2014-2015 Catalog

SOSC 11100-11200-11300. Power, Identity, and Resistance I-II-III.

The first quarter of this course focuses on the work of three central figures in modern political economy and social theory: Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Emile Durkheim. The aim of Autumn Quarter is to introduce students to the very idea of theorizing about society, economy, and politics through close readings of central works of each author. The focus is on the organization of economic process and the ways in which it relates to social and political relations and institutions. The central questions are these: How historically distinctive is the modern form of capitalist economy? Do human beings "naturally" act in certain ways in the economy and society? How much can individual self-control be relied on? What is the role of power in economic life? Winter Quarter focuses on modern liberalism and its critics. The course investigates the distinctly modern liberal claim that society or groups of associated individuals make states for their own protection and the governance of their affairs. Authors are interrogated on questions concerning individuality, liberty, equality, the limitation of state power, the importance of stability, the value of democratic participation in governance, and the role that organized society plays in political life, among other issues. Both defenders and critics of the liberal conception of liberty and the state are addressed. Texts include Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Hegel, Wollstonecraft, and Marx. Spring Quarter analyzes the way in which selected themes from the first two quarters work themselves out in the history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Broadly, we consider the role and place of violence in liberal thought and practice. Problems of individual psychological violence as well as social and political violence are considered. Readings include texts by Kant, Nietzsche, Freud, Wolf, Fanon, DuBois, Arendt, Martin Luther King, and Foucault.

SOSC 12100-12200-12300. Self, Culture, and Society I-II-III.

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. Particular emphasis is given to the modern world's social-economic structure and issues of work, the texture of time, and economic globalization. Winter quarter focuses on the relation of culture, social life, and history. On the basis of readings from Durkheim, Levi-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. In spring, 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, Mauss, Mead, Marcuse, Vygotsky, de Beauvoir, Fanon, and others.

SOSC 13100-13200-13300. Social Science Inquiry I-II-III.

Contemporary culture is awash in scientific claims about the human condition. As evident in best-sellers like Freakonomics, Moneyball, and The Tipping Point, a data-driven conception of social life is occurring not just in the higher echelons of business or government, but in popular discourse as well. This course provides an introduction to this "positivist" approach. The Autumn Quarter starts by introducing students to the various ways that social scientists think about the world. Examples include theoretical models from Milton Friedman, Thomas Schelling, and John Nash; path-breaking experiments from Stanley Milgram and Daniel Kahneman; and quantitative research on topics ranging from voting to gun violence to baby names. Through these works, students will learn how researchers theorize about social phenomena. In the Winter Quarter, students will be introduced to social science research tools. They will learn how to collect data, conduct experiments, and make causal inferences from statistics. Using the General Social Survey, the National Election Studies, and other surveys, students will gain hands-on experience working with large data sets. In the Spring Quarter, students will conduct their own substantial research project. Students will learn how to translate their ideas into research questions, their theories into testable hypotheses, and their findings into meaningful conclusions. By year's end, students will develop a critical perspective on many perennial social questions and, ultimately, acquire "quantitative literacy," essential skills in an increasingly data-driven world.

SOSC 14100-14200-14300. Mind I-II-III.

This sequence takes an empirical, scientific approach to understanding the functions of the mind. Drawing on psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, and a number of other social as well as biological sciences, the course examines how the mind operates at multiple levels of analysis (e.g., biological, psychological, societal) and across a variety of time scales (e.g., exploring processes that unfold over the course of milliseconds as well as those that unfold over millennia). We examine issues such as how people apprehend reality, the development of thought across the life span, the impact of social contextual factors on mental processes, the ideal of rationality and systematic deviations from that ideal, how different languages and cultures represent different ways of seeing and thinking about the world. Cross-cutting these specific topic areas is a sustained exploration of the process by which contemporary social science is conducted. For example, we consider what constitutes a legitimate social scientific question, what counts as valid empirical evidence, and how data are used to test theories and to support causal claims.

SOSC 15100-15200-15300. Classics of Social and Political Thought I-II-III.

Students registered in this sequence must attend the first and second class sessions or their registration will be dropped. 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 Aquinas to such great founders and critics of modernity as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, 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.

SOSC 02980. Practicum. 025 Units.

This course is for students who secure a summer internship. For details, visit careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/jobs-internships-research/internships-for-credit. Students write a short paper (two to three pages) and give an oral presentation reflecting on their internship experience.

Instructor(s): D. Spatz     Terms Offered: Summer
Note(s): Must be taken for P/F grading; students who fail to complete the course requirements will receive an F on their transcript (no W will be granted). Students receive 025 units of credit at completion of course. Course meets once in Spring Quarter and once in Autumn Quarter. Course fee $150; students in need of financial aid should contact Susan Art at 702.8609.
Equivalent Course(s): HUMA 02980

SOSC 20200. Survey Research Overview. 100 Units.

The course provides an overview of interview-based data collection methods. Each student must develop a research question to guide their research design. Students get an overview of different interview-based data collection methods (focus groups, key-informant interviews, large-N sample surveys), how to sample and design a questionnaire or interview guide for their project, and the nuts and bolts of actual recruitment, receipt control and survey administration. The instructor provides feedback for proposed elements of each student's research plan through weekly assignments. The final paper is a research proposal that outlines a plan for research to address the student's research question.

Instructor(s): M. Van Haitsma     Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20118,MAPS 30900,SOCI 30118,SOSC 30900,SSAD 53200

SOSC 21100-21200. Music in Western Civilization I-II.

Prior music course or ability to read music not required. Students must confirm enrollment by attending one of the first two sessions of class. This two-quarter sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies; it does not meet the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. This two-quarter sequence explores musical works of broad cultural significance in Western civilization. We study pieces not only from the standpoint of musical style but also through the lenses of politics, intellectual history, economics, gender, cultural studies, and so on. Readings are taken both from our music textbook and from the writings of a number of figures such as St. Benedict of Nursia and Martin Luther. In addition to lectures, students discuss important issues in the readings and participate in music listening exercises in smaller sections.

SOSC 22000-22100-22200. Islamic Thought and Literature I-II-III.

This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. Taking these courses in sequence is recommended but not required.

SOSC 23000-23100. Introduction to the Civilizations of South Asia I-II.

This sequence introduces core themes in the formation of culture and society in South Asia from the early modern period until the present. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. These courses must be taken in sequence.

SOSC 23500-23600-23700-23801. Introduction to the Civilizations of East Asia I-II-III-IV.

This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This is a sequence on the civilizations of China, Japan, and Korea, with emphasis on major transformation in these cultures and societies from the Middle Ages to the present.

SOSC 24000-24100. Introduction to Russian Civilization I-II.

This two-quarter sequence, which meets the general education requirement in civilization studies, provides an interdisciplinary introduction to Russian civilization. The first quarter covers the ninth century to the 1870s; the second quarter continues on through the post-Soviet period. Working closely with a variety of primary sources—from oral legends to film and music, from political treatises to literary masterpieces—we will track the evolution of Russian civilization over the centuries and through radically different political regimes. Topics to be discussed include the influence of Byzantine, Mongol-Tataric, and Western culture in Russian civilization; forces of change and continuity in political, intellectual and cultural life; the relationship between center and periphery; systems of social and political legitimization; and symbols and practices of collective identity.

SOSC 24001-24002-24003. Colonizations I-II-III.

This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This three-quarter sequence approaches the concept of civilization from an emphasis on cross-cultural/societal connection and exchange. We explore the dynamics of conquest, slavery, colonialism, and their reciprocal relationships with concepts such as resistance, freedom, and independence, with an eye toward understanding their interlocking role in the making of the modern world.

SOSC 25100. Urban Structure and Process. 100 Units.

This course reviews competing theories of urban development, especially their ability to explain the changing nature of cities under the impact of advanced industrialism. Analysis includes a consideration of emerging metropolitan regions, the microstructure of local neighborhoods, and the limitations of the past U.S. experience as a way of developing worldwide urban policy.

Instructor(s): F. Stuart     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20104,CRES 20104,GEOG 22700,GEOG 32700,SOCI 30104

SOSC 26100-26200-26300. Introduction to Latin American Civilization I-II-III.

Taking these courses in sequence is not required. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This sequence is offered every year. This course introduces the history and cultures of Latin America (e.g., Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands).

SOSC 26900. The Complex Problem of World Hunger. 100 Units.

Few of our policymakers are experts in economics, agronomy, food science, and molecular biology, yet all of these disciplines are essential for developing strategies to end world hunger. Choosing one country as a test case, we look at the history, politics, governmental structure, population demographics, and agricultural challenges. We then study the theory of world markets, global trade, and microeconomics of developing nations, as well as the promise and limitation of traditional breeding and biotechnology.

Instructor(s): J. Malamy     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing
Note(s): This course does not meet requirements for the biological sciences major.
Equivalent Course(s): BPRO 24800,ENST 24800,BIOS 02810

SOSC 28200-28300. Problems in the Study of Gender; Problems in the Study of Sexuality.

This two-quarter interdisciplinary sequence is designed as an introduction to theories and critical practices in the study of feminism, gender, and sexuality. Both classic texts and recent conceptualizations of these contested fields are examined. Problems and cases from a variety of cultures and historical periods are considered, and the course pursues their differing implications in local, national, and global contexts. Both quarters also engage questions of aesthetics and representation, asking how stereotypes, generic conventions, and other modes of circulated fantasy have contributed to constraining and emancipating people through their gender or sexuality.

SOSC 29500. Readings in Social Sciences in a Foreign Language. 100 Units.

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.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): At least one year of language

SOSC 29700. Independent Study in the Social Sciences. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and senior adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

SOSC 29900. BA Paper in Russian Civilization. 100 Units.

This is a reading and research course for independent study related to BA research and BA paper preparation.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and undergraduate program chair
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

SOSC 34500. Anthropology of Museums I. 100 Units.

Instructor(s): M. Fred     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Advanced standing and consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 24511,ANTH 34502,CHDV 38101,CRES 34501,MAPS 34500

SOSC 34600. Anthropology of Museums II. 100 Units.

Instructor(s): M. Fred     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Advanced standing or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 24512,CRES 34502

SOSC 39000. Anthropology of Disability. 100 Units.

This seminar undertakes to explore "disability" from an anthropological perspective that recognizes it as a socially constructed concept with implications for our understanding of fundamental issues about culture, society, and individual differences. We explore a wide range of theoretical, legal, ethical, and policy issues as they relate to the experiences of persons with disabilities, their families, and advocates. The final project is a presentation on the fieldwork.

Instructor(s): M. Fred     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Third- or fourth-year standing