Arts & Sciences: Extraterrestrial Life

A multidisciplinary introduction exploring the origin of life in the universe and the quest for space exploration. The class will approach these topics through the lens of astronomy, biology, physics, geology, chemistry, philosophy, literature, and art. The class is intended to reach a general audience of various backgrounds. Students seeking N1 Natural Science credit should register for CAS 1720; students seeking AH3 Humanities credit should register for CAS 1722. Cross-listed with: CAS 1722.

Open to Degree and PACE students; Co-located with CAS 1722, combined total enrollment: 250

Counts for either the Natural Science N1 requirement (if you register for CAS 1720) or the Humanities AH3 requirement (if you register for CAS 1722) This course, team-taught by faculty in English, Biology, Geology, and Philosophy, will approach the concept of extraterrestrial life from a both natural science and humanities perspectives. This multidisciplinary introductory class delves into the origin of life in the universe and the quest for space exploration. The class will approach these topics through the lens of astronomy, biology, physics, geology, chemistry, philosophy and art. By exploring the planetary and physical conditions required for life to exist, students will learn about core scientific concepts, such as the scientific method, length and time scales, evolution, as well as how these ideas alter our perception of everyday life, popular culture and the arts.

Course Objectives: •We would like you to come away from this class understanding the fundamental theories of the origins of life. •We would like you to appreciate the scale of the universe and our position in it. This includes both astronomical and biological length and time scales. •We expect you to understand the physical and chemical controls on life on and outside of the Earth System •We expect that you will be able to discuss cultural representations of extraterrestrial life and reflect on how those representations are used to navigate a variety of fears and desires. •Learn about the physical and technical challenges to explore our universe and interstellar travel. To foster the transdisciplinary nature of the course and the topic, the course is organized around weekly “Guiding Questions”. Each of these questions will be explored in depth through the dual lens of the science and the humanities. As such, different instructors will be leading the various lectures, with at time several instructors leading the same class time. Accordingly, assignments and tests will reflect the dominant weekly topic leading to an overall balanced approach towards the humanities/science coverage and assessment of the topics. Along with traditional lectures, the class is also formatted for debates and guest lectures. Attendance will be part of the grade. Note that this is a large course.

There will not be traditional midterms in this class. Instead, you will receive weekly assignments related to the weekly topic. These assignments will vary in their format: while some will consist in online quizzes, other will be discussion boards, summaries of reading, etc. A final exam will test your ability to draw from the various disciplinary perspectives to answer multidisciplinary questions.