Courses

NOTE: This site is an archive of 2010–2011 programs and policies at Boston University Metropolitan College. If you are looking for current information about Metropolitan College and its programs, please go to our official website: www.bu.edu/met.

• MET ML 708: Directed Study
  Prereq: consent of coordinator.
• MET ML 709: Directed Study
  
• MET ML 711: Special Topic: The Many Meanings of Meat
  There is perhaps no foodstuff more prized than meat, and there is none more problematic. Long associated with power, masculinity, vitality, and progress, meat is also linked to imperialism, sexism, speciesism, environmental collapse, foodborne disease, and chronic illness. In this comprehensive overview we will examine meat’s many historical, economic, ecological, ethical, and nutritional dimensions. Coursework will include a wide variety of readings, online discussions, written assignments, field trips, and other experiential opportunities. 4 credits
• MET ML 712: The Sociology of Food and Labor
  Course will examine the work of producing food, from agriculture to domestic consumption and everything in between. It will focus on sociological frameworks for thinking about the labor of growing food, transporting it, transforming it into comestibles, and finally serving and cleaning related to food consumption. With some emphasis on the Americas, the course will also consider the way global labor shapes the availability of food for different populations. It will also include a substantial analysis of gender, race, and social class as factors in the division of food labor. Readings and discussion will touch on migrant labor, domestic cooking, waiting and serving, growing and butchering, cooks and chefs, and more. Course is structured around three meetings and online instruction.
• MET ML 713: Agricultural History: a Survey of Agriculture form the Pre-Historic Period to the Modern Period
  This course examines the history of agriculture within a broad interdisciplinary context with discussion of the relationships between the environment, populations, cultures, technologies, economics, and politics as they shape agricultural history. Emphasis on food production within different civilizations and continents from the prehistoric period to the modern era. 4 cr
• MET ML 715: Experiencing Food Through the Senses
  This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of the sensory foundations and implications of food. We will study the senses as physical and cultural phenomena, the evolving concepts of terroir and craft, human nutritional and behavioral science, sensory perception and function, and the sensory and scientific aspects of food preparation and consumption. Understanding these processes, constructions and theories is key to understanding a vast array of food-related topics; cheese-making, wine-tasting, fermentation, food preservation, culinary tools and methods, cravings and food avoidance, sustainability and terroir, to name just a few.
• MET ML 720: Food Policy and Food Systems
  This core course in the Food Policy Concentration will cover political, economic, and ecological concepts and approaches to food policies. 4 cr
• MET ML 800: Masters Project
  Upon completion of courses and all requirements for the degree, the final project or thesis is required under the direction of a Gastronomy faculty member. A topic, outline, and completed schedule must be approved by the academic advisor to the Gastronomy Program. 2 cr
• MET ML 801: Masters Thesis
  Upon completion of courses and all requirements for the degree, the final thesis or project is required under the direction of a Gastronomy faculty member. A topic, thesis outline, and a completion schedule must be approved by the academic advisor to the Gastronomy Program. 4 cr
• MET PH 101: Basic Problems of Philosophy
  Introduction to classical philosophical problems concerning human nature and knowledge, freedom and morality, and reason and justice.
• MET PH 110: Great Philosophers
  Introduction to the life and thought of five preeminent philosophers from classical times through the modern era.
• MET PH 150: Introduction to Ethics
  Who ought we to be, what ought we to do, what ought we to strive for? Examination of our obligations to ourselves, to other humans, and to the natural world in light of ethical theory and contemporary problems. Readings from a wide range of texts in philosophical ethics.
• MET PH 155: Politics and Philosophy
  A study of the theoretical foundations of modern industrial democracy, with special attention paid to the Enlightenment. Readings from Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, Madison and Toqueville. 4cr.
• MET PH 160: Reasoning and Argumentation
  A systematic study of the principles of both deductive and informal reasoning, with an emphasis on reasoning and argumentation in ordinary discourse.
• MET PH 248: Existentialism
  Analysis of existentialism as a movement or orientation in contemporary philosophy. Topics include contingency and the grounds for belief and value; depth, superficiality, and the intense life; commitment and open-mindedness; tragedy and the healthy self; boredom, anxiety, and adventure; and existentialism as a philosophy of the possible.
• MET PH 265: Minds and Machines
  An examination of the efforts of artificial intelligence to model the human mind and explain human thought by means of suitably programmed computers. Attention is given to the historical and mathematical origins of such efforts, as well as the main psychological and philosophical assumptions on which they depend.
• MET PH 270: Philosophy of Science
  Main features of the scientific enterprise will be illustrated by examples in the study of physics, biology, and mind: the aims of scientific activities, the nature of scientific understanding and procedures, the structure and interpretation of scientific theories, and the development of science.
• MET PH 300: History of Ancient Philosophy
  Classical Greek philosophy from the pre-Socratics through Plato and Aristotle.
• MET PH 310: History of Modern Philosophy
  Main currents of modern philosophical thought from Descartes through Kant.
• MET PO 241: Introduction to Public Policy
  Undergraduate core course. Analysis of several issue areas: civil rights, school desegregation, welfare and social policy, education and urban housing, energy and the environment. Characteristics of policy systems in each issue area are analyzed to identify factors which may affect the content and implementation of public policies.

Note that this information may change at any time.

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