MALS FND: Social Sciences

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This is one of four required foundational courses (humanities, social sciences, science & society, and norms & ethics) offered by the LSP to facilitate graduate-level interdisciplinary study and research throughout the MALS curriculum. They aim to improve your analytical, research, and writing skills so you can realize the full potential of your learning experience throughout the program. They provide a solid intellectual foundation for your elective courses; enhance your ability to conduct research on important issues treated in your other courses; and prepare you for success in your capstone thesis project. This Social Sciences course will first, through assigned and self-selected readings and projects, provide a solid understanding of, and practical experience in, interdisciplinary studies and research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative. It will examine the relationships between and among the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, with regard to both their subject matter and underlying theories. Focusing directly on anthropology, history, economics, psychology, sociology, and political science/international relations, it will explore their distinctive concepts and theories, and how their scholarly practitioners advance interdisciplinary theory and research. Finally, throughout the course we will reflect on how the humanities/social sciences/natural sciences implicate and engage issues of values, norms and ethics.