school of social science - Hampshire College

CCS 219
THE EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR OF DOMESTIC
ANIMALS
Raymond Coppinger
Domestic catrle. swine, and fowl cominue to have a
major impact on human culture and the ecology of the earth.
These animals are also fascinating to study from a behavior,
and evoludonary point of view. Selections for growth rate,
reproducdve rate, and docile behavior gave us a practical
understanding of the evolutionary process and were a major
factor in tipping Darwin off to natural selection. Many of
these animals' ancestors still exist and have been srudied in
detail. Their descendants exist locally and are available for
study in theif "natural environment."
We will study in detail the evolution of behavior and will
explore the processes of evolutionary change, such as neoteny
and allometry. Students should have some training in
genetics, anatomy, physiology, and basic behavior, or must
expect to make up any deficiencies during the course.
Class will meet twice a week for one hour and twenty
minutes each time. Enrollmem is limited to 25.
CCS 221
SOUND, MUSIC, AND MIND
Neil Stillings
This course is an introduction to the cognitive science of
sound and music. We will study the physical nature of sound.
the biology of the auditory system, and the cognitive psychology
of auditory perception, beginning with the perception of
basic acoustic qualities, such as pitch and loudness, and
moving on to the perception of complex auditory events,
which can involve memory and learning. We will also look at
the human production of vocal and instrumental sounds. A
main goal of the course is to illuminate the perception and
production of music through a basic scientific understanding
of sound, hearing, and human skill acquisition. We will
conduct at least one laboratory experiment during the term. A
term paper or project is required. Musical knowledge is not a
prerequisite for the course, although it is welcome.
Class will meet twice a week for one hour and twenty
minutes each time. Enrollment is limited to 25.
CCS 222
SCRIPTWRITING
TBA
CCS 226
THEORY OF LANGUAGE, SYNTAX
Steven Weisler
Given the ease with which we put our thoughts into
language and are understood by others. the connection
between sound and meaning must be mediated by a powerful
systematic set of principles, shared by all of the speakers of a
language, that can accommodate the inexhaustible variety and
novelty of the messages required in human life. Contemporary
linguists believe these principles of language constitute a
biological capacity whose properties must be uncovered by
careful scientific investigation.
This class is part of a multicourse core sequence in
linguistics. The course will focus on syntacdc theory (the
principles of sentence formation). Class will meet twice a
week for one hour and twenty minutes each time. Enrollment
limit is 25.
73
ISPRINGI
CCS/HA 234
TRAVELING IDENTITIES: EMIGRANTS,
IMMIGRANTS, EXILES, AND SOJOURNERS IN FILM,
LITERATURE, AND CULTURE
Eva Rueschmann
This seminar focuses on the experiences of emigrams,
immigrams, exiles, and sojourners, which have inspired a
number of recem and comemporary novels, feature films,
documentaries, autobiographies, and theoretical debates about
cultural identity and place. Using cultural studies of travel and
displacemem, ethnic studies, and psychoanalytic theories of
identity as critical frameworks for discussion, we will examine
some of the following issues arising out of cinematic, fictional,
autobiographical, and theoretical texts on migration and
displacement: the complexities of adaptation or resistance to
new cultures; culture transfer, hybridity and biculturality; the
journey as metaphor, escape, physical ordeal, and psychological
odyssey; the meanings of nostalgia and home;
intergenerational conflicts between tradition and modernity;
protagonists' and artists' representation and negotiations of
national and ethnic identity; the cultural and psychological
consequences of border crossings; and the interconnections
between language, culture, and sense of self.
Class will meet twice a week for one hour and twenty
minutes. Enrollmem is 25.
CCS 239
TOPICS IN CULTURAL STUDIES: FREUD
Walid Ra'ad
In this seminar we will examine some central concepts in
psychoanalytic thought, especially as they are formulated in
the works of Sigmund Freud. We will concentrate on Freud's
and Breuer's Studies on Hysteria, Freud's The Interpretation of
Dreams, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Three Essays on the
Theory of Sexuality, The Ego and the [d, and other essays.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Cultural Studies or Methods in
Cultural Studies.
Class will meet once a week for two hours and fifty
minutes. Enrollment limit is 20.
CCS 240
VIDEO II, STUDIO PRODUCTION
TBA
CCS 242
BIOACOUSTICS
Mark Feinstein
Sound plays a critical role in the life of many biological
organisms. In this course we will examine the physical nature
of acoustic events, the anatomy and physiology of sound
production and perception in a variety of species, and the
functional and evolutionary significance of bioacollstic
behavior. Among the special topics to be considered are the
relationship of acoustic structure and behavioral function in
communicative signals; neurophysiological and behavioral
characteristics of ultrasonic echolocation systems (as in bats
and cetaceans); and information.gathering through the
acoustic channel, in domains such as predation, predatoravoidance.
population assessment, mate selection. and social
interaction. Students will be expected to carry out an experiment
andlor instrumental analysis bearing on issues raised in
the course.