Society Culture and Thought

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Term
Time & Day Offered
Level
Credits
Course Duration

Culture, Conflict, and Memory in Southeast Asia — ANT2122.01

Fall 2015
Instructor: Timothy Karis
Days & Time: TBA
Credits: 4
Southeast Asia is a region with rich cultural diversity as well as an eventful political-economic history over the past century, its residents experiencing European colonialism, protracted wars, and tumultuous experiments with communism. Targeting the tensions and conflicts that have accompanied nation-building in Southeast Asia, this course uses ethnography, film, and
Society Culture and Thought

Culture, Environment and Sustainable Living — ANT2117.01

Fall 2016
Instructor: Miroslava Prazak
Credits: 4
In this seminar, we examine how Western and non-Western cultures, both past and present, perceive and shape key environmental and social issues. Through readings, discussions and films we will evaluate the potential of environmental and cultural studies to address some of the most urgent contemporary problems. To work toward an understanding of what is today called
Society Culture and Thought Environment

Culture, Environment and Sustainable Living — ANT2117.01

Spring 2024
Instructor: Miroslava Prazak
Credits: 4
In this seminar, we examine how Western and non-Western cultures, both past and present, perceive and shape key environmental and social issues. Through readings, discussions and films we will evaluate the potential of environmental and cultural studies to address some of the most urgent contemporary problems. To work toward an understanding of what is today called
Society Culture and Thought Environment

Culture, Environment and Sustainable Living — ANT2117.01

Fall 2021
Instructor: Miroslava Prazak
Credits: 4
In this seminar, we examine how Western and non-Western cultures, both past and present, perceive and shape key environmental and social issues. Through readings, discussions and films we will evaluate the potential of environmental and cultural studies to address some of the most urgent contemporary problems. To work toward an understanding of what is today called
Society Culture and Thought Environment

Culture, Environment, and Sustainable Living — ANT2117.01

Spring 2019
Instructor: Miroslava Prazak
Credits: 4
In this seminar, we examine how Western and non-Western cultures, both past and present, perceive and shape key environmental and social issues. Through readings, discussions and films we will evaluate the potential of environmental and cultural studies to address some of the most urgent contemporary problems. To work toward an understanding of what is today called
Society Culture and Thought Environment

Data Mining and You — PSY2131.01

Spring 2018
Instructor: Anne Gilman
Credits: 4
Have you ever seen advertisements on your personal email site directly related to some messages you sent? Social scientists employ some of the same text-mining tools that advertisers do, drawing conclusions about individuals' moods, political views, personalities, and power relationships based on Twitter feeds and Facebook posts. In this course, you will learn the basic
Society Culture and Thought

Decolonial Perspectives on Indigenous Mesoamerica — ANT4223.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Rebecca Dinkel
Credits: 4
This course focuses on the ethnohistory of Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica that spans parts of Mexico and Central America, through an Indigenous perspective from native authored texts spanning pre-Columbian, colonial, and contemporary times. The course develops a decolonial perspective on Indigenous Mesoamerica – challenging accounts of Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures and
Society Culture and Thought

Decolonization of Work and Career in Psychology to Promote Equity and Social Justice — PSY2242.01

Spring 2023
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 4
This course will examine post colonization aspects of career development (which is a branch of psychology that studies the progression of an individual's work-related experiences throughout their lifespan). Students will examine how colonization has affected the definition of success and achievement in the United States. Students will explore how to decolonize career
Society Culture and Thought

Decolonize Everything! Anthropology and Empire in the Global South and Global North — SCT4152.01

Fall 2021
Instructor: David Bond
Credits: 4
These days it seems there is a call to decolonize at every turn. What does this mean in the present? How does this call to decolonize everything connect to the armed struggles of the 20th century that dismantled European empires and secured the independence of nations across the Global South? After the postcolonial moment, where and how does the presence of empire remain?
Society Culture and Thought

Decolonizing Ethnomusicology — MHI4306.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Joseph Alpar
Credits: 4
What does it mean to decolonize a field of study? Ethnomusicologists are currently grappling with this question, rethinking how to research, write, teach, and listen in ways that engage with people and perspectives that have been historically suppressed, marginalized, and silenced. Social justice is at the heart of the decolonial project. How can ethnomusicology empower the
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Democratization in Africa — POL2250.01

Spring 2017
Instructor: Rotimi Suberu
Credits: 4
Since the 1990s, a “third wave of democratization” has swept the African continent, leading to the unraveling, opening or liberalization of previously authoritarian (one‐party, military, and/or strongman) political regimes. But democratization in Africa has produced divergent outcomes, including remarkable success stories (Benin, Ghana, and Senegal, for example), major failures
Society Culture and Thought

Descending the Ivory Tower: Public Anthropology and the Prospect of a Better Tomorrow — ANT2214.01) (cancelled 4/27/2023

Spring 2024
Instructor: Steve Moog
Credits: 4
Most anthropological knowledge never makes it out of academia; it is constructed, consumed, and interrogated by PhDs. This is not meant to be judgmental, merely a statement of facts. In the last decade, though, anthropology has paid more attention to using its insights to engage practical, everyday issues and make its knowledge more accessible to those outside of universities
Society Culture and Thought

Development and Evolution of Language — PSY4116.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Megan Bulloch
Credits: 4
Relying heavily on evolutionary developmental biology, we will investigate transdisciplinary questions about origins of language. On the surface, we will look at the evolution of language, including the physical and cognitive aspects of language, and the individual developmental trajectories each of us takes in our learning of a language (or two or three). More deeply, we
Society Culture and Thought

Developmental Psychology After the Grand Theories — PSY2207.01

Spring 2016
Instructor: David Anderegg
Credits: 4
Comprehensive theories in developmental psychology posited relatively abrupt structural changes in children’s thinking in the course of childhood. These theories have been supplanted, in large part, by basic research documenting gradual changes in children’s development. In this course the grand theories (Piaget and Freud as well as attachment theory and evolutionary psychology
Society Culture and Thought

Developmental Psychology After the Grand Theories — PSY2207.01

Spring 2017
Instructor: David Anderegg
Credits: 4
Comprehensive theories in developmental psychology posited relatively abrupt structural changes in children’s thinking in the course of childhood. These theories have been supplanted, in large part, by basic research (largely from brain imaging techniques), documenting gradual changes in children’s development. In this course the grand theories (Piaget, Freud, and Vygotsky, as
Society Culture and Thought

Digital Life — MS2104.01

Fall 2018
Instructor: Brian Michael Murphy
Credits: 4
Digital technology is changing our understanding of what it means to be human, and rewriting our definitions of life, the body, love, death, and other concepts and embodied experiences. Through engaging contemporary narratives like The Circle and Black Mirror, we will explore the theory of technogenesis—the idea that humans have always coevolved with their tools. We will read
CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Digital Life — MS2104.01

Fall 2019
Instructor: Brian Michael Murphy
Credits: 4
Digital technology is changing our understanding of what it means to be human, and rewriting our definitions of life, the body, love, death, and other concepts and embodied experiences. Through engaging contemporary narratives like The Circle and Black Mirror, we will explore the theory of technogenesis—the idea that humans have always coevolved with their tools. We will read
Society Culture and Thought

Digital Life — MS2104.01

Fall 2020
Instructor: bmurphy@bennington.edu
Credits: 4
Digital technology is changing our understanding of what it means to be human, and rewriting our definitions of life, the body, love, death, and other concepts and embodied experiences. Through engaging contemporary narratives like Black Mirror, we will explore the theory of technogenesis—the idea that humans have always coevolved with their tools. We will read key works in
Society Culture and Thought

Digital Materiality — MS4101.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Brian Michael Murphy
Credits: 4
“The cloud” is not in the sky, but is comprised of thousands of securitized data centers and fiber optic networks that span continents. Undersea cables still carry nearly all internet traffic that travels across oceans. How can we critically analyze these massive systems that are often either invisible or too large to see all at once? This course will explore the materiality of
Environment Society Culture and Thought

Digital Materiality — MS4101.01

Spring 2019
Instructor: Brian Michael Murphy
Credits: 4
“The cloud” is not in the sky, but is comprised of thousands of securitized data centers and fiber optic networks that span continents. Undersea cables still carry nearly all internet traffic that travels across oceans. How can we critically analyze these massive systems that are often either invisible or too large to see all at once? This course will explore the materiality of
CAPA Environment Society Culture and Thought Music

Digital Materiality — MS4101.02

Fall 2020
Instructor: bmurphy@bennington.edu
Credits: 4
“The cloud” is not in the sky, but is comprised of thousands of securitized data centers and fiber optic networks that span continents. Undersea cables still carry nearly all internet traffic that travels across oceans. How can we critically analyze these massive systems that are often either invisible or too large to see all at once? This course will explore the materiality of
Environment Society Culture and Thought

Digital Screens: Developmental and Cognitive Consequences — PSY4383.01

Spring 2024
Instructor: Emily Waterman
Credits: 2
Many organizations estimate that children spend up to six or more hours per day looking at screens. Screens are ubiquitous in multiple settings including school and home. This course is dedicated to a rigorous reading of the research and scientific literature on children’s screen time. We will explore social, cognitive, and developmental effects of screen time, integrating
Science and Mathematics Society Culture and Thought

Dis/orientation in Spatial Sound Composition and Expanded Image — MSR4112.01) (cancelled 5/6/2024

Fall 2024
Instructor: Mariam Ghani Senem Pirler
Credits: 2
This course will be based on Sara Ahmed’s theories on orientation and dis/orientation and her questioning of “What do such moments of disorientation tell us? What do they do, and what can we do with them?” The course will focus on finding recipes for the concept of dis/orientation using immersive audio technologies and expanded images and will focus on materializing the texts
Visual Arts Society Culture and Thought Music

Disasters and Urban Modernity — PEC2258.01

Fall 2023
Instructor: Lopamudra Banerjee
Credits: 2
Catastrophic events with atmospheric, geological, and hydrological origins (e.g., droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides) are rising all around the world today; and, with a rising mass of the world’s population living in urban areas now, the nature and consequences of these extreme natural events are taking a certain specific and violent turn in today's
Environment Society Culture and Thought

Disasters, Poverty, and Inequality — PEC4220.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 2
A disaster is considered 'an occurrence that causes great harm,' but how is this 'harm' distributed among people? This research seminar explores this question by studying how the effects of disasters are unequally distributed within a population based on conditions of poverty and inequality, and how disasters, in turn, exacerbate these disparities. This seminar focuses on
Society Culture and Thought