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Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
65
The Freshman years
Junior Freshman (first) year
There are approximately 22 hours of classes
per week.
Senior Freshman (second) year
There are approximately 22 hours of classes per week.
Languages 1 & 2:
Grammar and structures of the languages,
written and spoken expression and
comprehension
Languages 1 & 2:
Grammar and structures of the languages, written and spoken expression and
comprehension
Introduction to the history of ideas
Introduction to the evolution of European
thought and culture in the 20th century, and
to the techniques of analysing texts in their
historical context.
This module examines the intellectual and
cultural climate in Europe before and after the
two World Wars. In particular you will examine
how intellectual and cultural trends reacted or
contributed to the threat of war and how they
dealt with catastrophes in their aftermath.
Topics covered include:
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The Fin-de-Siècle mood around 1900
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The urban culture of the European
metropolis
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The pre-war crisis of values (Nietzsche)
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Social Darwinism
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Socialist ideologies
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The upsurge of right-wing thought after
the First World War
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The role of new media
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Culture and politics in the inter war years
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The idea of Europe after 1945
Culture and politics in Europe 1700-1815
Studies the emergence and development of modern society and culture since
the Enlightenment. The core of the course concerns itself with political culture by
analysing the political ideologies created from, and in opposition to, the French
Revolution. You will be introduced to the central texts and figures who defined the
meaning of modernity and to the social and cultural changes that carried forward the
project of a modern society.
The making of Modernity 1750-1820
Introduces students to key concepts of modernity as they constituted themselves
during the saddle epoch around 1800. It covers the main philosophical and cultural
trends in the European Enlightenment and Romanticism and elucidates how cultural
and aesthetic discourses interact with politics and society. It identifies elements of the
Dialectics of Enlightenment and the interaction of Enlightenment trends with counter
movements and cross-currents.
It follows and builds on the History module ‘Culture and Politics in Europe 1700-1815’.
Europe, c. 1500-1700: Power and belief
Examines the political, social and cultural
history of sixteenth and seventeenth-century
Europe.
By the end of this module, students will
have been introduced to a variety of primary
sources and some of the different methods
and approaches that can be used in their
analysis.
This module addresses key themes of the
period including intellectual changes during
the Renaissance and Reformation, the
emergence of rival churches across most
of the Continent, the impact of the printing
revolution, the increasing power of territorial
states, the expansion of states into new
colonial spaces, and military and political
rivalry between states.
Select one of:
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History of Continental Europe since 1870
Social, economic and political history are given equal emphasis in this course,
which concentrates on Germany, France and Russia, as well as looking at Italy
and Spain.
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Comparative politics
This module is an introduction to the study of comparative politics. We will be
studying both developing and developed countries, democratic and authoritarian
regimes as well as countries that are in the midst of political and economic
transitions. Among other things, we will learn about (i) why countries like
Israel have a multitude of parties, while the United States has only two, (ii)
what determines why some countries are capable of making the transition to
democracy (e.g. Chile), while in other countries authoritarian regimes prevail
and autocrats manage to hold onto power for a long time (e.g. Zimbabwe), and
(iii) why some countries have seen tremendous economic growth, while others
have struggled to spur economic development (e.g. most African countries). We
will begin the course by discussing the micro foundations of political decision-
making. Specifically, we will study the role of preferences and beliefs, which
are essential for understanding political cleavages, conflict and culture. Next,
we will move to the study of collective decision-making and group politics,
covering a variety of topics ranging from political parties and interest groups to
social movements (e.g. the American civil rights movement in the 1960s and
the East European revolution in 1989). We will then shift to the study of political
institutions as a key source for differences in individual as well as collective
decision-making. The effects of political institutions will be studied at the micro
level by looking at political decision-making (e.g. voting behaviour in plurality
systems like the United States versus proportional systems like Italy) and at the
macro level by looking at political and economic development.