*Social Studies 10b. Introduction to Social Studies
Catalog Number: 5097
Richard Tuck, Michael Frazer and members of the Committee
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2-4, and a weekly section Th., 2-4.
This class continues the introduction to the classic texts of social theory begun in Social Studies 10a through the twentieth century. Authors include Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Sigmund Freud, and Michel Foucault.
Note: This course is limited to Social Studies concentrators who have taken Social Studies 10a.
Social Studies 40. Philosophy and Methods of the Social Sciences
Catalog Number: 0476
Thomas Ponniah
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course integrates research methods with an investigation of the philosophical foundations of the social sciences. Topics covered include causal explanation, interpretation, rational choice and irrationality, relativism, collective action, and social choice.
*Social Studies 91r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 9855
Anya Bernstein and members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Individual work in Social Studies on a topic not covered by regular courses of instruction. Permission of the Director of Studies required.
*Social Studies 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 7501
Anya Bernstein
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Writing of senior honors essay.
Note: Required for concentrators.
*Social Studies 98eo. Culture and Society
Catalog Number: 2114 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Kiku Adatto
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
The course explores various approaches to the study of culture, drawing on studies in anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, literature and photography. Among the questions addressed are: How is historical memory constructed, and what are the competing forces that shape it? How do advertisements, photography, and film document cultural change? How is culture tied to power, domination, and resistance?
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98fu. Practicing Democracy: Leadership, Community, Power
Catalog Number: 7432 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Marshall L. Ganz
Half course (fall term). Tu., 7–9 p.m.
Making democracy work requires an “organized” citizenry with power to assert its interests effectively. Yet US political participation declines, growing more unequal, as new democracies struggle to make citizen participation possible. Students learn to address public problems by organizing: developing leadership, building community and mobilizing power. Our pedagogy links sociological, political science, and social psychology theory with democratic practice.
Note: Ten hours per week of field work required. This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98hg. The Rule of Law
Catalog Number: 8107 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Verity Smith
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6.
This tutorial introduces students to twentieth-century legal theory via recent debates about the traditional ideal of "the rule of law." It focuses in particular on perspectives from which the notion of the rule of law as objective or value-neutral has been criticized and defended. Thinkers considered may include: Weber, Schmitt, Neumann, Hayek, Austin, Hart, Fuller, Raz, Pashukanis, Althusser, Kelsen, Habermas, Bourdieu, Dworkin, Posner, Unger, Kennedy, Cover, West, Lowi, Nonent, and Selznick.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98iz (Critics of Enlightenment). Critics of Modernity: Marx, Nietzsche, and the Frankfurt School
Catalog Number: 3515 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Bo-Mi T. Choi
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4:30.
This tutorial traces the vicissitudes of Marx and Nietzsche in the works of the Frankfurt School. Its aim is to deepen students’ knowledge of the historical continuities and discontinuities of concepts and debates on psyche, labor, and art from the perspective of critical theory. Particular emphasis is placed on critiques of modernity and mass culture and society by Horkheimer, Adorno, and Benjamin.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98ja. Children, Families, and the State
Catalog Number: 6104 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Anya Bernstein
Half course (fall term). W., 1:30–3:30.
This course explores the special status of children and families in American society and politics. We consider social protections for children and families and examine the role of the state in marriage, parenting, and the education of children and adolescents. Topics include child abuse and neglect, divorce and single parenthood, social class and parenting styles, and the relationship between families and schools.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98jn. International Human Rights: The Challenge of Protecting Vulnerable Populations
Catalog Number: 9219 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Jacqueline Bhabha
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5.
Since World War II, human rights have moved from the margins of international law and politics to the center. This tutorial will introduce students to some of the main human rights instruments and institutions, both international and regional. It will use this legal framework to ask and explore what rights are protected, which vulnerable populations have special claims to protection, and what legal and practical instruments are available to them. It will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different intervention strategies.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98le. Social Movements and Social Change - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 60633 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Rachel Meyer
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3.
This course will examine both the causes and consequences of social movements, attending to a variety of research programs on social movements, revolutions and collective action. Discussion will revolve around the multiple levels and dimensions of social change: micro versus macro, structural versus ideological, state-level versus personal transformations. Theoretical explorations will be grounded in a series of cases studies from the labor movement, civil rights movement, student movements, revolutionary movements, and others.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98li. Ethnic and Religious Conflict in East and South Asia - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 12939 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Kevin N. Caffrey
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5.
The course will examine cultural, social, and political manifestations of difference and context in confrontation by examining cases of ethnic and religious conflict from East, Southeast, and South Asia. We will first examine dominant understandings of difference in these regions, then we will read ethnographic examples from the region. This will bring our attention to recent issues of ethno-religious discord in Sri Lankan civil war; communal violence in India; ethnic wars in Burma (Myanmar); discord among the Muslim, Tibetan, and Han Chinese; the Acehnese struggle for independence in Indonesia; and Muslim "insurgency" in both the Philippines and southern Thailand. The course will bring critical attention to bear on the issues of ethnicity, religion, and conflict in a trajectory from imperial/colonial to national settings across Asia.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lj. The Latin American Quest for Development and Equality - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 79568 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Sergio Silva-Castaneda
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
Latin American economic history had been a difficult and frustrating quest for sustained and equalitarian economic growth. This quest has included periods of outstanding economic performance, but these are usually followed by economic catastrophes. Brief moments when inequality seemed to recede were likewise followed by social disasters. The intention of this course is to expose students to the main topics and debates in Latin American economic history about this region’s failure to overcome economic backwardness, poverty, and inequality.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lk. International Migration: Critical Perspectives for the 21st Century - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 77195 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Rebecca B. Galemba
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
This course examines various perspectives on international migration and the social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of movement. The course examines labor migration, forced migration and refugee processes, trafficking, and the relation of migratory processes to transnational citizenship, violence and displacement, development, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and kinship and the family.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98ln. Political Thought of Rousseau - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 93757 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Patrick T. Riley
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
The main political and educational writings of Rousseau, with emphasis on "the general will one has as a citizen."
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98gf. Modernity and Social Change in East Asia
Catalog Number: 5553 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Nicole D. Newendorp
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines the interconnections between modernity and social change in contemporary China, Japan, and Korea. Explores how modernity is conceptualized by both state and society actors and how these visions fuel change at local and national levels. Particular attention will be paid to issues of social protest, migration, consumption, gender, ethnicity, and family life in both rural and urban locations. Readings focus on ethnographic case studies and the effects of modernity on everyday life experience.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98jw. Citizenship Rights: Theory and Practice
Catalog Number: 5378 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Theodore Macdonald
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4.
The Cold War’s demise brought to the fore new rights claims by groups—e.g. participation, recognition, and equity. Focusing on major theories and debates on multiculturalism, recognition, redistribution, liberalism, group rights, and self-determination, the tutorial explores the illusive and controversial "what" and the "why" of the claims. Then, asking the "how," demands are explored as international human rights, contextualized in case studies that locate claims within local politics, contested histories, and globalization.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98kg. The Politics of Health and Welfare in the Developing World
Catalog Number: 0037 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Nara Dillon
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Although health and welfare are often considered secondary to economic growth in the political economy of development, they lie at the heart of the issue of inequality—whether it is inequality in incomes or life spans. After a survey of different theoretical approaches to the politics of health and welfare, students will read a variety of empirical research drawn from Asian, Latin American, and African cases.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98kj. Religion and Politics in Modern America
Catalog Number: 6394 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
K. Healan Gaston
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3.
Introduces key themes and problems in the study of religion and politics in modern America. Includes sections on political affiliation and electoral behavior, Supreme Court decisions, grassroots movements of the left and right, policy formation, foreign policy, political theory, the culture wars, and global politics. Devotes special attention to debates about the implications of America’s religious diversity, the role of religion in a democracy, church-state relations, and the secularization or de-Christianization of American public life.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98la. Race, Space and Identity in the American City - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 34706 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Jennifer Rene Darrah
Half course (spring term). W., 4–6.
Introduces core concepts and theories from urban sociology and urban politics. Emphasizes race, immigration, and ethnic identity in space. Topics include racial and economic segregation, immigrant enclaves, spatial assimilation, urban inequality, and racial identity in the city. Also engages with questions about the autonomy of local communities to challenge poverty and disadvantage.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lb. Conceptions of Democracy in French Political Thought - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 37411 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Stanley Hoffmann
Half course (spring term). W., 4–6.
This tutorial will examine the ideas about democracy in the works of Montesquieu, Rousseau, Constant, Tocqueville, Proudhon, Jaurès, Alain, Aron and de Gaulle.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lc. Darwinism and Social Thought - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 52518 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Alexander T. Schulman
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines both the history of and present controversies surrounding the application(s) of Darwinian Theory, broadly speaking, to social and political thought in the West. Asks how and why "Social Darwinism" went from being a popular motif to being virtually banned in the social sciences to re-emerging in a modified - but how modified? - form. Topics to be discussed include: what Darwin actually said; original appropriations (or misappropriations) of evolutionary theory; the replacement of "scientific racism" by culturalist/constructivist anti-racism in 20th century social science; the return of Darwinism via the "Sociobiology" controversy; genetics and politics; the relationship between biology and culture; the new study of "memes"; sexual politics; the politics of human uniqueness.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98ld. Aesthetics and Modernity - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 61424 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Ludmila Ludmilova Guenova
Half course (spring term). M., 3–5.
What is the nature of aesthetic judgment? Are aesthetic judgments objective or merely reports on our private preferences? What is the relation between aesthetic and moral or political judgment? Does art play a significant role in the validation of social norms? How do institutions affect our appreciation of art? Is the aesthetic merely an attitude reinforced by museums or other social preconditions? Or is there something like an autonomous realm of beauty? These questions will guide us as we explore modern aesthetic theory from its idealist origins in Kant, Schiller, and Hegel, followed by Nietzsche, and concluding with contemporary philosophers of art such as Benjamin, Heidegger, Greenberg, Danto, and Nehamas.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lf. Globalization and the Nation State - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 68748 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Nikolas Prevelakis
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4.
Despite globalization, the nation is still a major actor in today’s world. This course tries to understand why this is so by examining the role that nationalism plays in peoples’ identities and the effects of globalization on nations and nationalism. Examples from the United States, Western Europe, Latin America, India, and the Middle East.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lg. Islam in France, Germany, and the UK - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 53641 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Melanie Adrian
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course looks at contemporary Muslim identity in Germany, France and the UK. After situating Islam historically and conceptually, we will examine themes such as secularism, interpretation, and modernity through the lenses of Muslims and the non-minority national communities. We will use texts from a variety of disciplines including anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and political science.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lh. Education and American Society - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 83855 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Chiwen Bao
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Explores how education has been and continues to be a central institution of American society, reflecting social ideals and ideologies while also directly shaping the contours and structures of society in both productive and detrimental ways. Examines different philosophical foundations of formal learning and how those theories have become manifested across time in various educational practices. Investigates how schools currently operate, specific issues the American educational system faces, and the implications of various schooling practices for structuring American society.
Note: This course will be lotteried.
*Social Studies 98lm. Humanitarian Intervention - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 25673 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Scott P. Staring
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will examine the changing nature of humanitarian intervention since the end of the Cold War, with particular emphasis on the current NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. The readings will offer a broad survey of the different methods and means of modern intervention, as well as an introduction to some of the more theoretical debates over the different ends and justifications provided for intervention today.
Note: This course will be lotteried.