Social Science & Policy Studies Department

This course makes the student aware of the social, moral, ethical, and philosophical impact of computers and computer-based systems on society, both now and in the future. Topics include major computer-based applications and their impact, human machine relationships, and the major problems of controlling the use of computers. This course is recommended for juniors and seniors. The Social Science Requirement cannot be satisfied by this course. Undergraduate credit may not be earned both for this course and for CS 505.

This course is intended for anyone interested in human behavior and sustainability. This course applies psychological theory and research to understand the causes of human behavior that degrades natural systems and to identify and promote more sustainable actions and policies. Topics will include: social dilemmas and cognitive limitations as root causes of environmental problems; psychological methods for studying sustainability; the potential for and limitations of changing individual environmental cognition and behavior; environmental knowledge, attitudes, and values; motivations for sustainable behavior; and the relationship between environmental quality and human health and mental health. Students will gain experience applying social and cognitive behavior change strategies to reduce their own environmental impact.

Students may not receive credit for both ENV 2400 and ENV 2500/PSY 2500.

This course will be offered in academic years ending in even numbers. 

This course examines the perceived, existing, and potential links between women and the environment with an emphasis on the roles of women in environmental movements, climate change, climate justice, forest conservation, water management, disaster recovery, womenperceptions of environmental risk, and other environmental issues. Through reading, discussion, documentary films and research project, we will explore how social, economic, political and cultural systems that shape women’s environmental experiences and their resistance and strategies for social change. 

This course introduces students to the sociology of race. The sociology of race examines how and why social, cultural, and historical forces combine to reproduce racism, racial discrimination, and racial inequality. What are the distinctions between race and ethnicity? What distinguishes, if at all, individual, institutional, structural, and cultural racism? What are racial formation, antiracism, pigmentocracy, and 
Whiteness? What role did W. E. B. Du Bois play in founding sociology in the US? Why has Du Bois and his theoretical contributions been erased from the history of sociology? What works best represent Du Bois’s thoughts on the meaning of race and race relations? What is the relationship between Du Bois, the Atlanta School, and the sociology of race? To answer these questions, students will examine a range of primary,  secondary, and tertiary texts and become familiar with the conceptual theories and research methods that inform the sociology of race and Du Bois’s pioneering role in the field of sociology. Students will learn to think critically about the aims of the sociology of race and the theoretical means used to achieve those aims.

This course introduces students to the oral and written discourse of African American political leaders. Ranging from the 1800s to the present, the course examines representations of African American political thought in the speeches and letters of African Americans who have held leadership positions in political organizations or who have participated in electoral politics. Students will explore the ideological foundations of the major African American political movements, examining how their goals and objectives have been informed by combinations of various political ideologies: Pan-Africanism, nationalism, feminism, radicalism, liberalism, centrism, and conservatism. What roles did African American leaders play in the Abolitionist movement? Who were the leaders of classical and modern Black nationalism? Who  were the leaders of the Pan-African Congresses? What is the relationship between religiosity and African American political leadership? What are the similarities and differences between the strategies and tactics of the Abolitionist, New Negro, Civil Rights, Black Power, Black Arts, and Black Lives Matter movements? To answer these questions, students will examine a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary texts and become familiar with the conceptual theories and research methods that inform the study of African American political thought and intellectual history. Students will learn to think critically about the relationship between African American political thought, identity, and behavior.