Planetary Crises and Ecological and Cultural Transitions
Analysis of the social-environmental crisis and approaches to redress it, particularly those that posit ecological and cultural transitions beyond current globalization models. Participants will construct their own scenarios for transitions to sustainable and pluralistic societies. The course will have an in-built, collective research component. Intended for upper-division undergraduates.
First-Year Seminar: Crisis & Resilience: Past and Future of Human Societies
Adopting a long view of human societies, students examine responses to crises engendered by political, economic, and environmental factors. Perspectives on societal change – apocalyptic, transformational, and resilient – undergo scrutiny.
Gen Ed: BN, CI, FY-SEMINAR, HS
Ecology and Evolution
Principles governing the ecology and evolution of populations, communities, and ecosystems, including speciation, population genetics, population regulation, and community and ecosystem structure and dynamics. Three lecture hours and one recitation-demonstration-conference hour a week. Honors version available
The Physician’s Garden
First-year transfer students only. This course combines human cell biology and classical botany elaborating the mode of action of plant metabolites in humans. Hands-on experience includes visits to a pharmaceutical company, a botanical garden, and maintaining the campus medicinal garden.
Seafood Forensics
In this Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) class, students will use forensic sciences (primarily DNA barcoding technology) to quantify seafood mislabeling. Students will learn the importance of food labeling as well as its impact on marine ecosystems and human health.
Mountain Biodiversity
Introduction to the new field of biodiversity studies, which integrates approaches from systematics, ecology, evolution, and conservation. Taught at off-campus field station.
Course: BIOL 256, ENEC 256
Local Flora
Open to all undergraduates. North Carolina’s flora: recognition, identification, classification, evolution, history, economics, plant families, ecology, and conservation. Three lecture and three laboratory hours per week.
Course: BIOL 272, ENEC 272
Oceanography
Required preparation, major in a natural science or two courses in natural sciences. Studies origin of ocean basins, seawater chemistry and dynamics, biological communities, sedimentary record, and oceanographic history. Term paper. Students lacking science background should see MASC 101. Students may not receive credit for both MASC 101 and MASC 401.
Course: BIOL 350, MASC 401, ENVR 417, GEOL 403
Marine Microbial Symbioses: Exploring How Microbial Interactions Affect Ecosystems and Human Health
Course material covers host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions found in marine ecosystems, including beneficial and parasitic relationships among viruses, microbes, marine animals, and humans. Limited to upper-level undergraduate science majors and graduate students.
Course: BIOL 452, MASC 446
Marine Phytoplankton
Permission of the instructor. For junior and senior science majors or graduate students. Biology of marine photosynthetic protists and cyanobacteria. Phytoplankton evolution, biodiversity, structure, function, biogeochemical cycles and genomics. Harmful algal blooms, commercial products, and climate change. Three lecture/practical session hours per week.
Course: BIOL 456, MASC 444, ENEC 444
