The distinguished American sociologist, David Riesman, who played a major role in the creation of the general education program in the social sciences at Chicago, once observed that it was only with a "marvelous hubris" that students were encouraged to range over such "large territory" in the social sciences. Indeed, since the 1940s, yearlong sequences designed to introduce students to different types of social scientific data and different forms of social sciences inquiry have become a permanent feature of the Chicago curriculum. Although considerable variety manifests itself in the way the social sciences courses in general education are organized, most of the sequences are informed, as Robert Redfield once suggested, by an attempt "to communicate the historical development of contemporary society" and by an effort "to convey some understanding of the scientific spirit as applied to social problems and the capacity to address oneself in that spirit to such a problem." By training students in the analysis of social phenomena through the development and use of interdisciplinary and comparative concepts, the courses also try to determine the characteristics common among many societies, thus enabling the individual to use both reason and special knowledge to confront rapid social change in the global world of the late twentieth century.

The Social Sciences Collegiate Division offers several social science and civilization sequences in the general education program. It also offers specialized courses that provide a particularly interdisciplinary or comparative theoretical perspective and may be of interest to students in a variety of majors. The latter set of courses should also be considered as attractive possibilities for electives.

Courses: Social Sciences (sosc)

General Education Sequences

11100-11200-11300. Power, Identity, and Resistance. PQ: Must be taken in sequence. G. Herrigel, Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

11100. This quarter looks at the relationship between the economy and power in the age of Capitalism. It examines topics such as the nature of economic process, the logic of the division of labor, the prevalence and character of exploitation in economic relationships, and the scope for political intervention in the economy. Also considered are the roles of values and culture in economic process, as well as the historical and cultural variability of the boundaries between the economy, society, and politics. Readings include classic works in modern political economy and its critique by Adam Smith, Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim.

11200. PQ: SOSC 11100. The focus of this quarter is on the relationship between politics and power in the modern age. The course begins by investigating the classical liberal emphasis on individuals and individualism, and its distinct understanding of government as a contract and of the role of the political in maintaining order and protecting the rights of its citizens. The course then considers criticisms of the liberal conception coming from both the left and the right. Questions of equality, liberty, rights, identity, boundary, order, and history preoccupy us. Readings include texts by Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Mill, Nietzsche, Schmitt, and Gandhi.

11300. PQ: SOSC 11200. Spring Quarter analyzes the way in which the themes of the first two quarters worked themselves out in the history of the twentieth century. The course begins by examining debates about revolution and reform, national socialism, and the viability of democracy. The middle of the course examines debates about the nature of modern capitalism and the possibility of reforming it. Themes here are the emergence of the welfare state and the changing character of opposition in the middle of the century. The final part of the course considers the emergence of identity politics and the growing importance of human rights in oppositional discourse at century's end. Readings include Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg, Gentile, Hayek, Polanyi, Marcuse, Foucault, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X.

12100-12200-12300. Self, Culture, and Society. PQ: Must be taken in sequence. M. Postone, B. Cohler, W. Sewell. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

12100. In this quarter we explore the nature and development of modern society through an examination of theories of capitalism. The classic social theories of Smith, Marx, and Weber, along with contemporary ethnographic and historical works, serve as points of departure for considering the characterizing features of the modern world, with particular emphasis on its social-economic structure and issues of work, the texture of time, and economic globalization.

12200. PQ: SOSC 12100. In this quarter we focus on the relation of culture, social life, and history. On the basis of readings from Durkheim, LŽvi-Strauss, Sahlins, Foucault, Benjamin, Adorno, and other anthropologists and cultural theorists, we investigate how systems of meaning expressed through metaphors, symbols, rituals, and narratives constitute and articulate individual and social experience across a range of societies, including our own, and how those systems of meaning change historically.

12300. PQ: SOSC 12200. In this quarter we concern ourselves with the question of how personhood is constructed socially, culturally, and historically. Our considerations include issues of gender, sexuality, and ethnic identity, through the study of the wide range of approaches found in the works of Freud, Goffman, Vygotsky, de Beauvoir, Fanon, and others.

13100-13200-13300. Democracy and Social Science. Must be taken in sequence. How does the democratic process work in practice? What role can social scientific knowledge play in public policy and decision making? How does the democratic process know "what the public wants?" This course explores these questions by examining classic and contemporary points of view on democracy, equality, public opinion, and representation. The course's aim is to understand the democratic process from a social scientific point of view, as well as to show the role of social science in that process. The course involves work of three kinds, taken up in the three quarters seriatim. In the Autumn Quarter, we read classic works on democracy and its functioning. Readings come from Rousseau, Dewey, Tocqueville, Engels, the Federalist papers, Michael Young, and empirical studies of American voting. In the Winter Quarter, students examine major social policy issues, both through reading classic analyses and through gaining hands-on practice at empirical analysis of social issues using the General Social Survey, the National Voting Studies, and other data sets. A central focus of the Winter Quarter is on the practice of empirical social analysis from the philosophy of science to techniques of empirical analysis. In the Spring Quarter, students study a particular policy area (the course in the past has used education and medicine, but may choose new areas as faculty interest dictates) and prepare an empirical research paper on a topic they choose. L. Hedges, Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

14100-14200-14300. Mind. Must be taken in sequence. This sequence presents an introduction to the study of how people think and understand. We examine mental processes such as perception, memory, and judgment, and the relationship between language and thought. This course focuses on the issue of what is innate versus what is learned, the development of thought in children, and the logic of causal, functional, and evolutionary explanations. Another theme of the course is the problem of rationality vis-ˆ-vis the canons that govern the language and thought of the ideal scientist and how those compare to the canons that govern ordinary language and thought, the language and thought of other cultures, and the language and thought of actual scientists. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

15100-15200-15300. Classics of Social and Political Thought. PQ: Must be taken in sequence. What is justice? What makes a good society? This sequence examines such problems as the conflicts between individual interest and common good; between morality, religion, and politics; and between liberty and equality. We read classic writings from Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine to such great founders and critics of modernity as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Constant, Tocqueville, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, and Weber. Writing before our departmentalization of disciplines, they were at the same time sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, economists, and moralists; they offer contrasting alternative conceptions of society and politics that underlie continuing controversies in the social sciences and in contemporary political life. D. Allen, G. Balakrishnan, C. Greenwald, J. Levy, M. Lilla, P. Markell, J. McCormick, P. Nordeen, R. Pippin, E. Putterman, W. Schweiker, N. Tarcov, I. Young. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Collegiate Courses

20200/30900. Survey Research Overview. (=SOCI 20118/30118) For course description, see Sociology. M. Van Haitsma. Autumn, Winter.

20600. Qualitative Methods in the Social Sciences. (=HUDV 24300, PSYC 24300/39300) For course description, see Human Development. B. Cohler. Winter. Offered 2005-06; not offered 2004-05.

21100-21200. Music in Western Civilization. (=HIST 12700-12800, MUSI 12100-12200) Prior music course or ability to read music not required. This two-quarter sequence meets the general education requirement in

civilization studies. It may not be used to meet the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. For course description, see Music. R. Kendrick, Winter; Staff, Spring.

21700-21800-21900. Introduction to Linguistics I, II, III. (=ANTH 27001-27002-27003/37001-37001-37003, LING 20100-20200-20300/ 30100-30200-30300) Must be taken in sequence. For course description, see Linguistics. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

22000-22100. Introduction to Islamic Civilization I, II. (=NEHC 20601-20602/30601-30602) PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in social sciences. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. For course description, see Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Near Eastern History and Civilization). W. Kadi, Autumn; R. Dankoff, J. Perry. Winter.

22000. Introduction to Islamic Civilization I. (=NEHC 20601/30601) W. Kadi. Autumn.

22100. Introduction to Islamic Civilization II. (=NEHC 20602/30602) R. Dankoff, J. Perry. Winter.

22400. Rhetorical Theories of Legal and Political Reasoning. (=HUMA 21400, ISHU 22800/32800, LLSO 22400) For course description, see Law, Letters, and Society. W. Olmsted. Winter, 2005.

22500-22600. Introduction to African Civilization I, II. (=ANTH 20701-20702, HIST 10101-10102) General education social science sequence recommended. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. For course description, see Anthropology. Offered 2005-06; not offered 2004-05.

23000-23100. Introduction to the Civilization of South Asia I, II. (=ANTH 24101-24102, HIST 10800-10900, SALC 20100-20200, SASC 20000-20100) PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in social sciences. Must be taken in sequence. This course fulfills the general education requirement in civilization studies. For course description, see South Asian Languages and Civilizations. S. Pollock, Autumn; M. Alam, Winter

23500-23600-23700. Introduction to the Civilizations of East Asia I, II, III. (=EALC 10800-10900-11000, HIST 15100-15200-15300) May be taken in sequence or individually. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. For course description, see East Asian Languages and Civilizations. P. Duara, Autumn; S. Burns, Winter; Staff, Spring.

24000-24100. Introduction to Russian Civilization I, II. (=HIST 13900-14000, RUSS 25100-25200) It is recommended that students begin with the first course in this sequence. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This two-quarter, interdisciplinary course studies geography, history, literature, economics, law, fine arts, religion, sociology, and agriculture, among other fields, to see how the civilization of Russia has developed and functioned since the ninth century. The first quarter covers the period up to 1801; the second, since 1801. The course has a common lecture by a specialist in the field, usually on a topic about which little is written in English. Two weekly seminar meetings are devoted to discussion of the readings, which integrate the materials from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. The course attempts to inculcate an understanding of the separate elements of Russian civilization. Emphasis is placed on discovering indigenous elements of Russian civilization and how they have reacted to the pressures and impact of other civilizations, particularly Byzantine, Mongol-Tataric, and Western. The course also considers problems of the social sciences, such as the way in which the state has dominated society, stratification, patterns of legitimization of the social order, symbols of collective social and cultural identity, the degrees of pluralism in society, and the autonomy an individual has vis-ˆ-vis the social order. Also examined are such problems as the role of the center in directing the periphery and its cultural, political, and economic order; the mechanisms of control over the flow of resources and the social surplus; and processes of innovation and modernization. This course is offered in alternate years. R. Hellie, N. Ingham. Autumn, Winter.

25100. Urban Structure and Process. (=GEOG 22700/32700, SOCI 20104/30104) For course description, see Sociology. S. Sassen, Spring, 2005; O. McRoberts, Spring, 2006.

25300. Social Welfare in the United States. (=PBPL 25300, SSAD 45001) This course examines the evolution of social welfare provisions in American society. Special emphasis is placed on who is helped and who is not, in what forms, under what auspices, and with what goals. The changing nature of helping is analyzed with particular attention to the changing role of the state. Readings and discussion focus on provisions for the poor, for children and families, and for the mentally ill. Comparisons are made with other industrialized countries. H. Richman. Spring.

25501-25502-22503. Foundations of Education. PQ: Consent of instructor. Must be taken in sequence during the same academic year. Credit for each quarter is granted if all three courses are completed successfully. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

25501. Schools and Communities. Students begin to relate their pre-existing understanding of the social sciences (gained through prior coursework at the University of Chicago) with the realities of educational institutions in urban settings. They engage in sociological, historical, geographic, anthropological, economic, and political inquiry and learn how to apply these disciplines toward the understanding of educational trends and issues such as schools as communities, social capital, the causes and effects of local control, equity, and funding. Special emphasis is placed on current reform efforts in urban schools.

25502. Human Development and Learning. This course focuses on understanding the physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development of children and the cultural contexts in which development occurs, with particular emphasis on children in urban settings. Students explore the central issues of child developmental: (1) the diverse pathways of change; (2) the interplay between biology and environment in development; and (3) interrelatedness of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. They learn and apply tools and techniques to make naturalistic observations of children and conduct child, family, and school interviews.

25503. The Purposes and Effects of Urban Education. This course examines philosophical issues affecting educational policy and instructional practice. Each issue is addressed through examination of foundational philosophical texts and elaborated through more contemporary perspectives. Among the issues to be addressed are: What are the purposes of education and schooling? What should be the relative importance of providing for common experiences (cultural integration) and helping individuals and groups to establish their unique cultural identity? What should be the comparative importance of academic learning versus moral development in schools? What are the positives and negatives of placing increased emphasis on measuring the academic results of schooling?

25900. Sexual Identity, Life Course, and Life Story. (=GNDR 20800, HIPS 26900, HUDV 24600/34600, ISHU 35900, PSYC 24600/34600) For course description, see Human Development. B. Cohler. Spring.

26100-26200-26300. Introduction to Latin American Civilization I, II, III. (=ANTH 23101-23102-23103, HIST 16101-16102-16103, LACS 34600-34700-34800, LTAM 16100-16200-16300) PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in social sciences. May be taken in sequence or individually. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. For course description, see History. A. Kolata, Autumn; D. Borges, Winter; E. Kouri, Spring.

26900. The Complex Problem of World Hunger. (=BIOS 02810, BPRO 24800, ENST 24800) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. For course description, see Big Problems. J. Malamy, A. Sanderson. Spring, 2005.

27900. The Psychiatric Patient and the Life World. (=HUDV 25800, PSYC 25800) PQ: Consent of instructor. For course description, see Human Development. B. Cohler. Spring. Offered 2005-06; not offered 2004-05.

28200-28300. Problems in Gender Studies. (=ENGL 10200-10300, GNDR 10100-10200, HUMA 22800-22900) PQ: Second-year standing or higher. Completion of the general education requirement in social sciences or humanities, or the equivalent. For course description, see Gender Studies. 28200: S. Michaels, Autumn; E. Hadley, Spring. 28300: S. Michaels, Winter.

28601. Creation and Creativity. (=ANTH 27610, BPRO 27600, HUMA 27600, ISHU 27650) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. For course description, see Big Problems. P. Friedrich, K. Mitova. Spring, 2005.

29000. History and the Russian Novel. (=HIST 23601/33601) Monday lectures present the historical, intellectual, and literary setting of each work. On Fridays the class discusses the novel of the week in the context of the Monday lectures. Depending upon availability, ten novels are chosen from Radischev, Journey; Gogol, Dead Souls; Turgenev, Fathers and Sons; Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment; Tolstoy, Ana Karenina; Belyi,

Petersburg; Gladkov, Cement; Fadeev, The Rout; Sholohov, Virgin Soil Upturned; Erenburg, The Thaw; Solzhenitsyn, The First Circle; and Rybakov, Children of the Arbat. R. Hellie. Autumn.

29500. Readings in Social Sciences in a Foreign Language. PQ: At least one year of language. Students are required to make arrangements with appropriate instructors and obtain consent of senior adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29700. Independent Study in the Social Sciences. PQ: Consent of instructor and senior adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29900. B.A. Paper in Russian Civilization. PQ: Consent of instructor and undergraduate program chair. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This is a reading and research course for independent study related to B.A. research and B.A. paper preparation. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.