Letters and Science
College of Letters and Science
Dean's Office: Durant Hall
Undergraduate Advising: 206 Evans Hall, (510) 642-1483
Executive Dean and Dean, Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division: Mark A. Richards, PhD
Dean, Arts and Humanities Division: Anthony J. Cascardi, PhD
Dean, Biological Sciences Division: G. Steven Martin, PhD
Dean, Social Sciences Division: Carla Hesse, PhD
Dean, Undergraduate Division: Tyler Stovall, PhD
College Website: College of Letters and Science
Overview
The College of Letters and Science offers undergraduate students a variety of programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in four academic years of full-time study. The first two years are a time of exploration and experimentation, leading to declaration of a major. In the last two years students acquire and refine special knowledge as they focus on their major programs. The college’s departments are devoted to instruction and research in a variety of academic subjects. Each department represents a style of study and communication and refined development of a set of structured ideas. The subjects of the departments overlap and complement one another.
Requirements for Admission in Advanced Standing
Students applying for admission will not be considered if they have completed more than 80 semester (120 quarter) units. The dean of the college makes exceptions to this policy only in unusual circumstances. Applicants with advanced-placement credit may, however, exceed the 80-semester-unit limitation by the amount of their advanced-placement credit and be admissible if they meet all other admission criteria.
Transfer students with 60 or more semester units are expected to have satisfied, before admission to the college, the reading and composition breadth requirement, the foreign language breadth requirement, and the quantitative reasoning breadth requirement of the college. Students who apply as intercampus transfers and who have completed all the Letters and Science breadth requirements, or the general education requirements, or the equivalent of either, at the University of California campus from which they transfer may, upon petition, be credited with having completed the breadth requirements of the college. Transfer students who apply from community colleges in California have the option of fulfilling lower division breadth requirements by completing the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) . This program specifies a series of subject areas and types of courses that, if completed before transfer, will satisfy the lower division breadth and general education requirements at any general campus of the University of California.
Note: In recent years, certain major programs have turned away qualified applicants because of space limitations. Transfer applicants should be aware that admission to those majors in the college is competitive.
Biological Sciences Majors
Students planning to declare majors in a biological science must in addition have completed the minimum subject preparation in the major with a GPA of 2.0 (C average) or higher. The subject preparation listed below is minimal; transfer students who wish to declare a major in a biological science are urged to consult directly with the department or program in which they are interested to learn of additional requirements or of any restriction placed on entry to the major. The subject preparation for majors in the biological sciences is as follows:
Students who have completed 60 to 70 semester units:
- General chemistry with laboratory (equivalent to one year of UC Berkeley's inorganic chemistry with laboratory)
- General biology with laboratory (equivalent to Berkeley's Biology 1A-1B)
Students who have completed 71 to 80 semester units must complete in addition to points 1 and 2 above: Introductory organic chemistry with laboratory (equivalent to Berkeley's organic chemistry with laboratory).
Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree
Students must complete a minimum of 120 semester units, distributed according to regulations that appear in the College of Letters and Science's Guide to Earning Your Degree. A 15-unit class schedule per semester is considered to be a normal course load; a class list of fewer than 13 units requires the special permission of the dean. There are also scholarship, minimum-progress, residence, breadth, and major requirements; these are described in the announcement as well. Brief descriptions of the breadth, major, and minor requirements appear below. Major and minor programs are outlined under the department, field, or group headings in this bulletin. In addition, students must satisfy the University requirements in Subject A, American History, and American Institutions, and the Berkeley campus American Cultures requirement.
Breadth Requirements
There are four breadth requirements:
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Reading and Composition: Students must normally complete the first half of the requirement (an “A” course) during the freshman year and the second half of the requirement (a “B” course) during the sophomore year. Students must complete the requirement through coursework according to the requirements of the semester system, whether the coursework is undertaken at Berkeley or elsewhere.
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Quantitative Reasoning: This requirement may be fulfilled by satisfactory performance in an examination or by successful completion of an acceptable college course. Information about acceptable examinations and acceptable courses is included in the announcement. This requirement, if satisfied by coursework, must be completed without delay.
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Foreign Language: Students who have not satisfied the language requirement at the time of admission must complete it without delay. The requirement may be satisfied by (a) completion of the third year of one foreign language in high school with a minimum grade of C-, (b) by completion of the second semester of a Berkeley course, or its equivalent elsewhere, in one foreign language with a minimum grade of C-, or (c) by demonstration of equivalent knowledge through examination, including the College Entrance Examination Board Achievement Test, the CEEB Advanced Placement Examination (if taken before admission to the college), or an acceptable foreign language placement examination offered by a foreign language department at Berkeley or on another campus of the University of California.
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Seven-Course Breadth Requirement: Students must take one course from each of the following categories, with no more than two courses in the same department:
- One course in Physical Science
- One course in Biological Science
- One course in Arts and Literature
- One course in Historical Studies
- One course in Philosophy and Values
- One course in International Studies or participation in the University of California Education Abroad Program or a recognized equivalent
- One course in Social and Behavioral Sciences
These courses may be taken from the College of Letters and Science and the professional schools and colleges and may be spread over the four years of college attendance. See the College of Letters and Science's Guide to Earning Your Degree for details and a list of the approved courses that you may take to fulfill the requirement.
Major Programs
All students must pursue and complete a major program, the object of which is to provide them with a limited experience in specialization. There are more than 60 departmental major programs ranging from the humanities (e.g., art, comparative literature, English, foreign languages, etc.) and the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, economics, geography, psychology, etc.), to the biological sciences (e.g., integrative biology, molecular and cell biology) and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, mathematics, statistics, etc.). In addition, there are group majors in American Studies, Asian Studies, Celtic Studies, Cognitive Science, Development Studies, Dutch Studies, Environmental Sciences, Ethnic Studies, Film, Latin American Studies, Legal Studies, Media Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Economy, Religious Studies, and Social Welfare. There are also field majors in the Physical Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. Moreover, students who have completed at least 60 semester units and at least one semester of enrollment at Berkeley, and who have attained a minimum 3.0 Berkeley and overall GPA may, with the permission of the dean and support and supervision of a college faculty member and a faculty member who acts as second reader of the individual major thesis, pursue an individual major designed to satisfy special academic goals. Thus, the options available to students outside traditional disciplines are many and varied.
For a list of all majors available in the College of Letters and Science, please see the List of Majors Page on the college's website .
Minor Programs
Minor programs are intended as optional programs that will encourage coherence in the work that students undertake outside their major field(s) of study. Students may complete one or more minor programs, normally in a field both academically and administratively distinct from their major. The college has set the following minimum requirements for completion of a minor program:
- Course Requirements: A minimum of five upper division courses, completed on a letter-graded basis, are required for the minor. At least three of the five upper division courses must be completed at Berkeley.
- GPA Requirements: Students must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 in upper division courses required for the minor program.
Students should consult the department or group in charge of the minor for additional requirements and specific information regarding the minor program in which they are interested. Admission to the minor and certification of completion of the minor are determined by the department or group in charge of the program. When a student completes a minor program, the department or group in charge will notify the Office of the Registrar, so that the completion may be noted on the student’s transcript.
Additional minor programs are offered by other schools and colleges on campus. Consult their listings in this bulletin for more information. For a list of minors available in the College of Letters and Science, please see the List of Minors page on the college's website .
Undergraduate Division
The mission of the Undergraduate Division is to develop and administer innovative and interdisciplinary courses and programs in the College of Letters and Science that do not belong to a single department.
- Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies (UGIS) administers the field major in interdisciplinary studies and the group majors in American Studies , Cognitive Science , Media Studies , and Religious Studies . Minor programs are offered in Creative Writing, Disability Studies, and Religious Studies. UGIS also supports the following majors in International and Area Studies (101 Stephens Hall, (510) 642-4466): Asian Studies , Development Studies , Latin American Studies , Middle Eastern Studies , Peace and Conflict Studies , and Political Economy .
In addition to our interdisciplinary majors, the Undergraduate Division sponsors a wide range of academic programs and services for undergraduates. A world-class research university such as ours offers something special to undergraduates who know how to make the most of it, and the Undergraduate Division is a good starting place for students who seek close intellectual contact with faculty, either in a small seminar or in a research apprenticeship, for students who would like to apply for a national scholarship, etc. Some of the campuswide programs for undergraduates that are administered by the Undergraduate Division are described below.
- The College Writing Programs (112 Wheeler Hall, (510) 642-5570), designed to help undergraduates establish fluency and control over their reading and writing skills, are also part of the Undergraduate Division.
- The Freshman and Sophomore Seminars are also housed in the Undergraduate Division. Seminars are created and taught by faculty members from nearly every campus department. The office posts descriptions of these special course offerings to freshmen in time for Tele-BEARS registration each semester. For more information, please contact Alix Schwartz in 333 Campbell Hall, (510) 642-8378, or go see the Freshman and Sophomore Seminars website .
- The UC Berkeley Washington Program , also administered by UGIS, allows undergraduates to spend a semester in Washington, DC, combining coursework with internships.
- The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) seeks to involve undergraduates more deeply in the research life of the University. To this end, OUR coordinates and develops programs and resources that bring undergraduates into the field, laboratories, and archives. This office administers the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program, the Haas Scholars Program, and the Beckman Scholars Program, and maintains a central research opportunities website .
- The Scholarship Connection coordinates applications for scholarships and awards based on academic achievement and social or political contribution. Campus committees for the Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, and several other distinguished scholarships are housed here. Staff work to identify talented undergraduates and assist them in the application process.
L & S 1 Exploring the Liberal Arts 2 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1.5 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This is a course for entering students, particularly those who are undecided about the major they would like to pursue. It provides an introduction to the intellectual landscape of the College of Letters and Science, revealing the underlying assumptions, goals, and structure of a liberal arts education. Topics include the difference between the College of Letters and Science and the professional schools, the rationale behind the breadth requirement, the approaches and methodologies of each of the divisions in the college, and the benefits of engaging in research as an undergraduate. The ultimate goal of the course is to transform the students into informed participants in their own educational experiences, so that they can make the most of their years at Berkeley.
L & S 5 Introduction to Entrepreneurship 2 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 1.5 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This course is designed for freshmen and sophomores who wish to know about entrepreneurship, its importance to our society, and its role in bringing new ideas to market. Students will understand the entrepreneurial business process and how they might become involved in those processes in their future careers--in whatever direction those careers might lead. This class will explore the structure and framework of entrepreneurial endeavors--both inside and outside the business world. The course will answer questions such as: What is entrepreneurship? What is opportunity recognition and selection? How can you create and define competitive advantage? How can you think about people in the entrepreneurial context? How can you garner support (financial and other) for an entrepreneurial venture? What do you do when nothing works as planned? And, how do you focus on doing right and doing well?
Instructor: Walske
L & S C5/UGBA C5 Introduction to Entrepreneurship 2 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Undergrad. Business Administration
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Designed for students who wish to know about entrepreneurship, its importance to our society, and its role in bringing new ideas to market. Students will understand the entrepreneurial business process and how they might become involved in those processes in their future careers--in whatever direction those careers might lead. What is entrepreneurship? What is opportunity recognition and selection? How can you create competitive advantage? How do you focus on doing right and doing well?
L & S 10 The On the Same Page Course 1 Unit
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1 hour of lecture/discussion per week for 8 weeks.
This is a course for new students (freshmen or transfers) who would like to engage with the On the Same Page book or theme for their year in a more in-depth way than the average student might. They will take full advantage of the On the Same Page events and programming planned for the fall of each year, and will enjoy opportunities to discuss the book or theme with faculty and fellow students.
L & S 20C Arts and Literature 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
This course features significant engagement with arts, literature or language, either through critical study of works of art or through the creation of art. Art enables us to see the familiar world with new, often questioning eyes, and makes distant times and places, characters, and issues come alive in our imagination, which is essential to almost all intellectual endeavor. The Arts and Literature breadth requirement is intended to provide students with knowledge and appreciation of the creative arts so that, for the duration of their lives, engagement with art can be, variously, a wellspring of creativity, a lodestar for critical perspectives, and a touchstone of aesthetic quality--in sum, a continuing source of learning and serious pleasure.
L & S 20D Arts and Literature 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
This course features significant engagement with arts, literature or language, either through critical study of works of art or through the creation of art. Art enables us to see the familiar world with new, often questioning eyes, and makes distant times and places, characters, and issues come alive in our imagination, which is essential to almost all intellectual endeavor. The Arts and Literature breadth requirement is intended to provide students with knowledge and appreciation of the creative arts so that, for the duration of their lives, engagement with art can be, variously, a wellspring of creativity, a lodestar for critical perspectives, and a touchstone of aesthetic quality--in sum, a continuing source of learning and serious pleasure.
L & S 22 Sense and Sensibility and Science 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of lecture and 1 to 2 hours of discussion per week.
The approaches to problem solving developed by scientists have proven to be effective, and yet we as individuals, groups, and larger societies do not often seem to be able to take advantage even of rational approaches to problems--let alone the "hyperrationality" offered by science. Rationality by itself does not solve any problems or answer any questions. Its efficaciousness depends on how we combine it with our drives, goals, and desires--and perhaps our less-linear algorithm-based intuitions.
Instructors: Campbell, MacCoun, Perlmutter
L & S 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks. 3 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks.
The Freshman and Sophomore Seminars program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Freshman Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.
Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
L & S C30T/MCELLBI C62/PSYCH C19 Drugs and the Brain 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Molecular and Cell Biology; Psychology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.
The history, chemical nature, botanical origins, and effects on the human brain and behavior of drugs such as stimulants, depressants, psychedelics, analgesics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, steroids, and other psychoactive substances of both natural and synthetic origin. The necessary biological, chemical, and psychological background material for understanding the content of this course will be contained within the course itself.
Students will receive no credit for C62 after taking 62, C100A/Chemistry C130, 102, 104, 110, 130A, 136, C160/Neuroscience C160,<BR/>Integrative Biology 132, Letters and Science C30T, or Psychology C19 . <BR/> Instructor: Presti
L & S C30U/ESPM C11 Americans and the Global Forest 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Environ Sci, Policy, and Management
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course challenges students to think about how individual and American consumer decisions affect forest ecosystems around the world. A survey course that highlights the consequences of different ways of thinking about the forest as a global ecosystem and as a source of goods like trees, water, wildlife, food, jobs, and services. The scientific tools and concepts that have guided management of the forest for the last 100 years, and the laws, rules, and informal institutions that have shaped use of the forests, are analyzed.
L & S C30V/ESPM C10 Environmental Issues 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Environ Sci, Policy, and Management
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Relationship between human society and the natural environment; case studies of ecosystem maintenance and disruption. Issues of economic development, population, energy, resources, technology, and alternative systems.
Students will receive no credit for C10 after taking 10. Instructor: Welter
L & S C30X/MCELLBI C31 Big Ideas in Cell Biology 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Molecular and Cell Biology
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
An introduction for students who do not intend to major in biology but who wish to satisfy their breadth requirement in Biological Sciences. Some major concepts of modern biology, ranging from the role of DNA and the way cells communicate, to interactions of cells and creatures with their environment, will be discussed without jargon and with attention to their relevance in contemporary life and culture.
Instructor: Wilt
L & S C30Y/MCELLBI C44 Biology for Voters 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Molecular and Cell Biology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
This is a Discovery Course for non-Biology majors designed to introduce lower-division college students to biology through the lens of the contemporary problems facing people, the planet and the species of the planet. Modern genetic contributions will be presented on such issues as genetic engineering of plants and animals, the emergence of new pathogens, the role of genetic variation among individuals, and the extent to which DNA is and isn’t destiny. Each week will close with the presentation and discussion of a defining biological challenge facing the world.
Student Learning Outcomes: The learning objectives will be, at one end, to understand what an experiment is, how is it controlled and what does one need to know about an experiment to be able to rely upon any conclusion. That is the fundamental issue in all science, and is frequently overlooked in many media accounts of science. A second objective is to learn enough of the language of biology to be able to ask the kind of informed questions that we would want all elected representatives to pay attention to. A third objective is for students to cultivate confidence that through non-specialized information sources they can become informed consumers of contemporary scientific thought, and to develop those habits of intellect to think about evidence in a scientific manner. A fourth objective is for students to enjoy the abundance of high quality books, articles and multimedia that will enable a lifetime of discovery outside the structure of a college course.
Instructors: Rine, Urnov
L & S 39A Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39B Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39C Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39D Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39E Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39F Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39G Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39H Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39I Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39J Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39K Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39L Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39M Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39N Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39O Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39P Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39Q Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39R Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39S Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39T Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39U Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39V Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39W Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39X Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39Y Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 39Z Freshman and Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Hours and format: 1 hour of seminar per week for 14 weeks per unit. 1.5 hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks per unit. 2 hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks per unit. 2.5 hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks per unit. 3 hours of seminar per week for 5 weeks per unit.
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
L & S 40C Historical Studies 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Each lower-division course in this series deals primarily with the human events, institutions and activities of the past. Historical Studies are particularly important because, to paraphrase the philosopher George Santayana, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. The study of history provides us with perspective on the human condition and with an appreciation of the origins and evolution of the numerous cultures and social orders that have populated the earth. Whether students study history to understand how our world evolved from the past or to focus on the distinctions between the present and previous eras, they will come away with a richer understanding of and appreciation for human experience.
L & S C40T/AMERSTD C10 Introduction to American Studies: Hollywood: the Place, the Industry, the Fantasy 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; American Studies
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of American Studies, taking the "Hollywood Dream Factory" as the central theme. Focusing on both parts of that phrase, the course will proceed along a double path. We will examine the historical and geographical development of the motion picture industry from the rise of the studio system to the "new" entertainment economy of the 1980's and we will examine ways Hollywood is represented in literature and film.
Instructor: Moran
L & S C60T/GERMAN C75 What is Beauty? 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; German
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
What or who decides whether something is beautiful or not? What purpose do beauty and art serve? Where do originality, genius, and inspiration come from? What do art and beauty have to do with freedom and human progress? We will examine primarily western European and North American approaches to beauty as presented in works of philosophy, literary theory, and theories of art and aesthetics, exploring key theoretical questions as they evolve among several intellectual arenas over many centuries.
Instructor: Feldman
L & S C60U/GERMAN C25 Revolutionary Thinking: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; German
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
We will explore the ways in which Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud--three of the most important thinkers in modern Western thought--can be read as responding to the Enlightenment and its notions of reason and progress. We will consider how each remakes a scientific understanding of truth, knowledge, and subjectivity, such that rationality, logic, and the powers of human cognition are shown to be distorted, limited, and subject to forces outside our individual control. All lectures and readings in English.
Instructor: Feldman
L & S 70A Physical Science 2 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Physical scientists seek to understand the universe, from its microscopic substructure to its largest structures, from our own earth to the edge of the universe and the beginning of time. Students fulfilling Physical Science breadth in the College of Letters & Science may be motivated by the pure pleasure of penetrating the mysteries of the universe, or by more practical considerations such as a desire to take an intelligent stance on such topics as greenhouse gases and space exploration. Whether students opt for the practical or the theoretical or a combination of both, students choosing a lower-division course in this series will learn to formulate problems clearly and think quantitatively, critically, and abstractly.
L & S 70B Physical Science 2 - 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Physical scientists seek to understand the universe, from its microscopic substructure to its largest structures, from our own earth to the edge of the universe and the beginning of time. Students fulfilling Physical Science breadth in the College of Letters & Science may be motivated by the pure pleasure of penetrating the mysteries of the universe, or by more practical considerations such as a desire to take an intelligent stance on such topics as greenhouse gases and space exploration. Whether students opt for the practical or the theoretical or a combination of both, students choosing a lower-division course in this series will learn to formulate problems clearly and think quantitatively, critically, and abstractly.
L & S C70T/ASTRON C12/EPS C12 The Planets 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Astronomy; Earth and Planetary Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.
A tour of the mysteries and inner workings of our solar system. What are planets made of? Why do they orbit the sun the way they do? How do planets form, and what are they made of? Why do some bizarre moons have oceans, volcanoes, and ice floes? What makes the Earth hospitable for life? Is the Earth a common type of planet or some cosmic quirk? This course will introduce basic physics, chemistry, and math to understand planets, moons, rings, comets, asteroids, atmospheres, and oceans. Understanding other worlds will help us save our own planet and help us understand our place in the universe.
L & S C70U/ASTRON C10 Introduction to General Astronomy 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Astronomy
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. 8 hours of Lecture and 2.5 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.
A description of modern astronomy with emphasis on the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the Universe. Additional topics optionally discussed include quasars, pulsars, black holes, and extraterrestrial communication, etc. Individual instructor's synopses available from the department.
Students will receive no credit for 10 after taking 7A or 7B. Instructor: Filippenko
L & S C70V/PHYSICS C10 Descriptive Introduction to Physics 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Physics
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 6 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Prerequisites: Open to students with or without high school physics.
The most interesting and important topics in physics, stressing conceptual understanding rather than math, with applications to current events. Topics covered may vary and may include energy and conservation, radioactivity, nuclear physics, the Theory of Relativity, lasers, explosions, earthquakes, superconductors, and quantum physics.
L & S C70W/PHYSICS C21 Physics and Music 2 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Physics
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: No previous courses in Physics are assumed, although Physics 10 is recommended.
What can we learn about the nature of reality and the ways that we humans have invented to discover how the world works? An exploration of these questions through the physical principles encountered in the study of music. The applicable laws of mechanics, fundamentals of sound, harmonic content, principles of sound production in musical instruments, musical scales. Numerous illustrative lecture demonstrations will be given. Only the basics of high school algebra and geometry will be used.
L & S C70X/EPS C51 Big History -- Cosmos, Earth, Life, and Humanity 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Earth and Planetary Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, except for freshmen who have previously taken 50.
This course explores all four major regimes of history -- cosmic history, Earth history, life history, and human history. Bringing together these normally unrelated topics, it seeks to understand the character of history by examining longterm trends and critical chance events, by looking for common causes underlying historical change in all four regimes, and by identifying the novelities that have made each regime unique. It offers a broad perspective for students interested in any one of the historical disciplines, helping them cross the barriers between fields of historical study.
Instructor: Alvarez
L & S C70Y/EPS C20 Earthquakes in Your Backyard 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Earth and Planetary Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of lecture per week and 1 or more field trips.
Introduction to earthquakes, their causes and effects. General discussion of basic principles and methods of seismology and geological tectonics, distribution of earthquakes in space and time, effects of earthquakes, and earthquake hazard and risk, with particular emphasis on the situation in California.
L & S C76/GERMAN C76 Beauty and the Beholder: Approaching Art at the Berkeley Art Museum 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; German
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
This seminar-style course will take up a range of questions related to art works, aesthetic theory, the politics of art, and the relationship between artistic form and meaningful content by way of examinations of specific works at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA). Students will see how experts from several different disciplines approach works of art: What questions do scholars bring to an art work? What is a formal analysis vs. a critical interpretation of an art work? How do curators approach art? Are we supposed to ‘learn from’ an art work or ‘experience’ it or have some particular ‘relationship’ to it? Is art a matter of conveying feeling, a message, or an encounter with beauty?
Instructor: Feldman
L & S C101/JOURN C101 Edible Education: The Rise and Future of the Food Movement 2 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Journalism
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1.5 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
As a subject, food is multi-disciplinary, drawing on everything from economics and agronomy to sociology, anthropology, and the arts. Each week experts on organic agriculture, school lunch reform, food safety, animal welfare, hunger and food security, farm bill reform, farm-to-school efforts, urban agriculture, food sovereignty, local food economies, etc. will lecture on what their areas of expertise have to offer the food movement to help it define and achieve its goals.
Instructors: Henderson, Pollan
L & S C103/JOURN C103 Edible Education: Telling Stories About Food and Agriculture 2 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Journalism
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1.5 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
As the costs of our industrialized food system become impossible to ignore, a national debate over the future of food and farming has begun. Telling stories about where food comes from, how it is produced (and might be produced differently) plays a critical role in bringing attention to the issues and shifting politics. Each week a prominent figure in this debate explores what can be done to make the food system healthier more equitable, more sustainable, and the role of storytelling in the process.
Instructor: Pollan
L & S 105 Arts Entrepreneurship 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course provides students interested in the arts and/or business with an opportunity to develop an idea for an arts organization and turn it into a functioning, sustainable enterprise. Building on each student's own connection to the arts, the course teaches how to invent an arts organization, define its mission, locate the organization within a community, develop its offerings via products, services, and public programs, and manage the organization's numerous operational features.
Instructor: R. Andrews
L & S 110 The World According to Berkeley 1 Unit
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.
Hours and format: 1 hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Exploration of various topics from the multitude of disciplines taught at UC Berkeley. Weekly guest lectures by prominent members of the UC Berkeley academic community. Topics will include groundbreaking research from the past, present, and future; UC Berkeley's unique contributions to society; and topics from speakers' areas of expertise. Learn about many of the remarkable fields of study UC Berkeley has to offer.
Instructors: Presti, Stovall
L & S 120B Arts and Literature 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
This upper division course features significant engagement with arts, literature or language, either through critical study of works of art or through the creation of art. Art enables us to see the familiar world with new, often questioning eyes, and makes distant times and places, characters, and issues come alive in our imagination, which is essential to almost all intellectual endeavor. The Arts and Literature breadth requirement is intended to provide students with knowledge and appreciation of the creative arts so that, for the duration of their lives, engagement with art can be, variously, a wellspring of creativity, a lodestar for critical perspectives, and a touchstone of aesthetic quality--in sum, a continuing source of learning and serious pleasure.
L & S 120C Arts and Literature 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
This upper division course features significant engagement with arts, literature or language, either through critical study of works of art or through the creation of art. Art enables us to see the familiar world with new, often questioning eyes, and makes distant times and places, characters, and issues come alive in our imagination, which is essential to almost all intellectual endeavor. The Arts and Literature breadth requirement is intended to provide students with knowledge and appreciation of the creative arts so that, for the duration of their lives, engagement with art can be, variously, a wellspring of creativity, a lodestar for critical perspectives, and a touchstone of aesthetic quality--in sum, a continuing source of learning and serious pleasure.
L & S 121 Origins in Science and Religion 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course explores the concepts of origins in science and religion and their cultural contexts and entanglements, from antiquity to the present. Guiding questions include these: What are origins, and why do we want to know about them? How does this desire manifest itself in different ways of constructing and analyzing knowledge? What sorts of intellectual processes, standards, and tests can be applied to different concepts of origins? What happens when different notions of origins clash?
Instructors: Hendel, Padian
L & S 122 Time 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Augustine said, famously, that he always thought he understood what time was until he started thinking about it. That was when he realized he had no idea. This course will address various aspects of the nature of time, including the way we experience it, the way it organizes our everday world, and the way it stands if it does at the foundation of the physical universe. The course will be devoted both to understanding, and to understanding the relations among, these three aspects of temporality.
Instructors: Bousso, Dreyfus
L & S 124 Consciousness: Buddhist and Neuroscientific Perspectives 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Twenty-five years ago the Dalai Lama suggested that a dialogue between Buddhist practitioners and Western scientists interested in the nature of consciousness and its relationship to the world might lead to new ideas and be of benefit to both communities. While science and religion are not generally considered to be natural collaborators, the dialogue that ensued quickly gained momentum and catalyzed new strands of research, most notably in the area of the neuroscience of meditation and emotion. We will continue this dialogue, first by laying the necessary groundwork in our respective fields, and then by exploring areas of convergence and divergence around certain themes.
Instructors: Presti, Sharf
L & S 140C Historical Studies 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Each upper-division course in this series deals primarily with the human events, institutions and activities of the past. Historical Studies are particularly important because, to paraphrase the philosopher George Santayana, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. The study of history provides us with perspective on the human condition and with an appreciation of the origins and evolution of the numerous cultures and social orders that have populated the earth. Whether students study history to understand how our world evolved from the past or to focus on the distinctions between the present and previous eras, they will come away with a richer understanding of and appreciation for human experience.
L & S C140U/ANTHRO C129F The Archaeology of Health and Disease 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Anthropology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.
This course explores how archaeologists and bioarchaeologists study human families' and communities' conceptualizations and experiences of health and health care cross-culturally and through time. Students will be exposed to case studies drawing upon skeletal and material cultural evidence.
L & S C140V/HISTORY C187 The History and Practice of Human Rights 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; History
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
A required class for students in the human rights minor (but open to others), this course examines the development of human rights. More than a history of origins, it explores the relationships between human rights and other crucial themes in the history of the modern era. As a history of international trends and an examination of specific practices, it will ask students to make comparisons across space and time and to reflect upon the evolution of human rights in both thought and action.
Instructor: Sargent
L & S 140D Historical Studies 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Each upper-division course in this series deals primarily with the human events, institutions and activities of the past. Historical Studies are particularly important because, to paraphrase the philosopher George Santayana, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. The study of history provides us with perspective on the human condition and with an appreciation of the origins and evolution of the numerous cultures and social orders that have populated the earth. Whether students study history to understand how our world evolved from the past or to focus on the distinctions between the present and previous eras, they will come away with a richer understanding of and appreciation for human experience.
L & S 150A International Studies 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 to 2 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Each upper-division course in this series involves the study of the contemporary politics, culture, arts or socio-economic structure of at least one country other than the United States. International Studies courses sensitize students to the immense diversity of cultures and social orders in the world today. As connections and communication between nations become more frequent, it is important that students of the College of Letters & Science have exposure to the essential difference and similarities among various peoples of the earth. The International Studies breadth requirement is designed to foster a spirit of open-mindedness that characterizes a well-educated citizen of the world, and to equip our graduates to thrive in an age of increasing globalization
L & S 150C International Studies 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 to 2 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 to 2 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Each upper-division course in this series involves the study of the contemporary politics, culture, arts or socio-economic structure of at least one country other than the United States. International Studies courses sensitize students to the immense diversity of cultures and social orders in the world today. As connections and communication between nations become more frequent, it is important that students of the College of Letters & Science have exposure to the essential difference and similarities among various peoples of the earth. The International Studies breadth requirement is designed to foster a spirit of open-mindedness that characterizes a well-educated citizen of the world, and to equip our graduates to thrive in an age of increasing globalization
L & S C150T/SOCIOL C116G Working People in the Global Economy 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Sociology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Work is central to our identities, self-esteem, well-being, and social status. How societies organize work shapes the distribution of rewards and power, not just in the workplace but in society at large. Everyone's work is profoundly shaped by the way it connects to other people's labor around the globe. Using a variety of disciplinary lenses, we will look at working people world wide and examine how the organized efforts of working people have shaped the nature of jobs and social change.
L & S 160B Philosophy and Values 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
According to Aristotle, every exercise of our faculties has some good for its aim. Every discipline taught in the College of Letters & Science has ethical implications, and to study a particular subject without considering these implications can be a sterile--and in extreme cases hazardous--exercise. The urge and ability to ponder such questions as the meaning of life distinguish human beings from the other animals. In an increasingly complex world, in which traditional values are often called into question, students of the College are encouraged to reflect upon their own assumptions as well as the assumptions of other times and cultures. In these upper-division Philosophy and Values courses students in the College will be encouraged to ponder the types of questions that will enhance their ability to understand their heritage, their contemporaries, and themselves.
L & S C160T/PHILOS C132 Philosophy of Mind 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Philosophy
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture and 2.5 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.
Mind and matter; other minds; the concept of "person."
L & S C160V/PSYCH C162 Human Happiness 3 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Psychology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to an understanding of happiness. The first part of the course will be devoted to the different treatments of happiness in the world's philosophical traditions, focusing up close on conceptions or the good life in classical Greek and Judeo-Christian thought, the great traditions in East Asian thought (Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism), and ideas about happiness that emerged more recently in the age of Enlightenment. With these different perspectives as a framework, the course will then turn to treatments of happiness in the behavioral sciences, evolutionary scholarship, and neuroscience. Special emphasis will be given to understanding how happiness arises in experiences of the moral emotions, including gratitude, compassion, reverence and awe, as well as aesthetic emotions like humor and beauty.
L & S 160D Philosophy and Values 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
According to Aristotle, every exercise of our faculties has some good for its aim. Every discipline taught in the College of Letters & Science has ethical implications, and to study a particular subject without considering these implications can be a sterile--and in extreme cases hazardous--exercise. The urge and ability to ponder such questions as the meaning of life distinguish human beings from the other animals. In an increasingly complex world, in which traditional values are often called into question, students of the College are encouraged to reflect upon their own assumptions as well as the assumptions of other times and cultures. In these upper-division Philosophy and Values courses students in the College will be encouraged to ponder the types of questions that will enhance their ability to understand their heritage, their contemporaries, and themselves.
L & S 160E Philosophy and Values 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
According to Aristotle, every exercise of our faculties has some good for its aim. Every discipline taught in the College of Letters & Science has ethical implications, and to study a particular subject without considering these implications can be a sterile--and in extreme cases hazardous--exercise. The urge and ability to ponder such questions as the meaning of life distinguish human beings from the other animals. In an increasingly complex world, in which traditional values are often called into question, students of the College are encouraged to reflect upon their own assumptions as well as the assumptions of other times and cultures. In these upper-division Philosophy and Values courses students in the College will be encouraged to ponder the types of questions that will enhance their ability to understand their heritage, their contemporaries, and themselves.
L & S 170AC/EPS 170AC Crossroads of Earth Resources and Society 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Earth and Planetary Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week, plus 2-day field trip.
Intersection of geological processes with American cultures in the past, present, and future. Overview of ethnogeology including traditional knowledge of sources and uses of earth materials and their cultural influences today. Scientific approach to study of tectonic controls on the genesis and global distribution of energy fuels, metals, and industrial minerals. Evolution and diversity of opinion in attitudes about resource development, environmental management, and conservation on public, private, and tribal lands. Impending crisis in renewable energy and the imperative of resource literacy.
Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Instructor: Brimhall
L & S 180A Social and Behavioral Sciences 3 or 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 to 4 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 4.5 to 6 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 10 weeks. 5.5 to 7.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.
Upper-division courses in this Social and Behavioral Sciences series provide students with the tools they need to analyze the determinants of human behavior and the dynamics of social interaction among human beings. While fulfilling this breadth requirement, students may find that they look upon the world with a fresh perspective: every encounter or gathering provides an opportunity to observe society in action. Students of the College of Letters & Science will also find that the ability to analyze the complex political, economic, social, cultural, and psychological factors at play in contemporary life will equip them to evaluate the evidence mustered in support of key public policy decision
L & S 180AC Archaeology of Sex and Gender 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Brings together theoretical work on sex and gender from gender and women's studies, science studies, philosophy, and the social sciences, with archaeological case studies from the forefront of comtemporary scholarship. Emphasizes the experience of people with different cultures of sex/gender in the U.S., tracing specific historical traditions and examining how different conceptions of sex and gender were mediated when people of different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds came together in the U.S. past.
Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Instructor: Joyce
L & S C180T/GERMAN C109 Language and Power 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; German
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/discussion per week.
Multidisciplinary explorations into the origins, nature, and exercise of language as social symbolic power, drawing on readings taken from anthropology, social and cultural theory, and critical discourse analysis. Topics include language and myth, the meaning of meaning, the economy of verbal exchanges, perspective and ideology in language, institutional discourse, gender and discourse, and linguistic imperialism.
Formerly known as 109. Instructor: Kramsch
L & S C180U/PUB POL C103 Wealth and Poverty 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Public Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 2 hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
This course is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding both of the organization of the political economy in the United States and of other advanced economies, and of why the distribution of earnings, wealth, and opportunity have been diverging in the United States and in other nations. It also is intended to provide insights into the political and public-policy debates that have arisen in light of this divergence, as well as possible means of reversing it.
Students will receive no credit for C103 after taking 103. Instructor: Reich
L & S C180V/SOCIOL C150A Social Psychology: Self and Society 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Sociology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
This survey course provides tools from social psychology to help students develop a better understanding of their own and others' behavior. Social psychology is a field that bridges sociology and psychology and is primarily concerned with how individuals view and interact with one another in everyday life. The class is organized around a survey of the great ideas from the history of social psychology. We will study research on a wide variety of topics including conformity, obedience, identity, power, status, and interpersonal perception.
L & S C180W/ANTHRO C136K Who Owns the Past? Cultural Heritage in a Digital Age 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Anthropology
Course level: Undergraduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
A cross-disciplinary exploration of cultural heritage on a global and local scale through discussion, debate, in-class activities, and team-based research projects that draw attention to the impacts of digital technology. Themes include the creation and management of heritage sites; the ethics of archaeologists as stewards of heritage; listening to multiple voices of interest groups; destruction and looting; and the preservation, conservation, and public presentation of heritage.
L & S C180X/PUB POL C157 Arts and Cultural Policy 4 Units
Department: Letters and Science; Public Policy
Course level: Undergraduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Survey of government policy toward the arts (especially direct subsidy, copyright and regulation, and indirect assistance) and its effects on artists, audiences, and institutions. Emphasizes "highbrow" arts, U.S. policy, and the social and economic roles of participants in the arts. Readings, field trips, and case discussion. One paper in two drafts required for undergraduate credit; graduate credit awarded for an additional short paper to be arranged and attendance at four advanced colloquia throughout the term. Undergraduate level of 257.
Students will receive no credit for Public Policy C157/Letters and Science C180x after taking Public Policy 108 or 157. Instructor: O'Hare
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