Integrated Social Sciences
TU 120 – Fall 2007
9:30 – 11:00, 11:00 – 12:30, Tuesday - Thursday
Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday, when I am not teaching
class
bkennedy@gmu.edu (I
check email frequently)
bpk@econ.tu.ac.th
01-442-7426 (cell phone)
02-929-0015 (home phone)
TU 120; Integrated Social Sciences
“A study of the origins of social sciences, the separation of social sciences from science, the acceptance of scientific paradigm for the explanation of social phenomena. Analysis of significant disciplines, concepts and theories in social sciences, their strengths and weaknesses when applied to the analysis of social problems. Application of social theories to current issues understood within individual, group, macro-social, national and global perspectives.”
Course objectives:
The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the social sciences. This is done for two purposes, firstly to introduce students to the use of scientific tools to explain human activity, and secondly to show students the strengths and limitations of the different social sciences.
Prerequisites:
As a freshman level entry course, there are no prerequisites to this class. Be prepared for a significant amount of reading, however. Covering all of the social sciences in one class will mean that the pace is quick, certainly quicker than most of you are used to.
Grading:
The course grade will depend upon 4 exams, given throughout the course. Each exam is worth 25% of the grade.
Each exam will cover 3-4 chapters of the book, as well as one outside article. Each exam will consist of three or four sections, a section of short identification, longer identification, and then some compare and contrast or analysis questions. In all cases, you will be getting some choice in the questions, typically you will need to answer three out four, meaning you can always skip one question per section.
Each exam will be 1½ hours in length. A sample exam will be given before the first exam, showing the exact format of the exam.
Cheating:
Don’t. If you do, and I catch you, you will be reported to the program director for appropriate punishment. At a minimum, you will receive a zero on the exam you are caught cheating on, other punishments include automatically failing the course, and being suspended for one (or more) semesters.
Required Materials:
Textbook:
I have made a copy of the textbook, and it is available downstairs from Joy at the copy center.
Hunt,
Articles:
Supplemental Articles:
Geography – Diamond, Gerard; Guns, Germs and Steel, chapter 5
Sociology – Dalrymple, Theodore: Life at the Bottom; “Reader, She Married Him”
Economics – Landis, David “the Armchair Economist”
Socio-Biology – xxxxx “Dawkinds, xxxxx, “the God Delusion”
Weekly Schedule:
Below is a tentative weekly schedule. Notes will be passed out before each class, outlining the days lecture.
Part I: Social Sciences and the Origins of Man and Civilization
Week One: August
20-26
Hunt and Colander, chapter 1
Methodology, Terms, Social Sciences and the Humanities
Week Two: August
27 – September 2
Hunt and Colander, chapter 2
Anthropology and the Origins of Man
Week Three: September 3 – 9
Hunt and Colander, chapter 3
Western Society; History
Week Four: September 10-16
Hunt and Colander, chapter 3 Continued
Diamond, Gerard, “Guns, Germs and Steel”
Exam 1
Part II: Cultures and Individuals
Week Five: September 17 – 23
Hunt and Colander, chapter 4
Society, Culture, and Cultural change: Human Impacts and Social Constructs
Week Six: September 24 – 30
Hunt and Colander, chapter 5
Geography, Demography, Ecology and Society: The Physical environment
Week Seven: October 1 – 7
Hunt and Colander, chapter 6
Technology and Society
Week Eight: October 8 – 14
Hunt and Colander, chapter 7
Psychology, Society, and Culture
Also, Dalrymple, Theodore: “Life at the Bottom”
Week Nine Midterm Week October 15 – 21
Exam Two
Part III: Institutions and Society
Week Ten: October
22 – 28
Hunt and Colander, chapter 8
The Family
Week Eleven: October
29 - November 4
Hunt and Colander, chapter 9
Religion
Week Twelve: November
5 – 11
Hunt and Colander, chapter 10
Education
Week Thirteen: November
12 – 18
Hunt and Colander, chapter 11 and 12
Social classes, Racial Minorities, Stratification and
Mobility
Exam Three
Part IV and V: Politics and Society, Economics and Society
Week Fourteen: November
19 – 25
Hunt and Colander, chapter 13
The Functions and Forms of Government
Hunt and Colander, Chapter 14
Governments of the World
Week Fifteen: November
26 – December 2
Hunt and Colander, chapter 15
Democratic Government in the
Week Sixteen: December
3 – 9
Hunt and Colander, chapter 16
The Organization of Economic Activities
Week Seventeen: December
10 -17
Hunt and Colander, chapter 17
Government and Economies
Week Eighteen:
Hunt and Colander, chapter 18
International Political Relations
Hunt and Colander, chapter 19
International Economic Relations
Final Exam