FSEM 128   Sex, Drugs, Chocolate

Faculty Profile for Professor Frey

Explores the many tasty, interesting, mystical, and illegal uses of plants and their impacts on society. Starting with a framework for understanding the origin of plant products and basic genetics, we shift to a discussion of human-plant interactions that is grounded in histories, inequities, and social differences. Students help develop the topics covered, and it is common for us to investigate themes of (1) agriculture, pesticides, food insecurity, and the ethics and injustices of the modern agricultural system in the US; (2) the chemistry and pharmacology of plants used in medicine, and issues of bioprospecting, stolen indigenous knowledge, and reparations; (3) the chemistry and pharmacology of plants used as recreational drugs, and how issues of race and class intersect with national conversations about criminalization, treatment, and stigma through a historical and contemporary lens; (4) the history of chocolate and its intersection with religion and mysticism, ethical issues associated with the production of chocolate, and understanding why some people like chocolate so much. Evaluation is primarily based on a series of short papers, class discussions, and a course project. Students who successfully complete this seminar earn credit for CORE S133 and satisfy the Core Sciences requirement.

Frank M. Frey, professor of biology and environmental studies, has research interests in ethnobotany and traditional medicine, environmental health in southwestern Uganda, the adaptive nature of symmetry, and the genetic integration and adaptive nature of plant volatile emission, pigmentation, and reproductive traits. He is the faculty liaison for Colgate Women's Soccer, plays in a local alt rock band, and has travelled with students to Australia, England, Uganda, and Wales.