A collection of nine excerpts from historical accounts of epidemics: two from …
A collection of nine excerpts from historical accounts of epidemics: two from ancient sources, one from the Black Death in 14th century Europe, one from the 1665 Plague of London, one from the late 18th century Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia, two from smallpox epidemics on Native American reservations in the late 19th century, and two from the influenza pandemic of 1918.
All readings include a brief introduction to the historical context, a glossary, discussion questions, and sources. Discussion questions can be edited to support learning in various disciplines.
This course focuses on popular music, i.e. music created for and transmitted …
This course focuses on popular music, i.e. music created for and transmitted by mass media. Various popular music genres from around the world will be studied through listening, reading and written assignments, with an emphasis on class discussion. In particular, we will consider issues of musical change, syncretism, Westernization, globalization, the impact of recording industries, and the post-colonial era. Case studies will include Afro-pop, reggae, bhangra, rave, and global hip-hop.
Using examples from anthropology and sociology alongside classical and contemporary social theory, …
Using examples from anthropology and sociology alongside classical and contemporary social theory, this course explores the nature of dominant and subordinate relationships, types of legitimate authority, and practices of resistance. The course also examines how we are influenced in subtle ways by the people around us, who makes controlling decisions in the family, how people get ahead at work, and whether democracies, in fact, reflect the "will of the people..
Intensive reading and analysis of key works in the theory and methods …
Intensive reading and analysis of key works in the theory and methods of the social study of science and technology. Aims at understanding the different questions and methods social scientists have posed and used in exploring how social context and norms influence the work of scientists and engineers. Students read studies of science labs, science policy, Internet culture, and science in popular culture.
This course covers major theorists and theoretical schools since the late 19th …
This course covers major theorists and theoretical schools since the late 19th century. Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Bourdieu, Levi-Strauss, Geertz, Foucault, Gramsci, and others.
This course explores how social theories of urban life can be related …
This course explores how social theories of urban life can be related to the city's architecture and spaces. It is grounded in classic or foundational writings about the city addressing such topics as the public realm and public space, impersonality, crowds and density, surveillance and civility, imprinting time on space, spatial justice, and the segregation of difference. The aim of the course is to generate new ideas about the city by connecting the social and the physical, using Boston as a visual laboratory. Students are required to present a term paper mediating what is read with what has been observed.
" Humans are social animals; social demands, both cooperative and competitive, structure …
" Humans are social animals; social demands, both cooperative and competitive, structure our development, our brain and our mind. This course covers social development, social behaviour, social cognition and social neuroscience, in both human and non-human social animals. Topics include altruism, empathy, communication, theory of mind, aggression, power, groups, mating, and morality. Methods include evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology and anthropology."
Is marriage a patriarchal institution? Much feminist scholarship has characterized it that …
Is marriage a patriarchal institution? Much feminist scholarship has characterized it that way, but now in the context of the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage, the meaning of marriage itself demands serious re-examination. This course will discuss history, literature, film, and legal scholarship, making use of cross-cultural, sociological, anthropological, and many other theoretical approaches to the marriage question from 1630 to the present. As it turns out, sex, marriage, and the family have never been stable institutions; to the contrary, they have continued to function as flash points for the very social and cultural questions that are central to gender studies scholarship.
This subject examines relationships among technology, culture, and politics in a range …
This subject examines relationships among technology, culture, and politics in a range of social and historical settings. The class is organized around two topics: Identity and infrastructure, and will combine interactive lectures, film screenings, readings, and discussion.
This course examines the problem of mass violence and oppression in the …
This course examines the problem of mass violence and oppression in the contemporary world, and the concept of human rights as a defense against such abuse. It explores questions of cultural relativism, race, gender and ethnicity. It examines case studies from war crimes tribunals, truth commissions, anti-terrorist policies and other judicial attempts to redress state-sponsored wrongs. It also considers whether the human rights framework effectively promotes the rule of law in modern societies. Students debate moral positions and address ideas of moral relativism.
7– W3.1.1 Describe the characteristics that classical civilizations share (e.g., institutions, cultural …
7– W3.1.1 Describe the characteristics that classical civilizations share (e.g., institutions, cultural styles, systems of thought that influenced neighboring peoples and have endured for several centuries). 7 – W3.1.2 Using historic and modern maps, locate three major empires of this era, describe their geographic characteristics including physical features and climates, and propose a generalization about the relationship between geographic characteristics and the development of early empires. (G) 7– W3.1.3 Compare and contrast the defining characteristics of a city-state, civilization, and empire. (C) 7 – W3.1.5 Describe major achievements from Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, African, and Southwest and Central Asian civilizations. (G) 7 – W3.1.9 Describe the significance of legal codes, belief systems, written languages and communications in the development of large regional empires. 7 – W3.1.11 Explain the role of economics in shaping the development of classical civilizations and empires (e.g., trade routes and their significance, supply and demand for products). (E)
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