2007 Spring Term
BIOLOGY 48 - Genetics, Genomics, & Society
Instructor: Hill and Haga
Introduction to the principles of both classical and molecular genetics with an emphasis on genetic advances and their social and ethical implications. Basic topics including genetic transmission, genome organization, and gene expression will be interwoven with contemporary genetic issues such as genetically modified crops, gene therapy and genetic testing. A working knowledge of genetics to be developed and applied to understanding and debating present and future societal concerns related to advances in genetics. Intended for non-Biology majors. Not open to students who have taken Biology 118.
BIOLOGY 118 - Genetics and Molecular Biology
Instructor: Hill and Mitchell-Olds
Explores flow of information from gene to phenotype. Social implications of modern genetic analysis and the genomic revolution. Topics include: organization and stability of genomes from bacteria to higher vertebrates (humans), conversion of the genetic code into a functioning organism, classical transmission (Mendelian) genetics and its relevance to human hereditary disorders, content of the genome and social implications of genetic knowledge including issues of genetic privacy, eugenics, genetically modified organism, and cloning. Prerequisite: Chemistry 22L or equivalent.
BIOLOGY 198: Evolutionary Genetics
Instructor: Noor
Introduction to the principles of evolutionary genetics. Genetic variation, neutral theory, natural selection, human population genetics, phylogenetic reconstruction, evolutionary genomics, and evolutionary bioinformatics.
BIOLOGY 271 - Genomics
Instructor: Spana
Introduction to the field of genomics. Genomic techniques including genome sequencing, microarray analysis, proteomics, and bioinformatics; applications of genomics to understanding biological problems including biological networks, human origins, evolution; applications to medicine and agriculture. Lecture and discussion. Prerequisites: Biology 118 or consent of instructor.
BIOLOGY 289S - Advanced Topics in Genome Sciences Research
Instructor: Willard
Exploration of current experimental and computational approaches in genomics and genetics and their applications to contemporary research questions. Formulation and design of interdisciplinary research plans with discussion of implications for biology, medicine and society. Utilizing primary scientific literature, students write critical reviews and research proposals. Prerequisite: Biology 195S (Genomes, Biology, Medicine), 118, 119 or 271, or consent of instructor. Recommended co- or prerequisite: independent study in genomics or computational biology.
BIOLOGY 295S.10: Advanced Phylogenetic Methods
Instructor: Staff
Seminar on a selected topic. Offerings vary each semester. Consent of instructor required.
CBB 213 - Topics in Genome Science Policy
Instructor: Crawford
Exploration of current approaches to the study of the genome sciences and their application to research, medicine and society from multi-and interdisciplinary perspectives. Topics will be introduced through the Genomes@4 seminar and followed by in-depth discussion relying on the primary literature. Weekly attendance is required. Prerequisite: advanced coursework in genetics and/or genomics such as Biology 118, Biology 119 or Biology 271; or permission of the instructor.
COMPSCI 160 - Introduction to Computational Genomics
Instructor: Hartemink
A computational perspective on the analysis of genomic and genome-scale information. Focus on exploration and analysis of large genomic sequences, but also attention to issues in structural and functional genomics. Topics include genome sequence assembly, local and global alignment, gene and motif finding, protein threading and folding, and the clustering and classification of genes and tissues using gene expression data. Students to learn computational approaches to genomics as well as to develop practical experience with handling, analyzing, and visualizing information at a genome-scale.
ENGLISH 173.04: Cultural Narratives of Genomics
Instructor: Mitchell
In this course, we will analyze the "cultural narratives" that inform legal and public policy debates about genomics, and especially debates about the relationship between genomics and commerce. These cultural narratives are generally not focused exclusively on facts about genomics, but rather serve as the structure, or form, within which these facts are made to make sense. Cultural narrative about genomics are often tied to other cultural narratives about race, class, and gender, with the result that stories about the utopian or dystopian possibilities of genomic research are also stories about the resolution or perpetuation of race, class, and gender conflicts. This course will focus on these narratives as narratives by reading legal and public policy documents. We will focus especially on questions surrounding genomic databases and registries; questions of privacy; and the conditions necessary for scientific and technical innovation.
PUBPOL 240 - Responsible Genomes
Instructor: Cook-Deegan
Survey of ethical, social, economic, and legal issues in genomics. Introduction to ethical reasoning and examination of selected issues calling for such analysis, including: special procedures for research involving human participants, (2) respect for privacy and confidentiality of genetic information; (3) historical and political background of health research funding, and (4) public-private research interactions such as intellectual property and conflict of interest.
WOMENST 150S.04: Evolution, Genomics and Gender
Instructor: Current
Evolutionary theory and genomics introduced profoundly different renderings of nature that not only effect how we think of time and history-how they come to be enacted through biological variation and difference-but also how we think about who and what we are. At heart, evolutionary theory and genomics should, both scientifically and culturally, open up queries of our humanity into languages of becoming, of human emergence and variation that support a broad spectrum of sex and gender expression along with dissolving classic notions of racial formation.