SS-260 Applied Child and Adolescent Development (3 Credits)
This course introduces students to the field of child and adolescent development by examining the application of various theoretical frameworks with the aim of understanding and promoting psychological growth and development. Students will survey classical psychological paradigms, examine research in applied settings, explore assessment approaches, and identify contemporary social issues which bear direct relevance on development of children and adolescents in the 21st century. Students will examine how research can inform educational practices, parenting decisions, public policy, and help design interventions for improving children's and youth's welfare as well as quality of life. This course includes 10 hours of fieldwork observations in the Art and Design Education Department’s Community Arts Education classes on Saturdays.
SS-261G Sexual Politics in Transnational Perspective (3 Credits)
This class comparatively examines how sexuality and gender intersected with politics to shape modern societies. It will address the global dimensions of sexuality, but the readings will primarily focus on developments in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Our weekly discussions will revolve around several interesting themes including gender-role construction, theories of sexual identity, state regulation of sexual behavior, and rise of LGBTQ emancipation movements. After discussing the significance of these themes on the local level, students will then examine them within large cultural, social, and transnational contexts.
SSWI-210T General Psychology (3 Credits)
Psychology is a study of human mental processes, behavior, and activities. This course is designed to familiarize students with major areas of psychology and provide them with knowledge of key psychological theories. The course covers basic topics of psychology such as origin of human knowledge, emotional and mental development, behavior in groups, psychological disorders, and their treatment.
SSWI-222G Making/Faking Nature (3 Credits)
This course explores a wide range of philosophical conceptions of nature and examines how these theories have influenced the way we treat our environment, animals, and each other. Students will consider, among other things, whether nature is dead, if there was ever such a thing as wilderness, whether people can restore or improve nature, and if so, who should have the power and authority to do so. Readings are selected from a variety of fields in the social sciences and cultural studies.
SSWI-228T Introduction to Theory and Critique (3 Credits)
This course is an introduction to core concepts in critical theory from the critical traditions of Marxism, psychoanalysis, feminism, queer theory, postcolonial studies, and critical race studies. Students learn the theoretical foundations of concepts such as critique, ideology, power, subjectivity, freedom, and resistance and discuss their political relevance for understanding gender, class, race, and ethnicity, and the histories of capitalism, colonialism, and migration across geographies and social contexts.
SSWI-242G Culture, Identity, Power: 1300-1800 (3 Credits)
This course looks at the significance of cultural materials—architecture, painting, decorative arts, writing, ritual, and religious practices—in establishing and maintaining the power of rule. Students will focus on two different regions of the world between 1300-1800 to understand the development and consolidation of governing power in the modern world. Historical comparisons will enable students to gain skills in identifying and analyzing expressive forms of power, forged through a range of cultural practices. Throughout the course, students will use these insights to critically assess the use of contemporary cultural materials for power-making in our world today.
SSWI-255T Telling Tales: Narrative and Meaning in the Humanities (3 Credits)
This is a writing intensive course devoted to the questions: What does the term 'narrative' mean, why does it matter to culture and knowledge, and what do people do when they tell stories? Students will read and write about myths, stories, and historical accounts and study classical and contemporary theories of meaning, language, communication, and authorship. Supplementary material will be drawn from work in poetics, linguistics, history, psychology, media, and social science. The role of narration in film, music, and the visual arts will also be considered.
SSWI-293T Weimar Film and Culture: Modernity as Catastrophe (3 Credits)
Combining the study of film, history, social movements, psychopathology, and art, this course presents a portrait of Germany at its moment of greatest cultural crisis: between WWI and Nazism, between artistic experimentation (the Bauhaus, Neue Sachlichkeit, Expressionism, and proletariat culture), and conservative reaction. Weekly screenings feature classic silent and early sound films from directors like Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau and with stars like Louise Brooks, Asta Nielsen, Emi Jannings, and Peter Lorre.
