79-326 The role of the environment in the collapse of ancient complex societies
Instructor: Ruth Fauman-Fichman
Description
Complex societies have come and gone. This course will explore how management (and mismanagement) of the environment interacted with political and cultural processes to contribute to the collapse of ancient societies. Taking an anthropological approach that includes geography, ecology, history and archaeology, the course will examine case studies from ancient complex societies of the Americas, Asia and the Near East. Students will look at the role of the environment together with technology, political action, religion, culture, migration and individual agency in shaping the long term trajectories of collapse. Drawing on these themes, discussion will critically consider current world and local conditions for similarities and analogies to the past.
99-241 Revolutions of Circularity
Instructor: William Alba
Description:
Consider the circle. In this course we will investigate how the apparently simple concept of circularity (both in stillness and in motion) has accreted meaning. Starting with the circle as presented in early geometry, we will encompass circularity in ancient and Renaissance astronomy as well as classical. We will also discuss appearances of the circle in literature, philosophy, and art since our study will reveal connections such as how Aristotle's views on nature influenced Ptolemy and an understanding of our place in relation to the world, including central imagery in the poetry of Donne. As we demonstrate proofs and analyze texts, circularity will emerge not only as a device through which intellectual revolutions have occurred, but also as an object that has itself been transformed over the centuries. REGISTRATION FOR THIS COURSE REQUIRES PERMISSION FROM THE INSTRUCTOR. PLEASE CONTACT DR. WILLIAM ALBA AT alba@andrew.cmu.edu OR CALL 412-268-7333.
27-100 Engineering the Materials of the Future
Instructors: Robert Heard, Lisa Porter
Description:
Materials form the foundation for all engineering applications. Advances in materials and their processing are driving all technologies, including the broad areas of nano-, bio-, energy, and electronic (information) technology. Performance requirements for future applications require that engineers continue to design both new structures and new processing methods in order to engineer materials having improved properties. Applications such as optical communication, tissue and bone replacement, fuel cells, and information storage, to name a few, exemplify areas where new materials are required to realize many of the envisioned future technologies. This course provides an introduction to how science and engineering can be exploited to design materials for many applications. The principles behind the design and exploitation of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites are presented using examples from everyday life, as well as from existing, new, and future technologies. A series of laboratory experiments are used as a hands-on approach to illustrating modern practices used in the processing and characterization of materials and for understanding and improving materials' properties. Corequisites: 21120 , 33106
99-238 Materials, Energy and Environment
Instructor: Robert Heard
The course builds a relationship between materials and energy in the context of a society’s consumption and then illustrates the influence this has on the environment. This interdependence is represented by the figure below.
Material selection and application have major ecological implications on energy consumption, material resources and have direct environmental impact. These, in turn, impact society. Awareness of the complicated interaction is paramount for continued advancement of civilization. With the scale of industrialization that exists on our planet, consideration of resource management, ethical material selection choices, energy management, and final disposal are all necessary to ensure a sustainable future.
After completing this course you will recognize the relationships between materials and energy consumption, and the interplay of materials availability, energy availability and social development.
You should be able to appraise environmental lifecycle implications of material use and energy sources and develop a self awareness of the influence consumers have on the material and energy consumption by a society. Prerequisites: None.
99-305: “The Year is 1905”: E= mc2, photons and relativity
Instructors: Gregg Franklin and Indira Nair
Description
1905 has been called “Annus Mirabilis”, the year of miracles in Physics because Albert Einstein, then a patent clerk in Switzerland, published four papers that changed the face of physics. In 1905, Einstein revolutionized much of science with three groundbreaking advances: he proved the existence of atoms and molecules, he validated the emerging field of quantum mechanics, and he developed the theory of special relativity - which led to the most famous equation ever written, E=mc2. The United Nations officially declared 2005 the International Year of Physics, and more than thirty nations participated in the year-long celebrations with public lectures, museum exhibits, and educational projects.
The primary objective of the course is to make the “miracle” of 1905 conceptually accessible to all students and to place the discoveries in the contexts of history and culture. In addition to the basic physical principles of the discoveries, this course will look at the phenomenon of 1905 with lenses of history, sociology and of the culture of science. Texts will include the books E= mc2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis and Einstein: A Life in Science by Michael White and John Gribbin, supplemented by readings on the culture and history of science, such as works by Thomas Kuhn and others. Students will discover the significance of Einstein’s work with a survey of the history of concepts that led up to that point, the culture of the doing of science, the importance of the 1905 papers, and the social and historical consequences of E=mc2.
Open to students of all majors and years.
48576 Mapping Urbanism
Instructor: Kelly Hutzell
Description:
The aim of this course is to provide future architects and urban designers with the critical tools necessary to examine the city as both a representation and a reality in flux. Physical, psychological and social processes and the relationships between them will be thoroughly examined through the juxtaposition of geography, history, sociology and ideology. Investigations and recordings will be processed and distilled into micro and macro readings, challenging the notion of site as a bounded place. The course will be conducted through an interdisciplinary framework and explored utilizing a diverse set of tools. Weekly lectures will introduce world cities and their typologies ¿ e.g. the shrinking city, the growing city, the megalopolis, etc. New definitions of urbanity will be examined through readings of both fiction and non-fiction, the viewing of cultural and controversial films, and individual observations gained from field investigations. Parallel to these urban explorations, we will study and employ a variety of tools with which to map urbanism: from traditional mapping techniques such as navigational charts and Nolli plans, to more contemporary experimental explorations which draw from leading architectural critiques of recent decades as well as related fields such as art and interactive digital design. Weekly assignments will include student projects and presentations that synthesize required readings, writing and mapping. The final outcome will involve case studies of multiply scaled sites and/or local site investigations and the utilization of various representational techniques to create inventive mappings, possibly documented in a multi-media format. Our aim will be to learn new ways of seeing the city, resulting in a more holistic and sensitive awareness for the architectural site.
Prerequisites: None.
(Funded by president Cohon’s Global Course Initiative)
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