Courses in RC Social Science (Division 877) RC Soc. Sci. 202. The Twentieth Century: A Global View. (4; 3 in the half-term). (SS). Provides an historical background for current affairs and focuses on the global developments in the twentieth century, e.g., the impact of advanced industrialization, mass or consumer society, the shifting balance of powers, roots and development of the North-South Conflict. RC Soc. Sci. 220/Soc. 220. Political Economy. (4). (SS). This course uses the approach of a critical social science, exemplified by political economy, to analyze major institutional sectors of modern society such as the state, education, and bureaucracy. The analysis is applied to questions of inequality, to relations between advanced industrial societies and the Third World, and to patterns of response to these developments including successful and unsuccessful revolutions of the modern era. RC Soc. Sci. 222/Soc. 222. Strategies in Social Interaction: An Introduction to Game Theory. (4). (SS). This course explores human society from the interdisciplinary social science perspective of contemporary game theory, the theory of strategies in social interaction. The course combines a systematic exposition of elementary game theory with an examination of several applications in particular disciplines as well as experimental in-class workshops. RC Soc. Sci. 230. Alternative Approaches to Economic Development. (4). (SS). This course focuses on the economics of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, on the changes that their past involvement in the global economy have brought and the possibilities for the future. Aimed at freshmen and sophomores, the course juxtaposes different theories against different case studies, the discipline of history against economics, and the possibilities for future changes against the experience of the past. RC Soc. Sci. 241. Democratization in Brazil, Russia, and South Africa: Three Case Studies. (4). (SS). Comparative examination of democratization processes of the 1980's and '90's in historical, political, economic context using three case studies: Brazil, South Africa, Russia. Course introduces perspectives of various social science disciplines. RC Soc. Sci. 271. Technology, Politics, and Culture. (3). (SS). Technological development is a major feature of the social, cultural, and political landscape of the 20th century. The process of rapid change has become an integral part of our material lives, imaginations, political struggles, and cultural vocabulary. This course explores technological development in historical perspective, with a particular focus on the political and cultural dimensions of technological change. RC Soc. Sci. 290. Social Science Basic Seminar. (1). (Excl). This seminar is designed for students (especially sophomores) who are seriously considering a social science concentration in the Residential College. It is taught by various members of the RC Soc Sci staff. The content varies, but the basic format remains the same. The seminar is a prerequisite to concentration. RC Soc. Sci. 295. Quantitative Approaches to Social Science Questions. High school algebra. (4). (MSA). (QR/2). An introduction to quantitative methods as tools for formulating and answering social science questions. Imparts skills in defining research questions, evaluating published studies and carrying out quantitative analyses of real world data. Students carry out an original research project, from data collection through data analysis to presentation of results. RC Soc. Sci. 301. Social Science Theory I: From Social Contract to Oedipus Complex. At least one 200-level social science course. (3). (SS). This course examines closely theories about society, political economy, religion, and knowledge developed in Europe from the late 18th to the 20th centuries. Readings include texts by Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Engels, Mill, Darwin, Weber, Durkheim and Freud; their implications for the representation, analysis, and transformation of societies are considered. RC Soc. Sci. 302. Contemporary Social and Cultural Theory. Social Science 301 or equivalent (as determined by the instructor). (4). (Excl). This course develops students' skills in social and cultural analysis by exploring several major developments in sociocultural theory since the 1920s. Primary emphasis is given to recent developments such as poststructuralism, theories of practice, cultural marxism, feminism and postmodernism, but these are also contextualized by examination of earlier developments such as existentialism, structuralism and inter-war marxism. RC Soc. Sci. 305. Society and the Environment. Background in social sciences and environmental studies helpful. (4). (SS). We investigate society and behavior by exploring humankind's relationship with the biophysical environment. We attempt to accomplish two related objectives: (1) a better understanding of how society functions and of how humans behave by looking at our interactions with nature, natural resources, and the larger biophysical environment; and (2) a better understanding of our present environmental situation by investigating the forces that shape our society. RC Soc. Sci. 306. Environmental History and Third World Development. (3). (SS). Survey of selected major ecosystems of the non-Western world under stress from human use, including consumption and exploitation patterns and policy strategies. Emphasis on historical evolution under colonial regimes and global economic trends. RC Soc. Sci. 315. International Grassroots Development. (4). (SS). This course looks at how different definitions of "the poverty problem" drive different solutions to world poverty proposed by governments, aid agencies, religious groups and grassroots organizations. The course gives students an idea of what it's really like to work in the field of development, at home or abroad. RC Soc. Sci. 344. The History of Detroit in the 20th Century. Sophomore standing. (4). (SS). This course treats 20th century Detroit as an industrial boomtown, shaped and conditioned by the rise and fall of the automobile industry. It is especially concerned with the way ethnic and racial cleavages and class conflicts have shaped the urban landscape and the workplace. RC Soc. Sci. 345. Community Strategies Against Poverty in the United States. Sophomore standing. (4). (SS). This course analyzes the changing context of poverty and anti-poverty strategy in the United States, emphasizing community-level initiatives to improve standards of living. The first half focuses on the nature and sources of urban poverty in the contemporary U.S. and on the evolution of efforts to combat poverty since World War II. The second half addresses a variety of community-based initiatives in recent decades to overcome urban poverty. RC Soc. Sci. 357. A History of Crime and Punishment in the U.S. (4). (Excl). The changing patterns of crime and punishment in American history are described and analyzed. Its principle concern is to establish the long-term relationship between changing patterns of criminal activity and the changing structures of policing and punishment, and to link both themes to the larger transformations of American society since the colonial period. RC Soc. Sci. 360. Social Science Junior Seminar. Upperclass standing. (4). (Excl). May be repeated for credit. The subject matter varies from term to term depending on the interests and expertise of the faculty involved. RC Soc. Sci. 374. Race, Gender, and Empire in the Nuclear Age. Junior standing and permission of the instructor. (4). (Excl). This course explores the hidden side of the nuclear age: the Africans, Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, and Pacific Islanders who mined uranium or who endured nuclear tests in their homelands. How have conceptions of race, gender, and empire shaped the technological and scientific choices of the nuclear age, and vice-versa? RC Soc. Sci. 379/History 379. History of Computers and Networks. Junior standing. Familiarity with computer concepts helpful but not required. (4). (SS). Development, use, and impact of computers from the ancient world to the present. Focus on social, political, and cultural context of post-1939 digital computers and computer networks. Relevant to anyone interested in the history, politics, and culture of technology. Nontechnical. RC Soc. Sci. 381. Unteaching Racism. (4). (Excl). (R&E). The goals of this community-based learning course are to come to grips with the ways U.S. racism and white supremacy have shaped us individually and personally; to expand our knowledge of how racism is taught, learned, practiced, and institutionalized in U.S. communities; to learn ways to talk and write about racism in different contexts and with different audiences; and to practice "un-teaching" racism in the local community. RC Soc. Sci. 388. Transitions to Capitalism. A 200-level Social Science course. (4). (SS). This course examines one of the most basic transformations in economic and social history by a close comparison of two cases, England from the late 17th century through the early phases of the industrial revolution, and southern Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. RC Soc. Sci. 460. Social Science Senior Seminar. Senior standing. (4). (Excl). May be repeated for credit. Examines approaches to the social sciences and significant social trends in the late twentieth century from an interdisciplinary perspective. Subject matter varies from term to term depending on the interests of the faculty and students involved. RC Soc. Sci. 471. Culture as Environment: Worldviews and Cultural Agendas. Junior standing. (4). (Excl). This course provides an opportunity to learn intensively about a particular Native American group in the context of the long and continuing struggles of Native communities in the Americas to survive during the onslaught of European and Euroamerican conquest and settlement. The course investigates various groups' origin stories, spiritual world views, resource ecology, land struggles and cultural agendas. RC Soc. Sci. 488/History 497. Technology, Colonialism, and Development. Permission of instructor. (3). (Excl). This course explores the role of technology in the historical processes of colonialism and development. We pay close attention to the diversity of the historical actors involved in these processes, and focus on the ways in which politically and culturally constructed technologies are involved in the power relationships between different social groups. University of Michigan | College of LS&A | Student Academic Affairs | LS&A Bulletin Index | Department Homepage Queried: 5:54 PM EST on Thu, May 4, 2000 This page maintained by LS&A Academic Information and Publications, 1228 Angell Hall Copyright © 2000 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA +1 734 764-1817 Trademarks of the University of Michigan may not be electronically or otherwise altered or separated from this document or used for any non-University purpose.