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This foundational class covers modes of reasoning used in quantitative sciences and mathematics. While learning the art of mathematical modeling, i.e. translating the physical systems/real-life situations into mathematics, we will apply problem solving and practice effective communication of mathematics.

Differential equations are a powerful and pervasive mathematical tool in the sciences and are fundamental in pure mathematics as well. Almost every system whose components interact continuously over time can be modeled by a differential equation, and differential equation models and analyses of these systems are common in the literature in many fields including physics, ecology, biology, astronomy, and economics.

I would (and will) argue that Newton's Principia is the most important book yet written. It is certainly the most important book that a vanishingly small number of people have actually read.

In this intermediate course, students will learn about various art forms in Japan from pottery in the Jomon Era (about 14,000 BC – 300BC) to Takashi Murakami’s so-called “superflat,” a postmodern art movement, in the Heisei Era (1989 -2019).  As they learn about Japanese art, they will analyze elements of Japanese aesthetics that were shared in various art forms during each period.  Students will also examine what societal changes influenced the changes in art.  There are numerous points in the long Japanese history where the styles of Japanese art changed d

This course offers an immersive experience into the world of DNA, genes, and genomes in eukaryotic organisms.  In addition to getting a grasp of the foundational biology, students will engage with various online databases and resources, becoming familiar with the computational algorithms and methodologies used to mine and analyze the ever-increasing data generated from whole-genome sequencing, and consider how that improves our understanding of evolutionary relationships amongst organisms based on their molecular fingerprints.  In the second half of the term, students

Research questions in cell biology and biochemistry often require the ability to study the proteins at the heart of the inquiry.  This course will give students hands-on experience quantifying proteins, detecting protein expression, measuring enzymatic activity, assessing protein-protein interactions, purifying proteins, and visualizing fluorescently-labeled proteins in vivo.

This rigorous course provides a comprehensive introduction of the nervous system, including its structure, function, and development. Students will explore the principles of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that allow neurons and other specialized nervous cells to detect, encode, and transmit information; including signaling, synaptic transmission, and neuroplasticity.

In this low-intermediate course, students will learn and examine Japan’s drastic social changes during the Edo period and the Meiji period to investigate what equality and equity meant to Japanese people.  During the Edo Period (1603-1868), Japan closed its doors to other countries for about two hundred fifty years, and this isolation helped Japan develop its own unique culture. It, however, ended in 1867 when Japanese culture was introduced to the Western world at an International Exposition in Paris.

Rakugo is one of the traditional Japanese art and storytelling entertainment that became extremely popular during the Edo period (1603-1868).  Rakugo is a rather unique storytelling performance because a storyteller sits on a seat on the stage called “��Ǵdz���” and tells humorous stories without standing up from the seat.  Moreover, the storytellers narrate and play various characters by changing their voice, pitch, tone, facial expressions, and physical movements. 

Scanning electron microscopes are a fundamental tool in the physical and life sciences. When equipped with an X-Ray spectrometer, a SEM can provide rapid physical and chemical data of specimens on extremely small scales. This class with cover the theory and practical applications of SEM imaging and analysis for advanced science students who have their own research interests. Students will be expected to develop and conduct an independent research project through this class.

Together with calculus, linear algebra is one of the foundations of higher-level mathematics and its applications. This is NOT just the algebra you know from high school. There are several perspectives one can take on linear algebra: it is a method for handling large systems of linear equations, it is a theory of linear geometry (including in dimensions larger than three), it is matrix algebra, and it is a theoretical structure that appears throughout mathematics, physics, computer science, and statistics.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mathematics underwent a vast expansion, into new, exciting, and increasingly counter-intuitive realms. The subject risked mystification and mutual incomprehensibility between experts in different sub-fields. In the first part of the twentieth century, a group of French mathematicians, under the pseudonym Bourbaki, undertook an ultimately successful program to use the foundation of set theory to put all of mathematics onto a common conceptual and logical foundation.

Bennington’s campus supports beautiful examples of temperate deciduous mixed hardwood forests. This class is a deep dive into forest ecology, land use change, and forest succession at a local scale. Students will explore the local forest community composition, structure, and function over the last 15,000 years and discuss the environmental conditions, disturbance dynamics, and biotic interactions responsible for the forest we have today.

Evolution is the unifying theory of biology, explaining the diversity of life on Earth and the mechanisms that drive adaptation and speciation. This course will explore the core principles of evolutionary biology, including natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and the interplay between evolutionary processes and ecological contexts. We will examine key evolutionary events, from the origins of life to the development of complex traits, using case studies across diverse taxa.

In this introductory-level Japanese course, students will explore Japan’s artistic treasures and diverse art forms to examine Japanese visual culture, history, and society while developing and practicing basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Japanese. This course offers a fun and dynamic way to begin your journey to study the Japanese language and culture.