injustices of our parents' and grandparents' generations? Where are the win-win solutions? In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will explore the theory and practice of sustainability and social justice, examining case studies where they have intersected, and where they have not. Readings will draw from sustainability science, environmental justice, environmental ethics, religious studies, social psychology, and ecological economics. Through weekly readings, discussions, and journal writing, students will develop a personal sustainability manifesto and analyze a policy, technology, or social movement through the lens of social and environmental sustainability.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
FEMGEN 14N:
Imagining India: Art, Culture, Politics in Modern India (COMPLIT 14N, CSRE 15N, TAPS 14N)
This course explores history via cultural responses in modern India. We will examine a range of fiction, film and drama to consider the ways in which India emerges through its cultural productions. The course will consider key historical events such as the partition of the subcontinent, independence from British rule, Green Revolution, Emergency, liberalization of the Indian economy, among others. We will reflect on epochal historical moments by means of artisticnresponses to these events. For example, Ritwik Ghatak's experimental cinema intervenes into debates around the Bengal partition; Rohinton Mistry's novel, A Fine Balance grapples with the suspension of civil liberties during the emergency between 1975-77; Rahul Varma's play Bhopal reflects on the Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. Students willnread, view and reflect on the aesthetic and historical texts through their thoughtful engagement in class discussions and written e ssays. They will also have opportunities to imaginatively respond to these texts via short creative projects, which could range from poems, monologues, solo pieces, web installations, etc. Readings will also include Mahashweta Devi, Amitav Ghosh, Girish Karnad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Manjula Padmanabhan, Salman Rushdie, Aparna Sen, among others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 16N:
Heloise: Love, Learning, and Desire (for God?) in the Twelfth Century (HISTORY 16N)
Few medieval women have been so often studied and yet so little understood as Heloise, abbess of the Paraclete (d. 1164). Her life, known primarily through the letters that she exchanged with her former husband, the philosopher Peter Abelard (d. 1142), offers a study in contradiction: she was an educated woman at a time when women were supposedly barred from education; a nun who, though dedicated to God, battled sexual desire; a mother, whose spiritual daughters seemingly displaced her one biological son; and a wife, whose husband became her ¿brother¿ in Christ. Traditional accounts have flattened these rich and various contradictions, presenting Heloise primarily as a tragic heroine. Seduced by her much older teacher, this Heloise conceives and bears a child, seeks a love unfettered by bonds of wedlock, and ultimately accepts enclosure in the monastery as her last desperate act of obedience to her lover, Abelard. This seminar revises the traditional image of Heloise, dignifying her as a scholar, monastic reformer, and administrator¿as well as a lover, wife, mother, and friend.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
FEMGEN 28N:
Queer Lives in Music (MUSIC 28N)
Queer Lives in Music examines music by queer musicians in genres including punk, opera, rock, symphony, musical theater, folk, and jazz. We will study lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer composers, performers, and listeners, to learn how queer people have expressed individual identity and built communities through music. We will learn how sexual stigma, taboo, oppression, and resistance have impacted musical creativity and music history. Class is designed for students interested in music, social history, cultural studies, and gender/sexuality studies.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
FEMGEN 36N:
Gay Autobiography (HISTORY 36N)
Preference to freshmen. Gender, identity, and solidarity as represented in nine autobiographies: Isherwood, Ackerley, Duberman, Monette, Louganis, Barbin, Cammermeyer, Gingrich, and Lorde. To what degree do these writers view sexual orientation as a defining feature of their selves? Is there a difference between the way men and women view identity? What politics follow from these writers' experiences?
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 54N:
African American Women's Lives (AFRICAAM 54N, AMSTUD 54N, CSRE 54N, HISTORY 54N)
Preference to freshmen. We will examine the struggles of African American women to define their own lives and improve the social, economic, political and cultural conditions of black communities. Topics will include women's enslavement and freedom, kinship and family relations, institution and community building, violence, labor and leisure, changing gender roles, consumer and beauty culture, social activism, and the politics of sexuality.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 63N:
The Feminist Critique: The History and Politics of Gender Equality (AMSTUD 63N, CSRE 63N, HISTORY 63N)
This course explores the emergence of concepts of gender equality in world history. It asks how gender inequality relates to racial, ethnicity, and sexual identities, how men engage with feminism, whether gender equality is purely a western cultural tradition, and much more. We approach the long history of ideas about gender and equality by reading primary historical documents from around the world, moving from the 15th century to the present. Topics include education, the body, sexuality, violence, labor, and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FEMGEN 86Q:
Love as a Force for Social Justice (HUMBIO 86Q)
Preference to sophomores. Biological, psychological, religious, social and cultural perspectives on the concept of agape love. How love is conceptualized across cultures; agape love as the basis of many religions; different kinds of love; the biology of love; love in action for social justice; the languages of love, including art, literature, music, and poetry. Emphasis is on blog writing, participation, and oral presentation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
FEMGEN 188Q:
Imagining Women: Writers in Print and in Person (CSRE 188Q)
Gender roles, gender relations and sexual identity explored in contemporary literature and conversation with guest authors. Weekly meetings designated for book discussion and meeting with authors. Interest in writing and a curiosity about diverse women's lives would be helpful to students. Students will use such tools as close reading, research, analysis and imagination. Seminar requires strong voice of all participants. Oral presentations, discussion papers, final projects.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
FRENCH 75N:
Narrative Medicine and Near-Death Experiences (ITALIAN 75N)
Even if many of us don't fully believe in an afterlife, we remain fascinated by visions of it. This course focuses on Near-Death Experiences and the stories around them, investigating them from the many perspectives pertinent to the growing field of narrative medicine: medical, neurological, cognitive, psychological, sociological, literary, and filmic. The goal is not to understand whether the stories are veridical but what they do for us, as individuals, and as a culture, and in particular how they seek to reshape the patient-doctor relationship. Materials will span the 20th century and come into the present. Taught in English.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 87N:
The New Wave: How The French Reinvented Cinema
Focus on the French New Wave's cinematic revolution of 1959-1962. In a few years, the Nouvelle Vague delivered landmark works such as Truffaut's 400 Blows, Godard's Breathless, Chabro's Le Beau Serge or Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour, and changed forever the way we make and think about movies. Why did these films look so radically fresh? What do they say about France's youth culture in the early 60s? How is the author's theory behind them still influencing us today? Focus is on cultural history, aesthetic analysis, interpretation of narrative, sound and visual forms. Taught in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GENE 104Q:
Law and the Biosciences
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on human genetics; also assisted reproduction and neuroscience. Topics include forensic use of DNA, genetic testing, genetic discrimination, eugenics, cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, neuroscientific methods of lie detection, and genetic or neuroscience enhancement. Student presentations on research paper conclusions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, Writing 2
GEOPHYS 60N:
Man versus Nature: Coping with Disasters Using Space Technology (EE 60N)
Preference to freshman. Natural hazards, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, and fires, and how they affect people and society; great disasters such as asteroid impacts that periodically obliterate many species of life. Scientific issues, political and social consequences, costs of disaster mitigation, and how scientific knowledge affects policy. How spaceborne imaging technology makes it possible to respond quickly and mitigate consequences; how it is applied to natural disasters; and remote sensing data manipulation and analysis. GER:DB-EngrAppSci
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
GERMAN 103N:
Why Humans Matter
We consider various mythic and religious conceptions of the human from antiquity to Renaissance humanism, key documents of modern secular humanism, and literary works that raise probing questions about humanity. What is peculiar to humans against the foil of animal life forms? Is there a human nature at all, or perhaps a human calling, that might transcend differences among people? Contemporary debates about the limits of the human species, the aspiration to overcome such limits through science, and ecological challenges to traditional views of humans' place in the world.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GERMAN 113N:
Theatre and Politics
The theatre is a public forum where politics is both represented and enacted. In this seminar we will examine four theatrical artists who have wrestled with urgent political questions of their time and ours: William Shakespeare, Georg Büchner, Bertolt Brecht, and Anna Deveare Smith. nnQuestions we will consider include: How does Shakespeare¿s Hamlet raise questions about a sovereign¿s right to rule? What might a play such as Büchner¿s Danton¿s Death¿set during the one of the bloodiest periods of the French Revolution¿suggest about the relationship between terrorism and reason? What does a musical such as Brecht¿s Threepenny Opera demonstrate about strategies of mass manipulation? And how could a performance piece such as Smith¿s Twilight: Los Angeles help us better understand the dynamics of police brutality and urban riot? nnIn this course, we will read seven plays, delve into their cultural contexts, and watch film and live versions of them, including field trips to at area theatres. We will also try our hand at staging some scenes in class, in order to get a better sense of the sorts of choices these plays require. Your assignments will include short papers and regular postings on an online discussion board. All readings and discussions will be in English, and no prior theatrical experience is necessary.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GERMAN 120Q:
Contemporary Politics in Germany
This course provides an opportunity to engage with issues and actors, politicians and parties in contemporary Germany, while building German language abilities. We will work with current events texts, news reports, speeches and websites. Course goals include building analytic and interpretive capacities of political topics in today's Europe, including the European Union, foreign policy, and environmentalism. Differences between US and German political culture are a central topic. At least one year German language study required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
GERMAN 130N:
Nobel Prize Winners in German Literature
Readings from some of the best German-language authors, including Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Boll and Herta Muller. How imaginative literature engages with history, and how great authors address the major questions in politics and philosophy in modern Germany. Taught in German. German language equivalent to high school AP.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GS 38N:
The Worst Journey in the World: The Science, Literature, and History of Polar Exploration (EARTHSYS 38N, ESS 38N)
This course examines the motivations and experiences of polar explorers under the harshest conditions on Earth, as well as the chronicles of their explorations and hardships, dating to the 1500s for the Arctic and the 1700s for the Antarctic. Materials include The Worst Journey in the World by Aspley Cherry-Garrard who in 1911 participated in a midwinter Antarctic sledging trip to recover emperor penguin eggs. Optional field trip into the high Sierra in March.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
GS 42N:
Landscapes and Tectonics of the San Francisco Bay Area
Active faulting and erosion in the Bay Area, and its effects upon landscapes. Earth science concepts and skills through investigation of the valley, mountain, and coastal areas around Stanford. Faulting associated with the San Andreas Fault, coastal processes along the San Mateo coast, uplift of the mountains by plate tectonic processes, and landsliding in urban and mountainous areas. Field excursions; student projects.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SMA
GS 43Q:
Environmental Problems
Preference to sophomores. Components of multidisciplinary environmental problems and ethical questions associated with decision making in the regulatory arena. Students lead discussions on environmental issues such as groundwater contamination from point and nonpoint sources, cumulative watershed effects related to timber and mining practices, acid rain, and subsurface disposal of nuclear waste.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci
GS 46Q:
Environmental Impact of Energy Systems: What are the Risks? (EARTHSYS 46Q)
In order to reduce CO2 emissions and meet growing energy demands during the 21st Century, the world can expect to experience major shifts in the types and proportions of energy-producing systems. These decisions will depend on considerations of cost per energy unit, resource availability, and unique national policy needs. Less often considered is the environmental impact of the different energy producing systems: fossil fuels, nuclear, wind, solar, and other alternatives. One of the challenges has been not only to evaluate the environmental impact but also to develop a systematic basis for comparison of environmental impact among the energy sources. The course will consider fossil fuels (natural gas, petroleum and coal), nuclear power, wind and solar and consider the impact of resource extraction, refining and production, transmission and utilization for each energy source.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
GS 55Q:
The California Gold Rush: Geologic Background and Environmental Impact
Preference to sophomores. Topics include: geologic processes that led to the concentration of gold in the river gravels and rocks of the Mother Lode region of California; and environmental impact of the Gold Rush due to population increase, mining operations, and high concentrations of arsenic and mercury in sediments from hard rock mining and milling operations. Recommended: introductory geology.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA, Writing 2
GS 59N:
The Legacy of Fukushima Daiichi
We will consider the case for nuclear power as an energy source through the lens of the Fukushima disaster. Specific topics will include the cause of the earthquake and tsunami, the causes for the nuclear power plant failure, the mechanisms for the release of radioactivity at the time of the accident and today, and the ongoing human impact of this tragedy. In addition to the details of the accident and the release of radioactivity, class discussions and readings will explore the health and economic impacts of nuclear power and examine how the accident has affected the future prospects of nuclear power in Japan, the U.S., and around the world.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
GSBGEN 113N:
The Economic Survival of the Performing Arts
Even the most artistically accomplished and well-managed performing arts organizations--symphony orchestras, operas, dance companies, and many theaters--tend to live on the edge financially. In fact, most performing arts groups are organized as nonprofit organizations, because they cannot make enough money to cover costs and survive as profit-seeking businesses. In this seminar we will explore the reasons for the tension between artistic excellence and economic security,drawing on the experience of performing arts organizations in the United States and in countries(whose governments have adopted quite different policies toward the arts). Using economic concepts and analysis that we develop in the seminar, you will first examine the fundamental reasons for the economic challenges faced by performing arts organizations. In later sessions, we will consider and evaluate alternative solutions to these challenges in the United States and other countries. The seminar may include meetings with managers and/or trustees of arts organizations.nnnBy the end of the seminar, you will be able to assess the economic condition of an arts organization, evaluate alternative strategies for its survival, and understand the consequences of alternative government policies toward the arts.nnnDuring the early part of the course, you will prepare two short papers on topics or questions that I will suggest. Later, you will prepare a longer paper applying concepts learned to one of the performing arts or a particular arts organization that interests you. You will submit that paper in stages, as you learn about concepts and issues that are relevant to your analysis. There will also be a final exam.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
HISTORY 10N:
Thinking About War
This course examines classic approaches to war as an intellectual problem, looking at how a matter of such great physical violence and passions can be subjected to understanding and used in philosophy, political theory, and art. Questions to be examined include the definition of war, its causes, its moral value, the nature of its participants, its use in the self-definition of individuals and societies, its relation to political authority, warfare and gender, and the problem of civil war.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
HISTORY 11N:
The Roman Empire: Its Grandeur and Fall (CLASSICS 26N)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 24N.) Preference to freshmen. Explore themes on the Roman Empire and its decline from the 1st through the 5th centuries C.E.. What was the political and military glue that held this diverse, multi-ethnic empire together? What were the bases of wealth and how was it distributed? What were the possibilities and limits of economic growth? How integrated was it in culture and religion? What were the causes and consequences of the conversion to Christianity? Why did the Empire fall in the West? How suitable is the analogy of the U.S. in the 21st century?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:IHUM-3, WAY-SI
HISTORY 16N:
Heloise: Love, Learning, and Desire (for God?) in the Twelfth Century (FEMGEN 16N)
Few medieval women have been so often studied and yet so little understood as Heloise, abbess of the Paraclete (d. 1164). Her life, known primarily through the letters that she exchanged with her former husband, the philosopher Peter Abelard (d. 1142), offers a study in contradiction: she was an educated woman at a time when women were supposedly barred from education; a nun who, though dedicated to God, battled sexual desire; a mother, whose spiritual daughters seemingly displaced her one biological son; and a wife, whose husband became her ¿brother¿ in Christ. Traditional accounts have flattened these rich and various contradictions, presenting Heloise primarily as a tragic heroine. Seduced by her much older teacher, this Heloise conceives and bears a child, seeks a love unfettered by bonds of wedlock, and ultimately accepts enclosure in the monastery as her last desperate act of obedience to her lover, Abelard. This seminar revises the traditional image of Heloise, dignifying her as a scholar, monastic reformer, and administrator¿as well as a lover, wife, mother, and friend.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
HISTORY 17N:
Intimacy, Secrets and the Past: Biography in History and Fiction (JEWISHST 17N)
Biography is one of the most popular- and controversial- modes of writing about the past and perhaps its greatest draw is in its promise to revel the otherwise sequestered details of life, its everyday secrets otherwise sequestered from view. This, of course, is also at the heart of most modern fiction, and the two modes of writing have many other similarities as well as, needless to say, differences. The rhythms of life writing in biography as well as fiction will be explored in this class, along with the difficulties (factual, ethical, and otherwise) of ferreting out the secrets of individual lives. Among the figures explored in the course will be Sigmund Freud, Sabina Spielrein, Sylvia Plath, Hannah Arendt, and Woody Allen.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
HISTORY 25N:
Stalin's Europe, 1944-1948
This freshman seminar explores the history of wartime and postwar Europe through the lenses of the communist parties of Europe, the anti-Soviet forces on the continent, the devastation of the civilian population, and the intentions and actions of the Soviet Union on the one hand, and the United States on the other. We will analyze issues of resistance and collaboration under the Nazis, Allied occupation, and the division of Europe. We will also consider the forcible displacement of peoples and the fate of Jewish survivors. The idea is to understand the harsh and complex realities of European life and politics in this crucial time frame spanning war and peace. One can discover the beginnings of the Cold War in this period, the first signs of the "Iron Curtain," and the origins of the European Union. Our sources for the reconstruction of European life at this crucial time include documents, memoirs, literature, film, and various collections at the Hoover Archives. In addition to analyzing written and visual materials in discussion, presentations, and short essays, you will engage in a quarter long project on one thematic or country study during this period.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
HISTORY 36N:
Gay Autobiography (FEMGEN 36N)
Preference to freshmen. Gender, identity, and solidarity as represented in nine autobiographies: Isherwood, Ackerley, Duberman, Monette, Louganis, Barbin, Cammermeyer, Gingrich, and Lorde. To what degree do these writers view sexual orientation as a defining feature of their selves? Is there a difference between the way men and women view identity? What politics follow from these writers' experiences?
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 41Q:
Madwomen: The History of Women and Mental Illness in the U.S.
Explores how gender and historical context have shaped the experience and treatment of mental illness in U.S. history. Why have women been the witches and hysterics of the past, and why have there historically been more women than men among the mentally ill? Topics include the relationship between historical ideas of femininity and insanity, the ways that notions of gender influence the definition and treatment of mental disorder, and the understanding of the historically embedded nature of medical ideas, diagnoses, and treatments.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
HISTORY 44Q:
Gendered Innovations in Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Environment
Section 1 focuses on the history of women in science, medicine, and engineering. Section 2 looks at transforming research institutions so that both men and women can flourish. Section 3 explores how sex and gender analysis can enhance creativity. We discuss concrete examples of how taking gender into account has yielded new research results. Stanford University currently has a multiple year collaboration with the European Commission for Gendered Innovations, and this class will be part of that project. This course fulfills the second level Writing and Rhetoric Requirement (WRITE 2) and will emphasize oral and multimedia presentation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI, Writing 2
HISTORY 48Q:
South Africa: Contested Transitions (AFRICAAM 48Q)
Preference to sophomores. The inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president in May 1994 marked the end of an era and a way of life for South Africa. The changes have been dramatic, yet the legacies of racism and inequality persist. Focus: overlapping and sharply contested transitions. Who advocates and opposes change? Why? What are their historical and social roots and strategies? How do people reconstruct their society? Historical and current sources, including films, novels, and the Internet.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI, Writing 2
HISTORY 54N:
African American Women's Lives (AFRICAAM 54N, AMSTUD 54N, CSRE 54N, FEMGEN 54N)
Preference to freshmen. We will examine the struggles of African American women to define their own lives and improve the social, economic, political and cultural conditions of black communities. Topics will include women's enslavement and freedom, kinship and family relations, institution and community building, violence, labor and leisure, changing gender roles, consumer and beauty culture, social activism, and the politics of sexuality.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 55N:
Social Movements through Song in Modern America (AMSTUD 55N)
This discussion class will explore a series of social movements in modern America through the songs produced to support efforts to achieve labor unions, civil rights and racial justice, peace, and women's rights. For each class we will read short historical texts to provide contexts for the movements and then concentrate on the role of music within them. We will listening to and discuss several core songs for each topic. Biographical and autobiographical readings on a key set of musicians (including Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Malvina Reynolds, and Bernice Johnson Reagon) will provide personal accounts of the relationship of songs to social movement . The music we include in class will range from ballads to anthems, from oral traditions to the work of singer-songwriters.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
HISTORY 55Q:
The Origins of the Modern American City, 1865-1920 (AMSTUD 25Q, URBANST 25Q)
Are we living in a new Gilded Age? To answer this question, we go back to the original Gilded Age, as well as its successor, the Progressive Era. How did urban Americans around the turn of the twentieth century deal with stark inequalities of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality? And what can we learn from their struggles for our own time? Students use primary and secondary sources in digital and print formats. Possible field trip to San Francisco.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
HISTORY 63N:
The Feminist Critique: The History and Politics of Gender Equality (AMSTUD 63N, CSRE 63N, FEMGEN 63N)
This course explores the emergence of concepts of gender equality in world history. It asks how gender inequality relates to racial, ethnicity, and sexual identities, how men engage with feminism, whether gender equality is purely a western cultural tradition, and much more. We approach the long history of ideas about gender and equality by reading primary historical documents from around the world, moving from the 15th century to the present. Topics include education, the body, sexuality, violence, labor, and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 69Q:
On the Road: A Cultural History of Travel in 20th Century America (AMSTUD 109Q)
From Mark Twain¿s Roughin¿ It to Cheryl Strayed¿s Wild, this seminar explores epic road trips of the twentieth century. Travel is a cultural practice through which Americans have constructed ideas about the self, society, race, the past, and the future. Engaging historical and literary texts, film, autobiography, photography, and music, we will consider how writers have explored the theme of travel and what the differences in their texts tell us about American writing, American history, and American life.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
HISTORY 78Q:
Film and History of Latin American Revolutions and Counterrevolutions
In this course we will watch and critique films made about Latin America's 20th century revolutions focusing on the Mexican, Cuban, Chilean and Nicaraguan revolutions. We will analyze the films as both social and political commentaries and as aesthetic and cultural works, alongside archivally-based histories of these revolutions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 95N:
Maps and the Modern Imagination
Preference to freshmen. Focus is on cutting-edge research. Topics: the challenge of grasping the globe as a whole; geography's roots in empire; maps as propaganda and as commodities; the cultural production of scale; and the cartography of imaginery worlds.Sources include resources in the Green Library Special Collections and in the Stanford Spatial History Lab.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
HRP 89Q:
Introduction to Cross Cultural Issues in Medicine
Preference to sophomores. Introduction to social factors that impact health care delivery, such as ethnicity, immigration, language barriers, and patient service expectations. Focus is on developing a framework to understand culturally unique and non-English speaking populations in the health care system.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-AmerCul
HUMBIO 79Q:
Sexuality and Society
This course will explore how sexual identity, attitudes, and behaviors are shaped by the messages sent by the various agents of society such as schools, family, peers, media, and religious, medical, and political institutions. The interaction of biology, psychology, and socio-cultural factors, such as gender roles and sexual/relationship scripts will be discussed, as will the intersection of sexuality and notions of love, romance, and commitment. Critical developmental periods, such as adolescence and emerging adulthood will be examined in depth. Students will explore their own values and feelings about sexuality and come to an understanding of how their beliefs were formed. We will discuss how information about sexuality is disseminated in our society and what we can do to help ensure that such information is used in a way that promotes healthy self-conceptions, behavior, and relationships.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-SI
HUMBIO 86Q:
Love as a Force for Social Justice (FEMGEN 86Q)
Preference to sophomores. Biological, psychological, religious, social and cultural perspectives on the concept of agape love. How love is conceptualized across cultures; agape love as the basis of many religions; different kinds of love; the biology of love; love in action for social justice; the languages of love, including art, literature, music, and poetry. Emphasis is on blog writing, participation, and oral presentation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
HUMBIO 91Q:
Neuroethology: The Neural Control of Behavior (BIO 32Q)
Preference to sophomores. Animal behavior offers insights about evolutionary adaptations and this seminar will discuss the origins of the study of animal behavior and its development to the present. How does the nervous system control behavior and how is it changed by behavior? We will analyze and discuss original research papers about the neural basis of behavior. The use and misuse of parallels between animal and human behavior. Possible field trip to observe animals in their natural habitat.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
HUMBIO 96Q:
Injustice, Advocacy and Courage: The Path of Everyday Heroes
This course will study the paradigms of people of courage, action and energy who have fought against injustice by advocating for causes against great odds and at personal risk. The focus will be on everyday people who have taken action, often at great personal risk, not for ambition, but because of their convictions and steadfast commitment to their beliefs.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
HUMBIO 97Q:
Sport, Exercise, and Health: Exploring Sports Medicine (ORTHO 97Q)
Preference to sophomores. Sports medicine is the practice of clinical medicine at the interface between health and performance, competition and well-being. While sports medicine had its origins in providing care to athletes, medical advances developed in care of athletes exerted a great effect on the nature and quality of care to the broader community. Topics include sports injuries, medical conditions associated with sport and exercise, ethics, coaching, women's issues, fitness and health, and sports science. Case studies.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: Writing 2
ILAC 102N:
The Memory of the Eye: Traces of dictatorship in films form the Iberian Peninsula
Through major Spanish, Portuguese, Basque, and Catalan films from the last quarter of the 20th century to the present, this course will explore the complexities of individual recollection under conditions of collective trauma and political distortion of the past. Films by Saura, Almodovar, Amenobar, Erice, Marco Martins, Maria de Medeiros, Julio Medem, Almodovar, Bigas Luna, Ventura Pons, and Agusto Villaronga. A festival for the eye and the mind.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
ILAC 113Q:
Borges and Translation (DLCL 113Q)
Borges's creative process and practice as seen through the lens of translation. How do Borges's texts articulate the relationships between reading, writing, and translation? Topics include authorship, fidelity, irreverence, and innovation. Readings will draw on Borges's short stories, translations, and essays. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: 100-level course in Spanish or permission of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
INTNLREL 60Q:
United Nations Peacekeeping
Focus is on an examination of United Nations peacekeeping, from its inception in 1956 in the wake of the Suez Crisis, to its increasingly important role as an enforcer of political stability in sub-Saharan Africa. Examines the practice of "classic" peacekeeping as it developed during the Cold War, the rise and fall of "second-generation" peacekeeping, and the reemergence of a muscular form of peacekeeping in sub-Saharan Africa more recently. Topics include the basic history of the United Nations since 1945, he fundamentals of the United Nations Charter, and the historical trajectory of U.N. peaeckeeping and the evolving arguments of its proponents and critics over the years.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP
INTNLREL 61Q:
Food and security (EARTHSYS 61Q, ESS 61Q)
The course will provide a broad overview of key policy issues concerning agricultural development and food security, and will assess how global governance is addressing the problem of food security. At the same time the course will provide an overview of the field of international security, and examine how governments and international institutions are beginning to include food in discussions of security.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
INTNLREL 62Q:
Truth Commissions and War Crimes Tribunals in Germany, South Africa, Bosnia, Rwanda, and elsewhere
Imagine you lived in a country in which a delusional dictator imprisons untold masses of citizens in labor camps, tortures them, and slaughters millions of them. Imagine you lived in a country, in which the ruling and unelected elite holds on to power by intimidating its citizens by pervasive secret reporting, sending many of them to prison. Imagine you lived in a country, in which one ethnic group slaughters the other. Imagine you lived in a country in which a racial white minority terrorizes and discriminates against a huge majority of black population. Imagine you lived in a country in which members of one group engage in an "ethnic cleansing" of their old neighbors.nNow imagine something else: some big political change comes to each of these societies, and the oppressors lose their power and fall into disgrace. Now the previously oppressed engage in a deliberation what to do with their former oppressors. For the most part it is not a question of a brutal revenge by the former victims, but a legitimate and democratically authorized process.nWelcome to the questions of transitional justice. The scenarios mentioned above are real ones: Cambodia, Germany, Rwanda, South Africa, and Bosnia. All of them happened in the last few decades.nIn this course we will explore different paths these societies chose to come to terms with past injustices. Each path was devised and decided in a complex public and political debate.nWe will discuss these and other cases of specific injustices, and the subsequent means to achieve a new start for the country. We will reflect on whether its citizens gained a sense of fairness and hope for a better future, and what it means to come to terms with the past.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
INTNLREL 71Q:
Aesthetics of Dissent: the Case of Islamic Iran (COMPLIT 40Q)
Censorship, Borges tells us, is the mother of metaphors. The Islamic regime in Iran censors all aethetic production in the country. But Iranian dissident artists, from film-makers and fiction writers to composers in a thriving under-ground musical scene, have cleverly found ways to fight these draconian measures. They have developed an impressive body of work that is as sophisticated in style as it is rich in its discourse of democracy and dissent. The purpose of the seminar is to understand the aesthetic tropes of dissent in Iran, and the social and theological roots of rules of censorship. Masterpieces of post-revolutionary film, fiction, and music will be discussed in the context of tumultuous history of dissent in Islamic Iran.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-3
ITALIAN 41N:
Imagining Italy
No city in Italy has inspired the imagination of writers, artists, and filmmakers more than Venice, with its golden dance of water and stone, its carnival masks, and its melancholic intimations of mortality. This course will be devoted to the city¿s imaginary life in literature and film. Readings include Marco Polo, Henry James¿s The Aspern Papers, Italo Calvino¿s Invisible Cities, John Ruskin¿s The Stones of Venice, and Joseph Brodsky¿s Watermarks. Films include ¿Dangerous Beauty,¿ ¿Casanova,¿ ¿Don¿t Look Now,¿ ¿Death in Venice,¿ and ¿The Comfort of Strangers.¿
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 75N:
Narrative Medicine and Near-Death Experiences (FRENCH 75N)
Even if many of us don't fully believe in an afterlife, we remain fascinated by visions of it. This course focuses on Near-Death Experiences and the stories around them, investigating them from the many perspectives pertinent to the growing field of narrative medicine: medical, neurological, cognitive, psychological, sociological, literary, and filmic. The goal is not to understand whether the stories are veridical but what they do for us, as individuals, and as a culture, and in particular how they seek to reshape the patient-doctor relationship. Materials will span the 20th century and come into the present. Taught in English.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
JEWISHST 17N:
Intimacy, Secrets and the Past: Biography in History and Fiction (HISTORY 17N)
Biography is one of the most popular- and controversial- modes of writing about the past and perhaps its greatest draw is in its promise to revel the otherwise sequestered details of life, its everyday secrets otherwise sequestered from view. This, of course, is also at the heart of most modern fiction, and the two modes of writing have many other similarities as well as, needless to say, differences. The rhythms of life writing in biography as well as fiction will be explored in this class, along with the difficulties (factual, ethical, and otherwise) of ferreting out the secrets of individual lives. Among the figures explored in the course will be Sigmund Freud, Sabina Spielrein, Sylvia Plath, Hannah Arendt, and Woody Allen.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
JEWISHST 37Q:
Zionism and the Novel (COMPLIT 37Q)
At the end of the nineteenth century, Zionism emerged as a political movement to establish a national homeland for the Jews, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This seminar uses novels to explore the changes in Zionism, the roots of the conflict in the Middle East, and the potentials for the future. We will take a close look at novels by Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, in order to understand multiple perspectives, and we will also consider works by authors from the North America and from Europe.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
KORGEN 101N:
Kangnam Style: Korean Media and Pop Culture
For over a decade now, South Korea has established itself as a tireless generator of soft power, the popularity of its pop-culture spreading from Asia to the rest of the world. This class will look into the economic engine that moves this "cultural contents" industry, and will examine some of its expressions in the form of K-pop. Class meets in East Asia Library (Lathrop Library), Rm 338.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
LAWGEN 112N:
Law and Inequality
Most Americans know that discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and religion is unlawful. Seems simple enough. But advertisements in the back of newspapers still announce: "Single White Female Seeks Single White Male?" Isn't that discrimination on the basis of race and sex? Most businesses don't consider men for women's locker room or bathroom attendant. And why aren't those men and women's bathrooms and locker rooms illegal segregation? After all we know what would happened if some business set up separate bathrooms for blacks and whites. Isn't it discrimination for an employer to insist that men wear a jacket and tie and women wear nylons and a skirt? Why are some forms of discrimination unlawful and others not? Why is discrimination against short people, overweight people, or people with annoying personalities not against the law? We will answer these and many other questions by looking at court cases, legal theory, and philosophy. We may also have conversations with guest lecturers who work in civil rights enforcement, and the seminar may include a field trip to visit the offices of civil rights lawyers (lawyers tend to be busy people so these opportunities will depend on their schedules). Class participation and a short final paper are required, but here are no prerequisites other than an open mind and a willingness to delve into unfamiliar material.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
LAWGEN 115N:
Human Rights Advocacy
What are the origins of the human rights movement and where is it headed? What does it mean to be a human rights activist? What are the main challenges and dilemmas facing those engaged in human rights advocacy? In the space of 60 years, human rights advocates have transformed a marginal utopian ideal into a central element of global discussion, if not practice. In this seminar we will examine the actors and organizations behind this remarkable development as well as the vast challenges faced by advocates in the recent past and today. Together, we will learn to be critical of, as well as to think, and act, like human rights advocates. This seminar will introduce you to some the main debates and dilemmas within the human rights movement. We will consider and understand the differing agendas of western international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) and their counterparts in the frequently non-western) developing world, as well as tensions between and among rights advocates along other important dimensions (civil and political vs. economic, social and cultural rights; rights promotion through engagement of powerful actors vs. challenging structures of power, etc.). The seminar seeks to develop your ability: 1) to understand human rights and social justice issues as contested political, legal and cultural phenomena; 2) to review advocacy texts, videos and other interventions critically; 3) to appreciate the political dimensions of efforts to promote human rights; 4) to understand how recent history constrains and structures options and possibilities for social intervention to promote rights and justice. During the course of the quarter you will be required to submit several short reflection papers and develop a human rights advocacy campaign.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
LAWGEN 116N:
Guns, Drugs, Abortion, and Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy
Guns, Drugs, Abortion, Capital Punishment, Policing and Prisons, and Other Uncontroversial Topics in the Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy Do guns make us safer? Can mass shootings be stopped? What is the true cost of the war on drugs and is legalization the answer? Why does the US have the most prisoners in the world and what are the social ramifications? Did the legalization of abortion reduce crime in the 1990s? Did capital punishment? Is the criminal justice system racially biased? These are some of the questions we will address by reading major empirical studies evaluating the impact of law and policy in the arena of criminal justice. This course has been modified from my law school course so that it is accessible to those with little or no statistical or economic background but who are willing to grapple with the intuitions behind such studies, which will be a main focus of the course readings. The seminar should appeal to anyone interested in understanding core issues in criminal justice policy, the challenges in answering empirical questions with data, and the intuition behind the statistical techniques that define the credibility revolution in empirical evaluation. The goal is to help students be more aware that many beliefs and policy positions are based on factual premises for which the empirical support is weak or nonexistent, or even directly contradictory, and how better to empirically ascertain truths about the world and align them with our policy preferences. Successful completion of the course will enable students to more effectively understand and critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the empirical studies that constantly appear in the media and policy discourse, to comprehend the challenges in establishing true causal relationships in the fields of law, policy, and medicine, and to better understand how ideologues and motivated researchers contribute to the vast array of conflicting studies in these domains.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-SI
LINGUIST 10N:
Experimental Phonetics
Everyday, we face variation in language. As readers, we see words printed in different fonts, sizes, and typefaces, typically static on a page. As listeners, we hear a speech signal riddled with variation. We are exposed to words, but a single word is produced differently each time it is uttered. These words stream by listeners at a rate of about 5 syllables per second, further complicating the listeners' task. How listeners map a speech signal into meaning despite massive variation is an issue central to linguistic theory. The field of experimental phonetics investigates how listeners take words that often vary drastically and understand them as quickly and adeptly as they do. This class introduces students to acoustic and auditory phonetics. As a class, we will carry out a project in experimental phonetics aimed at understanding how different realizations of words are able to be understood by listeners. Throughout the course, students will read background literature, become familiar with the Stanford Linguistics Lab, and learn to use software integral to the design, data collection, and data analysis of experiments. Each week, we will have two meetings,one in a seminar setting and one in the lab.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 47N:
Languages, Dialects, Speakers
Preference to freshmen. Variation and change in languages from around the world; language and thought; variation in sound patterns and grammatical structures; linguistic and social structures of variation; how languages differ from one another and how issues in linguistics connect to other social and cultural issues; the systematic study of language.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
LINGUIST 53N:
Language and Adolescence
Adolescents are arguably the most creative age group in our society. They are the leaders in linguistic change, introducing innovations that eventually spread to the entire population. Not only do adolescents create new speech styles such as "valley girl" and "cholo", and new forms such as the quotative "I'm like", they also accelerate the phonetic changes that differentiate regional and ethnic dialects. This seminar will explore the diversity and creativity of adolescent language, and the role of adolescents in linguistic and social change.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 83N:
Translation
Preference to Freshman. What is a translation? The increased need for translations in the modern world due to factors such as tourism and terrorism, localization and globalization, diplomacy and treaties, law and religion, and literature and science. How to meet this need; different kinds of translation for different purposes; what makes one translation better than another; why some texts are more difficult to translate than others. Can some of this work be done by machines? Are there things that cannot be said in some languages?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
MATH 80Q:
Capillary Surfaces: Explored and Unexplored Territory
Preference to sophomores. Capillary surfaces: the interfaces between fluids that are adjacent to each other and do not mix. Recently discovered phenomena, predicted mathematically and subsequently confirmed by experiments, some done in space shuttles. Interested students may participate in ongoing investigations with affinity between mathematics and physics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR, WAY-SMA
MATH 87Q:
Mathematics of Knots, Braids, Links, and Tangles
Preference to sophomores. Types of knots and how knots can be distinguished from one another by means of numerical or polynomial invariants. The geometry and algebra of braids, including their relationships to knots. Topology of surfaces. Brief summary of applications to biology, chemistry, and physics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR
MATSCI 82N:
Science of the Impossible
Imagine a world where cancer is cured with light, objects can be made invisible, and teleportation is allowed through space and time. The future once envisioned by science fiction writers is now becoming a reality, thanks to advances in materials science and engineering. This seminar will explore 'impossible' technologies - those that have shaped our past and those that promise to revolutionize the future. Attention will be given to both the science and the societal impact of these technologies. We will begin by investigating breakthroughs from the 20th century that seemed impossible in the early 1900s, such as the invention of integrated circuits and the discovery of chemotherapy. We will then discuss the scientific breakthroughs that enabled modern 'impossible' science, such as photodynamic cancer therapeutics, invisibility, and psychokinesis through advanced mind-machine interfaces. Lastly, we will explore technologies currently perceived as completely impossible and brainstorm the breakthroughs needed to make such science fiction a reality. The course will include introductory lectures and in-depth conversations based on readings. Students will also be given the opportunity to lead class discussions on a relevant 'impossible science' topic of their choosing.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MATSCI 159Q:
Japanese Companies and Japanese Society (ENGR 159Q)
Preference to sophomores. The structure of a Japanese company from the point of view of Japanese society. Visiting researchers from Japanese companies give presentations on their research enterprise. The Japanese research ethic. The home campus equivalent of a Kyoto SCTI course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
ME 12N:
The Jet Engine
Preference to freshmen. This seminar describes how a jet engine works with examples given from modern commercial and military engines. We then explore the technologies and sciences required to understand them including thermodynamics, turbomachinery, combustion, advanced materials, cooling technologies, and testing methods. Visits to research laboratories, examination of a partially disassembled engine, and probable operation of a small jet engine. Prerequisites: high school physics and preferably calculus.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
ME 13N:
The Great Principle of Similitude
Basic rules of dimensional analysis were proposed by Sir Isaac Newton. Lord Rayleigh called the method ¿The Great Principle of Similitude.¿ On its surface, it is a look at the relationships between physical quantities which uses their basic ¿units¿. In fact, it is a powerful and formalized method to analyze complex physical phenomena, including those for which we cannot pose, much less solve, governing equations. The method is also valuable to engineers and scientist as it helps perform back-of-the-envelope estimates and derive scaling laws for the design of machines and processes. The principle has been applied successfully to the study of complex phenomena in biology, aerodynamics, chemistry, sports, astrophysics, and forensics, among other areas. In this course, the students will be provided with the basic tools to perform such flexible and powerful analyses. We will then review particular example analyses. These will include estimating the running speed of a hungry tyrannosaurus rex, a comparison of the flights of mosquitos and jet airliners, the cost of submarines, and the energy released by an atomic weapon. We will then work together as a class to identify problems in everyday life and/or current world events to analyze with this powerful tool.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ME 14N:
How Stuff Is Made
The design and engineering of products and processes, such as machining, fabric, food, and electrical goods. Tradeoffs in choice of materials, features, and process selection. Final project: students research and redesign the engineering and manufacturing aspects of a product and its processes with an eye toward sustainability. Includes several field trips to manufacturing facilities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
ME 18Q:
Teamology: Creative Teams and Individual Development
Preference to sophomores. Roles on a problem solving team that best suit individual creative characteristics. Two teams are formed for teaching experientially how to develop less conscious abilities from teammates creative in those roles. Reinforcement teams have members with similar personalities; problem solving teams are composed of people with maximally different personalities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
ME 22N:
Smart Robots in our Mix: Collaborating in High Tech Environments of Tomorrow
This course invites students to explore rules of engagement in a global digitally interconnected world they will create with the robots in their society. The material will be taught in the context of ubiquitous integrated technology that will be part of their future reality. Human-robot interactions will be an integral part of future diverse teams. Students will explore what form will this interaction take as an emerging element of tomorrow's society, be it medical implanted technology or the implications of military use of robots and social media in future society. Students will learn to foster their creative confidence to explore collaboration by differences for social innovation in a digitally networked world.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MED 50N:
Translating Science to Disease Treatment
Investigates how scientific research informs how physicians take care of patients and how clinical research informs how scientific experiments are conducted. Topics include how these two processes have improved health and have resulted in innovation and scientic progress; specific human disease areas in allergy and immunology that affect all ages of patients globally, including food allergy; scientific concepts of research that helped in discovery of novel diagnostics and treatment of disease; ethical roles of physicians and scientists in conducting translational research in human disease.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
MED 50Q:
Respiration
Preference to sophomores. Topics include: the biological basis for use of oxygen for aerobic metabolism in animals, human lung physiology and pathophysiology, comparative physiology of respiration in fish, birds and mammals, new insights into mammalian lung development, current challenges in human respiratory health including air pollution and lung cancer. Student presentations on specific topics based on literature research developed in consultation with the instructor. Application required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MED 51Q:
Palliative Medicine, Hospice and End of Life Care for Diverse Americans
Introduces students to changing demographics of the aging and dying population in the United States. Topics include current issues in palliative medicine, hospice and end-of-life care for an increasingly diverse population. Includes simulated video case studies, real patient case discussions and collaborative field project. Application required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MED 71N:
Hormones in a Performance-Enhanced Society
(Formerly 117Q) Prefersnce to freshmen. Explores how the availability of hormone therapy has affected various aspects of daily lives. Topics include the controversies concerning menopause and its treatment; use of hormones in athletics; cosmetic use of hormones to enhance growth, strength, and libido; use of hormones as anti-aging drugs; and how the hormone system has influenced our notions of gender. Includes the biochemistry and physiology of the human endocrine system; how hormones influence behavior, and how to read a scientific paper.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
MED 73N:
Scientific Method and Bias
Offers an introduction to the scientific method and common biases in science. Examines theoretical considerations and practical examples where biases have led to erroneous conclusions, as well as scientific practices that can help identify, correct or prevent such biases. Additionally focuses on appropriate methods to interweave inductive and deductive approaches. Topics covered include: Popper¿s falsification and Kuhn¿s paradigm shift, revolution vs. evolution; determinism and uncertainty; probability, hypothesis testing, and Bayesian approaches; agnostic testing and big data; team science; peer review; replication; correlation and causation; bias in design, analysis, reporting and sponsorship of research; bias in the public perception of science, mass media and research; and bias in human history and everyday life. Provides students an understanding of how scientific knowledge has been and will be generated; the causes of bias in experimental design and in analytical approaches; and the interactions between deductive and inductive approaches in the generation of knowledge.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MED 87Q:
Women and Aging
Preference to sophomores. Biology, clinical issues, social and health policies of aging; relationships, lifestyles, and sexuality; wise women and grandmothers. Sources include scientific articles, essays, poetry, art, and film. Service-learning experience with older women. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP
MED 88Q:
Dilemmas in Current Medical Practice
Preference to sophomores. Social, political, scientific, and economic forces influencing medical practice. Spiraling costs, impaired access to health care, and disillusionment toward the health care system. Attempts by government and medical insurers to control costs through managed care and health maintenance organizations. Medical education and how it has affected the practice of medicine. Alternative health care, preventive medicine, and the doctor-patient relationship. The paradox of health in America: why do so many people who are healthy feel unhealthy? Mandatory observation of instructors in their medical practices.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MED 108Q:
Human Rights and Health
Preference to sophomores. History of human-rights law. International conventions and treaties on human rights as background for social and political changes that could improve the health of groups and individuals. Topics such as: regional conflict and health, the health status of refugees and internally displaced persons; child labor; trafficking in women and children; HIV/AIDS; torture; poverty, the environment and health; access to clean water; domestic violence and sexual assault; and international availability of drugs. Possible optional opportunities to observe at community sites where human rights and health are issues. Guest speakers from national and international NGOs including Doctors Without Borders; McMaster University Institute for Peace Studies; UC Berkeley Human Rights Center; Kiva. PowerPoint presentation on topic of choice required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MED 120N:
Pathophysiology of Diseases of the Heart
Preference to freshmen. Introduces students to the anatomy, physiology, pathology and clinical aspects that comprise the discipline of cardiovascular medicine. Topics will include explanations of such pathologic states as heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure, cardiac rhythm disturbances, and sudden cardiac death. Introduction to the underlying principles of diagnosis and treatment of heart disease are included in the syllabus.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MI 70Q:
Photographing Nature
Utilizes the idiom of photography to learn about nature, enhance observation, and explore scientific concepts. Builds upon the pioneering photographic work of Eadweard J. Muybridge on human and animal locomotion. A secondary goal is to learn the grammar, syntax, composition, and style of nature photography to enhance the use of this medium as a form of scientific communication and also to explore the themes of change across time and space. Scientific themes to be explored include: taxonomy, habitat preservation, climate change; species diversity; survival and reproductive strategies; ecological niches and coevolution, carrying capacity and sustainability, population densities, predation, and predator-prey relationships, open-space management, the physics of photography. Extensive use of field trips and class critque.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 22Q:
The Flaw of Averages
Uncertain assumptions in business and public policy are often replaced with single ¿best guess¿ or average numbers. This leads to a fallacy as fundamental as the belief that the earth is flat, which I call the Flaw of Averages. It states, in effect, that: plans based on average assumptions are wrong on average. This class will discuss mitigations of the flaw of averages using simulation and other methods from probability management.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 92Q:
International Environmental Policy
Preference to sophomores. Science, economics, and politics of international environmental policy. Current negotiations on global climate change, including actors and potential solutions. Sources include briefing materials used in international negotiations and the U.S. Congress.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 93Q:
Nuclear Weapons, Energy, Proliferation, and Terrorism
Preference to sophomores. At least 20 countries have built or considered building nuclear weapons. However, the paths these countries took in realizing their nuclear ambitions vary immensely. Why is this the case? How do the histories, cultures, national identities, and leadership of these countries affect the trajectory and success of their nuclear programs? This seminar will address these and other questions about nuclear weapons and their proliferation. Students will learn the fundamentals of nuclear technology, including nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and be expected to use this knowledge in individual research projects on the nuclear weapons programs of individual countries. Case studies will include France, UK, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, North Korea, South Africa, Libya, Iraq, and Iran, among others. Please note any language skills in your application. Recommended: 193 or 293.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
MUSIC 13N:
Bollywood and Beyond: South Asian Popular and Folk Music
This seminar is an introduction to regional and popular music of South Asia¿India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. An immense variety of South Asian music¿everything from drumming to wedding songs to movie scores¿is woven into the social lives of both audiences and performers. Through their music, people across South Asia express social criticism, bring about political change, engage in worship, mark rites of passage, and cope with rapid and unsettling socio-economic changes. For example, Marathi kirtan, a form of devotional song/storytelling from Western India, has been used to teach spiritual lessons and oppose colonial occupation; musicians from South Indian oppressed castes enlist drums to protest their low social status; and the ever-popular Bollywood dance music creates a sense of home for Indians living abroad. In this seminar you will have the opportunity to acquire listening skills that will enhance your appreciation of the variety and depth of South Asian folk and popular music. We will draw on areas such as folklore and ethnomusicology to gain an understanding about what makes these musical practices thrive. And we will go on three field trips, which will give you an opportunity to engage first-hand with South Asian music and musicians in our local community. No musical experience is required.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
MUSIC 14N:
Women Making Music
Preference to freshmen. Women's musical activities across times and cultures; how ideas about gender influence the creation, performance, and perception of music.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 17Q:
Perspectives in North American Taiko (ASNAMST 17Q)
Preference to sophomores. Taiko, or Japanese drum, is a newcomer to the American music scene. Emergence of the first N. American taiko groups coincided with increased Japanese American activism, and to some it is symbolic of Japanese American identity. N. American taiko is associated with Japanese American Buddhism. Musical, cultural, historical, and political perspectives of taiko. Hands-on drumming. Japanese music and Japanese American history, and relations among performance, cultural expression, community, and identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-CE, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 27N:
The British Invasion
Examination of three generations of British popular music in the `60s and `70s: the Beatles (and the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who); progressive rock (art rock) as embodied in Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; the emergence of punk in its revolutionary (the Clash) and nihilistic (the Sex Pistols) forms. Among other issues, the manner in which marginal American culture (particularly African-American blues) is neglected by Americans and venerated by foreigners and the subsequent mainstream consumption of a transformed and repackaged American minority culture is discussed.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 28N:
Queer Lives in Music (FEMGEN 28N)
Queer Lives in Music examines music by queer musicians in genres including punk, opera, rock, symphony, musical theater, folk, and jazz. We will study lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer composers, performers, and listeners, to learn how queer people have expressed individual identity and built communities through music. We will learn how sexual stigma, taboo, oppression, and resistance have impacted musical creativity and music history. Class is designed for students interested in music, social history, cultural studies, and gender/sexuality studies.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MUSIC 32N:
Sculpting with Sounds, Images, and Words
Throughout history and from East to West, cultures abound in multimedia forms. Whether in Coldplay's Music Video or Fantasia, Pepsi TV adds or Wagner's opera, Miyazaki anime or traditional Noh Theater of Japan, the three modes of expression¿sounds, images, and words¿are interwoven in distinctive ways. What are their individual and combined powers? How can one harness them in an online context? Can Web be a stage for multimedia theater? What is unique about the poetry of intermodal metaphor? The course will be an opportunity to face these questions in creative web-based projects as well as through in-class viewing of multimedia works, analysis and debates, readings, and student presentations. The seminar will be taught at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics where students will have access to new media technologies. Prior experience in music, literature, art practice or computer programming is welcome but not required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-CE
MUSIC 33N:
Beethoven
This seminar is designed as an in-depth introduction to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In addition to exploring the composer's principal works in a variety of genres (symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, opera, etc.), we will consider broader questions of biography and reception history. How have images of the composer and the fortunes of his music changed over time? How did his compositions come to define the paradigm of Western classical music? What impact has he had on popular culture? The class is open to all levels of musical expertise; the ability to read music is not a requirement. Come prepared to discover -- or rediscover -- some great music!
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 34N:
Performing America: The Broadway Musical
Musical theater as a site for the construction of American identity in the twentieth century to the present. Issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality; intersections with jazz, rock, and pop; roles of lyricist, composer, director, choreographer, producer, performers. Individual shows (Showboat, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Wicked, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Book of Mormon), show tunes in jazz performance, film musicals, and television. Opportunities for performance and attendance at local productions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
NENS 67N:
Intracellular Trafficking and Neurodegeneration
Preference to freshmen. Cell structures and functions, the intracellular trafficking system that maintains exchanges of materials and information inside cells, and clinical features and pathologies of neurodegenerative diseases. Techniques for examining cellular and subcellular structures, especially cytoskeletons; functional insights generated from structural explorations. Prerequisite: high school biology.
Terms: Win, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
NSUR 70Q:
Experimental Stroke
Preference to sophomores. How stroke is studied in the laboratory; advances in stroke research over the last two decades; and future directions. Topics include: cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal death and survival in the brain after stroke, including necrosis, apoptosis, inflammation, and cell signaling pathways; experimental tools for stroke treatment, such as gene therapy, cell therapy, hypothermia, preconditioning, postconditioning, and other pharmacological treatments; the gap and barrier between laboratory research and clinical translation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
OB 115N:
Games, Decisions and Negotiations
This seminar is intended for students who are interested in how decisions happen and wish to expand their knowledge about the interactive processes involved in strategic decision-making. The course will draw on behavioral game theory to analyze and make sense of individual and group decision-making in negotiations, disputes, auctions, markets and other strategic interactions. nTo understand how decisions happen, we will use a combination of experiential exercises in class and in-depth discussions of theory and new and exciting research findings on cognitive and emotional aspects of decision making (e.g., what does "bounded-rationality" mean? how does power shape our negotiation behavior? how do our emotions influence our decisions?). We will play interactive games in our meetings to understand how various conditions, such as time pressure, power and uncertainty, influence our decisions. So, if you enjoy in-class exercises, you will enjoy our simulations. At the same time, if you enjoy analyzing human behavior and social interactions, you will like the readings and our discussions. After taking this course, you will be better able to identify and avoid common traps in strategic decision making and have a deeper understanding of other people's thinking and decision making processes.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
OBGYN 81Q:
Perspectives on the Abortion Experience in Western Fiction
Explores the role of media in delivering abortion-related messages as well as the broader questions of how abortion and related issues are fundamentally integrated into the social fabric of US and global societies. Abortion remains one of the most controversial and polarizing challenges of our time. Yet, it has been a clinical, social, political, and cultural fact in a broad swath of societies for centuries. As is common for such lightning rod issues, the topic of abortion has featured prominently in novels and films. Each treatment provides a unique perspective on at least one aspect of abortion, whether it be clinical, social, political or cultural. How abortion is portrayed in novels and films provides the student of history, anthropology, and biology with insights into the author's or director's perspectives, and into societal attitudes and mores.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
ORTHO 97Q:
Sport, Exercise, and Health: Exploring Sports Medicine (HUMBIO 97Q)
Preference to sophomores. Sports medicine is the practice of clinical medicine at the interface between health and performance, competition and well-being. While sports medicine had its origins in providing care to athletes, medical advances developed in care of athletes exerted a great effect on the nature and quality of care to the broader community. Topics include sports injuries, medical conditions associated with sport and exercise, ethics, coaching, women's issues, fitness and health, and sports science. Case studies.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: Writing 2
PEDS 51N:
How Discovery and Innovation Have Transformed Medicine
Topics include the science behind vaccines and why some refuse vaccination, how antibiotics are discovered and what can be done about increasing resistance to antibiotics, stem cells and their potential use, the role of genomics in modern medicine, development of drugs to treat HIV/AIDS, discovery of surfactant, personal responsibility in health and wellness and how technology relates to the "cost conundrum" of healthcare in the U.S. Appreciate important connections between science, discovery and human health and think critically about the potential impact of new discoveries on life and death, and their ethical and spiritual boundaries.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
PEDS 65N:
Understanding Children's Health Disparities
The social and economic factors that affect children and their health status. The principal sources of disparities in the health of children in the U.S. are not biologic, but social and economic. Topics include ethnic, cultural, and behavioral factors that affect children's health, both directly and indirectly; lack of health insurance; and current proposals for health care reform, focusing specifically on how they will impact existing health disparities among children.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
PHIL 8N:
Free Will and Responsibility
In what sense are we, or might we be free agents? Is our freedom compatible with our being fully a part of the same natural, causal order that includes other physical and biological systems? What assumptions about freedom do we make when we hold people accountable morally and/or legally? When we hold people accountable, and so responsible, can we also see them as part of the natural, causal order? Or is there a deep incompatibility between these two ways of understanding ourselves? What assumptions about our freedom do we make when we deliberate about what to do? Are these assumptions in conflict with seeing ourselves as part of the natural, causal order?nWe will explore these and related questions primarily by way of careful study of recent and contemporary philosophical research on these matters.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 11N:
Skepticism
Preference to freshmen. Historical and contemporary philosophical perspectives on the limits of human knowledge of a mind-independent world and causal laws of nature. The nature and possibility of a priori knowledge. Skepticism regarding religious beliefs..
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
PHIL 13N:
"Can good people like bad music?" and other questions
Think of a musical artist you just can't stand to listen to. Chances are, this artist has thousands, if not millions, of adoring fans. That is, what's "bad music" to you is "good music" to others. This fact is not shocking: we all know that people have different tastes in music, and in art more generally. But what does this fact tell us about art, other people, and ourselves? Are some of us right and others of us wrong about what's good and bad music? Is there reason to think that some music is "objectively" better than other music? Can we say that those who like "bad music" are missing something, or mistaken in their tastes? If so, why not think it's us that are mistaken? How much are our own tastes bound up with "who we are"? And what might this mean for our capacity to appreciate tastes which are not our own?nThis seminar is an investigation into these and other questions. Through the specific lens of music, we will explore the nature of artistic taste more generally. Our main course text will be Carl Wilson's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, a popular introduction to our topic. We will also look at and discuss actual album reviews, pieces of music journalism, and news stories. Class meetings will be heavily discussion-based, and students should come to class ready to share, debate, and scrutinize their own musical tastes. Outside of class, students will develop their understanding through a variety of informal and creative writing assignments, such as exploratory journal entries and mock fan letters. Your taste in music may very well change as a result of this seminar, but this is not its aim. The goal is to understand what it means to disagree about art, through which you will learn how to respond more intelligently and empathetically to such disagreements as they come up in your everyday life.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
PHIL 71Q:
Emerging Issues in Neuroethics
What is the mind? Today, most philosophers and neuroscientists believe it is, in one way or another, just the brain. Brain research is progressing at a staggering pace. Neuroimaging technology seems to be closing in on `thought identification¿, i.e. determining an individual¿s thought content merely by scanning the brain. Do we have a right to keep our thoughts private or is it permissible to use imaging technologies, perhaps in judicial settings, to identify someone¿s thoughts? What happens to our concepts of moral responsibility when a brain scan reveals abnormalities in the brain? Do these findings have bearing on our understanding of free will? Commonplace drugs can prevent the forming of memories of painful events. Should we take these drugs to shield ourselves from traumatic memories or is it good for us to remember unpleasant events in order to learn and grow from them? Neurotechnology and pharmacology that enhances cognition is advancing rapidly. Is manipulating our brains into smarter, more efficient ones ethical? These are some of the questions we will consider in this course on the ethics of neuroscience that will allow you to critically assess complicated, cutting edge issues.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
PHYSICS 18N:
Frontiers in Theoretical Physics and Cosmology
Preference to freshmen. The course will begin with a description of the current standard models of gravitation, cosmology, and elementary particle physics. We will then focus on frontiers of current understanding including investigations of very early universe cosmology, string theory, and the physics of black holes.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
PHYSICS 43N:
Understanding Electromagnetic Phenomena
Preference to freshmen. Expands on the material presented in PHYSICS 43; applications of concepts in electricity and magnetism to everyday phenomena and to topics in current physics research. Corequisite: PHYSICS 43 or advanced placement.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
PHYSICS 45N:
Advanced Topics in Light and Heat
Preference to freshmen. Explores the quantum and classical properties of light from stars, lasers and other sources. Complements the subject matter presented in PHYSICS 45 to include modern applications from gravity wave interferometers to x-ray lasers. Corequisite: PHYSICS 45 or advanced placement.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
PHYSICS 81N:
Science on the Back of the Envelope
Understanding the complex world around us quantitatively, using order of magnitude estimates and dimensional analysis. Starting from a handful of fundamental constants of Nature, one can estimate complex quantities such as cosmological length and time scales, size of the atom, height of Mount Everest, speed of tsunami, energy density of fuels and climate effects. Through these examples students learn the art of deductive thinking, fundamental principles of science and the beautiful unity of nature.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PHYSICS 83N:
Physics in the 21st Century
Preference to freshmen. Current topics at the frontier of modern physics. This course provides an in-depth examination of two of the biggest physics discoveries of the 21st century: that of the Higgs boson and Dark Energy. Through studying these discoveries we will explore the big questions driving modern particle physics, the study of nature's most fundamental pieces, and cosmology, the study of the evolution and nature of the universe. Questions such as: What is the universe made of? What are the most fundamental particles and how do they interact with each other? What can we learn about the history of the universe and what does it tell us about it's future? We will learn about the tools scientists use to study these questions such as the Large Hadron Collider and the Hubble Space Telescope. We will also learn to convey these complex topics in engaging and diverse terms to the general public through writing and reading assignments, oral presentations, and multimedia projects. The syllabus includes a tour of SLAC, the site of many major 20th century particle discoveries, and a virtual visit of the control room of the ATLAS experiment at CERN amongst other activities. No prior knowledge of physics is necessary; all voices are welcome to contribute to the discussion about these big ideas. Learning Goals: By the end of the quarter you will be able to explain the major questions that drive particle physics and cosmology to your friends and peers. You will understand how scientists study the impossibly small and impossibly large and be able to convey this knowledge in clear and concise terms.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
POLISCI 18N:
Civil War and International Politics: Syria in Context
How and why do civil wars start, drag on, and end? What does focus of post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy on countries torn apart by civil war tell us about contemporary international relations? We consider these and related questions, with the conflict in Syria as our main case study.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
POLISCI 24Q:
Law and Order
Preference to sophomores. The role of law in promoting social order. What is the rule of law? How does it differ from the rule of men? What institutions best support the rule of law? Is a state needed to ensure that laws are enforced? Should victims be allowed to avenge wrongs? What is the relationship between justice and mercy?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
POLISCI 25N:
The US Congress in Historical and Comparative Perspective
This course traces the development of legislatures from their medieval European origins to the present, with primary emphasis on the case of the U.S. Congress. Students will learn about the early role played by assemblies in placing limits on royal power, especially via the ¿power of the purse.¿ About half the course will then turn to a more detailed consideration of the U.S. Congress¿s contemporary performance, analyzing how that performance is affected by procedural legacies from the past that affect most democratic legislatures worldwide.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
POLISCI 27N:
Thinking Like a Social Scientist
Preference to freshman. This seminar will consider how politics and government can be studied systematically: the compound term Political SCIENCE is not an oxymoron. The seminar will introduce core concepts and explore a variety of methodological approaches. Problems of inference from evidence will be a major concern. Classic and contemporary research studies will be the basis of discussion throughout.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
POLISCI 29N:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (AFRICAAM 52N, ENGLISH 52N)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? In this course, we approach issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st century U.S. We will examine issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation and racial prejudice in American society. Topics we will explore include the political and social formation of ¿race¿; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the ¿one-drop rule¿ and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of Census categories and the rise of the Multiracial Movement.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
POLISCI 31N:
Political Freedom: Rights, Justice, and Democracy in the Western Tradition
Freedom is one of our core values. Most people can agree that freedom is a good thing. Yet there is far less agreement about how to understand the concept itself and what kinds of political arrangements are best suited to protect and enhance freedom. Is freedom about being left alone? Undertaking action with others? Participating in governance? Does freedom require a limited state? An active and interventionist government? A robustly participatory political system? How is freedom connected to other political values, like justice and equality? This seminar will consider and evaluate some of the most controversial and challenging answers that have been given to these questions by both historical and contemporary political thinkers from Europe and North America. Thinkers covered will include: Plato, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Alexis de Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Robert Putnam, and Jeremy Waldron.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
PSYC 51Q:
Culture, Psychology, and Mental Health Treatment
Focuses on a critical analysis of Western approach to psychology and psychiatric terms of understanding mental illness, psychiatric phenomena, and treatment of mental health disorders. Includes an orientation to and critique of western clinical psychology/psychiatry and an inquity as to its relevance outside Western settings. Includes guest speakers representing cross-cultural providers of mental health services as well as medical anthropologists and critics of the Western generalizations in psychiatry. Special attention place on cross-cultural psychiatry and international mental health efforts.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
PSYC 53Q:
Secret Mind: Getting to Know and Living with your Unconscious
Focuses on the motivational unconscious. Topics include the science of the unconscious mind and the techniques used to gain conscious access to these psychological process, as well as methods of exploring students' own unconscious for creative purposes and to understand personal habits, reactions, motives, emotions and thoughts. Case-based, problem-oriented format utilized to develop foundational understanding of the science of the unconscious mind. Emphasis on student study of self and own unconscious as case for the class. Student privacy will be protected.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYC 54N:
Genes, Memes and Behavior
Examines how natural selection operates to shape successful genes in the gene pool, how cultural selection operates to shape successful "memes" in the pool of cultural ideas, and how selection by consequences operates to shape successful behaviors in our repertoires. Topics include cases in which selection produces undesirable consequences (e.g. genetic mutations, cultural problems, and aberrant behaviors in children). Emphasis on understanding the role of modern natural science in complex behaviors and why study of human life from an interdisciplinary perspective is important.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYC 60N:
The Psychology of Stoked
Examines the biological, psychological and social aspects of what it means to live a positive, life-affirming existence. Drawing from a wide range of sources, from psychiatry and psychology, to spirituality and philosophy, seminar informs on the latest thinking about the psychology of happiness, and questions assumptions about personal happiness. Explores the new field of positive psychology and pulls from a multidisciplinary literature, examining life satisfaction and happiness from many perspectives, and the psychiatry of stimulation including substance, human sexuality, and healthy methods of attaining happiness. Includes guest speakers from many different backgrounds and perspectives. Examines what it means to be truly mindful.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYC 70N:
Mind-Body Medicine: A Global Perspective
Explores ways in which the powerful connection between the brain and the body can be harnessed to maintain health or fight disease.Intended for students who have a general interest in matters of mind and health, and students who are specifically interested in the psychological/biological/medical sciences. Course begins with a historical perspective on how diverse cultures and medical systems from around the world grapple with the concept of the mind-body connection, then goes through a clear and accessible overview of the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, and then explores mind-body techniques used in modern societies. Investigates the mind-body connection in the context of: western medicine, traditional medical systems of different cultures, health effects of "good" versus "bad" stress, meditation and other stress reduction techniques, positive and negative emotions, medical applications of hypnosis, the placebo and nocebo effects, and disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
PSYC 71N:
Eight Ages of Man
Ways in which a psychologcially-minded attitude can add to the appreciation of literature; how literature can be used to understand issues and themes of the developing personality. Using the well-known essay by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, "The Eight Ages of Man," as a foundation, works reflecting elements of an age or ages are read. "Wisdom of the Ego" by Dr. George Valliant serves as a resouce to better understand this model, as well as offering a more contemporary theory of personality development.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYC 78N:
Mental Health in Collegiate Athletes
Developmental, psychological, social, and performance issues in collegiate sports. Topics include transition to Stanford, time management, optimizing mental fitness, coping with injuries.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYC 82Q:
Psychosis and Literature
One of the great gifts of literature is its ability to give us insight into the internal worlds of others. Perhaps nowhere is this gift as rare and crucial as in our attempt to understand the experience of mental illness. This is particularly true of that state clinicians call "psychosis." But psychosis is a slippery term, with definitions ranging from being "out of touch with reality" to states of hallucination and delusion, to "disorganization of thought and speech." It is devastating and terrifying both for patients and families, and yet shares many characteristics with other, less pathological states, such as mysticism and creativity. How then can we begin to make sense of it? In this course, we will examine the first-hand experience of psychosis in letters, memoirs and fiction. Our goal will be to learn how to read such texts from multiple perspectives, examining not only clinical, social, and historical aspects of psychosis, but also what they offer as unique literary works of art. We will look at texts as diverse as Shakespeare and the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, supplementing them with film and paintings. This class is not only for students thinking of careers in medicine, psychology or anthropology, but also readers and writers interested exploring extraordinary texts. Along the way, we will be paying attention to lessons that we take for our own writing. There are no prerequisites necessary; all that is needed is a love of language and a curiosity about the secrets of other minds.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
PSYC 111Q:
Madness and the Womb: Medical and Artistic Approaches to Mental Illness in Women Through the Ages
Historical and current concepts of mental illness in women. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMS), postpartum depression, menopausal mood disorders, and eating disorders. Historical biopsychosocial approach. Readings include women's diaries and advice books, physicians' casebooks, and 19th- and 20th-century medical texts. Guest speakers from art and literature departments. Literary and artistic images, and the social and cultural contexts of these disorders during the last 300 years.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYCH 4N:
Predicting aggregate choice
Preference to freshmen. Is prediction of group choice possible and how can it be done? This course is ideal for students that would like to extend predictions about individual choice to group choice, and who plan to apply this knowledge to future research.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
PSYCH 9N:
Reading the Brain: the Scientific, Ethical, and Legal Implications of Brain Imaging
It's hard to pick up a newspaper without seeing a story that involves brain imaging, from research on psychological disorders to its use for lie detection or "neuromarketing". The methods are indeed very powerful, but many of the claims seen in the press are results of overly strong interpretations. In this course, you will learn to evaluate claims based on brain imaging research. We will also explore the deeper ethical and philosophical issues that arise from our ability to peer into our own brains in action. The course will start by discussing how to understand and interpret the findings of brain imaging research. We will discuss how new statistical methods provide the ability to accurately predict thoughts and behaviors from brain images. We will explore how this research has the potential to change our concepts of the self, personal responsibility and free will. We will also discuss the ethics of brain imaging, such as how the ability to detect thoughts relates to personal privacy and mental illness. Finally, we will discuss the legal implications of these techniques, such as their use in lie detection or as evidence against legal culpability.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA
PSYCH 10N:
Kids, Culture, and Poverty: From Biology to Social Action
Years before they set foot in school, children growing up in poor families begin to diverge from children in richer families in their trajectories of cognitive and language growth. These differences have powerful and enduring consequences for the health, well-being, educational success, and longevity of individuals, as well as for the future prosperity of the societies in which children become adults. Early childhood is a time of both enormous promise and considerable risk, and parents in different cultures have widely differing practices and beliefs about their role in enabling children to avoid risk and achieve their potential. In this seminar we will evaluate evidence from the biological and social sciences showing how positive and negative experiences in infancy have profound and enduring effects on early brain architecture, with cascading consequences for later development in childhood and adulthood. We will also consider the challenges of designing more effective programs and social policies to provide support for families in diverse cultural contexts, with the goal of helping more children to reach their full potential.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
PSYCH 12N:
Self Theories
Preference to freshmen. The impact of people's belief in a growing versus fixed self on their motivation and performance in school, business, sports, and relationships. How such theories develop and can be changed.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
PSYCH 13N:
Emotion Regulation
This seminar provides a selective overview of the scientific study of emotion regulation. Topics include: theoretical foundations, cognitive consequences, developmental approaches, personality processes and individual differences, and clinical and treatment implications. Our focus is on interesting, experimentally tractable ideas. Meetings will be discussion based.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
PSYCH 20N:
How Beliefs Create Reality
This seminar will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring how subjective aspects of the mind (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, and expectations) can fundamentally change objective reality. Over the course of the semester, students will be challenged to think critically about research from psychology, sociology, and medicine, which suggests that what we think, believe and expect plays a significant role in determining our physical health, performance and well-being. Students will explore research on how mindsets about nutrition, exercise, and stress can alter the body¿s response to those phenomena. Students will also uncover how social interactions with friends, family, colleagues and the media influence the perceived quality and impact of cultural products such as art, music, and fashion. And students will learn about the neurological and physiological underpinnings of the placebo effect, a powerful demonstration of expectation that produces real, healing changes in the body. Finally, students will have the opportunity to consider real world applications in disciplines including policy, business, medicine, academics, athletics and public health and consider the ethical implications of those applications. Throughout the class active participation and an open mind will be critical to success. The final weeks of class will be dedicated to student designed studies or interventions aimed to further explore the power of self-fulfilling prophecies, placebo effects, and the social-psychological creation of reality.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
RELIGST 11N:
The Meaning of Life: Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Religious Perspectives
Raise ultimate questions about life. Yes, the unexamined life is not worth living, but also the unlived life is not worth examining. Students and professor examine their own lives in the light of questions that the readings and lectures bring up: 1. The big picture: Is there such a thing as "the" meaning of life? 2. What is entailed in making personal-existential sense of one's own life? 3. What constitutes the good life, lived in society? 4. How can a university education bear upon the search for a meaningful life? 5. What "methods" for or approches to life can one learn from studies in the humanities? After introductory lectures, the seminar studies a series of artworks, poems, diverse texts, and a film, all of which bear on the questions mentioned above -- works such: 1. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from "The Republic" 2. Manet's "A bar at the Folies Bergere" 3. A comparison/contrast of Monet's early (1862) "Still Life" and van Gogh's late (1889) "Irises" 4. Lyric poetry T.S. Eliot: "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Waste Land," and "East Coker"; Edwin Muir: "The Heart Could Never Speak"; Philip Larkin: "Days" 5. Martin Heidegger's "What Is Metaphysics?" 6. Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "Nausea" 7. Marx's Paris Manuscripts of 1844 8. Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
RELIGST 12N:
Perspectives on the Good Life
The question is how to approach and evaluate different perspectives on the good life, especially when those perspectives are beautifully, and elusively, presented to us as texts. We will consider both classic and modern writers, from the West and from China; some are explicitly religious, some explicitly secular; some literary, some philosophical. Most of the class will revolve around our talk with each other, interpreting and questioning relatively short texts. The works we will read - by Dante, Dickenson, Zhuangzi, Shklar, and others - are not intended to be representative of traditions, of eras, or of disciplines. They do, however, present a range of viewpoint and of style that will help frame and re-frame our views on the good life. They will illustrate and question the role that great texts can play in a modern 'art of living.' Perhaps most important, they will develop and reward the skills of careful reading, attentive listening, and thoughtful discussion. (Note: preparation and participation in discussion are the primary course requirement. Enrollment at 3 units requires a short final paper; a more substantial paper is required for the 4-unit option.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
RELIGST 17N:
Love, Power, and Justice: Ethics in Christian Perspective
From its inception, the Christian faith has, like all religions, implied an ethos as well as a worldview, a morality and way of life as well as a system of beliefs, an ethics as well as a metaphysics. Throughout history, Christian thinkers have offered reasoned accounts of the moral values, principles, and virtues that ought to animate the adherents of what eventually became the world's largest religion. We will explore a variety of controversial issues, theological orientations, and types of ethical reasoning in the Christian tradition, treating the latter as one 'comprehensive doctrine' (John Rawls) among many; a normative framework (actually a variety of contested religious premises, moral teachings, and philosophical arguments) formally on par with the religious ethics of other major faiths as well as with the various secular moral theories typically discussed in the modern university. We will learn to interpret, reconstruct, criticize, and think intelligently about the coherence and persuasiveness of moral arguments offered by a diverse handful of this religious tradition's best thinkers and critics, past and present.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
RELIGST 117X:
Losing My Religion: Secularism and Spirituality in American Lives (AMSTUD 117N, EDUC 117N)
In this seminar you will explore theory and practice, sociological data, spiritual writing, and case studies in an effort to gain a more nuanced understanding about how religion, spirituality, and secularism attempt to make legible the constellation of concerns, commitments, and behaviors that bridge the moral and the personal, the communal and the national, the sacred, the profane, and the rational. Together we will cultivate critical perspectives on practices and politics, beliefs and belonging that we typically take for granted.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 77Q:
Russia's Weird Classic: Nikolai Gogol
This seminar investigates the work and life of Nikolai Gogol, the most eccentric of Russian authors, the founder of what was dubbed Fantastic (or Magic) Realism. Our investigation will be based on close reading of the works written in various genres and created in various stages of Gogol's literary career. This study provides a perspective on the relationship between Romanticism and Realism in Russian literature (the so-called "Natural School" of the 1830-1840s), and between the popular Ukrainian culture and "high" Russian and West European traditions in Gogol's oeuvre. The seminar traces Gogol's influences on subsequent Russian literature (Dostoevsky in particular) and investigates the impact of his work on XX century modernist literature, theatre, music, and painting (Vladimir Nabokov, literature of the absurd, Dmitry Shostakovich, Marc Chagall). The seminar is intended for students interested in literature and literary studies.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 88N:
UKRAINE AT A CROSSROADS
Literally meaning ¿borderland,¿ Ukraine has embodied in-betweeness in all possible ways. In the course, we will consider the historical permeability of its territorial, linguistic, and ethnic borders as an opportunity to explore the multiple dimensions of Ukraine¿s relations its neighbors. The reading materials for the course include the earliest records of Herodotus about the prehistoric Ukrainian civilizations, the cultural legacy of Kyivan Rus¿ and baroque, as well as artistic works created during romanticism, realism, modernism, and postmodernism. In addition to learning how to interpret literary texts, we will examine the works of visual and performative arts which shape modern Ukraine and create several cartographic projects with the use of GIS tools. All required texts are in English. No knowledge of Ukrainian is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
SLAVIC 103Q:
Subversive Acts: Invention and Convention in the 20th Century
Course investigates a range of artistic, social, and political meanings of the term avant garde in the 20th century. Several major international avant-garde artifacts, texts, and films will be explored through the prism of artistic and political subversion. This course traces a wide range of aesthetic case studies, which offer unique visions of how art influences and subverts established social practices and challenges political ideologies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
SOC 14N:
Inequality in American Society
An overview of the major forms of inequality in American society, their causes and consequences. Special attention will devoted to to public policy associated with inequality.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
SOC 20N:
What counts as "race," and why?
Preference to freshmen. Seminar discussion of how race is conceptualized and how categorizations are determined across a range of disciplines and institutions in U.S. society. Course materials survey approaches from history, demography, law, sociology, psychology, genetics, and medicine. Students will read original social science research, learn to conduct and analyze in-depth interviews, and use library resources to support legal/archival case studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
SOC 22N:
The Roots of Social Protest
Preference to freshmen. The conditions under which social protest occurs and the emergence, success, and viability of contemporary social movements. Examples include women's civil rights, ecology, and antiwar and anti-globilization movements in the U.S. and elsewhere. Sociological theories to explain the timing, location, and causes of mobilization; how researchers evaluate these theories. Comparison of tactics, trajectories, and outcomes.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI
SOC 45Q:
Understanding Race and Ethnicity in American Society (CSRE 45Q)
Preference to sophomores. Historical overview of race in America, race and violence, race and socioeconomic well-being, and the future of race relations in America. Enrollment limited to 16.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
SPECLANG 198Q:
Modern Greece in Film and Literature
Preference to sophomores. Cultural and literary highlights. Filmmakers include Kakoyannis, Dassen, Boulmetis, Angelopoulos, and Scorsese; readings from Eugenides, Gage, Kavafis, Kazantzakis, Samarakis, Seferis, and Elytis.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom
STATS 48N:
Riding the Data Wave
Imagine collecting a bit of your saliva and sending it in to one of the personalized genomics company: for very little money you will get back information about hundreds of thousands of variable sites in your genome. Records of exposure to a variety of chemicals in the areas you have lived are only a few clicks away on the web; as are thousands of studies and informal reports on the effects of different diets, to which you can compare your own. What does this all mean for you? Never before in history humans have recorded so much information about themselves and the world that surrounds them. Nor has this data been so readily available to the lay person. Expression as "data deluge'' are used to describe such wealth as well as the loss of proper bearings that it often generates. How to summarize all this information in a useful way? How to boil down millions of numbers to just a meaningful few? How to convey the gist of the story in a picture without misleading oversimplifications? To answer these questions we need to consider the use of the data, appreciate the diversity that they represent, and understand how people instinctively interpret numbers and pictures. During each week, we will consider a different data set to be summarized with a different goal. We will review analysis of similar problems carried out in the past and explore if and how the same tools can be useful today. We will pay attention to contemporary media (newspapers, blogs, etc.) to identify settings similar to the ones we are examining and critique the displays and summaries there documented. Taking an experimental approach, we will evaluate the effectiveness of different data summaries in conveying the desired information by testing them on subsets of the enrolled students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, WAY-FR
STRAMGT 110Q:
Making Sense of Strategy
Get the strategy right, and the chance for success is great. Nowhere is this more evident than in today's world of major challenges. Strategy is at the heart of problem solving and achieving objectives, yet few people can define strategy, much less understand how to conceptualize, design, and execute effective strategies that yield the best outcomes.This course will meet once a week to focus on interesting and engaging case studies, each of which illustrates a key ingredient of strategy. Some are well-known historical events, while others are less obvious, but all have a strategic lesson to share. They are quite diverse, from the planning of a high-risk rescue in the Colorado Rockies, to a product crisis in a Fortune 50 company, to a little-known failed military mission of WWII, to a commercial airline disaster. The ability to think through challenging and varied scenarios is both instructive and mind-stretching. There will be some pre-reading on each case study and there may be a field trip for students to put their lessons into practice. The course is designed to be highly interactive; all to enable students to unravel the mystery and power of strategic thinking. Students will also have the opportunity to select and analyze a case reflecting interests of their own. This course can help students not only prepare for a career in a range of fields, but also as they meet the challenges of their current coursework. Problem-solving skills are central in every walk of life; this seminar can help students build a stronger foundation for sound decision-making.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
STS 103Q:
Reading and Writing Poetry about Science
Preference to sophomores. Students will study recent poetry inspired by the phenomena and history of the sciences in order to write such poems themselves. These poems bring sensuous human experience to bear on biology, ecology, astronomy, physics, earth science, and medicine, as well as on technological advances and calamities. Poets such as Linda Bierds, Mark Doty, Albert Goldbarth, Sarah Lindsay, W.S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich, Pattiann Rogers, Tracy K. Smith, Arthur Sze, and C. K. Williams. Grounding in poetics, research in individually chosen areas of science, weekly analytical and creative writing. Fulfills the Creative Expression requirement. Enrollment limited to 12.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
SURG 68Q:
Current Concepts in Transplantation
Preference to sophomores. Biological aspects of cell and organ transplantation, including issues that arise in the popular media. Diseases for which transplantation is a treatment, the state of the art in human transplantation, transplantation of animal tissue into humans (xenotransplantation), development of new tissue and organs in the laboratory (tissue engineering and cloning), and development of drugs and biological strategies to promote long-term survival of the tissue or organ (tolerance). How to write a scientific abstract, critique scientific literature, and research and present topics in contemporary transplantation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: Writing 2
SURG 70Q:
Surgical Anatomy of the Hand: From Rodin to Reconstruction
The surgical anatomy of the hand is extremely complex in terms of structure and function. Exploration of the anatomy of the hand in different contexts: its representation in art forms, the historical development of the study of hand anatomy, current operative techniques for reconstruction, advances in tissue engineering, and the future of hand transplantation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
SURG 72Q:
Anatomy in Society
Preference to sophomores. The influence of human anatomy on the design of commercial products and performance (such as headphone and ear bud design, automobile interior design, table music performance and handicap devices design). How societal advancements have evolved to increasingly accommodate human form and function. Guest speakers are experts in the fields of audiology, design and music. Exposure to human anatomy via cadaver material, 3D digital images, the 3D dissection table and models.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
TAPS 11N:
Dramatic Tensions: Theater and the Marketplace
Preference to freshmen. The current state of the American theater and its artists. Conventional wisdom says that theater is a dying art, and a lost cause, especially in an age of multi-media entertainment. But there are more young playwrights, actors, and directors entering the field today than at any other time in American history. Focus is on the work of today's theater artists, with an emphasis on an emerging generation of playwrights. Students read a cross-section of plays from writers currently working in the US and UK, covering a spectrum of subjects and styles from serious to comic, from the musical to the straight play. Hits and misses from recent seasons of the New York and London stages and some of the differences of artistic taste across the Atlantic. Hands-on exploration of the arts and skills necessary to make a play succeed. Students develop their own areas of interest, in guided projects in design, direction or performance. Conversations with playwrights, designers ,and directors. Labs and master classes to solve problems posed in areas of creative production. Class meets literary managers and producers who are on the frontlines of underwriting new talent. Class trips include two plays at major Bay Area Stages.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 11Q:
Art in the Metropolis (ARTSINST 11Q)
This seminar is offered in conjunction with the annual "Arts Immersion" trip to New York that takes place over the spring break and is organized by the Stanford Arts Institute (SAI). Participation in the trip is a requirement for taking part in the seminar (and vice versa). The trip is designed to provide a group of students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City guided by faculty and the SAI programming director. Students will experience a broad range and variety of art forms (visual arts, theater, opera, dance, etc.) and will meet with prominent arts administrators and practitioners, some of whom are Stanford alumni. For further details and updates about the trip, see http://arts.stanford.edu.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 12N:
To Die For: Antigone and Political Dissent (CLASSICS 17N)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 6N.) Preference to freshmen. Tensions inherent in the democracy of ancient Athens; how the character of Antigone emerges in later drama, film, and political thought as a figure of resistance against illegitimate authority; and her relevance to contemporary struggles for women's and workers' rights and national liberation. Readings and screenings include versions of Antigone by Sophocles, Anouilh, Brecht, Fugard/Kani/Ntshona, Paulin, Glowacki, Gurney, and von Trotta.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-ER
TAPS 13N:
Law and Drama
Preference to Freshmen.Beyond the obvious traits that make a good (court room) drama, theater and jurisprudence have much more in common. Just as drama is engaged not only in entertainment but also in examination of social conventions and mechanisms, so law is not only concerned with dispensing justice but with shaping and maintaining a viable human community. In this class we will read and discuss a series of plays in which court proceedings are at the center of dramatic action and concluding with an investigation of the new genre of documentary drama.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
TAPS 14N:
Imagining India: Art, Culture, Politics in Modern India (COMPLIT 14N, CSRE 15N, FEMGEN 14N)
This course explores history via cultural responses in modern India. We will examine a range of fiction, film and drama to consider the ways in which India emerges through its cultural productions. The course will consider key historical events such as the partition of the subcontinent, independence from British rule, Green Revolution, Emergency, liberalization of the Indian economy, among others. We will reflect on epochal historical moments by means of artisticnresponses to these events. For example, Ritwik Ghatak's experimental cinema intervenes into debates around the Bengal partition; Rohinton Mistry's novel, A Fine Balance grapples with the suspension of civil liberties during the emergency between 1975-77; Rahul Varma's play Bhopal reflects on the Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. Students willnread, view and reflect on the aesthetic and historical texts through their thoughtful engagement in class discussions and written e ssays. They will also have opportunities to imaginatively respond to these texts via short creative projects, which could range from poems, monologues, solo pieces, web installations, etc. Readings will also include Mahashweta Devi, Amitav Ghosh, Girish Karnad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Manjula Padmanabhan, Salman Rushdie, Aparna Sen, among others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 16N:
Masterpieces of Modern Drama
What is modern theatre and how is it created? In this course, we will explore some of the most important works of the last century and a half. These plays, by writers such as Ibsen, Beckett, and Brecht, will be a springboard for our own leap into the art of the theatre. This course stresses that the theatre truly lives when performed. In addition to reading plays, we will watch productions (recorded and live), and stage some scenes informally ourselves. No theatrical experience is required¿only an openness to creative and intellectual challenge.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
TAPS 180Q:
Noam Chomsky: The Drama of Resistance
Preference to sophomores. Chomsky's ideas and work which challenge the political and economic paradigms governing the U.S. Topics include his model for linguistics; cold war U.S. involvements in S.E. Asia, the Middle East, Central and S. America, the Caribbean, and Indonesia and E. Timor; the media, terrorism, ideology, and culture; student and popular movements; and the role of resistance.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
URBANST 25Q:
The Origins of the Modern American City, 1865-1920 (AMSTUD 25Q, HISTORY 55Q)
Are we living in a new Gilded Age? To answer this question, we go back to the original Gilded Age, as well as its successor, the Progressive Era. How did urban Americans around the turn of the twentieth century deal with stark inequalities of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality? And what can we learn from their struggles for our own time? Students use primary and secondary sources in digital and print formats. Possible field trip to San Francisco.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
URBANST 27Q:
Sophomore Seminar: Three Detectives, Three Cities
This seminar will analyze the social reality of three historic cities (London in the 1880s and 90s, San Francisco in the 1920s and 30s, and contemporary Shanghai) through the prism of popular crime fiction featuring three great literary detectives (Arthur Conan Doyle¿s Sherlock Holmes, Dashiell Hammett¿s Sam Spade, and Qiu Xiaolong¿s Chief Inspector Chen). As a student in this course, you will explore why crime fiction is so popular, why the fear of crime is so much a part of modern urban culture, and why the police detective and the private investigator have become iconic code heroes of pulp fiction, movies, TV shows, and even video games. If you take this class, you will have the opportunity to write a paper and present your research on one of the classic literary detectives or on one of today¿s related manifestations of the same impulse in mass-market tales of superheroes, vampires, and the zombie apocalypse.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
