Paleoceanography is the study of the environmental history of the planet from records of ancient oceans. This seminar course is intended for first-year students who are interested in understanding how and why the planet has changed in the geologic past and learning how scientists gather evidence of environmental change from marine sediments. We will examine how to use fossils and other evidence for reconstructing sea-level, ancient ocean currents, and abrupt paleoclimatic events and their impacts on marine life, and we will discuss major ideas about the driving forces of these past changes. Understanding the geologic past is highly relevant to understanding current and future environmental change.