2014-15 Pomona College Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2014-15 Pomona College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG] Use the dropdown above to select the current 2023-24 catalog.

New and Revised Courses


The following courses are pending approval by Pomona College faculty for 2015-16.

New Courses


Revised Courses


BIOL103  PO. Invasion Biology. W. Meyer. This seminar course will examine the primary literature to explore theories, models, patterns, and predictive methods relating to the introduction, establishment, and spread of introduced organisms. The focus will be on the application of principles of invasion biology to conservation and natural resource management. Letter grade only. Prerequisites: BIOL041E PO or equivalent. Previously offered as BIOL189B PO.

CHEM158A PO. Physical Chemistry. F. Grieman. Quantum mechanics with applications to chemical bonding, molecular spectroscopy, and molecular modeling. Introduction to statistical mechanics. Prerequisites: MATH032  PO or MATH107  PO; PHYS041  PO and PHYS042  PO or PHYS071  PO, PHYS071  PO, and PHYS072  PO.

CHST191  CH. Chicana/o Latina/o Studies Senior Thesis. M. Tinker Salas. The independent research and writing project should culminate in substantial and original work. Directed by one faculty member, chosen by the student from the ICDCLS faculty. One additional reader must read each thesis. Students give an oral presentation of their work. The Chicana/o Latina/o senior thesis concludes undergraduate study and may only be taken during the senior year. Letter grade only. Prerequisites: CHST 190  CH.

ECON163  PO. Advanced Topics in International Macroeconomics. M. Goel. This course surveys recent international macroeconomic research topics including misallocation of resources and their impact on growth, labor market frictions, product churning and innovation in developing countries, firm dynamics and growth, and corruption and growth. In addition to lecture, students will read and present recent research articles, and participate in class discussions. Prerequisites: ECON101  PO, ECON102  PO, and ECON107  PO, or ECON167  PO.

FREN110  PO. French Films. V. Pouzet-Duzer. The aesthetics of a small selection of French films and the cultural, philosophical and political cultures out of which they were produced as an introduction to the major styles, periods, and directors of French cinema. Linguistic, technical and theoretical tools for cinematic analysis in French. Oral and written expression through discussion, essays and oral presentations.  Possible filmmakers include Meliès, Renoir, Resnais, Rohmer, Truffaut, Godard, Kurys, Varda, Malle and Garrel. Letter grade only. Prerequisites: FREN044  PO.

HIST042  PO. Worlds of Islam. A. Khazeni. A global history of Islamic societies since the fourteenth-century, examining the period when Islam became a world religion.  Approaches the integrated histories of the Asian, African, and Indian Ocean worlds. (Africa/African Diaspora, South Asia, and the Middle East.

HIST073  PO. Ordinary People. G. Kates. How did common Europeans live before industrialization?  Marriage & love, conflict and violence, heresy and belief, work and play, environment & food production; family and childrearing; health and dying.  Approaches from key schools of history, including Marxism, Annales School, and microhistory.

HIST172  PO. Enlightenment and Capitalism. G. Kates. During the eighteenth-century, Enlightenment writers debated the benefits – both material and moral – of a market-driven economy and the inequality brought by commercial prosperity. We focus on the social, economic and political thought of Bernard Mandeville, David Hume, Adam Smith and Jean Jacques Rousseau. (Europe Since the Renaissance). Previously offered as HIST100Y PO.

LGCS185C PO. Topics in Cognitive Science. L. Johnson. An examination of one or more central topics in cognitive science. Normally to be taken in the junior year. Topics vary from year to year. Prerequisite: LGCS011  PO. May be repeated for credit. Previously offered as LGCS175  PO.

MATH029  PO. Calculus and Applied Mathematics for Science and Economics. E. Flapan. This course will introduce students to calculus and teach students to solve quantitative problems arising in science and economics. Topics covered will include unit conversions, proportions, concentrations, significant figures, exponents, logarithms, word problems, systems of linear equations, a brief look at trigonometry, an introduction to derivatives, rates of change, anti-derivatives, definite integrals and area under a curve. This course is a good option for students interested in careers in the health sciences and economics.  Students who took Calculus in high school and want more experience with applied problem solving can take MATH029  PO followed by MATH031  PO.

MATH032S PO. Calculus III with Applications to the Life Sciences. A. Radunskaya. Calculus III with Applications to the Life Sciences. Presents the core topics of Multivariable Calculus (MATH032  PO) and probability in the context of problems from the life sciences. Topics include: vector fields, limits and continuity, differentiability, linearization, linear systems theory, multiple integrals, line integrals, and Green’s Theorem. Applications include models of species interaction in ecosystems, the spread of disease and mutations. Provides an excellent background for students who intend to go on to MATH102  PO as well as for students taking a mathematical modeling course (e.g. MATH183  PO) or a course on dynamical systems (e.g. Math 112). Prerequisites: MATH031 PO (C- or better) or satisfactory score on placement exam.

MATH102  PO. Differential Equations and Modeling. A. Radunskaya. Introduction to theory of ordinary differential equations, with applications to modeling in physical, biological and social sciences. Emphasis on qualitative study of differential equations via analytic methods or numerical techniques using standard mathematical software packages. A good understanding of theory of vector spaces and linear transformations is assumed. Prerequisites: MATH032  PO or MATH067  PO; and MATH060  PO or MATH032S  PO and permission of instructor.

MUS 058  PO. Beethoven and his Sphere of Influence. D. Di Grazia. This course examines Beethoven’s life and creative output in the context of the political and social milieu of early nineteenth-century Europe, as well as his considerable sphere of influence on composers throughout the rest of the century. Students will study works from Beethoven’s entire career, including symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber music, and vocal music. Discussions will include music by earlier composers, such as Mozart and Haydn, from which Beethoven drew considerable inspiration, and works by later nineteenth-century masters, including Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, Antonín Dvořák, Gustav Mahler, and others whose works owe a significant debt to Beethoven’s genius.

PHIL115  PO. Heidegger and the Tradition. S. Erickson. A study of Heidegger’s reflections on art, technology and meaning, with reference to his views on Hegel, Nietzsche and others. Letter grade only. Previously offered as PHIL186E PO.

POLI010  PO. Political Freedom. J. Seery. A theoretical study of the pursuit of freedom through politics. Topics include freedom and authority; equality and liberty; rights, dissent, revolution; community versus individuality; excitable speech; considerations of culture, class, gender, race, embodiment; and technology. Readings from Mill, Locke, Jefferson, Madison, Plato, Dostoevski, Rousseau, Marx, Shelley, Sartre, Freud, Wright, Douglass, Swift, Thoreau, Emerson, Arendt, Cervantes, Ignatieff, Weil, Havel; films.   

PSYC190  PO. Senior Seminar in Psychology. Staff. An overview and integration of psychology that examines the nature of basic and applied research and theory in the field. Lecture, discussion and in-class presentations. Letter grade only.