In their academic majors, BGS students develop discipline-based knowledge in specialized areas of study. In contrast, the senior seminars are designed to expand knowledge and understanding of three major areas of the liberal arts: the social sciences, the natural sciences and the humanities. Each senior seminar carries 6 semester hours of credit.
BGS 391, Seminar in the Natural Sciences, is designed to give students a better understanding of, and appreciation for, what most of us consider "science". Natural science is simply the scientific study of nature, and includes many disciplines such as chemistry, astronomy, physics, geology, ecology and biology.
How do we know how old the earth, or for that matter any fossil, really is? What do we really know about how the dinosaurs lived and died? Is Jurassic Park possible? I have blue eyes, my wife has brown eyes, so what color will my kid's eyes be? How can I possibly understand genetics research? Obviously the natural sciences are an integral part of contemporary life, regardless of whether or not one makes a living as a scientist, and consequently the 21st century's educated person must have a deeper grasp of science than ever before to understand and evaluate scientific information.
One purpose of the course is to help students become familiar with how science works, and what criteria make something qualify for (or disqualify from) the realm of science. This theme carries through the entire semester as we delve into various disciplines within the natural sciences, including evolution and genetics, the role that geography plays in the evolutionary history of life on the planet, and the history of the cosmos and the earth itself. Much of the course is drawn from my own personal research, so students will definitely have a better appreciation for fossils, crocodiles and the natural history of Madagascar at the conclusion of the semester than they did prior to the course.
Activities and assignments may include group discussions and workshops, Internet research exercises, individual oral reports, analytic writing exercises, and a research project. Additionally, there are several quizzes and both a midterm and final exam.
On the plus side, there is one Saturday field trip to the Field Museum of Natural History. Family and friends are welcome to join us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the fossil laboratories and other neat spots that the public doesn't normally get to see.
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