Society Culture and Thought

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Term
Time & Day Offered
Level
Credits
Course Duration

What Comes After the State? — ANT2114.01

Spring 2019
Instructor: Noah Coburn
Credits: 4
Particularly since the treaty of Westphalia the state has been the dominant feature of the international system. In almost every case its sovereignty is assumed. Yet from unauthorized US drone strikes in Pakistan to the European Union, there are examples of ways in which the power of the state as an organizing concept is beginning to erode. This course will look at
Society Culture and Thought

What is (and What is Not) US Empire  — APA4311.01

Spring 2024
Instructor: David Bond
Credits: 4
This course works to give a more exacting definition to the imperial shape of the United States, as much to name its haunting presence as to more effectively confront its unjust operations. As the first successful anti-colonial revolt, the United States has a long history of narrating itself against empire. Yet for anyone who has lived under the heavy hand of its territorial
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

What is Capitalism? — PEC2267.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
What is capitalism? When and where did it begin? This course introduces students to key features of capitalism as an economic system and a way of life that has had profound social and political consequences for human societies around the world. It is the primary aim of this course to get a better sense for what capitalism really is, and to uncover and evaluate some of the most
Society Culture and Thought

What is Capitalism? — PEC2267.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Emma Kast
Credits: 4
What is capitalism? When and where did it begin? This course introduces students to key features of capitalism as an economic system and a way of life that has had profound social and political consequences for human societies around the world. It is the primary aim of this course to get a better sense for what capitalism really is, and to uncover and evaluate some of the most
Society Culture and Thought

What is economics? — PEC2270.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
"Economics is what economists do" says Jacob Viner. But what do economists do? And, how do they do it? This seminar will be concerned with these two questions. Our main objective will be to develop an understanding of economics as a field of study and to explore how economics is applied to understand the large issues of our time that affect our everyday material wellbeing. Our
Society Culture and Thought

What is Economics? — SCT2136.01

Fall 2019
Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Credits: 2
"Economics is what economists do" says Jacob Viner. But what do economists do? And, how do they do it? This seminar will be concerned with these two questions. Our main objective will be develop an understanding of economics as a field of study and to explore how economics is applied to understand everyday issues that affect our material wellbeing. We will look at big issues,
Society Culture and Thought

What is Economics? — SCT2136.02

Fall 2018
Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Credits: 1
You may have some familiarity with economics, from a course in high school or through various insights gleaned from news reports. But many people who need to consider the economic implications of policy, or who want to understand issues about how resources and wealth are allocated, have scant understanding of the key ideas of the field. This seminar addresses that: it is an
Society Culture and Thought

What Was Critique and What Comes Next? — APA4207.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: David Bond
Credits: 4
If progressive scholarship holds anything sacred, perhaps it is critique. Over the past century, critique has become not only the guiding commitment of radical scholarship but also the unflappable identity of the public intellectual. Yet a number of unfortunate assumptions have been built into this manner of engaging the world. Among them, that intellectuals have privileged
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Wicked Problems and Diabolical Dilemmas — HIS4235.02

Fall 2020
Instructor: Eileen Scully
Credits: 4
“Wicked problems” demand answers and resist remedies. They loom large, yet cannot be located or pinned down. “Diabolical dilemmas” force us to make repugnant choices in favor of lesser evils. Examples of both include global warming, pandemics, terrorism, migration, healthcare, corruption, poverty, and human trafficking. After orienting ourselves in the relevant topology and
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Wicked Problems and Diabolical Dilemmas — HIS4235.01

Spring 2024
Instructor: Eileen Scully
Credits: 4
“Wicked problems” demand answers and resist remedies. They loom large yet cannot be located or pinned down. “Diabolical dilemmas” force us to make repugnant choices in favor of lesser evils. Examples of both include global warming, pandemics, terrorism, migration, healthcare, corruption, poverty, and human trafficking. After orienting ourselves in the relevant topology and
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Witchcraft and Magic in Pre-Modern Europe — HIS4104.01

Fall 2018
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
What is magic? What is a witch? Who is a witch? And in the increasingly rational culture of Europe after the Renaissance, how and why did nearly 100,000 people – predominantly women – come to be tried for the crime of witchcraft? In many ways, the investigation of these questions hangs on another question: how do we differentiate science, magic, and religion? In premodern
Society Culture and Thought

Witchcraft and Magic in Pre-Modern Europe — HIS4104.01

Fall 2016
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
What is a witch?  Who is a witch?  And in the increasingly rational culture of Europe after the Renaissance, how and why did nearly 100,000 people – predominantly women – come to be tried for the crime of witchcraft?  In many ways, the investigation of these questions hangs on another question: how do we differentiate science, magic, and religion?   In
Society Culture and Thought

Witchcraft and Magic in Premodern Europe — HIS4104.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
What is magic? What is a witch? Who is a witch? And in the increasingly rational culture of Europe after the Renaissance, how and why did nearly 100,000 people – predominantly women – come to be tried for the crime of witchcraft? In many ways, the investigation of these questions hangs on another question: how do we differentiate science, magic, and religion? In premodern
Society Culture and Thought

Witchcraft and Magic in Premodern Europe — HIS4104.01

Spring 2023
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
What is magic? What is a witch? Who is a witch? And in the increasingly rational culture of Europe after the Renaissance, how and why did nearly 100,000 people – predominantly women – come to be tried for the crime of witchcraft? In many ways, the investigation of these questions hangs on another question: how do we differentiate science, magic, and religion? In premodern
Society Culture and Thought

Witchcraft and Magic in Premodern Europe — HIS4104.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
What is magic? What is a witch? Who is a witch? And in the increasingly rational culture of Europe after the Renaissance, how and why did nearly 100,000 people – predominantly women – come to be tried for the crime of witchcraft? In many ways, the investigation of these questions hangs on another question: how do we differentiate science, magic, and religion? In premodern
Society Culture and Thought

Women and Enlightenment — HIS4123.01

Fall 2024
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
The Enlightenment might be considered one of the most enduring revolutions in Europe. The invention of empirical science, new philosophies, and the secular discourse of the various Enlightenments (French, Scottish, English, and German) created the intellectual platform on which we are still standing today. It was also a movement in which women were visible and prominent –
Society Culture and Thought

Women and Enlightenment — HIS4123.01

Spring 2018
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
The Enlightenment might be considered one of the most enduring revolutions in Europe. The invention of empirical science, new philosophies, and secular discourse of the various Enlightenments (French, Scottish, English, and German) created the intellectual platform on which we are still standing today. It was also a movement in which women were visible and prominent –
Society Culture and Thought

Women and Gender in the Modern Middle East and North Africa — HIS4114.01

Spring 2017
Instructor:
Credits: 4
Religious beliefs and norms have traditionally played a significant role in determining the status of women in the family and their participation in the life of society in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). But, considering the diverse religious landscape of MENA, what do we know about similarities and differences in women’s status across religious communities? What other
Society Culture and Thought

Women in Science: Ancient Greece to Enlightenment — HIS4110.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
Long before the existence of a discipline we would recognize as "science," there were women working with men in the pursuit of "scientia". Scientia embraced a mixture of philosophy, medicine, religion, literature, and knowledge of the natural world – a mixture that would eventually devolve into the separate disciplines we know today. But who were these ancient Greek female
Society Culture and Thought

Women in Science: Ancient Greece to Enlightenment — HIS4110.01

Spring 2016
Instructor: Carol Pal
Credits: 4
Long before the existence of a discipline we would recognize as "science," there were women working with men in the pursuit of "scientia". Scientia embraced a mixture of philosophy, medicine, religion, literature, and knowledge of the natural world – a mixture that would eventually devolve into the separate disciplines we know today. But who were these ancient Greek female
Society Culture and Thought

Work — PEC4106.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Credits: 4
Why do people work? And what is the connection between ‘work’ and ‘employment’? This seminar is motivated by these two basic questions. We explore familiar theories of macroeconomics to answer the questions, and we will draw upon other areas of political economy and social theory to enrich the discussions. We will examine how work shapes people's material conditions of living
Society Culture and Thought

Work — PEC4106.01) (cancelled 6/13/2023

Fall 2023
Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Credits: 4
Why do people work? What is the connection between ‘work’ and ‘employment’? And, how are the concerns of ‘nonwage work’ (especially care work carried in the realm of household) related to that of 'wage' work (carried in the realm of labor market)? This seminar is motivated by these questions. We explore the familiar theories of macroeconomics to answer these questions, and we
Society Culture and Thought

Youth Politics in Bennington: A Group Research Project — ANT4225.01

Spring 2017
Instructor:
Credits:
This course seeks to answer the question: What are the avenues available for youth to mobilize politically in Bennington? The course will be structured around a team research project where students will practice skills such as interviewing, conducting surveys, participant-observation research and conceptual mapping. Students will survey various community organizations,
Society Culture and Thought