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Because Biology is such a large and diverse area, it is impossible to
prescribe any particular course or series of courses that would be useful
for all Biology students. We expect every student to become a professionally
competent scholar in his or her chosen area of Biology. This may require
general knowledge of mathematics (through calculus), physics and chemistry
as well as the appropriate courses in Biology. To that end, each student
must consult with his or her advisor to establish a program pertinent
to that student’s goals. CCS courses in Biology are designed to
augment and expand, rather than repeat, courses in Letters and Science,
and are intended to engender a desire to think and to analyze. CCS courses
change every year; a sample of offerings is shown below as an indication
of what may be available.
Topics in Biology
(2 units) A ten-week course in which three biology instructors will introduce
you to the philosophy, content, methodologies and excitements of their
particular areas of interest in biology. The course will range from molecules
to oceans, from cells to sand crabs, from cancer to plant pathology. This
course is usually offered every two years. It is strongly recommended
to all biology students.
Biology Colloquium (1-2
units)
Being a biologist is often as much a way of life as it is a profession that
one trains for. Frequently, those who enter into the biology major do it
without fully reflecting upon the reasons why, or examining all the aspects
that are required to evolve from a major to a professional Biologist. In
some cases this absence of reflection interferes with a successful undergraduate
career - in others, a full recognition of what it is to “do science” does
not arrive until later in one’s career - if ever.
The goals of Colloquium are as follows:
1. To lead students to develop a personal understanding of why they
are pursuing the biology major, and why they are doing it in the research-oriented
environment of CCS.
2. To offer a forum to develop an idea of what science is... and is
not. Also to develop an understanding of and respect for the different modes
of “doing science”, including hypothetico-deductive versus the
inductive approach, and observational versus the experimental approach.
3. To introduce biology students in CCS to each other and to allow
an exchange of experience through discussions and presentations of student
research. In sum, this experience should lead students to develop individual
abilities to identify problems of interest, and to provide them with the background
that will allow them to select a research topic and develop it with a research
advisor in her/his laboratory.
AIDS: Transmission, Politics
and Economics (2-4 units)
AIDS is the disease that has captured the attention of the nation, perhaps
of the world. It has altered our social behavior, has substantially intruded
into the American political process and has greatly affected the economics
of health care. Reacting to this disease, political actions and economic
forces are, in large part, determining who shall live and who shall die.
This course will have four parts: Biology, Politics, Economics, and Future
Projections. First we will review the brief history of AIDS, reviewing
the recognition of the syndrome, the first epidemiological information,
and the race to define the causal agent. We will examine the spread of
the disease to other risk groups and briefly consider it as a national
and international problem. We will study mathematical models of the disease,
biology of associated (mostly parasitic) infections, examine the assessment
of risk and contrast AIDS in Africa with the disease in the USA.
In the political part of the course, we will examine the politics of affected
and unaffected groups, compare national programs, review the role of the
press and consider the research funding situation. We will then consider
the economic impact on treatment and its affect on epidemiology (transmission).
We will place AIDS funding in context of other health needs and study
the distribution of research funding.
Finally we will project the future of AIDS and consider future research
needs. Throughout the course we will discuss current events as they occur.
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