This course will cover the origins of cancer and the genetic and cellular basis for cancer. It will examine the factors that have been implicated in triggering cancers; the intercellular interactions involved in cancer proliferation; current treatments for cancer and how these are designed; and future research and treatment directions for cancer therapy. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain how the perception of cancer and theories of its causes have changed throughout history because of important discoveries made by scientists, researchers, and physicians; summarize the importance of understanding cell biology in the study of cancer, its causes, it progression, and its treatment; outline the transcription and translation processes used to convert DNA into proteins and what changes occur that convert proto-oncogenes into oncogenes and lead to unchecked cell growth and cancer; compare and contrast the mechanisms by which activation of oncogenes, loss of tumor suppressors, loss of cell cycle checkpoints, and development of faulty DNA repair lead to cancer; describe the various cancer prevention mechanisms including risk assessment, screening, and lifestyle and environmental modification; list the past, current, and future cancer treatments and the mechanism by which these target cancer causing cells. (Biology 404)

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die is examined. What does it mean to say that a person has died? What kind of fact is that? And, finally, different attitudes to death are evaluated. Is death an evil? How? Why? Is suicide morally permissible? Is it rational? How should the knowledge that I am going to die affect the way I live my life?

This course introduces students to the major topics, problems, and methods of philosophy and surveys the writings of a number of major historical figures in the field. Several of the core areas of philosophy are explored, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of religion. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify and describe the major areas of philosophical inquiry, explain how those areas differ from and relate to one another, and place the views and arguments of major philosophical figures within those thematic categories; Use philosophical terminology correctly and consistently; Identify and describe the views of a number of major philosophers and articulate how these views are created in response to general philosophical problems or to the views of other philosophers; Explain the broad outlines of the history of philosophy as a framework that can be applied in more advanced courses; Identify strengths and weaknesses in the arguments philosophers have put forward for their views and formulate objections and counterarguments of your own invention; Apply critical thinking and reasoning skills in a wide range of career paths and courses of study. (Philosophy 101)

Subject examines classic texts from the history of Western moral philosophy, and their answers to the question of what is the best way to live. These texts include works by Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, and J. S. Mill. Among the questions that arise are: What is it to have a good life? How important is moral integrity, personal happiness, individual autonomy, and self expression, if one is to live in the best way that one can? Emphasis on close analysis and the evaluation of philosophical ideas and arguments. This course will focus on issues that arise in contemporary public debate concerning matters of social justice. Topics will likely include: euthanasia, gay marriage, racism and racial profiling, free speech, hunger and global inequality. Students will be exposed to multiple points of view on the topics and will be given guidance in analyzing the moral frameworks informing opposing positions. The goal will be to provide the basis for respectful and informed discussion of matters of common moral concern.

" This course will focus on issues that arise in contemporary public debate concerning matters of social justice. Topics will likely include: euthanasia, gay marriage, racism and racial profiling, free speech, hunger and global inequality. Students will be exposed to multiple points of view on the topics and will be given guidance in analyzing the moral frameworks informing opposing positions. The goal will be to provide the basis for respectful and informed discussion of matters of common moral concern."