ENROLL

Fernan Jaramillo

We will focus on recent advances in neuroscience. All areas of neuroscience (cellular/molecular, developmental, systems, cognitive, and disease) will be considered. Classical or foundational papers will be used to provide background.

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126

Waitlist only

Josh Davis

An introduction to the theory of computation. What problems can and cannot be solved efficiently by computers? What problems cannot be solved by computers, period? Topics include formal models of computation, including finite-state automata, pushdown automata, and Turing machines; formal languages, including regular expressions and context-free grammars; computability and uncomputability; and computational complexity, particularly NP-completeness.

Prerequisite: Computer Science 201 and Computer Science 202 (Mathematics 236 will be accepted in lieu of Computer Science 202)

Anya Vostinar

The field of artificial life seeks to understand the dynamics of life by separating them from the substrate of DNA. In this course, we will explore how we can implement the dynamics of life in software to test and generate biological hypotheses, with a particular focus on evolution. Topics will include the basic principles of biological evolution, transferring experimental evolution techniques to computational systems, cellular automata, computational modeling, and digital evolution. All students will be expected to complete and present a term research project recreating and extending recent work in the field of artificial life.

Prerequisite: Computer Science 201

Deborah Appleman

Extra Time required.

Jenna Conklin

What lies behind the human urge to construct new languages? How has language invention changed over time? What can invented languages teach us about the function of natural languages and their syntactic, morphological, and phonological structure? In this course, students will dive into the history of invented languages, tackle the question of what constitutes a language, and ultimately try their hand at constructing their own language. We’ll explore what separates natural languages from invented ones and discuss how often the very qualities that their creators find most desirable inhibit the widespread adoption they envision for their languages.

Sophomore priority

Waitlist for Juniors and Seniors: LING 150.WL0 (Synonym 65479)

Jenna Conklin

Prerequisite: 100-level Linguistics course

Morgan Rood

Prerequisite: Linguistics 216

Justin London

Prerequisite: A previous course in Music or Psychology, or instructor permission; Concurrent registration in Music 228

MUSC 228 required. A grade of C- or better must be earned in both MUSC 227 & 228 to staisfy the LS requirement.

Eric Hoopfer, Sarah Meerts

This course is an introduction to basic neural function. Topics include neural transmission, development of the nervous system, anatomy, sensory systems, learning and the corresponding change in the brain, and the role of the nervous system in behavior. Team-based learning will be used to understand the experiments that shape current knowledge.

Eric Hoopfer, Sarah Meerts

This course is an introduction to basic neural function. Topics include neural transmission, development of the nervous system, anatomy, sensory systems, learning and the corresponding change in the brain, and the role of the nervous system in behavior. Team-based learning will be used to understand the experiments that shape current knowledge.

Jason Decker

This seminar will introduce the student to the study of philosophy through a consideration of various epistemic and metaphysical issues surrounding science and religion. What distinguishes scientific inquiry from other areas of inquiry: Its subject matter, its method of inquiry, or perhaps both? How does scientific belief differ from religious belief, in particular? Is the scientist committed to substantive metaphysical assumptions? If so, what role do these assumptions play in scientific investigation and how do they differ from religious dogma (if they do)? Our exploration of these questions will involve the consideration of both classic and contemporary philosophical texts.

Held for new first year students

Ned Hall

Intimately related in deep but philosophically mysterious ways, the paired concepts of causation and explanation structure how we think about the reality we inhabit and our place in it, as well as our self-understanding as inquirers. After all, when we investigate just about anything, we aim to know not just the where and the when, but the how and the why. This seminar will introduce you to some of the most important philosophical investigations into causation, explanation, and their relationship to one another. Along the way, we’ll pay close attention to ways in which these investigations matter--well outside the confines of academic philosophy--by looking at stubborn disputes within the social sciences about what counts as “causal” or “explanatory”.

Julie Neiworth

With the aging population comes a variety of challenges, including those to cognitive health and decline. Neurodegenerative diseases create various forms of dementia and cause unique problems beyond those that are an outcome of healthy aging. The disabling effects of aging and dementia extend beyond the person to family, friends and wider community. The need to understand and extend knowledge of both healthy aging and the pathological changes that occur with neurodegenerative diseases with aging is of great importance. By understanding how the brain is impacted by age, dementia, and other clinical syndromes, both management of the cognitive issues and advances in treatments to improve mental functioning can be made. This course takes a neuropsychological approach to study healthy aging and neurodegenerative disease. In this seminar, lectures and discussions explore the cognitive, behavioral, and molecular aspects of healthy aging and neurodegenerative disease processes in humans. Cognitive topics include working memory, long term memory, attention, familiarity and recollection, emotion, and social factors that interact with aging. The physiological and cognitive outcomes of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and various types of dementia are compared with the physiology and cognitive decline evident in healthy aging. Students will read primary articles on these topics, and propose a project based on course discussion and interactions with people at senior centers and convalescent centers in Northfield. 

Prerequisite: Neuroscience 127 or Psychology 216 or Psychology 110 or instructor permission

Extra Time Required