AA-251C 001 The Art of Producing
From negotiating contracts and artists' personalities to selling your ideas to funders and the general public, this course will explore how to successfully produce work in the 21st century. Whether for theatre, dance, visual arts, music, coffee or new technologies, in nonprofit or for-profit organizations, the art of producing requires inspiration, collaboration, conviction and commitment. It also requires the producer to be just a little crazy, with enough drive to lead others to bring their vision to life. Exploring great producers from Joseph Papp to Tina Fey, and Howard Schultz to Steve Jobs, this course will ask what makes a great producer, examine the tools they use to create their work and challenge students to experiment with what it takes to produce work for the world. Through case studies, guest speakers and role play, students will learn some of the intricacies of producing and how a producer approaches problem solving in real time. Students will learn some of the budgeting required in producing in for-profit or nonprofit settings, how to recruit, develop and retain a team of artists and staff and some of the key ingredients for sustainability for producers, artists and organizations. By studying great producers of commercial and nonprofit work, students will begin to define their own approach to producing and examine how a producer’s biography reflects and somewhat defines their approach to producing.

AA-351A 001 Marketplace for Artists
Artists and artisans invest tremendous time, talent and resources into creating their art and often are unsure of how to get exposure for their finished products. They may desire to display and market their work, but be unaware of the steps involved. This course is designed to introduce visual art students to the strategies and skills they need to take their art and hand-made products from studio to the creative marketplace. Topics will include photographing product, pricing, promoting & selling. This course is part of the Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative.

AH-151D 001, 002 Arts of Africa
An introduction to the arts of Africa with an emphasis on the historical traditions of major kingdoms.  Covering a spectrum of regions, students will examine primarily sculptural traditions (figural and masquerade) in both royal and ritual contexts.  These arts are examined within their social and cultural contexts in the service of politics, leadership and social integration, as objects of ritual and religious practice, and as evidence of aesthetic choices and achievements.  The final segment of the course will address the legacy of these traditions through the colonial period and into modern times.  (Designated a non-Western cultures course.)  This course counts for AH breadth category D.

AH-251C 001 Architecture and Utopia
A study of architecture and city planning as vehicles for the expression of social ideals in North and South America during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  Students will learn to situate design practices within their artistic and historical contexts, and will explore the social, political, and philosophical agendas of architects and design collaboratives.  Case studies will include the Garden City Movement, the Futurists, Broadacre City, CIAM, Levittown and the American suburb, Brasilia, and the Rural Studio.  (Fulfills humanities requirement.)  This course counts for breadth category "c" in AH major.

AH-351C 001 Building with Words: Modern and Contemporary Architectural Theory 
A study of modern and contemporary architectural theory and criticism. This course is designed for students interested in architectural studies, introducing them to how and why architects and scholars have written about architecture from the mid-twentieth to twenty-first centuries. Student learning is structured around a series of themes that scrutinize architecture’s stylistic movements—modernism, structuralism, postmodernism, and deconstructivism—and their theoretical underpinnings. Students will also examine more focused topics of architecture’s relationship to race, gender, and class and how and why the Middle East is proving fertile ground for the latest ideas on design. By examining different theoretical writings on architecture in relation to the architectural practices of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Robert Venturi, Renzo Piano, and Zaha Hadid, among many others, students will learn of the social, political, and philosophical motivations underpinning their respective designs. Equally as important, this course will help students develop analytical thinking via short writing assignments that are evaluative, reflective and argumentative in nature.

AH-351D 001 Travel and Desire: Art and Representation in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Art
A study of a tumultuous moment in the history of European art characterized by responses to drastic political and social changes. The course will focus on the impact of travel as a source of escape -- escapism -- but also as a strategic component of official and conservative as well as radical and controversial representations in art. We will assess the rise and fall of the Academy, the advent of the Enlightenment, the flourishing of the Encyclopédie, the lure of the Grand Tour, the changing relations between art and science, the rise and impact of the French Revolution, the trends and flux of the art market; all in relation to travel as a catalyst for change and as prerogative for Academic conservatism. The course will address transformations in painting, sculpture and architecture throughout Europe focusing on the development of artistic trends from Baroque to Rococo and Neoclassicism to early Romanticism.  (Fulfills humanities requirement.) Prerequisite:  One Art History course.

AH-375F 001  Race and Contemporary Art
Explores how contemporary artists address, interrogate and challenge the concept of race. After examining theoretical material on the idea of "race," the class considers provocative thematic and structural issues like sexuality, the body, art institutions, class, and more. Artists studied will include Coco Fusco, Miguel Luciano, Chris Naka, Joyce J. Scott, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley and many others. Because students undertake a major research project and lead class discussions, intellectual initiative and active class participation are expected.  Prerequisite:  Open to junior and senior majors or minors in art history or studio art; or permission of the instructor.

AN-251C 001 Conflict and Memory in SE Asia
This class focuses on the tensions and conflicts that have accompanied nation-building in Southeast Asia during the 20th and 21st centuries.  People living in the countries of Southeast Asia have witnessed an eventful political-economic history during this time, experiencing European colonialism, protracted wars, and tumultuous experiments with socialism.  Using ethnography, film, and literature this class will explore the relationships between cultural and national identity, coercive attempts to rework "culture" in the name of social revolution, local causes of genocide, and the ongoing social, political, and psychological impacts of past conflicts through collective memory and strategies of representing the past.  The class draws on case studies from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. (Designated a Cultural Diversity course) Pre-requisite:  AN101, SO101, or permission of the instructor.

AN-252C 001 Archaeology of the American SW
Students in this course are exposed to archaeological discoveries in the ancient American Southwest.  Topics to be covered range from Paleoindians to pre-contact Puebloan populations, hunter-gatherers to agriculturalists, and northern Mexico to southern Utah. The origins of agriculture, architectural and ritual change, and conflict will be addressed.  Activities will include group discussion, short writing assignments, exams, and class presentations.  (Designated a Cultural Diversity course; fulfills Social Science requirement).

AN-351C 001 Political Anthropology
An exploration of politics, power, and resistance in human societies, with particular attention paid to the historical and contemporary relationships between people and the forces (both state and non-state) exerting influence over their lives and behaviors.  This course introduces both foundational social scientific texts on statecraft and governance as well as emerging theoretical frameworks in political anthropology targeting how marginalized individuals and groups can resist inequality and organize for social justice.  Topics covered during the semester include the origins and logics of nations and states, historical styles of governance, the institutions and impacts of colonialism, revolutionary parties and communism, political ideology and hegemony, and how local communities contend with the transformative forces of neoliberalism and globalization. Pre-requisites:  AN101 or AN102

AN-351D 001 Museum Dilemmas
A critical reflection on the history of museums and the role they play in the world today. The first half of the course deals with the history of museums from the early cabinets of curiosities and the creation of grand museums during colonialism to the transformations of the 1960s-1980s. The second half of the course turns to current dilemmas: who has the right to represent whom? Who is the rightful owner of museum objects? What are museums: spaces of learning, reverence, entertainment or contestation? Should museums impose detached learning or facilitate emotional and sensorial engagement with the objects on display? Should exhibition halls become spaces of worship? How responsive should museums be to the agendas, desires and viewpoints of their visitors and surrounding communities? Must museums celebrate collective identities? What happens when exhibitions go seriously wrong? Should museum exhibitions remain within walls or go outdoors and on the Internet? Should museums disappear as physical institutions? Through a combination of conceptual readings; case studies of particular museums from different times and places; and class visits to museums and collections located at Skidmore and beyond, this course encourages students to see present museum dilemmas as points of tension between their complicated past and their uncertain future. Pre-requisites:  AN101 or permission of the instructor.

AN-351D 002 Bioarchaeology
This course applies the information gleaned from skeletal analysis in a comprehensive way to answer questions about the circumstances of life and death of an individual or population in prehistoric and historic contexts.  Students will learn the methods of advanced skeletal analysis through hands-on activities and verification of multiple techniques.  Interpretation of a biological profile for an individual and then use of archaeological contextual information (such as mortuary data) will allow students to learn more about the applicability of human osteological data.  Projects featuring literature research and comparison to other data sets will be completed. Pre-requisites:  AN102

AN-351D 003 Anthropological Practice
What does it mean to be an anthropologist? While the understanding of anthropology is theoretical, often the practice of anthropology is applied outside of academia. Many anthropologists find themselves volunteering, working, or consulting in professional organizations. Sometimes this includes volunteering for a non-profit organization that contributes to the needs of a community. Other times, anthropologists work in a professional setting where they may offer assistance with a research project, or consult a business on a social problem within the company's sub-culture. The goal of this course is to introduce students to anthropology in the professional world and provide lectures, workshops, and in-class activities based on current trends in the career field. Students will gain hands-on experience in the inner workings of a non-profit organization through a semester-long research project hosted by the Cultural Media Archive, a non-profit organization that promotes youth civic engagement by supporting multi-media projects. This course explores various professional tasks grounded in anthropological methods and theory. Students will leave the course with a better understanding of multi-media and how to apply anthropological knowledge in the career field. Pre-requisites:  AN101

AN-351D 004 Multicultural Europe: France
How do citizens of European Union countries make claims on national identities in multicultural societies?  Why have questions about French-Muslims been at the center of public discussions about immigration and European identities?  The course begins with an examination of French multiculturalism in the midst of increasing immigration from predominately Islamic countries in Africa.  Using anthropological perspectives, students analyze how urban French citizens create and express ethnic identities related to race, class, gender, and religion. Students compare similar cultural dynamics related to immigrants arriving in other Western European countries.  Comparisons focus on understanding Islamophobia, racism, power and justice, the politics of artistic representations, and anti-discrimination activism. The course reveals how anthropological perspectives shed light on cultural dimensions of European social change related to African immigration, Islamic practices, European integration, and economic change. (Designated a Cultural Diversity course) Pre-requisites:  AN-101 or permission of the instructor.

AR-264F 001  Water Based Media
An exploration of water-based drawing and painting media with a focus on acrylic paint.  Using direct observation, experimentation, and invention, this course builds understanding of formal principles, color interaction and the physical qualities of materials.  Assignments support development of a personal vision. Prerequisite:  AR-133.  Studio Fee: $25.

AR-264I 001  CNC Processes and Sculpture
The goal of the course is for students to become confident at using digital means to define and solve problems in three dimensions.  Students develop technical skills related to metal processes and become increasingly more visually sophisticated as they create, observe, evaluate and then share the consequences of their efforts.  CAD (Computer Aided Design) technology is used to create metal shapes that are cut out with a CNC plasma cutter, assembled, and then welded together.   A basic working knowledge of software like Adobe Acrobat, Corel Draw, Sketchup or other CAD programs is helpful but not a requirement.  Advanced students are encouraged to use Autodesk Inventor.  Studio Fee:  $75

AR-264J 001  Interactive Design
An introduction to designing interactive pages and environments for the web. Emphasis is placed on visual and information design through theories of color, principles of design and the study of typography.  A variety of tools and techniques will be explored including photo editing, writing code for the web and animation through basic scripting languages. Studio projects will explore issues of audience participation, experience design, motion and interface. Prerequisite:  AR-131 or AR-133 or AR-134 or AR-136. Studio Fee: $105.

AR-351H 001  Advanced Printmaking
Further investigation of formal, expressive, and technical aspects of printmaking. This course emphasizes individual exploration of structured assignments, leading toward self-directed studio practice. Readings and discussions complement studio practice. Emphasis is placed upon more individual exploration of assigned formal problems in the studio.  Prerequisite:  AR-228 or AR-341 or AR-264H or AR-350. Open to juniors and seniors only. Studio Fee $75.

AR-351J 001  Advanced Digital Media
A continued investigation and further development of the practice of making art using digital media. Students may choose to pursue advanced projects in either interactive design or motion graphics. Emphasis will be placed on developing an individual studio practice through studio work, critical and art historical readings and writing.  Prerequisite:  AR-136 or AR-264J or AR-351J or AR-355 or AR-356 or permission of the instructor. Studio Fee $105.

AS-251C 002 How to See a Buddha
Explores the historic role of images, the philosophical understanding of vision, and the practice of visualization in Buddhist traditions. Along with examining classical Buddhist texts related to perception, including the Treasury of Abhidharma, The Blaze of Reason, and The Guide to the Bodhisattva Path students will evaluate and interpret Buddhist images, cultivate practices of visual object contemplation inspired by Buddhist meditation techniques, and create visual media works based on these contemplations.(Designated a Non-Western cultures course; Fulfills humanities requirement.) Prerequisite: One course in Asian Studies, Art History, or Religious Studies; or permission of the instructor.

BI-136 001  Ecology of the Adirondacks
An introduction to the basic principles of ecology through the lens of the Adirondacks, a 6-million-acre state park in upstate New York. We will explore the habitats of the Adirondack region, how organisms adapt to these environments, how they interact with one another, and the flow of energy and nutrients through these systems. Particular emphasis will be paid to the way in which environmental issues such as acid rain, invasive species, and climate change affect the ecology of the Adirondacks. Several outdoor labs and one required full-day field trip will allow us to collect ecological data in the field and get hands-on understanding of regional habitats. Students will become comfortable interpreting and applying findings from the scientific literature. We will focus on interpreting and presenting ecological data, and communicating research findings to the scientific community and the public.  Lecture\Lab.  (Fulfills natural science requirement; QR2; and B1 cluster supportive course in Environmental Studies)

BI-152 001 Natural Responses to Modern Global Change
An exploration of recent, ongoing global change as it affects organisms, systems, and processes in nature.  Global environmental change is arguably the defining challenge of the 21st century.  Using experiments, modeling, and outdoor labs, students will explore the modern “redistribution” of biodiversity, climatic regimes and pollutants, as well as the ecology of human-constructed systems (cities and farms).  Focal organisms include humans and wildlife, and focal systems include the North Woods and Saratoga Springs, as well as rainforests, deserts, coral reefs, farms, and larger cities.  Note(s): 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab per week. Fulfills natural sciences requirement.

BI-195 001  Inside Equus    
The horse is an exceptional and accessible model of animal physiology and behavior adaptation.  We will study what makes these animals superb athletes, and how their genetics, physiology, and behavior have adapted to domestication.  Class time will be spent primarily on case studies and problem solving using real life examples.  Labs will involve field trips off campus and in-lab experiments.  Previous experience with animals/horses is not required.  Three hours of lecture, three hours of lab per week.  Please also refer to the companion course TX-100A Mustangs and the American West.  (Fulfills natural science requirement; and QR2) Prerequisite:  QR1.

BI-252 001  Evolution
A survey of topics in evolutionary theory: the evidence for evolution, mechanism of micro and macro evolutionary change, taxonomic classification, concepts of variability, adaptation, neutrality, and phylogeny. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week.  Prerequisite:  BI-106 or permission of the instructor.  

BI-352 001  RNA: Past, Present and Future
Cells require the synthesis, processing and utilization of three broad categories of RNA molecules (structural, informational and regulatory) that together impact the cell's growth, physiology and/or behavior.   We will study the expression and processing of representatives of each class of RNA molecule with an emphasis on learning the methods and experimental techniques that have allowed our exploration of their structure and function. The course draws heavily on the use of primary literature as a resource.  The laboratory portion of the course will introduce students to a variety of methods and techniques that are commonly used to investigate RNA structure, processing, abundance, localization and interaction.  Lecture and Lab.  Prerequisite:  BI-242 and one additional 200-level course from BI-245, BI-246 or BI-247. 

BI-352 002  Global Change Biology
Global Change Biology explores five major facets of recent, ongoing global change and their interaction as they relate to living organisms in their current and emerging environments. These are: 1) the redistribution of greenhouse gases and limiting nutrients, 2) climate change, 3) urbanization and associated novel contaminants, 4) habitat fragmentation, and 5) the redistribution of biodiversity. Students will study ongoing change in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments; explore responses by microbes, protists, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as the processes that link the taxa; and make significant use of predictive and descriptive quantitative models.  Lecture and associated lab.   Prerequisite:  BI-106 and any two 200-level biology courses except BI-299 or BI-275. ES-205 or ES-206 may be substituted for one of the 200-level Biology courses.

BI-352 003  Biology of Cancer
An investigation into the current understanding of biological mechanisms involved in the natural history, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Lab will include case studies and histopathology. Three hours of lecture, and two hours of lab per week.  Prerequisite:   One 200-level course in BI or permission of the instructor.

CH-343 001 Experimental Biochemistry Laboratory
This course will introduce computational biophysics of intrinsically disordered proteins and protein-protein interactions. You will learn to run molecular dynamics programs to simulate how a protein moves over time. You will also learn how to write programs in python to analyze the data from the simulations, and other computational skills that are relevant to many modern scientific disciplines. Students in this course will formulate their own hypotheses and design computational protocols to test these hypotheses to aid ongoing research on how SH3 proteins bind to disordered peptide partners. The course will culminate in final papers and presentation of results to the class. Prerequisites: CH-341

CH-351C 001  Food Chemistry
This course will cover the properties and functionality of the main constituents of food: water, lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. We will also cover the chemistry of various food additives and flavor/aroma components. Special attention will be given to specific organic reactions of food and cooking processes. Additionally, the role of toxins and contaminants that affect food safety will be discussed. Food chemistry is an interdisciplinary subject, drawing basic principles from organic, inorganic, physical, and biological chemistry. The final group project will utilize your chemical knowledge throughout the course, as well as give you an opportunity to improve your transverse skills in scientific writing and presentation.   Prerequisite:  CH-221 (CH-222 recommended).

CH-351C 002  Bioinorganic Chemistry
This course explores the role of metal ions in biological systems.  Although biology is generally associated with organic chemistry, metallic elements are found naturally in biological systems and are known to be essential for life.  Additionally, metallic compounds are introduced artificially as probes of biomolecules or pharmaceuticals.  Specific topics will include properties of metal ions that influence their biological role, physical methods and spectroscopic techniques used in bioinorganic chemistry, transport and storage of metal ions, metalloproteins, the interaction of metal ions with nucleic acids, and metal ions in medicine.  Special emphasis will be given to the application of fundamental concepts of inorganic chemistry in understanding the structure and function of metal ions serving biological roles.  Prerequisite:   CH-314.

CS-276A 001 Computer Systems Admin
Students will explore three topic areas focused on computer system administration: shell scripting, server administration and networking. For each topic area the goal of the course is to provide sufficient detail and hands-on learning such that the student is able to effectively handle routine aspects of server management. In addition, students will collect a useful set of resources allowing them to independently delve into more depth in each area. A secondary focus of the class will be to highlight security risks and mitigations related to server configuration and operation.

CS-376A 001 Digital Image Processing
Digital Image Processing can be described in general as given a digital image as input, process that image in some way and produce another digital image as output. Students in this course will learn about how color digital images are represented (as a 2d array of pixels each of which has Red, Green and Blue values.) Students will learn classic techniques such as computing intensity image of a color image, techniques to do edge detection (where pixels that lie on borders of differences in intensity are edge pixels), noise reduction, blurring, and many others. Students will also learn how to compute global information about images such as histograms of color values that can then be used to do image processing on an image, such as in the technique of contrast enhancement from histogram equalization. Other techniques that will be covered will be algorithms for segmentation (to segment an image into distinct areas based on the properties of the pixels in those areas) --- can be used as a precursor for object recognition, tracking etc.

We will likely cover a variety of other algorithms in addition to those stated above.

Students will learn the details of the various digital image processing algorithms and they will write programs in Java code to implement many of these techniques. They will learn the details of how they work instead of just using a program like Photoshop to perform the techniques. They will be encouraged to use their own digital images to experiment with.  Pre-requisites:  CS206

CS-376B 001 Applied Data Science
Students taking this course should have completed CS206. Students should also have some background in basic statistics.

This course will give students hands-on experience with a variety of concepts and tools associated with the field of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD). Students will study and apply KDD processes, tools and techniques, working with small and large data sets representing various business domains and problem types. Students will work within an overall framework comprising the six common steps of a KDD project: business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modeling, evaluation and deployment. The class will cover topics such as common database interactions (relational, document and graph databases), data set creation, data quality analysis, dimension reduction, variance and bias in data, classifier types and model assessment approaches. Pre-requisites:  CS206

DS-202A 001  Public Science Communication: Web
Develop public science communication skills as you work with a local nonprofit to design content for their website. We will explore how to make information about tree identification and forest ecology appealing and accessible to the general public, and develop basic skills in web design. Readings and examples will be drawn from the scientific and popular literature, with emphasis on how to present science compellingly and accurately. Sciences, the arts, and humanities all have a role to play in this project.

Documentary Studies Descriptions can be found here - https://www.skidmore.edu/mdocs/courses/2017_spring_classes.

GN-151A 001 English for Academic Engagement II
English for Academic Engagement II focuses on culture, language and communication.  The purpose of this course is to focus on the spoken and written language of academic discourse.  In a series of increasingly complex assignments, students will enhance and develop discussion and presentation skills, as well as an understanding of the expectations of the academic community.  Material for this course will also explore cultural and social aspects of American life.

PH-230C 001Film Truth 
What is the real? Can we faithfully represent the world? Is reality truth?  Is there such a thing as objectivity? If so, how do we achieve it?

Using various films from the history of documentary as examples, this class will attempt to answer such questions. To do so, it will examine the history of documentary practice as well as the history of thinking about documentary film. The course will include units on mimetic theory, narrative realism, scientific truth, juridical truth, institutional truth, film truth, direct cinema, self-reflexive cinema, and constructivism.

As envisioned, this class will integrate methods and insights from philosophy, aesthetics, and film studies. In addition to being an interdisciplinary inquiry into the relationship among image, truth, and reality, this is a course about knowing, particularly about ways to come to knowledge, as well as how to present this knowledge truthfully. (Fulfills humanities requirement.)

EC-361 001 Economic Geography
An exploration of the location decisions of households and firms, and how these decisions cause the formation of cities of different sizes and shapes.  The market forces that explain why cities exist and what causes them to grow or shrink.  Topics include: firm clustering, land value and use, neighborhoods, zoning, transportation, automobile travel, mass transit, education, crime, housing and the role of local government.  Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will be introduced and used as a tool for exploration and analysis of geographic patterns of economic behavior. Prerequisites: EC236 and EC237.

EC-361 002  Mathematical Economics
An introduction to fundamental mathematical tools necessary to understand and analyze advanced economic models. Topics include set theory, multivariate calculus, matrix algebra, static optimization (unconstrained and constrained), and dynamic optimization. Economic applications are drawn from topics in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics.  Prerequisite:   EC-235, EC-236 and MA-113; MA-200 strongly recommended; permission of the instructor.

ED-362B 001  Professional Education Portfolio
As a part of their professional obligations, educators must routinely communicate with a variety of audiences (e.g., students, colleagues, administrators, parents) about their professional choices and decisions.  This course prepares education majors to make and communicate evidence-based claims for a variety of purposes, to different audiences, and using multiple genres (e.g., professional portfolio of lesson plans and instructional materials, analysis of student learning, job search and networking materials, and professional presentations).  Prerequisite:  Only open to Junior and Senior EDS Majors.

ED-362C 001  Adolescent Literacy
This course complicates "commonsense" notions of literacy, addressing issues of literacy as social theory, cultural construct, and educational and social practice. With a focus on adolescent learners, this course asks: How can educators support adolescent learners in recognizing and expanding their literacy practices? How do theoretical approaches shape middle/high school curriculum and instruction? How are language and literacy used to mark, exclude, and include individuals and groups? How does literacy relate to adolescents' ability to "read" and participate in their world?   We will examine learning environments and build a repertoire of pedagogical strategies for supporting adolescent students’ language and literacy development across the curriculum.  Prerequisite:  ED-103 or permission of the instructor.

English Department Descriptions can be found here - https://www.skidmore.edu/english/courses/index.php

ES-252D 001  Environmental Engineering and the Science of Sustainability
As a complement to ES 205-Conservation and Use of Forested Landscapes, this course explores the application of ecological and ecosystem-based concepts and principles to the design of regenerative solutions for water-, waste-, soil-, and energy-related environmental problems. Using natural science methods as a foundation and Life Cycle Assessment and Cradle-to-Cradle Analysis/Design as additional frameworks, we will quantitatively and critically evaluate and construct systems for a range of case studies, including waste water treatment, brownfield restoration, composting, anaerobic digestion, and biofabrication. The overall goals of the course are to contemplate the complexity of both environmental problems and potential solutions, as well as understand how discoveries in the primary scientific literature can be applied to help us design more efficient and sustainable closed-loop systems.  Prerequisite:  ES-100 and BI-105.

GE-251 001  Introduction to Natural Resources
"If it's not grown, it must be mined."  A survey of the formation, distribution, and extraction of mineral (i.e. metals, gems, building materials) and energy (i.e. natural gas, petroleum, uranium) resources on Earth.  Energy and mineral resources are the foundation of many national economies and also the underpinning of many major environmental and geopolitical conflicts throughout history.   Understanding Earth's resources from cradle to grave is an important component for an informed citizenry that is able to meet the challenges of an Earth with a growing population and ever changing technologies.  Prerequisite:  GE-101, GE-102, GE-112 or permission of the instructor.

GN-151A 001 English for Academic Engagement II
English for Academic Engagement II focuses on culture, language and communication. The purpose of this course is to focus on the spoken and written language of academic discourse. In a series of increasingly complex assignments, students will enhance and develop discussion and presentation skills, as well as an understanding of the expectations of the academic community. Material for this course will also explore cultural and social aspects of American life.

GW-251C 001  Inter-Asia Gender Sexuality
This Inter-Asia Cultural Studies seminar explores gender relations and LGBTQ minorities in China, Japan, and Korea as cultural practices, by comparatively examining how they are associated with and operating through other features of each respective society and also through developments within and outside of the area. Some of the major objectives of this seminar include identifying and examining shared and differing historical legacies, religious and sociocultural circumstances, political economies, modernization processes, and the connections and disjunctions among these East Asian countries. (Designated a non-Western cultures course)

GW-351D 001  Gender, Race and Science
This course explores the key role that science and technology play in the world, paying particular attention to the way it intersects with gender.  Drawing primarily on feminist scholarship and cultural studies of science and technology, this course will critically examine practices of science and technology and the way in which they shape and are shaped by larger political, cultural and social contexts. We will begin with the assumption that science and technology are not neutral or natural phenomenon, but rather cultural and social constructs. That is, science and technology are shaped by human interests, and embedded in metaphors and narratives which represent deep cultural values and assumptions that need to be examined.  We will explore key theoretical questions: How does science produce ideas about gender and race? How do gender and race affect who has access to technology? How do we create technologies that improve the lives of women and people of color?  Prerequisite:  GW-101.

Honors Forum Descriptions can be found here - https://www.skidmore.edu/hf/

HI-151 001  World History from 1500
This course utilizes a rich variety of primary and secondary sources to reconsider world history from a variety of perspectives. We will read provocative and compelling revisionist works by world historians rooted in Chinese history that challenge Eurocentric narratives of world history from the age of exploration through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These revisionist narratives illustrate the centrality of Asia in the world economy from the age of exploration to the nineteenth century and demonstrate the importance of historical contingency and environmental factors in the relative decline of Asia vis-à-vis the West from the mid-nineteenth century. This course will give students a better understanding of their contemporary world, including the recent resurgence of Asia, through a broad, holistic, yet nuanced account of the history of the early modern and modern world. 

HI-151C 001  The Making of the Modern Middle East
This course will explore the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the modern Middle East. The modern period has its roots in the sixteenth century and continues through the present day. Course readings and discussions will encourage students to consider how the governmentalization of the Ottoman and Qajar states resulted in the fundamental restructuring of state-society relations, government institutions, and the way in which individuals conceptualized themselves and others.

The course is designed to expose students to the processes and practices that were central to the production of the Middle East as both a physical space as well as a discursive concept.

The course situates the history of the modern Middle East in a global and comparative historical context. This approach encourages students to continuously reflect on the following questions: (1) What are the major political, social, economic, and cultural transformations that facilitated the making of the modern Middle East? (2) How is the Middle East exceptional and non-exceptional vis-à-vis world history?  (Designated a non-Western cultures course)

HI-251D 002  Leisure, Pleasure, and Serious Fun in the Middle East
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were periods in which men and women of the Middle East developed new notions of time, carved out larger spaces for themselves in the expanding public sphere, created novel activities, and experimented with different mood- and mind-molding substances. Through close readings of secondary and primary sources (including photographs, films, novels, and memoirs), we will examine a number of urban transformations related to leisure and pleasure, including: drugs, tobacco, coffee houses, reading rooms, alcohol, prostitution, public transportation, vernacular photographs, and sports. By creating new narratives around leisure activities, pleasure, and fun, students are able to cultivate a more textured and multidimensional understanding of the making of modernity in the Middle East.  (Designated a non-Western cultures course)

HI-351C 001  The Body in Middle East History
The course will focus on the ways in which the Middle East's experience during the modern period featured important shifts in understandings and practices of the body. Students will consider how modern institutions, like schools, the army, the hospital, civic associations, and the press, played a transformative role in creating, inculcating, and spreading radically reconfigured understandings of the body throughout the modern Middle East.  (Designated a non-Western cultures course)

HI-351C 002  War and Historical Memory in Modern Japan
This course puts the historical experience and collective memory of war at the center of modern Japanese history. We will start by showing the centrality of war to Japan's emergence as a major world power in the first half of the twentieth century, before covering the destruction of much of Asia and Japan itself in World War II. And while we will consider the importance of the legacy of war in shaping Japanese relations with its Asian neighbors, the course will focus mainly on the historical legacy of the experience of World War II for Japan, which is profound, as can be seen from the fact that the Japanese still refer to the contemporary era as "the postwar." We will analyze how Japanese have remembered and dealt with the traumas of the war, individually and collectively, at various points in the postwar through oral histories, memoirs, novels, feature films, manga, and anime.

IA-251A 001  International Affairs and Journalism
This course examines media as both a topic and driver of international affairs. It considers how international news is made and disseminated, how reporting and news gathering have changed, and how we understand the role(s) of news media from the perspective of IA. Students will consider how media have helped to set international agendas and coverage has affected the course of international events. The course will also examine the work of foreign correspondents (past and present) and contrast U.S. and international coverage of major world events, including breaking international news. Students will Skype with foreign correspondents and participate in a class reporting project.  (Fulfills IA Knowledge Cluster I: The Political World.) Prerequisite:  IA-101.

IA-252C 001  Global Culture and IA
This course considers the relevance of culture to the study of international affairs. The course surveys prominent approaches from multiple disciplines toward culture and its impact(s) on international affairs. We consider: How do we define culture and how do we study it? How do cultural attitudes intersect with the pursuit of power?  Do cultural issues affect the behavior of policymakers, states, and other actors? Does culture even matter? Topics include religion, stereotypes, cross-cultural communication, cultural diplomacy, historical interactions between different societies, material culture, and globalization.  (Fulfills IA Foundation Cluster III: The Cultural World.) Prerequisite:  IA-101.

IA-351 001  Terrorism and International Law:  A Comparative Study of Global Counterterrorism Responses & Approaches
From drone strikes in Waziristan and Yemen to detainees in Guantanamo Bay, with lone wolves or armed groups attacking civilians across the globe, to the hunting and killing of Osama bin Laden and the rise of ISIS, global terrorism is in the news nearly every day, raising important questions in international law and global politics.  Students will explore various responses to domestic and international terrorism, from several countries' perspectives, especially (but not exclusively) in the post-9/11 world.  Examining the nature of terrorist organizations, the roots of sociopolitical violence, religious extremism and the impact of economic globalization on terrorism, the course will familiarize students with complex and often conflicting arguments of law, policy and morality in the national security arena and on the world stage.  Students will engage concepts in domestic and international law and study the power of sovereign state governments to address terrorism in legal, extra-legal, military and international geopolitical contexts.  In particular, students will comparatively analyze the underlying legal standards involving specific examples of domestic and international counterterrorism initiatives, address impediments to obtaining meaningful international cooperation and coordination on these policies, and consider their impact on civil liberties, criminal justice, open government and human rights.  Some documentary films will be shown on a few evenings during the semester.  Prerequisite:  IA-101 or permission of the instructor.

ID-251C 003 Students Connect with Congress
American democracy depends on political participation, citizens working face to face in civic organizations and with their elected representatives in service of the common good. In this course students will study political participation, research, discuss and debate issues pending in Congress, and engage with Congressional representatives. The instructor hopes to enroll students who identify with a diverse range of political interests and identifications who are interested in resisting the behavioral and rhetorical excesses common in this era of polarization and hyper partisanship in order to embrace persuasion and conciliation in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. This course is an intensive 5-week commitment beginning on Saturday March 4, 2017 (with subsequent meetings TBD) at 9:30. Students interested in the course should contact Pat Oles (poles) to discuss enrolling.

ID-351C 001 Science Communication
Scientific information relates to many current issues with important ethical, political and economic implications.  How can science majors communicate more effectively to peers and the public?  Constructive critical analysis of case studies of popular science materials in a variety of media, such as books and posters, op-eds and blogs, storytelling and data visualization, will enable students to become more astute consumers of scientific information.  Class projects develop students' abilities to communicate science effectively to different audiences in various real-world contexts.  We examine balance, accuracy, framing, treatment of uncertainty, and reporting about risk for science-related issues such as water and air pollution; climate change and ocean acidification; nuclear and wind energy; hurricane warnings; genetic engineering; exercise and nutrition; drones and self-driving cars; the Anthropocene.  Counts as a 300 level course in the Geosciences major.  Pre-requisites: Enrollment by permission of instructor.  First preference will be given to natural science majors in their senior or junior years, followed by other juniors and seniors and first/second year students majoring or considering a major in natural sciences.

MB-351C 001  Innovation and the Structure of American Industry
Why and how does innovation occur in some industries and not in others?  Students will explore historical and contemporary theories of innovation within the context of varied industry structures and macro-environmental factors.  Using a leading text on industry structure, IBIS World, Innovation Masters and other sources, students will study the nature, frequency, defining characteristics and rate of innovation in approximately ten industries.  Further, students will examine the interrelationships among a variety of industry environments, organizational forms and industry structures.  Prerequisite: MB-107.

MB-351D 001  Business and the Natural Environment
This case-based course aims to foster awareness, sensitivity and literacy concerning the major forces and challenges at the intersection of business activities and the natural environment. It broadly examines and appraises the role of business enterprise in relation to the current (and future) state of the planet, particularly in the context of the global economy. The course reviews the major ecological and socio-economic challenges confronting the planet, including population growth, human poverty, climate change, toxic pollution, loss of biodiversity, etc., paying particular attention to the impacts of business enterprise upon each issue. The course then turns to an assessment of sustainable development and biophysically and socially sustainable business practices, concluding with an assessment of the varied ways that business enterprises may become proactive forces in achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability. Prerequisite:  MB-107 or EC-103 or EC-104, or permission of the instructor.

MF-220 001 Introduction to Media Studies
We live in a culture saturated by media. From the television shows and films that stream to us on our laptops and tablets to the images and updates we consume on our phones, media texts and technologies are so omnipresent within contemporary life that they seem almost invisible. Yet this seeming invisibility makes it all the more important that we look closely at the workings of media technology, and that we ask critical questions of the media that surround us. How do different media forms work to produce artistic and social meanings? What powers do media hold over us, and what powers might they give us as consumers and producers? How have media changed from the beginning of the modern period to our contemporary moment of digital convergence?

In this course, we will ask these and other questions as we explore the broad and eclectic terrain of media and film studies. We will hone our skills in the critical analysis of a range of media forms, including film, television, radio and sound, and the internet and new media. Studying key texts in these forms alongside a selection of critical writings, we will consider how media technologies create aesthetic effects and how they play crucial roles in shaping social questions of identity, power, community, and artistry. Our ultimate goal will be to become more critically aware as students, consumers, producers, artists, and citizens within contemporary media culture.

MF-251C 001 Law and Ethics for Media:  An Interdisciplinary Study of Legal and Ethical Issues in Media Production
How do filmmakers and documentarians, authors and artists, musicians and storytellers protect their ideas, expressive works and creative endeavors from being copied or stolen by others, especially in the digital age?  What legal and ethical issues do these individuals confront as they produce their creative projects, especially ones which incorporate other media content?  This course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the various legal, ethical and practical issues involved in varying media production forms (video/film, photography, music/audio, documentary, web and exhibit-based narratives etc.) for fiction and non-fiction storytelling.  Students in the course will consider and analyze issues related to and best practices for intellectual property (copyright, trademark, right-of-publicity, droit moral), privacy, defamation, contracts, permissions and clearances for content, as well as ethical concerns regarding truth-telling, accuracy, fairness, deception/manipulation, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, source-shielding/privilege, independence and credibility/accountability.  Students will learn to develop approaches regarding underlying policies and to challenge assumptions at the intersection of storytelling, business, art, law and creative expression.  Some documentary films will be shown on a few evenings during the semester.

MF-351D 001  Video Games: History, Culture and Design
This course surveys the history of video games from the 1960s to present, looking at the relationships between platform limitations, design choices, and public reception. The differences between games and other forms of media will be discussed, focusing on the artistic implications interactivity, nonlinearity, and simulation, as well as the political ramifications of representation. Course work will include both writing assignments and creative projects that may require using free, cross-platform software.

MF-351D 002  Black Studies, Sound and Technology
This advanced course examines theories of Black cultural production in the context of wider questions about the nature of modernity. Our emphasis will be on understanding the shared trajectory of, and the intellectual fissures between, key theoretical figurations including double consciousness (DuBois), the Black Atlantic (Paul Gilroy), Afrocentrism and its Black Aesthetic (Amiri Baraka), a Black radical tradition (Fred Moten), Afrofuturism (Sun Ra, Kodwo Eshun, and others), and Afro-pessimism (Frank Wilderson). All of these theories address the importance of Black people and of racial discourse to what we know as modernity. Yet each articulates a different understanding of the oft-noted fact that Black artistic and cultural production can be crucial to a society in which Black lives may be under threat.

In light of these theories, this course will look at films by Haile Gerima, Charles Burnett, and Darnell Martin, literary texts by Ralph Ellison, Nathaniel Mackey, and Amiri Baraka, and examples from the entire history of sound recordings from vaudeville minstrelsy to contemporary hip-hop. By centering our inquiry on sound--in its various appearances as film soundtrack, performed poetry, music, and more--we will interrogate and seek to complicate the "ocularcentrism" of much racial discourse.

Race has often been understood as a fundamentally visual phenomenon. This course will engage with some of the canonical visual studies (e.g. Fanon, Hartman) of Black subject formation. However, using the tools and methods of the emerging interdiscipline of Sound Studies, this course will also Following Fred Moten's insight that the slave embodies Marx's thought experiment of "the commodity that speaks," the course looks at a range of ways in which sonic expression and aural experience may trouble or even suggest a seed of hope against the persistence of racialized objectification, stereotype and violence.

MF-351D 003  Expanded Cinema/ Introduction to Electronic Time-Based Media
This course focuses on artistic concepts in time-based media.  We will use "Expanded Cinema" as a leaping-off point for exploring moving image - a term coined in the mid-1960s by experimental filmmaker Stan Vanderbeek to identify works that expand beyond the screen into new technological contexts.   A wide range of creative approaches will be explored, utilizing technology old and new. Class time will be used for hands-on instruction, discussions, critiques, screenings of historical and contemporary work, and occasional work time.  Throughout the semester, students will create a series of small experiments, working towards a mid-semester group exhibition and an end-of-semester exhibition at the Tang Museum Art Party. Creative voice is stressed over technical skills.  Students are encouraged to take creative risks.  This course can be taken in place of AR-241 Introduction to Electronic Time-Based Media.

MP-179 001  World Music Ensemble – Gamelan
An introduction to traditional Indonesian music from the islands of Bali and Java. The ensemble is open to students with OR without prior Indonesian musical experience. The class will present a recital or concert at the end of the semester, and perform at several additional events as they become known. No prerequisites or prior musical training is required.  (Fulfills arts requirement.)

MU-106 001 The Beatles: An Introduction
A cultural and musical history of one of the most important musical ensembles of the twentieth century.  (Fulfills humanities requirement.)

MU-106 002  From Blues to Hip Hop: African American Musical Heritage
This course will trace the history of blues, both as a specific genre and as a range of techniques and approaches that have been at the center of American music and culture, from 19th century roots up to the present. It will explore the commonly accepted blues mainstream exemplified by figures like Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, and B.B. King, but also the central role blues has played in jazz, folk, country, gospel, rock, soul, and rap. While following the evolution of the music through the 20th century, we will also examine how blues has served as a metaphor for African American culture as it permeates the American tradition. (Designated a Cultural Diversity course; fulfills humanities requirement.)

MU-205A 001 Taiko & the Asian American Experience
In this course we will examine the origins of Taiko drumming in Japan and consider how the tradition has developed in North America over the past four decades.  We will discuss the role of Taiko drumming in the Asian American Movement, explore different styles of contemporary Taiko in Asian America, and gain basic drumming competency.  Through the integration of academic and performance study we will consider and experience Taiko drumming as a prominent and dynamic Asian American performing art. No prior performance experience required. First years are welcome.  (Designated a Cultural Diversity course; fulfills humanities requirement.)

MU-221 001 The Fortepiano
Some of the most familiar composers of music for the piano (including Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Schumann) would not recognize the instrument we play their music on today.  The modern piano is just a little over a century old - its antecedent was the fortepiano. Students will learn about the mechanics of fortepianos, period performance practice (technique and style), and the social history of the instruments (who played them, when, and why).  Texts will include 18th- and 19th-century primary sources as well as present-day scholarship, videos, and recordings.  Every student will gain hands-on experience tuning and playing Skidmore's two fortepianos.  (Fulfills arts requirement.)  Permission of the instructor and one year of piano instruction.

MU-345B 001 Orchestra: History, Repertoire, Future
We'll explore the structure and development of the orchestra, as well as several major symphonic works that trace its history.  Is the orchestra an anachronistic institution?  Or is it still relevant -- adapting to and serving 21st-century societies?  We'll consider the training and daily lives of orchestral musicians, celebrity conductors, concert halls, bankruptcies and strikes, state and corporate subsidies, educational outreach programs, cultural diplomacy, and national and civic pride. Pre-requisites:  MU242

MU-345002  Jazz Singing
Selected themes in the history of jazz singing.  Coverage of major artists such as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday.  Also some discussion of crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole; postwar divas such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan; and hipsters such as Slim Gaillard and Babs Gonzales.  Consideration of issues such as improvisation, popular song interpretation, scat singing, and vocalese.  Oo-pa-pa-dah, doo-wah.  Prerequisite:  MU-242.

NS-312A 001 Advanced Topics in Neuroscience: Neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is the study of the functioning of the nervous system. This is clearly a very broad topic, but in this upper-level course we will explore cutting-edge research on a handful of key topics, including some areas of study where current controversy exists. A general area of emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the structure of molecular and cellular structures in the brain and their function. Major objectives of the course are to introduce students to reading primary research articles and for students to improve at critical evaluation of data and creating oral presentations based on scientific literature. We will also use computer modeling and laboratory demos to expose students to some of the key techniques used in the studies we are reading in class.  Prerequisite:  NS-101, NS-201, PS-202.

NS-314 001  Cerebellum and Bioinformatics
The cerebellum, Latin for "the little brain", makes up 10% of total human brain volume, yet houses half of our neurons (~50 billion of them!).  The cerebellum's role in motor function is well studied: it is involved in motor learning and responsible for what we colloquially describe as "muscle memory". However, there is growing evidence that it might be involved in fine-tuning our thoughts and emotions in addition to our movements.  A great deal of information can be gathered by deconstructing its structure and mapping its neural connections. Students in the course will "map" the cerebellum through anatomical and histological analysis, study cerebellar behavior in humans and mice, investigate the molecular pathways that underlie cerebellar learning, examine the effects of cerebellar disease, and analyze the genetic networks of cerebellar neurons via bioinformatics.  Prerequisite:  NS-201 or BI-247. 

PH-101001 Intro to Philosophy: "How Should We Act, How Do We Know?"  
Philosophy deals with perennial questions. Students in this course will attempt to answer two of them:  "How Should We Act" and "How Do We Know." To help us, as a group, we will read and discuss classical and contemporary attempts to answer these questions offered by philosophers who have thought deeply about such matters.  (Fulfills humanities requirement.)

PH-230C 001  Film Truth
What is the real? Can we faithfully represent the world? Is reality truth?  Is there such a thing as objectivity? If so, how do we achieve it?

Using various films from the history of documentary as examples, this class will attempt to answer such questions. To do so, it will examine the history of documentary practice as well as the history of thinking about documentary film. The course will include units on mimetic theory, narrative realism, scientific truth, juridical truth, institutional truth, film truth, direct cinema, self-reflexive cinema, and constructivism.

As envisioned, this class will integrate methods and insights from philosophy, aesthetics, and film studies. In addition to being an interdisciplinary inquiry into the relationship among image, truth, and reality, this is a course about knowing, particularly about ways to come to knowledge, as well as how to present this knowledge truthfully. (Fulfills humanities requirement.)

PH-327S 001  Spinoza
Spinoza (1632-1677) presents one of the most comprehensive philosophical visions, universal in its scope and radical in its implications. In his writings, Spinoza criticizes established religion, argues that our concept of God simply refers to all of Nature, and argues that humans are not exceptions to nature but are fully bound by natural law. He claims that most humans are living lives of bondage, enslaved to emotion and opinion, and that the way to true freedom and contentment is to completely reorient our thinking-thinking not about the particular things that affect us each day, instead striving for knowledge of nature as a whole. Spinoza's deeply-controversial philosophical vision shocked early modern Europe and paved the way for the European Enlightenment. And it has never left us. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.

PH-330 001  Artificial Intelligence: Metaphysics of Mind and Ethical Issues
Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere now, and each day brings news of further advances in AI technology and further discussion of its promises and perils. Many of these discussions focus on Terminator-style apocalyptic scenarios in which super-intelligent machines rise up and exterminate humanity. However, the fact that computers will soon be-or already are-piloting our cars, trucks, and planes, helping to make our medical, financial, and legal decisions, tending our children and elderly, and even fighting our wars raises difficult philosophical questions that are closer to hand than such existentially gripping science fiction.

The questions that we will investigate in this seminar include: What ethical principles should we program into AI-piloted vehicles to handle "forced choice" situations in which someone or other will die or be injured and the AI has the ability to influence who that is? Is ethical decision-making even amenable to algorithmic implementation? Who should be morally or legally responsible for AI systems and their actions? The corporations or governments who built them? The AI systems themselves? More generally, what is "intelligence", and what makes an AI "artificially" intelligent? What is the relation between intelligence and the other aspects of psychology that intelligent beings typically have, e.g., sensations, emotions, moods, beliefs, desires, etc.? Could something be intelligent without having any of those other characteristics? And if not, do we need to create artificial sensations, etc. to create artificial intelligence? And if we are talking about sensations, we are presumably talking about bodies, but now we appear to be talking about needing to create artificial life in order to create artificial intelligence, which raises a further host of ethical and metaphysical questions. For example, could an AI system come to have ethical duties and commensurate rights? Could the decision to turn an AI system on or off become as ethically laden an issue as whether to bring a child into the world or to end a human being's life? Or will an AI always be just a tool?

PL-251C 001  Media and Politics
The news media is often called the 4th branch of government. This course introduces students to political communication theories about the role and influence of the news media in politics, identifies important news media institutions that shape political communication, and explores how the news media influences political attitudes and behavior. The class will provide an introduction to how scholars study politics and media, and how politicians, public officials, interest groups, and campaign operatives interact with the media. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.) Prerequisite:  PL-101.

PL-251C 002  Law and Gender in the U.S.
This course will analyze socially constructed norms and values which facilitate the legal regulation of women's lived experience. In doing so, we will draw from a rich and exciting body of scholarship called feminist legal theory to analyze the relationship between law and gender, and to understand the effectiveness of using law as a tool for achieving gender equality. Over the course of the semester, we will examine various schools of feminist thought including formal equality, dominance theory, postmodern feminism and queer theory, and then apply these theories to concrete areas of law including employment law, family law, reproductive freedom and violence against women. Finally, we will analyze several of the debates and controversies in feminist legal theory about the meaning of gender equality, the intersection of gender, race and sexuality, and the role of law in perpetuating (and sometimes destabilizing) social hierarchies. (Fulfills social sciences requirement.) Prerequisite:  PL-101.

PL 251D 001 Abraham Lincoln as Statesman
This course will explore Lincoln’s confrontation with the problem of slavery and the American regime.  It will consist primarily of a close analysis of Lincoln’s speeches and writings.  Lincoln’s speeches and deeds have been said by some scholars to constitute a completion of the American founding or a second American revolution.  We will explore the origins and nature of Lincoln’s impact, trying to understand Lincoln’s project from the perspective of Lincoln himself.  Lincoln reflected deeply on America’s founding ideals as expressed in its public documents, as well as particular historical realities confronting the nation in the 1800s.  Our course of study will therefore attempt to mimic these reflections.

PL-351B 001  Václav Havel: Playwright, Dissident, President
Václav Havel lived a life that seems like something out of a novel. Born in pre-war Czechoslovakia, Havel saw his county occupied by Nazi Germany, ruled by the Communist Party for forty-one years, transformed into a liberal democracy, and subsequently split apart into two republics. Despite the Communist party's cultural repression, Havel emerged as an accomplished and internationally-known playwright by the 1970s. By the end of that decade, he become a central figure in the dissident movement around the Charter 77 organization-founded to call the Communist regime to account for its lawlessness. He spent four years in prison for these activities. In November 1989 he became leader of the Civic Forum-the organization that would lead Czechoslovakia out of Communist rule-and in December was elected President of the country. Throughout his life Havel was a prolific writer, exploring fundamental human questions of freedom and tyranny in his plays, his prose, and his letters. In this course we will explore Havel's political philosophy as expressed in all of his writings and also examine his statesmanship as the first president of his country after the fall of the Communist regime.  Prerequisite:  PL-102.  Recommended: PL-204 or PH-205H.

PL-367 001 Experimental Research
Political science increasingly relies on experiments to understand the causes of behaviors, attitudes and events: why do people vote, what is the effect of campaign ads, what influences legislators, how much discrimination exists, and many more questions.  In this course, we will discuss the logic of experiments, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other ways of studying political science, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate political, social, and economic phenomena.  Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments, with an emphasis on field experiments and survey experiments.  Prerequisite:  PL-101. 

PS-251 001  Eyewitness Memory
A common view of memory is that it operates much like a video recorder-objectively recording events we experience for faithful playback at a later point in time. Decades of research, however, have conclusively demonstrated this to be an inaccurate analogy, instead suggesting memory is a largely reconstructive process subject to interference and decay. Nevertheless, the viewpoint is one that persists in the criminal justice system; attorneys, judges, and especially jurors place a considerable amount of weight on the testimony of eyewitnesses. In this course, we'll explore the mechanisms underlying how people encode and retrieve events they witness and examine how eyewitnesses positively and negatively impact the outcome of criminal investigations.  Prerequisite:  PS-101 or NS-101.

PS-251 002 Culture and Gender in Psychotherapy
This seminar will start with a general overview of the major theories of psychotherapy in the Western world.  We will then focus on the content and process of therapy in a multicultural context, specifically paying attention to the roles of cultural values, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical characteristics, education, religious and spiritual values, as well as socioeconomic status.  We will explore how those cultural factors might affect the various aspects of therapy (e.g., client-therapist match, help-seeking intention, therapeutic alliance, treatment effectiveness and so on), and what are needed to become a culturally sensitive and competent therapist.  Based on in-depth discussion and reflection of clinical cases and empirical research, students will have a unique opportunity to explore the integration of their clinical and cultural interests.  Prerequisite:  PS-101.

PS-312B 001  Topics in Child Clinical Psychology
This course will explore the practice of clinical psychology with children and adolescents.  Students will focus on etiology, assessment, analysis and intervention for emotional and behavioral disorders of childhood and adolescence with an emphasis on evidence-based treatments. Particular attention will be paid to relevant differences between children, adolescents and adults and how working with children in clinical settings differs from working with adults.  Prerequisite:  PS-214 or PS-308.

PS-312B 002  Applied Behavior Analysis
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) and functional assessment theories are the hallmarks of treatments used with individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.  ABA is the use of classical behavior modification techniques to modify problem behaviors.  Functional assessment is based on the theory that all behavior serves a purpose and through the understanding of the "function" of the behavior you can design more effective behavior modification techniques. This course provides an in-depth look at these practices and how they have been applied to a variety of different treatment modalities.  Through the use of lecture, readings, discussions, and hands-on projects, students will gain an understanding of these various techniques and how they are utilized to modify maladaptive behavior and teach new behaviors.  Prerequisite:  PS-101.

PS-312B 003  Music Cognition
This seminar is a deep dive into psychological and neuroscientific research in the field of music cognition. Some of the questions we will explore include:

What does music have to offer psychology --- as an academic discipline, as an art form, as a stimulus? How do psychologists think about music, and how do music theorists and musicologists think about cognition?

How does music generate emotion? Are musical emotions special?
How do the cognitive system and the brain represent music? How are pitch and time processed? How is perception linked to production?
What is the relationship between music and language? How are they similar or different? Do they share neurocognitive resources, or are they separate systems?
How did human musicality evolve? Did music come before language, or vice versa? Does it have functional importance, or is it simply "auditory cheesecake"?

Class will be driven primarily by student-led discussion of the primary literature, written commentary of that literature, and projects in which students will connect their experiences with music - as listener and as performer - to concepts learned in class. Discussions will be guided by short lectures and moderation by the instructor.  Prerequisite:  PS-101 and PS-202, or permission of the instructor. Music majors are welcome and encouraged to take this course.

PS-312B 004  Language Development
How do young children learn language? While typically developing children appear to absorb their native language with amazing ease, there is much debate over the mechanisms behind this process. What is it about the human brain and environment that allows us, but not any other species, to develop language? In this seminar, we will learn about how psychologists are investigating this question and what they have discovered. The primary focus will be on the first few years of life, from how infants learn to recognize the sounds in their language to how they come to understand and produce sentences.

The class will be discussion-based, and students will be evaluated primarily on participation and several argument-based writing assignments, as well as a child observation project. The main readings will be current empirical articles, with some classic studies and reviews mixed in. We will read about many hotly contested areas of research, focusing on typically developing children. However, we will also discuss language disorders and other types of individual differences.  Prerequisite:  PS-101 and PS-202.  You must feel comfortable reading and discussing empirical journal articles.

PS-312B 005  Sensory Neuroscience
Sensory systems act as an organism's interface between the external physical world and its inner neural processing. These systems convert physical energy into neural information that, when effective, affords survival and reproduction of the creature. In this class, we will survey the anatomical, physiological and neural mechanisms that convert energy in the organism's sensory arena (AKA the umwelt) into things 'in the organism' (the innenwelt). We will survey a broad set of environments and life forms - humans, other animals, aquatic life, insects, and even plants - with the goal of understanding common mechanisms across them. We will examine the differences as well to better understand the differentiation and specialization in these systems and organs across the animal kingdom.  Prerequisite:  NS-101 or PS-225 (Perception) or equivalent.

PY-251D 001 Introduction to General Relativity
Students will study the relationship between mass-energy and the shape of spacetime.  Topics include black holes, the global positioning system, gravitational lensing, gravitational waves, and the expanding universe. Pre-requisite: PY-207 Co-requisite: MA-113

RE-230C 001  Comparative Myth
A myth is a sacred story believed by those telling it to disclose important truths about the world and how people should live in it. Myths are always good stories, alive with action and infused with meaning. This course provides a generous sampling of myths from around the world, coupled with a survey of important theories of myth. (Fulfills humanities requirement.)

RE-230C 002 Death and the Afterlife: Religious Approaches
According to Buddhist traditions, death is an opportunity for the soul to progress in its spiritual journey, yet according to transhumanist scientists death is the worst disease to ever plague humankind. For certain medieval Christians, the whole of life was a practice of the ars moriendi (art of dying) in order to prepare for the afterlife, yet for certain modern atheist philosophers life is the practice of joy in the face of death because there is no afterlife. For the ancient Aztecs, life was made meaningful in some way through human sacrifice, yet for many modern thinkers vegetarianism is the only ethical option for meaningful human life on earth. Despite the mystery of the nature of death and dying, it is clear from all of these perspectives that one's understanding of death reflects one's interpretation of the meaning of life. In light of this fact, this course will approach three major questions: What is death? What are the ways humans can interpret the process of dying? What do the answers to our questions about death and dying have to do with our answers to the meaning of life? In order to approach these questions, the course will compare various perspectives from religious and philosophical traditions, as well as writers, anthropologists, poets, and scientists and the ways they describe and conceive of death and the meaning of life. We will study memoirs, philosophy, poetry, novels, scripture, essays, and film in order to gain an understanding of the different genres of writing that death and dying have engendered throughout human history. (Fulfills humanities requirement.) 

RE-330D 001  World's End: Millennialism
Millennialists act upon the conviction that the world as we know it will end soon. This course surveys millennial movements from around the world, examining how they emerge and how they continue even after the anticipated End fails to unfold as predicted. The course analyzes the role of charismatic leaders and considers the complicated connections between millennialism and violence.

RE-330D 002 Religion and Politics in Contemporary American Society
In 2000, George W. Bush was elected President. Bush was the first Evangelical Christian President since Jimmy Carter. How did the "Christian" candidate in American presidential politics go from a Baptist Sunday School teacher to Donald Trump? In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was led by religious men. By contrast, the Black Lives Matter movement has been fronted by consciously secular women. What factors constitute the relations among religion, gender, and Black Lives Matter? Days after 9/11 in 2001, President Bush said that our war is not against the Muslim faith. By 2016, Islamophobia led to illegal surveillance on Muslims in New York and the rise of political candidates who promise to ban Muslims from entering the country. How did this happen?

These are several of the historical and cultural lineages we will trace in this class by focusing on the complex relationship between politics and religion in the United States. (Fulfills humanities requirement.)

SO-251 001  Restorative Justice in Schools
The era of "zero tolerance" in schools is waning. Critics have argued that prioritizing suspension in disciplinary policies creates a "school-to-prison pipeline" and has been biased against students of color. In place of zero tolerance, schools have been implementing restorative justice practices, which focus on improving school climate through community-building circles and facilitated dialogues between students who cause harm and those they have affected. In this class, we will focus on the restorative justice movement in K-12 schools, examining the theory behind restorative justice, its various practices, and evidence of effectiveness. In addition, this is a service-learning course and we will partner with Queensbury Middle School (a few exits up I87) which has been a local leader in implementing restorative practices. Skidmore students will lead a series of restorative circles with the middle school students.  Prerequisite:  One sociology gateway course (SO-101 or SO-201 or SO-202 or SO-203 or SO-204) or permission of the instructor.

SO-251 002  Social Science Journalism
An introduction to social issues reporting using social scientific methods. This course explores reporting strategies used in data journalism, long-form coverage of social problems, and multi-modal storytelling. Students acquire the skills to conduct in-depth qualitative interviews, collect and analyze data, and produce visual representations in the service of reporting stories in the public interest.

SO-215 001  China in Transition
An exploration of changes in Chinese society as a result of China's transition from a socialist planned economy to a more market-oriented economy. Specifically, students will learn the sociological theories on market transition, examine the process of privatizing formerly state-owned enterprises, discuss the role of the state and social networks, and analyze how the reforms have affected Chinese culture, migration, social classes, genders, ethnic minorities, the environment, and the global order.  (Designated a non-Western cultures course.)  Counts toward with Asian Studies and International Affairs.  Prerequisite: One sociology gateway course (SO-101 or SO-201 or SO-202 or SO-203 or SO-204) or AS-101.

SO-351R 001  Video Ethnography
How can video be used as a research tool to better understand social life? Visual phenomena are central to everyday contemporary life, both their interpretation and their creation.  We will discuss key theoretical and empirical works in visual sociology/visual studies and will familiarize ourselves with ethnographic data gathering and analysis.  A semester-long research project will have students produce a sociologically-informed work of video ethnography from start to finish, along the way becoming conversant in methodological and filmmaking best practices.  Prior experience with video equipment and editing software is not a requirement.  Prerequisite: SO-227, AN-280, or AM-221 and permission of the instructor.

WLC-363 001 When Texts Travel, What Arrives?
Third-Generation Director Xie Tieli (1925-2015) based his 1963 film Early One Spring (Zao chun er yue)  on February (Er yue), a 1929 novella by the beloved leftist writer Rou Shi (1901-1931). The publication in 1980 of an English translation of the novella,Threshold of Spring, by the Foreign Languages Press in Beijing, demonstrates the Chinese state's continuing investment in this classic narrative of the clash between traditional and modern values during May Fourth times. In 2003, a companion volume to the film developed for Chinese language students embedded a transcript of the film's dialog into a narrative. Using these texts in a variety of ways, this course aims to develop our descriptive and narrative capacities in Chinese as we transition from "language learners" to readers. The class will develop as well as our cultural analysis skills, as we explore the issues of genre and discourse, language and culture, that regularly confront readers of works from a language and time not their own. When stories travel, in other words, how do their values and beliefs, norms and expectations, fears and desires, so saturated into language, make the trip? How does the paradigm of translation structure our experience of reading, viewing and interpreting texts from afar?  Prerequisite: WLC 340 or permission of instructor. Designated a non-Western cultures course; fulfills the humanities requirement. (Designated a Non-Western cultures course; Fulfills humanities requirement.) Pre-requisites: WLC-340 or permission of instructor

WLS-363 001 Crimenes sin castigo
This course will explore one of the most current narrative trends in Latin America. We will study how crime fiction, from its formulaic nature, develops into a critical literature that seeks to question historical, political and social issues in Latin American countries. Novels and short stories by Argentinian, Cuban and Venezuelan writers will be read during class, in addition to other canonical and critical texts within the genre. (Fullfills the Language Requirement; Fullfills the Humanities requirement.  Pre-requisites:  WLS-211 or WLS-212 or permission from the instructor.

WLS-363 002  The Picaresque from the Picaro to the Sicario 
In this course we will look at different manifestations of the rogue, from the picaro to the sicario, the scoundrel to the hit man.  Our study will allow us to consider Spanish history, Spanish literature and Spanish life from the ground up through the eyes of the most vulnerable and the most astute. Prerequisite:  WLS-211.

WLG-376 001  German Contemporary Literature: From Pop to the Novel Prize
A Senior Seminar taught in German, this course explores German literature from the fall of the wall until today with an emphasis on works from the twenty-first century.  Topics include cultural memory work with a focus on the GDR, nostalgia, and the legacy of communism as well as on the Third Reich and German victimization.  We will also read novels about road trips, youth culture, and a generation at the crossroads in search of meaning-and characters in search of the author.  We will analyze a wide range of genres with novels by recent Nobel Prize winners and older literary masters (Grass, Műeller, Wolf) and by best-selling popular young writers (Hegemann, Brussig, Meyer, Kehlmann, Herrndorf, Kracht).  (Fulfills humanities requirement.)  Prerequisite:  WLG_206.