Courses
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CAS CC 101: Ancient Worlds: Core Humanities 1
An interdisciplinary study of the origins of civilization, from Mesopotamia and the Hebrew Bible to the development of Greek civilization through Homer, tragedy, and the philosophy of Plato. We consider the contrasting values of the different cultures that have contributed to our own worldview with particular relation to the tension and or cooperation between the individual and society. Students also explore the nature of creativity in the works studied and by engaging with the visual culture of ancient Greece and the relation of beauty and power in the Parthenon and works at the MFA Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation. -
CAS CC 102: The Way: from Antiquity to the the Medieval World: Core Humanities 2
How to live: examining Aristotle, Confucius, Laozi, the Bhagavad-gita, Virgil, and the Gospels, students compare Biblical and Classical, and explore Eastern, views of "The Way," or the best human life, concluding with Dante's Divine Comedy. A focus on writing and oral / signed communication leads to an exploration of the nature of communication, while a study of Western and Asian art at the Museum of Fine Arts brings out the contrast of traditions and deepens Core's overall study of the relation of the individual to culture and to nature. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: First-Year Writing Seminar, Oral and/or Signed Communication. -
CAS CC 111: Origins: the Big Bang, Earth, Life, and Humanity: Core Natural Sciences 1
The origins of the physical world, a scientific parallel to CC 101. Explores how the fields of astronomy, earth science, biology, and anthropology help us to understand, from a scientific perspective, our place in the cosmos. Topics include Big Bang theory, evolution of the stars and earth, evolution of life, and the origins of human life and society. Assignments include computer-based and experimental laboratory work as well as team-based investigation and original research. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS CC 112: Religion, Community, and the Birth of the Social Sciences: Core Social Science 1
Examines the religious basis of society alongside various attempts to reform it (St. Augustine, Luther and Calvin, John Locke), early European attempts to understand other cultures (Spanish missionaries in Latin America, Jesuits in China) and concludes with twentieth-century social scientists analyzing religious experience (William James, Durkheim, Evans-Pritchard). We discuss what is a just war, whether we have natural rights, and whether tolerance is a utopian ideal, with a particular focus on the nature of critical thought and the various modes of argumentation employed in the works studied Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. -
CAS CC 201: The Renaissance, Rediscovery, and Reformation: Core Humanities 3
Reading Petrarch, Machiavelli, Montaigne, Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Descartes, we examine the revival of the Classics and explore the new interest in the physical world and the nature of authority. Topics studied include the rise of national literatures, the origins of modern political and scientific thought, and the beginning of the novel. A study of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Bach's music adds to our understanding of the foundations of the modern world, and a focus on writing and research complements our concern with authorship and its multiple modes of communication. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing, Research, and Inquiry; Research and Information Literacy. -
CAS CC 202: From Enlightenment and Romantic Revolt to the Modern World: Core Humanities 4
Through Voltaire, Kant, Austen, the English Romantic Poets, Whitman and Dickinson, as well as the music of Beethoven, we examine questions of social hierarchy and what it means to know, the relation of subjectivity to reason, and our relationship with nature. Then, from the radical perspective of Nietzsche, returning to 20th-century America with W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk, and ending with Virginia Woolf's Modernist response to World War I, we see the roots of the modern world's questioning of what is knowable and our revaluation of the moral and philosophic bases of human life. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Writing-intensive Course. -
CAS CC 211: Power, Political Forms, and Economics: Core Social Science 2
Builds on CC 112, considering the major events and processes that have shaped the modern world, and looks at the roots of these changes in the works studied in first year Core. Ideas of human rights and self-determination, the relation of the individual and society, and the relation of power and economics to society. Readings are drawn from classic works of social and political theory: Thucydides, Ibn Khaldun, Hobbes, Rousseau, Tocqueville, Weber, Adam Smith, Marx, Durkheim, and Malinowski. The course is writing intensive. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Writing-intensive Course. -
CAS CC 212: Reality, Science, and the Modern World: Core Natural Science 2
Studies the paradigm-shifting scientific theories of quantum theory and relativity that created a new world view and forced the 20th century into a new understanding of our relation to reality. Examines chaos theory and parallels these ideas with current debates and discoveries in science, such as climate change and the phenomenon of allegedly "junk science". Considers the role of science in the modern world, how we know what we know, and the nature of truth in a 21st century context. -
CAS CG 212: Intermediate Modern Greek 2
Discussion in Greek on everyday themes. Development of reading skills through the analysis of contemporary texts. Analysis of contrasting modes of expression and their influence on separate national cultures in Greek and in English. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CAS CG 359: Cavafy and History
A study of the Modern Greek poet, Konstantinos Kavafis (Cavafy), addressing the historical background, themes, and settings of his works, which treat periods ranging from the Trojan War through the Hellenistic Period to Late Antiquity. Taught in English. Also offered as CAS CL 359. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CAS CH 101: General Chemistry 1
For science majors and minors who require a two-semester general chemistry course. Topics include: atoms and molecules; molecular connectivity, infrared spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry; stoichiometry and introduction to reactions in aqueous solutions; thermochemistry and the first law of thermodynamics; quantum aspects of light and matter; and bonding in diatomic and polyatomic molecules. Laboratory exercises include: the size of an atom, qualitative analysis, thermochemistry, and quantum aspects. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I. -
CAS CH 102: General Chemistry 2
For science majors and minors who require a two-semester general chemistry course. Topics include the following: properties of gases; solutions and solubility; equilibrium; acids, bases and buffers; electrochemistry; spontaneity; free energy and the second law of thermodynamics; and chemical kinetics. Students must have completed CAS CH 101 prior to enrolling in CAS CH 102. Students must register for the following four (4) course components: lecture, discussion, pre-lab lecture, and laboratory. Carriers natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I. -
CAS CH 109: General and Quantitative Analytical Chemistry 1
First of two-semester sequence for students concentrating in the sciences. Stoichiometry, acids, bases, liquids, solids, solutions, equilibria, thermodynamics, kinetics, electrochemistry, atomic structure, bonding, and selected chemical systems. Correlated laboratory experiments emphasizing quantitative analysis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, one hour lab lecture, four hours lab. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Critical Thinking. -
CAS CH 110: General and Quantitative Analytical Chemistry 2
Second of two-semester sequence for students concentrating in the sciences. Buiilding from the basis of the first semester, the second semester will cover acids, bases, equilibria, thermodynamics, kinetics, electrochemistry,and selected chemical systems as case studies. Correlated laboratory experiments emphasizing quantitative analysis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, one hour lab lecture, four hours lab. Carries scientific inquiry II credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking. -
CAS CH 111: Intensive General and Quantitative Analytical Chemistry 1
First semester of intensive two-semester sequence for well-prepared students concentrating in chemistry or other sciences. Priority given to chemistry concentrators. Brief review of stoichiometry, gas laws; extensive consideration of equilibrium, thermodynamics, atomic and molecular structure, kinetics; application of principles to selected elements and compounds. Correlated laboratory experiments emphasizing applications of quantitative analysis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, four hours lab. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Critical Thinking, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CAS CH 112: Intensive General and Quantitative Analytical Chemistry 2
Second semester of intensive two-semester sequence for well-prepared students concentrating in chemistry or other sciences. Priority given to chemistry concentrators. Brief review of stoichiometry, gas laws; extensive consideration of equilibrium, thermodynamics, atomic and molecular structure, kinetics; application of principles to selected elements and compounds. Correlated laboratory experiments emphasizing applications of quantitative analysis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, one hour lab lecture, four hours lab. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Writing, Research and Inquiry, Research and Information Literacy, Critical Thinking. -
CAS CH 121: Chemistry in Culture & Society
The course is intended to provide scientific fluency in the basic concepts of chemistry, to understand basic, scientific principles and make informed decisions as an essential feature of an advanced society and culture. Contemporary topics including sustainable energy, nutrition, 3D printing, scientific ethics and many others will be explored. Carries natural science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. -
CAS CH 131: General Chemistry for the Engineering Sciences
A one-semester, terminal general chemistry course for students who do not require a two-semester sequence. Lecture topics include stoichiometry; atomic and molecular structure; theories of bonding; chemistry of the solid, liquid, and gaseous states; properties of solutions; chemical thermodynamics; equilibrium; acids and bases; electrochemistry. Laboratory includes training in basic laboratory techniques such as data collection and recording, statistical interpretation of data, solution preparation, titrations, conducting chemical reactions, use of spectrophotometers, pH and voltmeters. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I. -
CAS CH 171: Principles of General Chemistry
Introduction to chemistry: separation and purification of matter, atomic theory, structure of atoms, molecules and chemical bonding, chemical formulas, equations, stoichiometry; water, solutions, concentration, acids, bases, pH and buffers; gases; reaction kinetics and equilibrium, and radioactivity. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, one hour prelab lecture, and three hours lab. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I. -
CAS CH 181: Intensive General and Physical Chemistry 1
First semester of intensive two-semester sequence for well-prepared students concentrating in chemistry or other sciences. Priority given to chemistry concentrators. Brief review of stoichiometry, gas laws; extensive consideration of equilibrium, thermodynamics, atomic and molecular structure, kinetics; application of principles to selected elements and compounds. Correlated laboratory experiments emphasizing applications of quantitative analysis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, four hours lab. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Critical Thinking, Teamwork/Collaboration.
