Social Science Courses

Fall 2012 Winter 2013

Social science courses in sociology and psychology study human behavior and culture. They are concerned with the development of principles that explain individual thought, action, and experience; the interactions between people in the context of small groups, communities, institutions, states, and societies; and the functioning of social systems.

Honors students are required to take TWO of the following Honors social sciene courses:

FALL 2012

PLEASE NOTE: Because the economics courses are from one discipline, only one economics course fulfills one social science requirement. Students need to take one more Honors social science course.

HNR 231 01: The Holocaust
Schedule: MWF 9:00-9:50
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Jason Crouthamel, Associate Professor of History
The fact that this enormous crime occurred in the modern world, in the heart of “civilized” Europe, deeply challenges Western perspectives on traditional institutions, values and thought. Since 1945, the Western World has struggled to come to terms with the significance of this event. Historian Yehuda Bauer argues that in order to address the philosophical, theological, and psychological implications of the Holocaust, one must first examine the Holocaust as an historical event. This is a central goal of the course. The Holocaust presents not only some of the most difficult intellectual and scholarly questions, but it also challenges us on fundamental psychological, moral, and spiritual levels.
Students who complete this course will be eligible to enroll in Spring 2011 for HNR 311: Remembering the Holocaust, a seminar which will include travel to Poland and Germany.

HNR 231 02: The Holocaust
Schedule: TR 8:30-9:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Norman Kravitz, Adjunct Instructor in Meijer Honors College
This course is a study of the Holocaust in the 1930’s and 1940’s in Europe and the fate of 11 million Jews, Roma, mentally and physically disabled persons, Russians, Poles, gays and lesbians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others. In particular, we will study the profound meaning and deep critical issues associated with this unprecedented event. In the process, we will make an analysis in depth of the choices and the responses, and in especially the significance of those choices of how to respond, that the perpetrators, bystanders, rescuers, victims, the United States, and the World made to the Holocaust. We will strive to learn what those responses have meant, or have not meant, over time since then, to catastrophes and genocides that have occurred in the world since the Holocaust, and which are occurring in the world at this time, such as in Darfur, Syria, the Congo, and elsewhere. Students will actively engage in critical thinking discussions on BlackBoard and in class, engage in writing essays and a take home essay examination or final research paper, participate in small groups and making presentations to the class as a whole on focused aspects of the Holocaust, and make formal individual speeches before the class on some topic related to the Holocaust individually chosen by each of the students, all of which exercises being designed to sharpen our written and oral expressions of critical thinking on these crucial issues. In the process, we will improve our abilities of how to express our opinions and judgments about them, and what we should do now. We will view films on the Holocaust, hopefully, have personal visits in class with a Holocaust survivor and a Holocaust rescuer, possibly have guest speakers, and also hopefully, take a class field trip to Washington, D.C., Detroit, or Chicago to have a personal guided tour of one of the Holocaust Museums there.

HNR 233 and 234 01 & 02: Society and Self
Schedule: Section 01 TR 10:00-12:45/Section 02 TR 1:00-3:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Both Social Science requirements
(equivalent for PSY 101 & SOC 201) and fulfills U.S. Diversity.

Richard Joanisse, Professor of Sociology
David Bernstein, Professor of Psychology

These courses are team-taught and create dialogue between sociology and psychology to understand our humanity. Students learn the strengths and weaknesses of these disciplines as well as the tangled relationships among them. It is important to be able to recognize when someone has adopted a particular discipline perspective and to able oneself to move from one perspective to another. This pair of courses is designed to foster that kind of conscious knowledge. It is generally not recommended to take an Arts and Humanities sequence during the same semester as HNR 233/234.

*You must take both courses in the same semester and the same section.

HNR 235 01: Democracy and Political Thinking
Schedule: MW 4:30-05:45

Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science and US Diversity

Karen Zivi, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Meijer Honors College
This course is an introduction to normative political thinking – reasoning about what politics ought to be. The course stresses your participation in thinking deeply about some of the fundamental questions of public life, including who should rule, the nature and scope of our political obligations, and the demands of political justice. The argument of this course is that sound political reasoning is a precondition of good citizenship in a democracy.

HNR 280 15: Discovering Social Worlds

Schedule: TR 1:00-2:15

Joel Stillerman, Associate Professor of Sociology

When we examine the social world we inhabit, how do we know what we know? How do we successfully move from observation to explanation, and what tools serve us best in this process? This course addresses these questions through an overview of the logic of social research as well as contemporary examples of qualitative, comparative and historical research focused on significant contemporary and historical social issues. In addition to learning how social scientists conduct and evaluate research, students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge through several small research projects during the course of the semester. The class will combine lecture, discussion, audio-visual materials and practical exercises. Students should leave the course with a clear understanding of the theoretical and practical bases of social science research as well as a clear idea of the different ways current scholars approach and conduct social science research. Furthermore, they will be better prepared to critically analyse current events. They will thus be well prepared for junior seminars in the social sciences as well as the pursuit of majors, minors, or coursework in social science disciplines.

ANT 204 10: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Schedule: TR 2:30-3:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science and World Perspectives

Cindy Hull , Professor of Anthropology
Introduces the discipline of anthropology by examining the diversity of human cultures that have been described by anthropologists over the last 100 years. The principles of anthropology are explained with examples drawn from non-Western culture. Comparisons are drawn with our own.

ECO 211 06: Introductory Microeconomics
Schedule: TR 11:30-12:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Aaron Lowen, Associate Professor of Economics
Focuses on the interactions among households, producers, and governments in market economies. Applies fundamental methods of economic analysis to topics such as household spending and saving patterns; producer pricing, profits, and organization; wages and income distribution; investment decisions; health care and insurance; government taxes, spending, and regulation of markets.

WINTER 2013

ANT 204 10: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Schedule: MWF 9:00-9:50
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science and World Perspectives

Heather VanWormer, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Introduces the discipline of anthropology by examining the Diversity of human cultures that have been described by anthropologists over the last 100 years. The principles of anthropology are explained with examples drawn from non-Western culture. Comparisons are drawn with our own.

ECO 210 13: Introductory Macroeconomics
Schedule: MW 3:00-4:15
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Daniel Giedeman, Associate Professor of Economics
Introduction to the study of the national and global economies. Topics include the effects of government taxation and budget deficits on economic growth; ways to alleviate unemployment, inflation and international trade imbalances, and the importance of expectations and decision-making in an uncertain world.

HNR 231 01: The Holocaust
Schedule: MWF 9:00-9:50
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Jason Crouthamel, Associate Professor of History
The fact that this enormous crime occurred in the modern world, in the heart of “civilized” Europe, deeply challenges Western perspectives on traditional institutions, values and thought. Since 1945, the Western World has struggled to come to terms with the significance of this event. Historian Yehuda Bauer argues that in order to address the philosophical, theological, and psychological implications of the Holocaust, one must first examine the Holocaust as an historical event. This is a central goal of the course. The Holocaust presents not only some of the most difficult intellectual and scholarly questions, but it also challenges us on fundamental psychological, moral, and spiritual levels. Students who complete this course will be eligible to enroll in Spring 2011 for HNR 311: Remembering the Holocaust, a seminar which will include travel to Poland and Germany.

HNR 231 02: The Holocaust
Schedule: TR 2:30-3:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Dan Balfour, Professor of Public and Non-Profit Administration
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the Holocaust and the profound questions it raises about our society and civilization. By asking, “What happened,” “How could it have happened?” and, “What does it mean for us today,” we will not only explore a significant historical event but will also challenge our most fundamental assumptions about the nature of civilization and our own identities as “civilized” people. We will also consider the meaning of the Holocaust for the social sciences, especially how it affects our understanding of human behavior, public policy, and bureaucratic organizations.
Students who complete this course will be eligible to enroll in Spring 2011 for HNR 311: Remembering the Holocaust, a seminar which will include travel to Poland and Germany.

HNR 232 01: Trauma, Culture, Memory
Schedule: TR 11:30-12:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Mary deYoung, Professor of Sociology
HNR 232 examines a wide range of traumatic events to understand their impact on culture and how culture, in turn, shapes the experience, meaning, resolution and remembrance of the events. This is an interdisciplinary Social Science course that integrates materials from the arts and sciences.

HNR 280 16: Terrorism
Schedule: TR 11:30 - 12:45
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Jonathan White, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies

This course covers modern domestic and international terrorism. It focuses on current terrorist threats by examining groups, ideologies, operations, and tactics. Students will be “employed” on a 15-week temporary contract by Zulu 27, a simulated non-for-profit company that provides independent information analysis for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Each student will be assigned to an Intelligence Working Group (IWG) and be given the same type of assignment that U.S. government contractors receive when awarded a grant or contract. Each IWG will learn to gather, analyze, and report Open Source Intelligence (OSI), applying quantitative and qualitative social science research methodologies. Students will conduct a threat analysis based on OSI, and each IWG will prepare a one hour briefing suitable for one of the intelligence bureaus under ODNI. Briefings will cover: (1) the structure of the group, (2) the group’s leadership and philosophy, (3) the group’s capabilities obtained by a tactical analysis of recent attacks, and (4) the probability of an attack U.S. soil. Each student will also complete a total threat analysis based on briefings from the other groups. The threats this semester will be: (1) Mexican Drug Cartels, (2) the Haqqani network (the Haqqanis, al Qaeda, and Lashkar-e-Taibia), (3) homegrown violent criminal religious extremists, and (4) homegrown violent criminal extremists inside the Sovereign Citizen movement.

HNR 280 17: Problems in Modern Warfare

Schedule: TR 8:30-9:45

Jonathan White, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies

The purpose of this class is to study the nature and process of modern conflict. Many military historians, analysts, and social scientists argue that the entire structure of war is shifting. They feel this shift began in the twentieth century, and the nature of war completely changed after World War II. Problems in Modern Warfare will evaluate the nature of these arguments and the models used to support them. The class will also focus on the evolution of modern warfare by examining Greek and Roman military thought. This will be followed by the impact of Greco-Roman concepts on the period of global wars from 1702 to 1789 and the total wars from 1791 to 1945. It will conclude with the transformation of war in an age of nuclear weapons and technological revolutions. The class will also be based on contemporary issues. Each student will be assigned to a group charged with analyzing one of the following modern conflicts: (1) Israel/Palestine, (2) the Niger Delta and surrounding region, (3) Jammu-Kashmir (India and Pakistan), and (4) the Korean Peninsula. Each group will expected to define the social factors involved in the regional conflict, describe how the conflict is being waged, identify the critical issues necessary to control violence, develop a regional peace plan, and assess the feasibility of a peaceful solution to the region’s problems.

PSY 101 11: Introduction to Psychology
Schedule: MWF 12:00-12:50
Requirements Fulfilled: Social Science

Jennifer Gross, Associate Professor of Psychology
Three themes capture our quest into all things psychological. Despite the breadth and diversity of the field, ranging from the anatomy of the eye, to forms of pathology, to psychology’s insights on user-friendly design, all of Psychology embraces the scientific study of human behavior (Theme 1). The scientific approach offers the highest standard of evidence, which affords a powerful approach to determine the validity of commonly-made assertions. Theme 2: The study of Psychology reveals how even the simplest human behavior is influenced by a myriad of forces. This insight about the complexity of behavior fosters avoidance of simplistic, naïve explanations for human actions (like, “there are two kinds of people in the world—the weak and the strong; the good and the evil”). Nothing about human behavior is this simple. By scientifically determining answers to questions like: “Can leading questions distort a witness’ memory?” “Is it safe to drive and talk on the phone?” “Can stress increase my susceptibility to colds?” and “Are there really different learning styles?” Psychology has a practical impact on everyday life, which is Theme 3.

Glenn A. Niemeyer Learning and Living Center • Allendale MI 49401
Phone 616-331-3219 • honors@gvsu.edu