Social Science

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Term
Time & Day Offered
Level
Credits
Course Duration

Nietzsche and His Followers — PHI4137.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: Karen Gover
Credits: 4
Postmodernism, for better or worse, is often traced back to the thought of Friedrich Nietzche. But what is postmodernism? Keeping this question in mind, we will ground ourselves in Nietzche's thought, with an eye to his critique of the Western philosophical tradition. We will then turn to some of the important and influential philosophers of the 20th century as inheritors of
Social Science

Normality and Abnormality — PSY2204.01

Fall 2013
Instructor: David Anderegg
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
This course is an examination of the idea of normality as a central organizing principle in psychology. We begin with an effort to define normality and/or psychological health, and then move on to examine the limits or borders of normality. The course examines the value-laden, historically determined, and political nature of psychological normality. Topics discussed include:
Social Science

Normality and Abnormality — PSY2204.01

Fall 2014
Instructor: david anderegg
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
This course is an examination of the idea of normality as a central organizing principle in psychology. We begin with an effort to define normality and/or psychological health, and then move on to examine the limits or borders of normality. The course examines the value-laden, historically determined, and political nature of psychological normality. Topics discussed include:
Social Science

Participating in Politics: The Anthropology of Democracy — ANT2204.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: Noah Coburn
Credits: 4
This course challenges students to think beyond basic institutional definitions of democracy. It will provide an introduction to some basic anthropological tools that approach political systems more holistically through participant-observation research, studying the ways in which people experience concepts such as civil society. By looking at a series of non-Western political
Social Science CAPA

Peoples and Cultures of Africa — ANT2118.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: Miroslava Prazak
Credits: 4
Why is there so much famine? Why so many civil wars? Why so much misunderstanding? To place current events in Africa in a meaningful framework, this course explores indigenous African cultures, drawing on ethnographic examples from selected ethnic groups representing major subsistence strategies, geographical and ecological zones, and patterns of culture. We will explore how
Social Science

Personal and Social Interaction — PSY2150.01

Fall 2014
Instructor: erin johnston
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
This course will provide an introduction to microsociology (also called social psychology) and various theories of interpersonal behavior. In general, the purpose of this course is to help you build an understanding of the relationship between the individual and society. Attention will focus on the dynamics of interpersonal interaction, small groups (such as couples, families
Social Science

Persons, Groups, and Environments — Canceled

Spring 2015
Instructor: Ronald Cohen
Credits: 4
We spend much of our time in the presence of others, and all of our time in particular spaces. In this course we'll examine several psychological and sociological perspectives on social interaction, that is, how people think, feel, and act in the presence of others, and how the particular spaces in which interaction occurs affect social interaction. Attention will focus on
Social Science

Persons, Groups, and Environments — PSY2141.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: Ronald Cohen
Credits: 4
We spend much of our time in the presence of others, and all of our time in particular spaces. In this course we'll examine several psychological and sociological perspectives on social interaction, that is, how people think, feel, and act in the presence of others, and how the particular spaces in which interaction occurs affect social interaction. Attention will focus on
Environment Social Science

Philosophical Reasoning — PHI2109.01

Fall 2013
Instructor: Paul Voice
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
What is the difference between belief and knowledge? What makes me the same person now and in the future? Is there a purpose in life? These are some of the questions this first course in philosophy asks. It has two aims: To introduce you to the methods and procedures of philosophical argument and, second, to engage you in a critical dialogue with three central problems in
Social Science

Philosophical Reasoning — PHI2109.01

Fall 2014
Instructor: paul voice
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
What is the difference between belief and knowledge? What makes me the same person now and in the future? Is there a purpose in life? These are some of the questions this first course in philosophy asks. It has two aims: To introduce you to the methods and procedures of philosophical argument and, second, to engage you in a critical dialogue with three central problems in
Social Science

Philosophy Biography: Wittgenstein — PHI4105.01

Fall 2013
Instructor: Paul Voice
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the most influential and important of twentieth century philosophers and one of its most enigmatic characters. In this course you will read two of Wittgenstein's central works, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations. We will arrive at a detailed understanding of Wittgenstein's philosophy, its themes, arguments and
Social Science

Philosophy of Love and Friendship — PHI2123.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 4
Arthur C. Danto remarks, "How incorrigibly stiff philosophy is when it undertakes to lay its icy fingers on the frilled and beating wings of the butterfly of love." There is something both true and false in this remark. The philosopher cannot, as the poet can, convey the particularities of a love lived, suffered and enjoyed, but romantic love and friendship are an aspect of our
Social Science

Philosophy of the Performing Arts — PHI2131.01

Fall 2014
Instructor: karen gover
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 2
Philosophers of art and aesthetics tend to focus on visual art at the expense of other art forms. In this course we will look at the philosophical puzzles and particularities of the performing arts: dance, music, theater, and "performance art." What is the difference between unique and repeatable artworks? What kind of object is a symphony? Are dancers artists, or just highly
Social Science

Philosophy Senior Seminar — PHI4401.01

Fall 2014
Instructor: karen gover, paul voice
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
This course requires students to develop and research a substantial piece of philosophical work based on a previous essay they have written. In addition, students will read a selection of important articles and texts in the analytical and continental philosophical traditions.
Social Science

Politics and Governance in Africa — POL4237.01

Fall 2013
Instructor: Rotimi Suberu
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
Among regions of the world, Africa is more or less unique for its large number of fragile and unstable states, poor governance, explosive social and demographic pressures, and recent hopeful economic and political transitions. This course surveys the big questions, enduring challenges, and leading theories of contemporary African politics and governance. Themes to be explored
Social Science

Power and Culture in the Middle East — ANT2106.01

Fall 2014
Instructor: noah coburn
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
Since 9-11 there has been an increased focus in the media and in policy circles on the Middle East and Central Asia, and yet, for most Americans this is still a poorly understood area. Much has been written on topics such as Islam and the role of women in the Middle East, but not enough has been done to focus on politics in the region as a lived experience. How do people make
Social Science CAPA

Power and Place: A United States Perspective — SS2107.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: Lydia Brassard
Credits: 4
What makes a neighborhood “sketchy”? This interdisciplinary course will consider the social processes through which contemporary spatial imaginaries are produced, reproduced, and reconfigured in the context of the contemporary United States. Broadly linked to questions of power, knowledge, and representation, this course will critically examine the spatial dimensions of
Social Science

Psychological Experimentation — PSY2109.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: David Anderegg
Credits: 4
Psychologists collect data about people and do so systematically. This course will use the history of psychology and look at classic psychological experiments as a way to think about experimentation itself: how do we answer the questions we really want to ask? Historically important experiments in social, developmental, abnormal and cognitive psychology will be read and
Social Science

Psychological Experimentation — PSY2109.01

Fall 2013
Instructor: David Anderegg
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 2
Psychologists collect data about people and do so systematically. This course will use the history of psychology and look at classic psychological experiments as a way to think about experimentation itself: how do we answer the questions we really want to ask? Historically important experiments in social, developmental, abnormal and cognitive psychology will be read and
Social Science

Psychology of Creativity: Making Using Metaphors — PSY4226.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: David Anderegg
Credits: 4
This course will address two large areas in the psychology of creativity: (1) special creativity, that is, the study of creative persons and the specific characteristics of high-level creative thinkers. We will look at how creativity is measured, what personal characteristics or life circumstances seem to foster creative achievement, and the contributions of history in making
Social Science

Reading Marx — PHI4106.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 2
***Time Change*** Marx's ideas remain an important source of political and social science thought. This class requires students to engage in a close and critical reading of a number of Marx's essays and to assess his work in the light of critical philosophical responses. This course will be offered the first seven weeks of term.
Social Science

Reading the Body — ANT4208.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: Miroslava Prazak; Susan Sgorbati
Credits: 4
Should boys be robust and ruddy? Should girls be wan, lithe and prone to vapors? Unlike the Western scientific, biomedical constructions of the body, a cultural constructionist approach accepts the body, the self, and the person as culturally shaped, constrained, and invented. In this course, we will explore how social values and hierarchies are written in, on, and through the
Social Science Dance

Redefining Economic Development — PEC4103.01

Spring 2014
Instructor: Robin Kemkes
Credits: 4
Using both theory and empirical analysis, this course will explore the diversity of economic progress across developing nations, confront existing challenges and consider multiple perspectives on desirable policy approaches. We will begin with an introduction to traditional measures of development including income, health and education, followed by a comparison of domestic
Environment Social Science

Renaissance and Reformation — HIS2110.01

Fall 2013
Instructor: Carol Pal
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
This course is a survey of the cultural, social, and religious movements that transformed Europe between 1350 and 1700. These revolutions in Western thought gave birth to the Enlightenment, and the intellectual outlook that still characterizes our culture today. Using primary source materials such as letters, literature, court records, and paintings, we examine large-scale
Social Science

Revolutionary Foundations: Order and Dissent in American Political Thought — POL2207.01

Spring 2015
Instructor: Crina Archer
Credits: 4
In this course, we will explore a selection of key texts from the colonial period to the 21st century that have helped to shape and to contest the contemporary ideals and ideas of American political thought. In the early weeks of the semester, we will cull intellectual themes from debates of the colonial and founding period, with a particular focus on moments in which
Social Science