Syllabus
| Meeting number | Date | In-Class | Background Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon., Aug. 31 | Organizational meeting | |
| 2 | Wed., Sept. 2 | Cell structure | chapter 1.3, chapters 3.1–3.2 |
| 3 | Fri., Sept. 4 | Cell division and cancer | chapters 3.3, 3.5 (mitosis only), chapters 5.1–5.3, 5.5–5.8 |
| 4 | Mon., Sept. 7 | Metabolism | chapter 15 |
| 5 | Wed., Sept. 9 | Types of infectious agents | chapter 10 intro, chapter 14.2 |
| 6 | Fri., Sept. 11 | Virulence factors and transmission | chapter 10.3 |
| 7 | Mon., Sept. 14 | Stages of infectious disease | chapter 10.4 |
| 8 | Wed., Sept. 16 | Epidemiology, public health, and outbreaks | chapter 10.4, chapter 14.6 |
| 9 | Fri., Sept. 18 | Diseases and recent outbreaks | chapter 14.1 and assigned |
| 10 | Mon., Sept. 21 | Diseases and recent outbreaks | assigned |
| 11 | Wed., Sept. 23 | Hour Exam | |
| 12 | Fri., Sept. 25 | Brief history, magic bullets, mechanisms of resistance | |
| 13 | Mon., Sept. 28 | Sources, causes, clinical implications, phage therapy | chapter 10.2 |
| 14 | Wed., Sept. 30 | Video: antibiotic resistance, what we're doing | |
| 15 | Fri., Oct. 2 | Video: antibiotic resistance, agricultural impacts | |
| 16 | Mon., Oct. 5 | Wrap-up, discussion, new political action, updates | |
| 17 | Wed., Oct. 7 | Innate and adaptive immunity | chapter 10.5, chapter 14.3 |
| 18 | Fri., Oct. 9 | Vaccines, risks vs. benefits | chapter 14.4–14.5, chapter 10.5 |
| Mon., Oct. 12 | Fall Break | ||
| 19 | Wed., Oct. 14 | Immune system gone awry: allergy, autoimmunity, etc. | |
| 20 | Fri., Oct. 16 | Immune system gone awry: allergy, autoimmunity, etc. | |
| 21 | Mon., Oct. 19 | Hour Exam | |
| 22 | Wed., Oct. 21 | Your microbes and how they help/hurt you | chapter 10.1 and assigned |
| 23 | Fri., Oct. 23 | Microbiota and discussion | |
| 24 | Mon., Oct. 26 | The Good, the Bad, and the Gluten | Diet Pill ad part 1 and part 2 Gluten interview mp3 |
| 25 | Wed., Oct. 28 | Genetics I | chapters 4.1–4.3 |
| 26 | Fri., Oct. 30 | Genetics II | chapters 4.4–4.7 |
| 27 | Mon., Nov. 2 | Genetics III | chapters 4.8–4.9 |
| 28 | Wed., Nov. 4 | Cancer genetics | chapter 5.4 |
| 29 | Fri., Nov. 6 | Medical genetics | chapter 8 |
| 30 | Mon., Nov. 9 | Ethics of human genetic intervention | assigned |
| 31 | Wed., Nov. 11 | Genetic engineering I | chapters 7.1–7.4 |
| 32 | Fri., Nov. 13 | Genetic engineering II | chapters 7.5–7.7 |
| 33 | Mon., Nov. 16 | Who's afraid of GMOs? | assigned |
| 34 | Wed., Nov. 18 | Hour Exam | |
| 35 | Fri., Nov. 20 | Facts vs. fiction, mutations, natural selection | chapter 9 |
| 36 | Mon., Nov. 23 | Speciation, evidence of evolution, human adaptations | chapter 9 intro, chapter 9.1, 9.3 |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| 37 | Mon., Nov. 30 | Evolution and disease, wrap-up | chapter 9, chapter 10.5 |
| 38 | Wed., Dec. 2 | Species interactions | chapters 16.1–16.4 |
| 39 | Fri., Dec. 4 | Ecosystems and us | chapters 16.5–16.7 |
| 40 | Mon., Dec. 7 | Biodiversity I | chapters 17.1–17.5 |
| 41 | Wed., Dec. 9 | Biodiversity II | chapters 17.6–17.10 |
| 42 | Fri., Dec. 11 | Human population growth | chapter 18 |
| Thurs., Dec. 17 8:30 am |
FINAL EXAM |
Life is fluid, so this syllabus is subject to change. We may have to change the syllabus as the semester progresses, but this is certainly preferable to rigidly adhering to some timetable in lockstep. So come to class and you'll always know what's going on with the syllabus; changes will of course also be posted here, but you should be in class anyway!
For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, Moravian College considers this to be a personal page. Therefore it is incumbent on me to point out that "The views expressed on this page are the responsibility of the author, Christopher Jones (cjones-at-moravian-dot-edu) and do not necessarily reflect Moravian College or Moravian Theological Seminary policies or official positions."