Society Culture and Thought

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Term
Time & Day Offered
Level
Credits
Course Duration

The F-Word: Confronting Fascism in a World on Fire — POL4259.01

Spring 2026
Instructor: John Hultgren
Days & Time: MO,TH 10:00am-11:50am
Credits: 4

In the United States, recent years have witnessed an upsurge in right-wing organizing and violence, culminating in the 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol that sought to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election. This is not a uniquely American problem. Across much of the globe, political parties organized around hyper

Politics

The Great Transformation in 2024 — SCT2109.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: David Bond
Credits: 4
This course will introduce students to Society, Culture Thought by engaging with the work of one of Bennington College’s most remarkable former professors, Karl Polanyi. Nearly 80 years ago, fleeing the rise of Naziism in Europe, Polanyi arrived at Bennington, and gave a series of public lectures that offered a bold new interpretation of what had gone wrong as the world fell
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

The History of Medicine: From Hippocrates to Harvey — HIS2312.01

Spring 2019
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
How did premodern culture understand the human body? How did it work? Where did it fit in the Great Chain of Being, and what differentiated men from women? Medicine has always been a hybrid of thinking, seeing, knowing, and doing. But what defined medicine in the past? Was it a science, an art, or a random assortment of practices? Between the age of Hippocrates and the age of
Society Culture and Thought

The Human Condition: Hannah Arendt — PHI4101.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 4
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a major political theorist whose work has become increasingly influential in recent years. A student of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, her extensive writings cover such topics as the nature of power, the meaning of the political, and the problem of totalitariansim. This course is a critical exploration of some of her major works, including The
Society Culture and Thought

The Journey II: The World Between the Great Wars — HIS2208.01

Spring 2019
Instructor: Eileen Scully
Credits: 4
Students in this course are a select group of people who sign on to travel the world in the inter-war era (1919-1939). Robust participation is required of all, and students must master information about each place we visit in order to move on to the next destination. The journey starts out in Paris, as preparations are underway for the conference that will produce the Treaty of
Society Culture and Thought

The Literature of Black Insurgency — LIT4390.01) (day/time updated as of 10/9/2023

Spring 2024
Instructor: An Duplan
Credits: 4
Looting, shooting, and gangs. We have many words for Black violence, a violence frowned upon not just by the racist and reactionary, but also by the ‘reasonable’ neoliberal. Stokely Carmichael’s “The Pitfalls of Liberalism” describes liberals’ tendency to “try to convince the oppressed that violence is an incorrect tactic, that violence will not work, that violence never
Black Studies Literature Society Culture and Thought

The Magic of Adolescence — PSY4380.02

Fall 2020
Instructor:
Credits: 4
Adolescence sometimes has a bad reputation—teens are often seen as impulsive, hormonal, irresponsible beings who talk back, do drugs, have risky sex, and drive too fast. In this class, we will flip this belief. Backed by the science of adolescent brain development, we will discuss adolescence as a time of malleability, resilience, identity development, and power. We will
Society Culture and Thought

The Magic of Adolescence — PSY4380.01

Spring 2022
Instructor: Emily Waterman
Credits: 4
Adolescence sometimes has a bad reputation—teens are often seen as impulsive, hormonal, irresponsible beings who talk back, do drugs, have risky sex, and drive too fast. In this class, we will flip this belief. Backed by the science of adolescent brain development, we will discuss adolescence as a time of malleability, social engagement, resilience, identity development,
Society Culture and Thought

The Magic of Adolescence — PSY4380.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
Adolescence sometimes has a bad reputation—teens are often seen as impulsive, hormonal, irresponsible beings who talk back, do drugs, have risky sex, and drive too fast. In this class, we will flip this belief. Backed by the science of adolescent brain development, we will discuss adolescence as a time of malleability, social engagement, resilience, identity development,
Society Culture and Thought

The Meaning of Life — PHI2134.01

Fall 2018
Instructor: Doug Kremm
Credits: 4
This course examines some of philosophy’s deepest and most central questions. What is the meaning of life? Is there a point to pursuing the things we pursue in life? How can we bring more meaning and happiness into our lives? Should we fear death? We will explore these and other questions from a variety of perspectives, engaging with historical and contemporary works by
Society Culture and Thought

The Musical "Other": Exoticism, Appropriation, and Multiculturalism — MHI4131.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Credits: 4
This seminar examines how the cultural “Other” has been represented in Western music. We will study a large repertory of orchestral, operatic, chamber, and solo works from the early Baroque period through the twenty-first century, investigating the uses and abuses of non-Western musical sources by composers and centering how politics and ideology inform the creation of these
Music Society Culture and Thought

The Muslim World from the Rise of Islam to the Present — HIS2116.01

Spring 2017
Instructor:
Credits: 4
How can Rumi’s belief in loving all existence stem from the same religious tradition as ISIS’s jihadist ideology calling for unrestricted violence against everything considered “un-Islamic”? In this course, we examine changing interpretations of Islam across time and space. We study religious, intellectual, cultural, and socio-political developments in the societies of the
Society Culture and Thought

The Personal and Political — PSY2213.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: Özge Savaş
Credits: 4
What is political? How do we acquire political knowledge? How is political understanding shaped across generations? What is the relationship between power, gender, race, and politics? Why do people participate in social movements? What is a “peaceful protest”? In this course, we will examine the interplay between people, power, and politics. We will consider participation in
Society Culture and Thought

The Personal and Political — PSY2213.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Özge Savas
Credits: 4
What is political? How do we acquire political knowledge? How is political understanding shaped across generations? What is the relationship between power, gender, race, and politics? Why do people participate in social movements? What is a “peaceful protest”? In this course we will examine the interplay between people, power, and politics. We will consider participation in
Music Society Culture and Thought

The Philosophy of Democracy — PHI2132.01

Fall 2017
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 4
This course examines the philosophical grounds of democracy as well as the critique of democracy. We ask what values and practices ought to anchor our understanding of democracy and engage with debates about the value of democracy. This class requires close reading of primary philosophical texts and a number of written papers.
Society Culture and Thought

The Philosophy of Democracy — PHI2115.01

Fall 2021
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
This course examines the philosophical grounds of democracy as well as the critique of democracy. We ask what values and practices ought to anchor our understanding of democracy and engage with debates about the value of democracy. This class requires close reading of primary philosophical texts and a number of written papers.
Society Culture and Thought

The Philosophy of Democracy — PHI2132.01

Fall 2019
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 4
This course examines the philosophical grounds of democracy as well as the critique of democracy. We ask what values and practices ought to anchor our understanding of democracy and engage with debates about the value of democracy. This class requires close reading of primary philosophical texts and a number of written papers.
Society Culture and Thought

The Philosophy of Hannah Arendt — PHI4131.01

Spring 2024
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 4
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a political theorist whose work has become increasingly influential in recent years. A student of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, her extensive writings cover such topics as the nature of power, the meaning of the political, and the problem of revolution. This course is a detailed exploration of some of her major works, including The Human
Society Culture and Thought

The Philosophy of Hannah Arendt — PHI4131.01

Spring 2022
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 4
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a political theorist whose work has become increasingly influential in recent years. A student of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, her extensive writings cover such topics as the nature of power, the meaning of the political, and the problem of revolution. This course is a detailed exploration of some of her major works, including The Human
Society Culture and Thought

The Philosophy of Hannah Arendt — PHI4131.01

Spring 2026
Instructor: Paul Voice
Days & Time: TU,FR 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 4

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a political theorist whose work has become increasingly influential in recent years. A student of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, her extensive writings cover such topics as the nature of power, the meaning of the political, and the problem of revolution. This course is a detailed exploration of some of her major works, including The Human

Philosophy

The Philosophy of Hannah Arendt — PHI4131.02

Spring 2018
Instructor: Paul Voice
Credits: 2
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a major political theorist whose work has become increasingly influential in recent years. A student of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, her extensive writings cover such topics as the nature of power, the meaning of the political and the problem of revolution. This seven week course is a critical exploration of some of her major works, including
Society Culture and Thought

The Political Economy of the American Coast: Past, Present, and Future of a Dynamic Landscape — ENV4111.01

Fall 2021
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
How and why has the coast become so central to American cultural and economic life? Who has benefited from the rapid growth of coastal development over the last century, and who has been excluded? What does the future hold for coastal landscapes and communities, and what can be done to address emerging inequalities and vulnerabilities? This course will examine the past, present
Environment Society Culture and Thought

The Politics of Freedom — POL2104.01

Fall 2015
Instructor: Crina Archer
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
This course examines competing conceptions of freedom in the tradition of Western political thought. Is political freedom about doing what you want, sharing power, or actively participating in political life? Is freedom a quality of individuals or an experience found in collective action? What conditions help to secure freedom and what conditions undermine its possibility? What
Society Culture and Thought