Taught by

How have animals come to use photons, organic molecules, and electricity to interpret and navigate their world? How do the mechanisms of chemical signaling translate into the experience of taste—a ripe strawberry, a freshly brewed cup of coffee, a hot pepper? Why are primates so visually dominant, while other mammals rely more heavily on smell? How and why have birds created song—and what does birdsong share with human music and language?

In this program, we will be exploring modes of sensory perception at two different levels. With the tools of evolutionary biology, we will investigate how the ecology and deep history of different animal species, including humans, has led to distinctive modes of detection and transduction. How has selection acted on organisms that live in noisy or visually cluttered environments; what senses dominate in aquatic, terrestrial, or arboreal habitats? By using molecular and cell biology, we want to understand the processes by which information from the world around us activates specialized neurons within sensory organs, and how those signals are transmitted to the brain to create particular sensations.

In fall quarter, we will begin with an overview of the functional organization of the central nervous system and the concept of electrical signaling. We will concentrate on elements of the visual system, including the detection of light, contrast, and color, and study clades that have a particularly high reliance on vision. In winter quarter, we will introduce the principles of genetics and molecular biology and the concept of chemical signaling. We will concentrate on the senses of taste and smell, exploring connections to food and flavor profiles. In spring quarter, we will concentrate on the sense of hearing, and expand our inquiry to vocalization, language, and music. We anticipate reading such authors as David Hubel, Oliver Sacks, Sidney Mintz, Jared Diamond, Guy Deutscher, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Salman Rushdie. This is a rigorous program involving lectures, workshops, seminars, and laboratory and field work. Student learning will be assessed by exams, seminar writing assignments, and research papers.

Quarters

Fall Open Winter Signature Spring Closed

Location and Schedule

Final Schedule and Room Assignment

• Fall

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Day