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Title:
THE NECESSITY
OF FOOD
Instructor:
Mark
Brubaker
568-6737
Prerequisite:
GSCI 101
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Description:
Why is food essential to life. This course will use laboratory
procedures and experiments to take a look at the composition of what we
eat and how food is the common dominator between plants and animals.
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Title:
THE STUDY OF
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Instructor:
Ruth
Chodrow
568-2326
Prerequisite:
College-level Introductory Biology course or permission of instructor
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Description:
This course investigates such questions as how behavior evolves, how
one formulates scientific hypotheses when investigating behavioral
questions, and the interplay of genetics and learning on behavior.
Students also discuss how domestication influences behavior, and what
parallels exist between human and animal behavior. The students do
behavioral observations on a variety of species and learn simple
techniques of analyzing data.
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Title:
ECOLOGICAL
COMPLEXITY
Instructor:
Dean Cocking
568-6556
Prerequisite:
GSCI 103
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Description:
This activity involving both field and laboratory experiences, will
focus on how an understanding of ecological relationships is arrived at
through a variety of scientific techniques which range from the
collection of data at the James Madison University Arboretum to the
synthesis of information through the use of computer models. The course
illustrates that both reductionist and holistic methods of coming to
know about nature and utilized in ecology.
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Title:
GENETICS AND
SOCIETY
Instructor:
Kerry Cresawn
568-6556
Prerequisite:
None
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Description:
In the past 10 years, the field of Genetics has become an important
issue in our society. The Human Genome Project has provided us
with information on what makes us unique from one another and how these
small differences in our DNA determine our risk for disease. Because of
this, the future of our health-care will involve genetic testing for
disease risk, drugs designed specifically for your genetic make-up, and
gene therapy. In this course, you will learn about these recent
advances in Genetics and how they will impact you. You will learn the
background and acquire the skills necessary to research a genetic
disease with confidence, evaluate the validity of the research, and
have informed discussions with others. You will also learn
first-hand how a genetic test is done in the laboratory portion of the
course.
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Title:
THE CHESAPEAKE
BAY
Instructor:
James Dendinger
568-6651
Prerequisite:
GSCI 103
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Description:
These sections will focus both on science methods and biology of the
blue crab. However, we will use blue crab biology in the
Chesapeake Bay as a vehicle to pursue these methods. The course
will attempt to answer the question of “How do we know�
within the
context of science. We will briefly examine history and
philosophy of science and the terminology used. We will examine
sources of information. We will use information on WWW in order
to collect data. This data will be analyzed in a variety of ways
and, hopefully, conclusions drawn. Computers will be extensively
used. The class will meet for one hour each week and there will
be innumerable out-of-class assignments.
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Title:
MAN AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
Instructor:
William Flint
568-4012
Prerequisite:
None
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Description:
In this course we will investigate the impact
humans have on the environment from prehistoric times
through today and into the future. Through a combination of
lectures, discussions, literature and web searches, and
student presentation, we will become more aware of how our
activities impact the earth.
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Title:
WATER
PURIFICATION
Instructor:
Bill Latham
568-4105
Prerequisite:
none
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Description:
"Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink� Did you
ever wonder about the water that comes out a faucet or that we purchase
in a bottle of soda-pop. It may have been the same water that was
part of a hurricane, or the same water that irrigated our crops. We
need water to live by but not too much water. This course is
divided into three sections: Storm Water, Water Purification and Waste
Water. Special topics from each section will be assigned and discussed
as we learn to cope with our water needs.
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Title:
SCIENCE AND
ISSUES
Instructor:
Kit Murphy
568-2880
Prerequisite:
none
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Description:
Throughout your life, you will make decisions, either directly or
through your elected representatives, about issues that affect you
directly. For all of these issues, an understanding of the
scientific information relevant to the issue will be critical to making
a reasoned decision about that issue. The goal of this section of
GSCI 104 is to help you develop the necessary skills to make decisions
about scientifically related issues; these skills include identifying
and clarifying issues, generating the scientific and nonscientific
considerations that are important to deciding an issue, locating
reliable scientific information pertinent to an issue, and evaluating
that information critically. You will work in a group to
investigate in-depth an issue that is important to you, with the aim of
understanding the science behind the issue and using this information
to reach your own decision about the issue.
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Title:
BIOLOGY IN THE
NEWS
Instructor:
Grace
Wyngaard
568-6668
Prerequisite:
GSCI 103
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Description:
Have you ever questioned how some of the recent developments in biology
which are described in the news will affect you? This course will
critically analyze news items available to the public. Through a
combination of lectures, web assignments, writing assignments, and
discussion, we will interpret news articles and evaluate their validity
and relevance. Topics will include human health, ecology, and
other appropriate areas of interest to participating students.
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