Social Science

Instructor: Karen Gover

Credits: 4

Why do we care about art? Why and how do artworks move us? What, if anything, do artworks mean, and how do we know? This course takes up these and other questions relating to the philosophy of art and artworks. This course will look at the philosophical tradition of aesthetics, including Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel, up to the present day. We will also look at the role of

Social Science

America in the World: Past, Present, Future — HIS4204.01

Instructor: Eileen Scully

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Even while responding to recent global and national events that seem unprecedented, the United States continues to confront the dilemmas running throughout its diplomatic history-national security versus individual liberties, unilateralism versus multi-lateralism, competing domestic constituencies, and conflicting visions of America's role in the world. Newly declassified

Social Science

Americans in Paris — HIS2114.01

Instructor: stephen shapiro

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

This course will survey the rich history of Americans' fascination and engagement with the city of Paris and France. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, we will look at succeeding generations of travelers and expatriates: 19th-century tourists who came to complete their cultural education, painters who discovered new techniques and inspiration in artistic

Social Science

Anthropological Research Methodologies — ANT4110.01

Instructor: Noah Coburn

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 2

This course is an exploration of the basic tools that anthropologists use when conducting participant-observation field research. Students will learn how to use a variety of interview techniques, focus group discussions and surveys. Workshops will provide the opportunity for students to use these techniques on topics of their own interest. Methodological and theoretical

Social Science

Applying Anthropological Research Methodologies — ANT4111.01

Instructor: Noah Coburn

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 2

This course is an advanced seminar that will apply skills learned in Anthropological Research Methodologies. The class will work collectively to do a local ethnographic study. Depending upon the skills and interests of each student, the class will design a research proposal and then carry out key research techniques. Finally students will be asked to present this work in a

Social Science

Asceticism — HIS4131.01

Instructor: Stephen Higa

Credits: 4

In our world of decadence and consumerism, it is almost impossible to fathom a world of discipline, renunciation, self-denial, and martyrdom. The records of early Mediterranean asceticism—from the Greco-Roman philosophers to the Christian saints—overflow with stories of men who stood on pillars for years on end and women who wandered the harsh deserts completely nude. In this

Social Science

Black Markets — Canceled

Instructor: Robin Kemkes

Credits: 4

Why do some transactions -- the sale of illegal drugs and weapons, human trafficking, finance, piracy, trade in endangered species, and harvesting of Siberian timber -- operate outside the formal economy? In this course we will study how the boundaries of the formal economy are negotiated, how black markets arise in relation to the formal economy, and the conditions under which

Environment Social Science

Ceramics: History and Place — CER4232.01

Instructor: Barry Bartlett

Credits: 4

This class will be based on research into the history of European and American ceramic arts, covering both ceramic production and the aesthetic outcomes. We will focus on events, directions and issues, which have influenced the making of ceramic objects in these countries from ancient times to the turn of the Century. Students will work on the preparation and presentation of 2

Social Science Visual Arts

Civil Society in Conflict Resolution — POL4248.01

Instructor: Rotimi Suberu

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 2

Civil society or the arena of autonomous associational organization and activity has been credited with promoting various virtuous outcomes, including democratization, development and social peace. This course critically surveys civil societies' roles in peacemaking and peace building. It will explore theoretical controversies on the nature and roles of civil society as well as

Social Science

Communities and the Environment — PEC2112.01

Instructor: Robin Kemkes

Credits: 4

From the Himalayas to Mexico to New England communities past and present have served as stewards of the forests, fisheries and water resources upon which they depend for their livelihoods. This course will explore how communities retain, regain or form new governance structures for managing critical natural resources. We will begin by introducing a theoretical basis for

Environment Social Science

Comparative Democratization — POL2102.01

Instructor: Rotimi Suberu

Credits: 4

The twentieth century has been described as a century of democratization. This is in recognition of the third wave of democratization that saw the creation or restoration of about eighty democracies in southern Europe, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa during the last quarter of the century. This introductory course will examine the drivers, patterns, outcomes,

Social Science

Comparing Political Institutions — POL2101.01

Instructor: Rotimi Suberu

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Political institutions are the decision norms and organizations that govern political life. Academic and policy interest in such institutions is flourishing as many previously authoritarian states seek to craft their first democratic political institutions or constitutions. This basic course introduces students to major political institutions and the debates about their

Social Science

Coordination, Conflict, and Competition — PEC4126.01

Instructor: robin kemkes

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

What accounts for the divergence of wealth and poverty of nations and people across the world? Aspects of commodity exchange that are non-contractual and involve externalities influence individual and collective behavior and generate problems of allocation and distribution. This course is for students who want to gain an in-depth understanding of how microeconomic interactions

CAPA Social Science

Cultural Localities 1: Researching Culture — ANT4117.01

Instructor: miroslava prazak

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

This advanced research seminar offers the opportunity for the student to design an anthropological research project similar to the type encountered in anthropology graduate programs. The project allows for detailed study of a society of the world, including its culture, politics, economy, world view, religion, expressive practices, and historical transformations. The initial

Social Science

Cultural Localities I: Researching Culture — ANT4117.01

Instructor: Noah Coburn

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Social Science

Cultural Localities II: Writing Culture — ANT4136.01

Instructor: Miroslava Prazak

Credits: 4

This advanced research seminar offers the opportunity for the student to implement an advanced study of a specific culture and issue as it is shaped by various social, political, religious and economic contexts. The course will begin with a discussion of contemporary issues in anthropological field research and the writing process, and will include issues such as ethics, the

Social Science

Cultural Localities II: Writing Culture — ANT4136.01

Instructor: Noah Coburn

Credits: 4

***Time Change*** This advanced research seminar offers the opportunity for the student to implement an advanced study of a specific culture and issue as it is shaped by various social, political, religious and economic contexts. The course will begin with a discussion of contemporary issues in anthropological field research and the writing process, and will include issues

Social Science

Democracy in America: Tocqueville's Past, Our Present — POL2242.01

Instructor: crina archer

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Does a strong commitment to social equality undermine individual freedom? What kind of institutions and cultural practices are needed for flourishing of a healthy democracy? Are modern democratic states at risk of producing novel forms of tyranny and despotism? These are just a few of the questions raised by Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, the first empirically

Social Science

Developmental Psychology After the Grand Theories — PSY2207.01

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

Social Science

Developmental Psychology After the Grand Theories — PSY2207.01

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, Freud, and attachment theory and evolutionary psychology) will be

Social Science

Displaying Culture — ANT4211.01

Instructor: noah coburn

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

This course is a hands-on exploration of how culture is exhibited. How do we move from cultural material to display and what are the consequences of this transition? How do we create ethnography when it is not a text or a film? The course will look at the politics, economics and social impact of exhibiting culture in a variety of ways. It will look at some of the practical and

Social Science

Economic Reasoning: Models, Metrics, and Metaphors — PEC2260.01

Instructor: Robin Kemkes

Credits: 4

This course will explore ways of knowing in economics. How do economists use mathematical models, collect and analyze data in the field and lab, and employ rhetoric to describe and address contemporary economic issues? We will begin with an introduction to the broad philosophical questions surrounding our understanding of economics as a social science. From there, we will

Social Science

Embracing Difference — ANT2107.01

Instructor: miroslava prazak

Days & Time: TBA

Credits: 4

Why are cultures and societies so different, and simultaneously, so similar? This introductory course examines some of the theoretical and methodological approaches of anthropology in exploring human culture and society. We explore various ethnographic examples to develop an anthropological perspective on economy and politics, social organization, kinship and family life,

Social Science

Environmental Aesthetics — PHI4250.01

Instructor: Karen Gover

Credits: 2

***Time Change*** Environmental Aesthetics is a relatively new sub-field in philosophical aesthetics, though it has roots in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this course we will take a broad look at the different topics that fall under the heading of Environmental Aesthetics: the aesthetics of everyday life, the picturesque, earth art, and the relation of aesthetics to

Environment Social Science

Environmental Ethics — PHI2103.01