Core courses
In their second year, Social Sciences majors enroll in core courses that provide the foundation for the Social Sciences concentrations. They also take electives from core courses offered in other majors.
In this course we learn about the mind by looking at (1) multiple levels of analysis, from neurons to social systems, (2) multiple methodologies used in research, and (3) how multiple types of explanation (mechanism, function, ontogeny, phylogeny) shed light on each other. Using these three course objectives, we will build up a framework for understanding the full range of topics in cognitive science, and how they relate to other disciplines both within the social sciences (e.g., political science and economics) and beyond them (e.g., biology and computer science).
How do economists address the challenge of allocating scarce resources to best serve the unlimited needs and wants of those in society? The first half of this course introduces the idea that markets can work efficiently to coordinate economic activity thereby addressing the problem of scarcity. However, when markets fail to work efficiently, an argument for government intervention in the market arises as a potential solution to better serve the needs of those in society. These concepts of scarcity, efficiency, and ultimately, trade-offs are then applied to the analysis of international financial markets in the second half of the semester where the drivers of manias, bubbles, and crises are explored.
Governments greatly affect their citizens and, in turn, citizens may greatly affect government and their society. The course has four units to examine these influences. The first unit is a brief introduction to the discipline of political science. The second unit covers the rise of the modern state, seeking to understand the ideas, structural factors, and rational decisions that led to different political orders. The third unit examines how society can change the state through revolutionary and reformist social movements. We end by exploring ongoing struggles in the contemporary world to remake states and societies by critically examining case studies of both positive and negative social change. For the final project, students design a campaign to enact a specific social change (at the local, state, or federal level) and devise ways to assess its impact. Note: This course qualifies as part of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Sustainability because it provides causal frameworks for understanding the political context of sustainable design, technology, and environmental policy. These causal frameworks include structuralism, constructivism, institutionalism, and rational choice.
Concentrations Courses
In their third year, Social Sciences majors select a concentration, begin taking courses within it and begin work on their capstone courses. They also take electives chosen from other Minerva courses (other concentration courses in Social Sciences, core and concentration courses in other colleges).
In the fourth year, Social Sciences majors enroll in additional electives chosen from Minerva’s course offerings within or outside the major. Additionally, they take senior tutorials in the major, and finish their capstone courses.
Explore how the brain gives rise to the mind through the lens of cognitive neuroscience. Learn about the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain and consider the role of this physical substrate in neural computation. This course introduces the methodological foundations of cognitive neuroscience and their application to analyzing specific mental processes and events, with links to related fields such as genetics and computational neuroscience. In addition, it provides a framework for understanding cognitive disorders, mental thriving and human development, which supports student engagement in public policy or social ventures.Topics include the evolution of the brain, consciousness, vision, motor control, speech, memory, executive function, developmental psychology, and disorders of the brain such as depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and autism spectrum disorder.
Learn how to use core econometric and statistical methods to construct and validate economic and social models. Students will learn methods to conduct and critique empirical studies in economics as well as other social sciences. We apply these techniques to answer causal questions such as: What environmental policy in Europe has been most effective in reducing pollution? Are celebrities involved in international development actually helping alleviate poverty? Do cigarette taxes reduce smoking? Do drunk driving laws actually reduce traffic deaths? Are international sanctions effective in correcting rulers’ behavior? Quantitative approaches used to answer such questions include multiple regression, matching, differences in differences, regression discontinuity, and instrumental variables. The aim of this course is to make you better critique causal studies and more comfortable when performing your own causal study.
This course examines and compares how political systems operate in practice and why they have different outcomes, such as corruption/transparency, racism, political stability/instability, low/high inequality, security/insecurity, and low/high socio-economic standards. Students will learn the ways in which institutions and structures shape the way people act individually and collectively across different countries with diverse political systems to achieve their goals. Note: This course qualifies as part of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Sustainability because it takes an in-depth look at the complex interactions that take place between political, social, cultural, and economic factors that are relevant to sustainability. In general, students also learn how to use complexity thinking to analyze and compare the interactions between institutions, structures, and human actions that affect sustainable development issues across different political systems.